PROPOSED DEVONPORT MUNICIPAL FERRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12833, 5 April 1905, Page 7

PROPOSED DEVONPORT MUNICIPAL FERRY.

TO THE EOITOE. Sir,--In your issue of the 15tli inst. Mr. F. M. King attempt' to reply to Mr. ilks and inysoll. Attempts, I say, for so far as I am concerned ho only reiterates the statements lie made previously, but without adducing' any reason: to prove that my conelusions were incorrect, lie simply cannot .show why the 251 ratepayers should be forced to provide it comparatively freo ferry service for the other 554- and their families.

service. lur me uijjiu ujt- unu cubit uumuus. it would bo just as reasonable, to start a. municipal woollen mill and clothing f-io-tory, and so give tho inhabitants of the borough all the clothing they require, to bo paid for by a special rate levied for that purpose. This, although absolutely unjust, would enable tho ratepayers to appropriate the 5s 6d in the £ protective duties, now t annexed by tho manufacturers, whilst, as I have previously shown, the Ferry Company has been working without protection, and simply preventing an opposition service being started by keeping the fares for the residents as low as possible, and making tho service popular by nut only conveying our school children free on picnic excursions when requested by the local school committee, but also the free conveyance of cadets, footballers, cricketer;-, and last, but not least, the conveyance of our fifth and sixth standards to enable them to take advantage* of the manual instruction and cookery classes in Auckland, anil all this notwithstanding tho fact that, according to j\lr. King, they arc only a lot of land speculators. Would that all those engaged, like Mr. King, in working our protected industries only acted as fairly as the so-called land speculator Ferry Company, .lust one extract from Mr. King's letter. Referring to me ho says:—" While he does not- consider it ail imposition for the residents to pay for the ferry service," etc. Certainly not; as I have said before, the residents of Devonport who have annual ferry tickets get infinitely better value for their money than from any other articlo tliry could possibly purchase, and that was why Mr. King favoured us by locating amongst up as a Dcvonport resident, I still maintain that those Dcvonport landowners, who were the founders of the Devonport Steam Ferry Company, richly deserve all the increment to bo derived from the sale of thei. land, as they have pluckily earned it by providing such a ferry service as they did, as it is undoubtedly the sole cause of our rapid advancement, and was not caused by Mr. King's advent amongst us. Mr. King has not given one honest or logical reason: 1. Why the minority should be taxed foi the benefit of the majority? 2. Why, if carried. tho tax should fall onlj on the land, leaving tho buildings exempt? 3. Why the Devonport Ferry Company should lose the trade they have worked so hard to build up? Mr. King, by appealing to the selfishness of poor human nature, has undoubtedly scored, as I have heard of men who agree with him, and tho first movo of the party will likely be to elect a council favourable to the scheme; so that it behoves all fair-minded ratepayers to unite in preventing what I term barefaced robbery by electing men to tho council pledged to oppose municipal class legislation.—l am, etc., Auckland, March 23. A Farmer's Boy.