Manawatu Evening Standard. TUESDAY, JAN, 15, 1935. FIFTY YEARS A COUNTY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LV, Issue 40, 15 January 1935, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. TUESDAY, JAN, 15, 1935. FIFTY YEARS A COUNTY.

Fifty years ago, on January 1, 1885, tiie Horowhenua. County officially came into being, and it was appropriate that f of lowing tlie monthly meeting on Saturday tlie occasion should be fittingly remembered, for the district administration has a record of loyal service to the county ratepayers and it is well that when such milestones are passed a pause should be made for reflection on the times that have gone by and the work of the early settlers who laid the foundations of the county so securely. Horowhenua is the offspring of the Manawatu County, its creation being the result of a petition of a section of ratepayers within the then Manawatu area. Eventually the Horowhenua Council assumed greater importance itself, when it agreed to the inclusion, in 1903 and 1906 respectively, of the Whirokino and Te Horo Road Hoards. Throughout the fifty years that have passed the county has witnessed many changes. Many of the early settlers have passed on, but they have left in their successors and their records of service a good deal to be remembered by. The development of the district has not been without its vicissitudes. It possesses thousands of acres of smiling pasture lands—the result of close attention and hard work; a large tract of the county which at one time flourished under flax has witnessed a period of transition owing to the adversely altered state of the flax industry. This has called for sacrifice and enterprise on the part of those whose lands have been affected, and for sympathetic administration by the local authority to see that no undue burden in rates was placed on areas that were already suffering through a twist in economic events. In the earliest stages of its being the County Council had many of the problems incidental to successful land development to deal with, but these, principally the building of roads and bridges, were faced with a measure of success that is well-recog-nised by those who look around the county to-day. As with other local authorities, the Horowhenua Council has had to contend with the rapid growth of high-speed traffic in recent j r ears, and by virtue of its position, with a large stretch of the main W ellington- Auckland highway running through its entire length, Horowhenua found the task no lighter. However, it has to its credit met these conditions and with the aid of Highways Board grants has to-day many miles of well-surfaced roads, while at the same time no opportunity has been lost of continuing the policy of providing better access to farm lands where such is needed, though these opportunities are, of course, not so numerous now. It should be realised by those who think of the subject that the administration of county affairs calls for a high degree of public service in which the reward is certainly not, tangible, though it best appears in the desired result—contented ratepayers and progressive county development. Membership of such councils is without gain, and in more recent times its work has called for much care and consideration of expenditure. Until a short lime ago the Horowhenua was divided into four ridings for general expenditure purposes, in addition, of course, to the special rating areas created from time to time. The council has since deemed it advisable to merge the ridings accounts into one and that is the method under which its general finances are now conducted. One of the chief reasons for the change is that whereas in the earlier days each riding ratepayer was most closely benefited

by his own riding roads, all now enjoy the use of the whole of the county roads more freely owing to modern transport methods; again, administration is facilitated by the change. Citizens of Palmerston North, with which the Horowhenua County has a substantial community of interest, will congratulate the Horowhenua Council and its ratepayers on the important milestone that has been reached. The county is being well served by the present administration, to whom credit is due for the prudent policy it pursues as a whole.