A VEXED QUESTION.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume III, Issue 327, 24 October 1882, Page 2

A VEXED QUESTION.

It was mentioned incidentally iv these columns lateljr that the only matter about which there was any great difference of opinion at the conference of those having control over' the expenditure of ' deferred payment moneys, was whether or not a percentage of engineering expenses might fairly be charged against the fund. The Commissioner of Crown Lands contended that inasmuch as the Act requires that all such moneys shall be expended on the construction of new roads or bridges, the wording excluded any allowance for engineering or supervision, but was willing to allow that in the event of an nn- j due proportion of rate-money being j taken for engineer's expenses from j one road and expended upon others, where a large proportion of money had to be spent, such roads should receive a somewhat' larger share of deferred payment money in return ; provided only' that such accrued within the block. No objection would be made to any road within a block receiving more than its share in this way, unless the deferred payment selectors themselves raised objection, which they were not likely to do, provided the position were explained to them. On behalf of the plea made by the Koad Board that a percentage from deferred payment money should be allowed to cover engineering expenses, it was contended that it was fairer to charge I each road with its due proportion of engineering expenses, otherwise it might, and occasionally would, happen that a road which had really head a lot of money spent on it in engineering would appear by the returns to have had little or none expended. It might have been pointed out that under the Railways Construction Acts, for instance, survey and engineering were included as a part of the construction, and if this were so under one statute it ought surely to be so under another, Besides, whatever might be said against the strict meaning of the wording of the Act, it was at least open to argument whether the word construction did not imply and include engineering and taking out of quantities, 1 " consequently if the Commissioner, (as the Laud Board passed it), then no one else would be in the least likely to cavil at his decision. However, it appears that the Commissioner declined to alter his decision in respect to the matter. The Eoad Board chairman then stated that so long as the Board would be allowed to equalise matters within each block at their discretion, so as to gsve ratepayers aud selectors each their share, he believed that the difficulty now complained of might be got over. He did not anticipate any trouble with the selectors, provided that the matter were put plainly before them. The Commissioner stated that if it were desired to allocate the deferred money to accrue in January next before hand, and to call for tenders in anticipation of their revenue, he saw no objection to this being done, not only for the coming payment but also in anticipation of other future payments, authorities being passed by him shortly before instalments became due. If. this system were adopted deferred payment funds need never be idle at the Treasury, but could always be claimed as soon as they accrued. Judging by, the outcome of what passed, it seems that the difficulties which had arisen have, for the most part, beeu arranged, and as was remarked at the time, it was a mistake for the several parties in- [ terested to have delayed conferring Ibo long. No doubt it is necessarj r at first to work under a system in | order to ascertain its defects. In [ many cases a knowledge has been j attributed to parties engaged in correspondence which some of them did not possess. Misunderstandings then arose, and it was only after coinpar- j ing notes that the points of differ- [ ence could, be .correctly ascertained, j The Treasury and the Minister for Lands will continue, to offer ample scope for future' complications, but it is to be hoped that no such deadlock with the Waimate Eoad B.oar, d, , ,tjhe

r^jPreas my, and the N Laud Office will ever again' occur. The joint,"conference appears to have oiled tjie wheels ofa complicated, machinery.