LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIII, Issue 6, 4 May 1912, Page 5

LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

DISCUSSED BY THE STRATFORD cuuMi uUUNLIL. Tno members of tne Stratford County Council met this morning to ■lei: aerate upon tne Local Governuiem io.ii. inerc were present:!ho Ciuurniaii (Cr. Haulaway), Councillors 1. R. Anderson,- b. bantu, d. Tnomson. o. .loaug, VV. Rogers, J. -Cliristolfel, and E. iv alters. ine Cmunnan said he was right against tne mill but lie did not know mart omer oodles tnougnt of it. it oenoved them to be prepared tc uglit against certain clauses, should nicy not have tne opportunity or Ue leatmg tne bill in ioto.

Uouncdtor bimt.i moved ‘‘that thi; Council views with alarm any sj'stem in Hie alteration ol local government tuai lias ior its object more centralisation in Die estaulishment ol prov.ncial councils, in speaking to tin motion, Councillor brauii saiu one 01 tnc great crying evils or the Old Lana in trie past nail been the fact of tin country ucmg governed by tno ciiosei. fs'.v, who Have legislated ior tiieir own particular class instead ci the great ■ ootly of Hie people. It would indeed bt a great pity if m the new land wc should unwittingly, fall into the same grievous error, ‘therefore, die • submit-' ted the proposed Local Government Bill in its present form ought to be resisted to md uttermost, inasmuch at it was one dfntjiose ill-conceived ano unworkable measures that ought never to have been drafted containing as it did over foui!/hundred claudhs, making it complex, too experimental in its nature, and too centralising, instead o. giving cue people greater powers ci •■mli-government, witn more ussurea linuuccsi -'inis Bill'proposed to restrict these powers, wnicn was a stej in me wrong direction. The rate o. county subsidy in the Bill was lixed at 20s down to 2trt»ti in the £, based on a sliding scalej and was therefore made to depend uj&lJi iho valuatibißof tin average mile of territory, which wai vague and i/dblea'ding. He believed, further, that the existing Couut\ Councils were 'quite competent' to actminister the upkeep of main roach without materially increasing the cos; of supervision, provided they were given a fair measure of support from the Consolidated Be venue to meet the ever increasing demands of traffic on arterial roads. He protested again si the abolition of Education Boards-; Hospital Boards, and Harbour Boards, 'these bodies had done good, and, excellent service to this country in tin past, .so much so that the energy, patience and perseverance of these men would bear comparison with any both of men in any part of the world. The motion, after some discussion, was withdrawn. Councillor Walter said he would not roundly condemn the Bill. Ther. were a good many things that could be managed well by a Provincial Council. Things which affected two dis trict-s could be managed batter by a Provincial Council. For the control of hospitals, harbours, and schools, Jk considered that a Provincial Council was the. right thing. But he objected to certain points in that Provincial Council’s constitution. He wai in favour of allowing the chairman tr hold office as long as he had a majority on the Council. More, he must 1 give his whole time to his work, foi j ‘0 man could keep in touch with such a variety of matters without doing so. Another point was the rating powers of the Provincial Council. The County Council at present kept the roads in fair order, and they did not get to the limit of tbo'r rating powers. The Provincial Council would have double their present rating power. They could rate up to. a shilling in the pound or the unimproved value. “I toll yon this,” said Councillor Walter, “there is enough power in that Bill to ruin half the men in Taranaki.” The speaker continued that under the proposed system of electing representatives on the Provincial Council the ratepayers would in many districts be out-num-bered by those who had votes but had no rates to pay. Men might bo elected who would spend money freely and would raise loans entailing rates up to the limit of,a shilling in the £. -Councillor Mnrfell also pointed out objectionable features, and said it was a “sweeping measure.” He moved that the Council was opposed to setting up a Provincial Council in the place of Hospital Boards, Harbour Boards, andEducation Boards. In speaking, to the motion Councillor Aim foil said the trend of legislation should be to upbuild—to give the present local bodies greater powers. The motion was carried. The Council then set to work, and went through the Act clause by clause. By the luncheon adjournment they had got to Clause f)0, and had placed objections against nine of the principal clauses. There are. it might be stated, four hundred clauses in the Bill.