GREATER CHRISTCHURCH.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CVIII, Issue 12996, 11 December 1902, Page 4

GREATER CHRISTCHURCH.

It ought not to have been necessary for Mr "Wig-ram to explain to the members of the Sfc Albans Borough Council that in the event of amalgamation the suburban areas would not be required to bear the financial burdens of the city. The point is made quite clear by the Municipal Corporations Act, andi has been emphasised at every conference that has been held on the subject. We are afraid, however, that the opponents of the proposal are not particularly anxious for the public to understand the position. They are raising the bogey of finance at every turn, and trying to make the ratepayers believe that .the. city is seeking to shift its debts on to the shoulders of its neighbours. The only way to defeat these tactics, will be for tie advocates of amalgamation to place their own case directly before the people. The Mayors circular has put the facts very fairly and very temperately. It has provided a basis for the discussion of the proposal. But something more is required if the burgesses are to be properly instructed on the subject before the poll next month. "Greater Christchurch " is of far more importance to them than any question of colonial politics, than any difference between a Liberal Government and a. Conservative Government, and if they are alive to their own interests they will see that it is not obstructed by a handful of timid people who refuse to realise its significance. One of the members for the city has announced his intention to address meetings in the suburbs in support of the proposal. We hope that he will be joined in this good work by others who have a little spare time at their disposal, and that not a single ratepayer in the city. or suburbs will be left in ignorance of the magnitude of the issue.