THE COUNTY CONFERENCE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 8041, 20 July 1904, Page 2

THE COUNTY CONFERENCE.

The present is a time of conferences. Following on the Farmers' Union Conference lately held and the Municipal Conference now sitting, <will come that of the County Councils. It is convenient, 1 no doubt, that when Parliament is sitting these gatherings should be held, so that the Legislature may be officially informed of the opinions of the various organisations and bodies which discharge so great, and indeed so practical, a part in the administration of local affairs. Whether their recommendations have much attention given to them is another matter. ■ Certainly Parliament passes legislation which would not have much chance of approval from any conference representative of local governing bodies. On the whole, therefore, we doubt whether the conferences do very much directly, but they do bring together experts in local government matters, and indirectly they may exercise an influence for good. The agenda paper for the next County Conference is before us, and is undeniably comprehensive in its list of grievances. There are nearly a dozen foolscap printed pages of motions suggesting amendments in the law or reform in the central administration on various points. Thus in respect of the Appropriation Act it is suggested by one Council that ths Government should expedite the payment to local bodies of subsidies authorisesd by law, and by another that they should not withhold them. In reference to the Auctioneers Act it is represented that the license fees should be divided among local bodies affected or interested in proportion to the traffic on roads in their several districts caused by the transport of animals or merchandise, a division which would probably be somewhat difficult of arrangement. The Counties Act is a fruitful subject of suggested amendment. Many of the proposed amendments are of a technical character. But there is one to be moved by Horowhenua which indicates an unusual desire for selfsacrifice on the part of County Councillors : "That where the members of a local body are willing to become personally liable for a sum in excess of the legal overdraft which such body may urgently require, such members shall not be deemed guilty of an illegal act." We should think not, indeed, but it is pretty hard on members that they should be expected to undertake such a liability in any circumstances. A suggestion which seems to be a good one is that the elections should be held in April instead of in November. The former date should ba more suitable for many reasons. The Valuation Act comes in for criticism, and the suggestion is that the local bodies should be supplied with Government rolls at the cost of transcription. By the way, the cost of the Valuation Department seems to be mounting up. Last year, in spite of about £4000 paid by the local bodies, £2500 by the Advances to Settlers' Department, and £7500 by the Tax Department, there was still a large sum to* be made up out of the general revenue — about £12,000, in fact. As to Hospital and Charitable Aid administration, several questions are raised. Objection is taken to the present system of raising revenue, and it is urged that the Board should be abolished, and that the duties should be thrown upon the County Councils. Lndor the heading of The Land Act there are . suggestions that members oi Land Boards should be appointed to some extent directly by County Councils. It is proposed to amend the Land and Income Tax Assessment Act by providing tnat where the value of property has been enhanced by the making and metalling of roads by loans obtained from the Government, the balance of the loans remaining unpaid to Government shall be regarded as a debt owing by the lands concerned, and shall be deducted from th© capital value for taxation purposes as if it were a mortgage. There are a variety of suggestions on the subject of Government subsidies to local bodies, most of which affirm the principle of increasing the amount paid, and graduating it so that where people tax .themselves most they will get most aid. Objection is set forth to any steps to extend the present county franchise, the need of further rating native land is the subject of several notices, and (a sign, of the times) the need of regulating motor cars on county roads is mooted. The railways are referred to in motions which advocate cheaper freights for road and bridge material, and as to tne Customs it is urged that machinery for local bodies should be admitted duty free. Hawera County's suggestions do not yet appear upon the agenda paper, but from a sight of them we learn that they relate mostly to matters of technical importance in connection with th© Counties Act and the Loans to Local Bodies Act. They are not only of this character, however, for they recommend the appointment of a solicitor to the Counties' Association, the conversion oi the land tax raised within counties into county revenue, the consolidation of the Public Works Act and other Acts relating to by-laws, amendment of the Impounding Act so as to require a ranger to deliver to the owner stock found on roads whenever the owner is in time to claim the stock after seizure and before impounding, on payment of the usual driving fee, etc., etc. Taken as a. whole, there is plenty for the conference to discuss, although there is no motion which directly raises that most important of all questions—a thorough reorganisation and consolidation of the whole local government law of the country so far as it relates to rural districts. , ,