COUNTY FINANCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14357, 29 October 1908, Page 2

COUNTY FINANCE.

. o ———. POSITION OF WAIKOUAITT. At th? liieoling of the Waikouaiti County Council on TtK.-day Ihe cliaiinian (Cr A. S. Orhell) stimmariw'.l the. linancial pc.-ilion. Uo said ,ho would like to say a few words before they finally broke up for the yeatr. Afl far as ha knew tlwy were all roekingi re-o!eelion but Cr Duke, oim of lhe oldest and inos-t. valuable of the councillors, who had decided lo retire from tho. fray, lie would b'j sadly mit-sod at the table, a,ml his place would be .t'illicult to lill. With regard to lhe, finances of t.ho oottuly, it lnisht be looked on as a good opportunity for hint lo fay somelhing. In ISOo, when he wa 1 .; el«tl«l ehairntau, the North-Fast Wiley l\!<lii!g had a debit balance ot ffia, the liluctkiii tiiding was £713 to the tad, the Morton Riding £592 on lhe wrong indo , of the Ic.lger. and the Hawksbury Hiding showed a deliciency of £125—1 loval debit balance in the ridings' account of about £1680. At lhe present time the ridings' account siocd al:— Nort.ii-Kast Valey (debit) £34, likieskin (dsbil) £:?-9, Merlon (d'.,bit; £29, ami Hawksbury (crc.-ii;) £315, wliiehj meant a total debit balance of £78. Asi they would «o. this mcp.nt that from 190 i to 1903 the balances of Ihe various ridingit when added together had decreased by net less a sum ihan £1611, ar.d, he might, i.laito, by £2171 as compared with )0 years ago. This was a splendid statement to Is able to make. Two years a.go they .had agreed' that the southern ridinet; should be put en) an increased rate, and Notlh-K.isl. Valley, Jilueskin, and Morton, being raieoit froin 3d to Id, .bad at once started to .yoalwad. ■ An the overdraft nfeeroa-ed so, naiturally, <lid iho interest account.. For the year ended Seplcmbcr, 190 ft, they paid the bank ; £47 15s ."is interest, and for the present jc-al: they only paid £14 3s. Tho whole, history of Iho council new showed a bettor 1 position. He could say that, financially, '■ they were on» of the soundest ibtdScs in tlio Dominion. Tiiey hail no loan, they did 1 not owe anyone a. sixpence, attd 1 t.hev "had a, credit balance, of £400. He was euro to three year.? Imnc-o not a Tiding would bo in <icbt. Ho bad to thank tbom all for the; assistance they ha<l given him. He might' ' say, .however, that the council wnis Rj.rt.icubrly .indebtsd lo iia sia.ft', and .parlieularly Mctsrs Porleous and Kendall. Tht> chaannan coneludcd, after pw,-ending i.ho council wi;h a Jairgo framed photo of tho | present, members, by wishkg thctw prceont I lhe. l>est of luck a,ltd expre£»nng the hope, that all those v:bo intended io seek rc-cicctic-n would be found ait the table next, !110!!:!.!i. li!ii a few welkh«.en wordu Cr Dnko acknowledged I'ho kindly rciferenees mado to hinKclf. Their pc-:itic.n was m&st gratifying .Mid very ccic.ouras.ing, ar.d lie thought lh.it tho individual count,:'Jlers 4sfCTvod the gwitssfc crcdit for the oxcelleni work done under tlio leadership of tlnj ehainiKin. , O'' Fcote, after expressing bis approciat.icn of tlicir financial position, said tJiat amongst ether tilings it was due to cconoiny, increased valnat-ion, aital Isnt, but not leari, two years and ..a-iialf of 'exceptionally csry weather. T.be, ccflnsil .had tl'ono ils best to take, akh-a.nlago of 'ihose i.n-fluencc-3. Ho was inuiioa.~-ura.hlj- oarry to lom bis old friend and supporter, Cr Dnko, Cr Charlton cxnnssed his pleasure »t the pleasing state of ,f.he finance,! cf t.lic coirnty, and tendored n, hearty votD of thanks to the chairman, without whom they would have done little.