The Daily News TUESDAY, MARCH 24. HARBOR LOAN BILL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 80, 24 March 1908, Page 2

The Daily News TUESDAY, MARCH 24. HARBOR LOAN BILL.

l»;irviny. ]>erhapa. a couple of iustnii-'t's u hen- meetings of ratepayers cal'iied resolutions antagonistic to further rowing except for the purpose of paying oil' the expiring loan, practically the only exception taken to the terms ol the Man Bill has been with the nonprovision of a sinking fund. Uudoubtedlv feeling in the country districts strongly favored provision being made ill this direction, and the promoters o, the Kill promptly reconsidered their proposals with a view to meeting l.ie reouirement. While il was tearcd H the onUet that a sinking mid could oniv Ih' made possible in the Bill In th.. abandonment of it- "no-rate" vetomI iiK'iidatinn. careful investigation r<* I vealed that a safe margin existed foi the building-up of a substantial fund alter making all provision to meet interest payments, ami without railing on ■ the ratepayers to make good am delicieney. So coniident was Mr. M Jewell the champion of the country interests, that he did not hesitate to express his conviction that the surplus revenue from land fund meant tin; "EXTINCTION" OK Till? JX)AN. J'mt Mr Maxwell's sanguine anticipation is no figment of the imagination, a moment's consideration of the sinking fu!i'l proposal will show, lirielly, it is pro- , posed that surpluses, alter making pr«ivision for the annual loan charges, m I constitute a sinking fund.

The figures already placed before the ratepayers, and estimating revenue on the lowest possible ba~is, showed that even were the full amount authorised „ v the Bill raised in one year—and n will not likely lie raised under three years if even £250,000 of it is then required-there would only be a shortage of a little over £IOOO to be raised bv a deferential rate. In assessing the land fund revenue, however, one important factor was ovcrlooked-nnmely, that of the Crown land, from which the Hoard draws 25 per cent, on the annual rent?, no less than 210,078 acres are held under the 0.8.P. tenure Our readers are aware of the great demand the farmers have made for the freehold concession, and if the holders of O.KTin Turauaki convert into freehold at anything like the rate the recent freehold agitation would seem to indicate, it will be realised that the Boards income from land fund would go up phenomenally. As with the rents the ltoard is entitled to 25 per cent, of he proceeds of all sales of Crown lan - The transfer of any of the. L.I.P. -from which the Board now draws its quarter-share of the annual rentals or. •*>')(io3 aeres—into renewal leases wouid alw be a factor in increasing tic revenue from the Crown lands.

Another and most important facto-, and one that was elicited opportunely l,v Mr. Marx at llie Boards meeting .> Fridav. was the fact that there still remain considerably over half a milium aeroß of Crown land-, besi<W native lands, in the Taranaki province to I* disposed of by the land Hoard. W I. a proportion of this coming un lu settlement year by year, the revenue from land fund, which cannot go down below its present level must be a steadilv increasing quantity. Lndei t •• new provisions now emliodicd 111 lit Hill, principle sums received from the. «-ile of Crown lands are to be set aside for sinking fund, together with other surpluses. In order., however, that ue ordinarv land fund revenue ttbOO o. which is estimated to 1* applied vearh to the pavment of interest, may u'»t decrease owing to the conversion ui portion of the Crown lands into treeliold, it is provided that the principle sums so received from these sales slia continue to pay interest to the Una id as hitherto.

It shouhl be perfectly clear, we think, that from these magnificent Crown land endowments—for sudi they really aicthe harbor is to eventually derive a revenue far greater than any of t.ie opponents of the Bill have pau-ed lo consider. Equally must the town endowments of the Hoard— some of the most valuable business areas in til" town—prove a very much bigger source of revenue than ever heretofore. .Many of these leases are expiring almost immediately, and others at various times within the next five years it he improvements on which become the pio. perty of the Board). lit.'-.' valuable sites, let at a time when laud values wei'e as nothing compared with tlu 1 values to-day, will assuredly, when resubmitted, bring to the Hoard a revenue from this source that could scarciy have been dreamed ot a tew years ago. Altogether there is not the remotest shadow of doubt that within a very short time the Hoards town emblements would materiallv assist in strengthening the sinking fund proposed in the Bill.

The point of the whole proposal, and i one that the country ratpaycrs are not likely to lose -ight 'of, is that not only does the Hoard propose to pay all tiecharges on the propound loan without recourse to a, rate, but to provide for the sinking fund asked for by the country districts, as well. Until the full merit of the proposal has been fully appreciated by the ratepayers —many o! whom have not yet realised that the promises are other than illusory and , too good to be true—reports of the opposition to the Bill may lie for a time e\pec led. We have no doubt, however, that rrhen the Bill is thoroughly understood, when the country districts realise tlwt the drain on their resource-, against which they have protested for years, is to be absolutely removed; when, in short, their pockets, even under the differential rating proposal, are not to be called upon to contribute one penny towards the harbor loan, their verdict will lie almost unanimous in favor of freedom from rates and the new Bill. The matter, viewed as a : business proposition, and quite irrespective of the benefits that must accrue to every farmer and business man from a better harbor, cannot fail to receive support. It only remains now that the Bill may be presented to Parliament with the fairest and fullest explanation, by the members for the district, backed by the able advice of the Board, and we have little doubt that it will emerge from the House with its equitable provisions unimpaired.