THE £5000 LOAN PROPOSAL.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXII, Issue 224, 14 October 1897, Page 4

THE £5000 LOAN PROPOSAL.

» TfiE Biver Board's loan proposal, to be put to the test on Saturday, has been received with general favor; and there is every prospect that it will be accepted. It strongly merits the support of the ratepayers, and we trust that it will meet with a better fate than that of previous loan projects. What the Board has m view is'merely the continuation and completion of past and present work ; and, as the recent policy of the Board has been thoroughly justified by results, and has given general satisfaction, the ratepayers should certainly gTant the power that it seeks." The proposed works are all necessary to the interests of the dis« trict, m fact it would be suicidal to negleot them ; and- they cannot be carried out unless the funds of the Board are substantially replenished The finances have been severely strained by past demands ; they are now weighted by a heavy overdraft, which has on several occasions of late touched the legal limit— some thing like £1300 ; and, if a loan be not raised, the Board will be compelled to strike a full rate, which would double the present rate. The notice of intention to levy a full rate if the loan proposal be rejected is no idle threat used for the purpose of coercing the ratepayers into voting for a loan. The Board would really have no other alternative; it must obtain money from some source, or allow the interests of the district to suffer. Now, figures prove that a loan would be much cheaper to the ratepayers than a double rate ; and, therefore, m voting for the proposal, they would be only choosing much the lesser of two evils. From whatever point of view the -position is considered, the loan proposal must commend itself to the ratepayers -