LOANS WITHOUT POLLS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 120, 22 April 1931, Page 3

LOANS WITHOUT POLLS

CITY’S TOTAL £95,428. AN OBJECTION VOICED. , “I am strongly opposed to the raising of loans without polls, that is to say, pledging the property of the ratepayers a.s security for a loan without giving them an opportunity of voting for or against the proposal,” stated Mr M. A. Eliott, in the course of his address in the Opera House last evening.

“You will doubtless he surprised to learn that Palmerston North has raised over £95,000 by this, means, viz.:—-Abattoir loan, £12.500'; antecedent liability loan. £32,000; Manawntu Gorge reading loans, £1600; £4240; £2088; housing loans, £25.000; £10,000; unemployment reliefr loan. 1926, rooding, £3000; unemployment relief loan, 1927, ronding. £3000; unemployment relief loan, 1930, Tiritea road. £2000; total, £95,428. “The latest example was the £2OOO borrowed to spend on the new road at Tiritea to provide work for unemployed. True, the Government subsidised this by £1 for £l, hut I am strongly of the opinion that the expenditure was not justified and I voted against it. (Heart hear!”) lam sure if the proposal had been put to the ratepayers it would have been turned down good and hard. The money could have been spent to better advantage in the city.

“We have heard a great deal about the relief of unemployed and, while no one deplores the position of unemployment more than I do, it cannot be overlooked that there is another side to tho question and that is the relief of the ratepayers. It is obviously impossible for us to go .ou borrowing money year after year in order to provide work which is not of an urgent or even necessary nature. The utmost we can reasonably he expected to dr is to set aside all we ran spare out of our ordinary revenue.”