The Timaru Herald. FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 18G6.

Timaru Herald, Volume IV, Issue 102, 27 April 1866, Page 2

The Timaru Herald. FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 18G6.

The correspondence we publish to-day between the Waimate and Levels Road Boards and the Secretary of Public Works, shows more distinctly than ever the attitude of the Government towards the outlying' district Road Boards. The curt, short, and studied coolness of the answers from the Government, clearly indicate the utter hopelessness of the Road Boards obtaining 1 , at least for the present, bare justice. The money grants voted by the Council are refused, and, adding- insult to injury, when the Boards naturally hesi-i tate to impose a tax, relying* on such/ grants, they are informed that " the Go-f vernment will be disposed to treat the claims of those districts which have taxea themselves m a more liberal spirit than those districts which decline to do so." if the Government had fulfilled their part qf the contract, this answer then might bfe given, but when Government have so ncf-

toriously acted m such bad faith it is manifestly unjust that the Road Boards being refused their just dues should be told to tax the ratepayers, and if not, they would not be liberally dealt with. \ The correspondence speaks for itself. A strong; solvent Government would have no need of making" such shifty and evasive answers, only to be expected from a weak and vacillating one. We have before^ pointed out how our lands and our revenues are being* gradually absorbed for purposes entirely foreign to the ngeds and requirements of this district. This abr sorption, m conjunction with the Government steadily witholding" the money grants to the Road Boards, call for strong; and immediate action on the part of the residents of the district. This action we are inclined to think should take the form of a public meeting", at which representations from all parts of this wide spread district ought to be present. Every portion of the district has equally suffered, and every ratepayer has personalty a stronginterest m such an important matter as the taxation of his respective district. A meeting' well attended would m all probability eliminate something" further as regards the proposed county, but we trust that not only this would be done, but that such a strong* expression of opinion would be evoked as would act beneficially on the discussions which of necessity must arise m the coming" session of the Council with regard to the claims of outlying* districts.