ABOLITION OF THE TOLLGATE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 951, 23 May 1890, Page 29

ABOLITION OF THE TOLLGATE.

53 ANCHOR OUTCOME. A largely attended meeting of ratepayers was held at the Oddfellows" Rail; power Hutt, last night for purpose of con-, sidering the advisableness of having the Httfct town district and- adjacent districts eonstituted a bor.ough, Mr G. S. Scales, who was voted- to the chair, brief);/ explained the object of the rnepth’g.. Mr W. A. Fitaherbert said that they were all aware that in consequence of the abolition of the tollgatß the County Council had found it necessary to rate the whole district at the rate of a halfpenny in the £. I he local bodies in tfce county levied rates to the same extent, so that now the amount

of their rates would be Id in the £. Up till the present the revenue of the county , had been derived from the proceeds at the toligate. This tollgr.te was established in 1565, and the amount of tolls colle'cted since then was £55,000, half of which, he sln-u'd say, had been contributed by the settlers in the Hutt Valley. He pointed out that ac. cording to the Municipal Corporations Act in forming a borough, they would bave to take in nine square miles. At prepent tha local Board only took in about five mile-. The amount which the local Board derived from rates was £320, which was 4d in the £. Out of that they had to pay eharitabla aid rate, which was £l3O last j'ear, but was only £75 this year. There were, of course, other sources of revenue—such, for iustauce, as the hotels, dog tax, and other sir.cll matters. If the borough was constituted its would, be necessary to take over about miles of the main road, and if they tocic in about nine square miles of tliedistricfc, the amount of the rates, say at fd in the £, would be £930. The Government subsidy, say 5s in the £, £232 10s ; dog tax, £3O ; slaughterhouse fees, £5; hawkers’ license!-., £10; hotels, £l2O, making the total amount of their probable income £1327 10s. Tim expenditure would be : —Three miles and a quarter main road, at £4O per mile, £l4O ; 17 bye roads and streets, at £25 per mile, £510; repairs Butt bridge, £80; culverts and small bridges, £IOO ; footpaths, £SO ; charitable aid, £120; office expenditure, collection of rates, &c., £IOO ; sundries, £25 ; total £1125, leaving a balance of £202 10s. The county was going to put on another in the £, which would amount to £3lO, which they proposed to expend in districts outside the Hutt. He considered that a rate of in the £ was more than sufficient for the maintenance of the main road. He then moved, “That this meeting is of opinion that the time has arrived when itia desirable to form the Hutt Town Board and certain portions of the adjoining wards of the Wellington District Highway Board into a borough.” Mr Kilminster seconded the motion. Mr Everest protested against the formation, and moved an amendment to the effect that the Hutc Town District High* way Board, and County Council should ba amalgamated. Mr Brown (chairman of the Hutt County Council) said he would object to the forma, tion of the borough, and he would get up a petition against it. He contended that tho formation of this borough was simply au attempt to rob the Council of its revenue. They must understand that the rate, Jd iu. the £, was a small amount to maintain thu roads iu the county. They were taking in as much of the valuable part of the districts so as to deprive the Council of the best part of its revenue. Hu would like to know who was going to maintain the road between Pitono and Ngauranga. The Hutt people would have nothing to do with it, and the Council would have no funds to do it, because tho Hutt people were taking them away. If the borough were formed it simply meant taking; the money of the country people to maintain the road for the benefit of the Hutt people. There was too much localism. It would bo the curse of the country. Between tho Hutt! and Wellington there were no fewer than nina local bodies. He was sure the time would come when the settlers would curse tho Government for allowing so many lucaS bodies to be formed. He thought a lawshould be framed by which all these borougb-i should contribute toward the county, and the county could then take the whole of the roads, After further discussion, Mr Everest’s amendment was withdrawn. Mr Dimant then moved, as an amendment, that, in the opinion of this meeting, the time has not arrived when the Hutt should be constituted a borough. A show a? hands resulted as follows For the amendment, 17 ; against, 22. The original motion was then put, and carried on a show of hands by 21 to 18. was depided that a committee consisting of the members of the Hutc Town Board, and Nos. 3 and 5 wards of the Highway Board, should be a com. mittee to. carry out the resolution and prepare plans of the proposed borough, and, also a petition for presentation to. the Government, and submit the same to a meeting of ratepayers to be held at an early date. A vote of thanks to the Chairman ter* minated the meeting.