The Merging Question.

Opunake Times, Volume I, Issue 45, 4 December 1894, Page 3

The Merging Question.

At the Couhly Council meeting on Wednesday, this question again occupied attention. All the members were present except Councillor Winks, who had an engagement at New Plymouth Show.

Mr A. Proudlock wrote, forwarding petitions against merging, the signatures to which in the aggregate numbered 209, and setting out that as the total number of ratepayers in Waimate was 890, the petitions represented an absolute majority against merging. Councillor Quin said it simply meant that you could get men to sign any petition. Cr Hemmingway held that the Council should look for in the counter petition the names of those ratepayers who had opposed merging, or who had been neutral when the original petition was signed, but the bulk of the names in this counter petition were the same as those which were attached to the original petition in favour of merging, and he urged that the Council should not take notice of these, but simply of those who did not appear on the first petition. He must, however, congratulate the counter petitioners on the fact that they no longer persisted in saying (hat there were misrepresentatins. That was not alleged in the present pet-tiou. But while that was satisfactory to him, he must point out that the Council was now given no reason why names should be removed from the original petition. Then the question was: Had the circumstances changed since the petition for merging was presented ? He submitted that they had not; and if not, he did not see why the Council should not treat the original petition as good and effectual. All the expense had been gone to, and all the trouble had been taken, and they should proceed. He believed that really a majority of the ratepayers were in favor of mergidg, and he knew that some who had signed the previous counter petition had stated to him that they were in favor of having their names withdrawn from it. He thought the Council should let ratepayers understand that there was as much responsibility in attaching their names to a petition as to a bond, and that once they signed their names to" a petition they would be kept to it unless some very good reason to the contrary was shown. He would move that the special order as to merging be confirmed. Cr MeEae seconded.

The Chairman moved, as nn amendment, that the counter petition be received, and that the prayer of the petitioners be granted. It was no doubt unfortunate that they had a petition on each side, and that each was signed by a majority of the ratepayers, but if they looked into the circumstances the peculiarity of the thing would disappear. The petition in favor of merging was signed at the time the Waimate Road District was larger than it is now, before the Mangatoki and Okaiawa Hidings were cat off. Or Mcßae : But there are no signatures from east of the Inaha. The Chairman continued: Though it was not properly presented until after those ridings were cut off, and therefore though it purported to come from Waimate, as at present constituted, they knew it really did not. It was, he held, unfair to set a petition like that against a petition such as was now sent in from the Waimate district as it now existed. As to no reasons being given, sufficient were given at the last meeting to satisfy anyone that there had been misrepresentation, because the people were led to believe that each riding must have its revenue spent within its own boundaries, whereas the law did not absolutely provide that. The old petition, too, contained a great many irregularities, and from what ho had heard he was sure it could not stand in any court of justice. He personally opposed merging, because he had always supported road management by Road Boards, but really he cared very little so long as the roads were under one control, and being on the Main South Road, he would probably come off better under the county management, which, however might not be the caso with persons living on'district roads. But he opposed this special order now, not so much on account of his own views as from the fact that he knew Hie majority of the ratepayers in Waimate were against merging, and to force county management on them would be unjust. In the face of this fact, it would be childish for the Council to say that it would pay no attention to the counter petition, but would go on to confirm the special order. No doubt the original petition was signed under a misapprehension.

Cr Quin : They sign anything up there. .Will they sign us a few blank cheques ? Cr Stevenson seconded the amendment. There was not the slightest doubfe that the special order could be upset if made.

Or Stewart considered that a petition such as they had received that day should be treated w\th respect as an expression of public will.

Cr McLean did not wifla to dictate to \%imate whether it should merge or not, but all this talk about misrepresentation by Cr Hemmingway did not weigh with him in the least. Whatever might be said upon the legal and technical reading pf the Act, it was very well known that no body of councillors would take rates from one riding and spend them on another. It would be a robbery that no Council would be guilty of,' and all this talk was so much rubbish.

The Chairman said that much of the feeling against the county was due to the fact that Waimate, owing to the dual system, for which the Council was blamed, had, what with unnecessary cost of management and loss of subsidy, suffered to the extent of about £4OO a year for the last eight years. Waimate was in consequence very sensitive as to what the Council had power to do. They signed the petition on

the understanding that the Council had not power to spend money outside the riding in which it was raised. They were misled—unintentionally misled—

hy Cr Hemmingway on this point, and also on the subject ol the relative cost of Eoad Board and county administration. Cr Hemmingway had said the cost of the board administration was

15 per cent, as against the county 9 per cent. He learned from the clerk of the Eoad Board that one financial period showed a cost of 12 or 12A per cent., while another period cost 9 per cent. Of course only a farthing rate was levied, as against three farthings by the county ; and if a three-larlhing rate had been levied by the Eoad Board

its percentage would probably have been below that of the county. Still he had always said that the cost of administration must be less in the county, because it had a larger district, and he doubted whether the cost of the county administration was as high as Cr Hemmingway had said. Cr Hemmingway said his statement had reference to an average peiiod, and taking a period of, say, five years, he was prepared to abide by it. A gentleman well acquainted with Eoad Board work had assured him that the percentage was as stated, and his examination of the Eoad Board accounts confirmed it. Cr Quin asked what would be done if the special order were not confirmed. The Chairman suggested that all roads should be declared district roads or handed over to the Eoad Board. Cr Quin thought the Council was not prepared to do that. The Chairman said it was done by counties in many parts of New Zealand. Cr Scott saw no reason to change the opinion ho had already expressed, and, believing that merging would be a good thing for Waimate, would vote for it. The various petitions they had received showed (hat the people at the other end were somewhat whimsical, and the Council should do what they thought was best. The Chairman said that after the reasons which had been given it was not fair to describe the petition of 209 people as whimsical. On a division, there voted for the amendment—The chairman and Crs Stewart and Stevenson. For the motion —Crs Scott, Hemmingway, Quin, MeEae, and McLean. Amendment lost. The Chairman then moved, as a further amendment, That the motion be postponed till after the election of the Waimate Councillors, which would have to take place next month. ■ After a short debate this was put and the Chairman, Crs Stewart, McLean, and Stevenson voted for it, and Crs Scott, Hemmingway, Quin, and MeEae against. The Chairman gave his casting vote with the ayes, and the matter was consequently adjourned.—Star.