Ratepayers’ Meeting at Awatuna.

Opunake Times, Volume I, Issue 18, 31 August 1894, Page 2

Ratepayers’ Meeting at Awatuna.

MERGING. A meeting of ratepayers was held in the Awatuna Hall on Wednesday, to consider local government matters. Mr E. Henson occupied the chair, and stated that the meeting was to consider the question of merging. Mr G. Watson said he saw an advertisement about merging, but there was no name to it, and he would like to know who advertised it. Mr Hemmingway said that to a notice of the kind it was not usual to append a name. The notice comes from the ratepayers, and one individual would not be justified in putting his name. The advertisement was the outcome of the petition. Ho would explain ho’w the petition was so long in being presented. The time the petition was got up it was well understood that the eastern part of Waimate would be merged, and that it would be done before this petition was circulated, but owing to a technical blunder it had not been gazetted, which caused delay, the result of red tapeism. It took them a couple of years to get it done. Mr Proudlock said that usually such notices had a tail to them, and, as it was, some people thought it was only a canard, which made a number of ratepayers take little or no interest in it. He was of opinion that the chairman of the County should have signed it. He would ask Mr Hemmingway, as a mover in the matter, to enlighten the meeting as to what benefits would be derived from merging. He was informed that when merged the Council would have power to strike the Road Board rate as well as the county rate, and could spend it where they thought fit. Last year £SOO had been taken from this part, and he could not say how much the year before. According to section 55 of the Counties Act, they could limit the power of the Council with respect to the -|d district rate, and he would not be in favour of giving the Council power to raise six farthings to be spent where they thought fit. There were rumours that the open country intended raising a loan to help themselves, and he thought it was about time they did something of the sort.

Mr Hemmingway, in reply, said that he would read them the article on the matter from the Opunaxe Times, which set the question out clearly for them, and it was backed up by Mr Roy’s opinion. From this it would be seen that if they merged unconditionally the Council had the power to strike the full six farthings rate without any condition as to where it should be spent. With regard to the drafting of the petition in favour of merging, it was a matter that required great knowledge, as these local body Acts were very hard to construe, and he could now see that it should have been done by a lawyer, which would mean expense, and as he and a few others had to bear all the expense in connection with it, they did not feel inclined to incur it. Looked at generally, he thought it was assuming human nature to be worse than it really is, to think that* any body of men would act unfairly in the expenditure of rates. He would admit that it was a mistake not having the stipulation in the petition compelling the expenditure of the district rate within the district where raised, but he thought the difficulty might be got over by the Council passing a special order declaring that the fd rate would be spent on district roads, and thereby amend the petition. Unless this could be done, as he was a settler on a district road, he would do his best to stop the merging. As to the advantage to be gained by merging he repeated his previous arguments, which went to show that the Council was the more economically managed. Hoad Boards in the early days may have done good work, although he could not say that that applied to the Waimate Hoad Board and as an instance of their mismanagement, he referred to a transaction where several hundreds of pounds had been taken from the Auroa Road and spent on the Manaia Road, which, he contended, was altogether illegal. Mr Henson pointed out that this was done by the Council, as the Road Board was only acting as its agent in the expenditure of the money. Mr Brennan said he understood that most of those in favor of merging were under the impression that if the district were merged and divided into ridings, that the money raised in each riding had to be expended therein. He read section 145 of the Counties Act, which is as follows: “In counties where this Act is not suspended, the Council shall, in each year, apportion the gross estimated income of the County from all sources in the manner following, that is to say—(l) In payment, in the first instance, of the general debts and liabilities of the county as a whole, which are not included in the special appropriations hereinafter mentioned, and of the general expenses incident to the administration of the Act; (2) In payment of contributions required to be made out of the County Fund by virtue of any Act of the General Assembly : (8) In payment of the cost of conducting and maintaining all main roads and County roads within the County, and of all bridges on such roads respectively and of ferries, as well as of constructing, maintaining, or contributing to construct or maintain such brid es, exceeding 30 feet span, on district roads within the County, as the Council shall think should be so constructed or maintained ; (4) The remainder of such annual income shall, subject to the provisions of the next following section, be apportioned among the ridings in the County in proportion to the amount of general rates and goldfields revenue received from such ridings respectively in such year.” From that it would seem that there was nothing binding pn the Council to expend all

moneys derived from individual ridings in them, and he was of opinion that it would be advisable to have the stipulation in, that the district rate should be raised and spent in the district. Mr G. Watson said he was fully under the impression that the money must be spent in the riding where it was raised when the petition for merging was round, and appealed to Mr Hemmingway if that was not the general impression. _ Mr Hemmingway said at that time he had not the Counties Act by him and believed, in answer to an enquiry, he had stated that the money raised in a riding would have to-be spent in such riding, but now he saw from the Act that this was not the case. He admitted that if this impression had not existed nobody would have signed the petition for merging. A general discussion then ensued which resulted in Mr Hemmingway promising to confer with the Chairman and the other members, and may be a solicitor, as to whether the provision for conserving the district rate can be made by the Council, and if it cannot then he would do his utmost to prevent merging under the present proposed conditions. On this understanding being given the matter was left in his hands. W AIM ATE SUBDIVISION. This matter was then referred to by Mr Hemmingway, who hoped that none of the settlers had signed the petition at present before the ratepayers for subdividing the road district, which, if done, would also form the boundary for the ridings that would afterwards be formed in Waimate. He was of opinion that the present district of Waimate should be divided tnto three ridings, instead of two, as proposed. An informal discussion took place on this subject, from which it appeared that the meeting was altogether opposed to the present proposed boundaries, and it was resolved to oppose the petition in that behalf. PUNEHU AND MANGAWHERO BRIDGES. Mr Brennan suggested that_ the amount required to build these bridges might be transferred from the Waimate Land Fund Account, which was, he understood, £IOOO in credit, and then be paid back when the general rates come in. This would enable the interest on the Eltham Road loan to be paid as usual, without striking the special rate which would be a great hardship. Mr Hemmingway thought that this suggestion would prove workable, and he would move in this direction in the Council. Mr Henson read a letter from Mr Forsyth, in which he stated that the £SOO which he estimated had been drawn from* the bush, when returned, would, he thought, be found to belong principally to the Opunake-Stratford road and others, but that he did not think that much of it would be found to belong to the Eltham Road. He stated that they could take the land fund belonging to the Eltham Road loan area, which was in credit about £3OO, for bridge building in accordance with the petition, but this would necessitate the striking of the special rate for interest. This matter was left to be dealt with by the Council, as suggested, viz., to borrow from the general land fund of the district, and re-pay out of rates. A hearty vote of thanks to the chair terminated the meeting.