SUVA PROTEST.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20273, 6 April 1934, Page 7

SUVA PROTEST.

Handing Over Control to Governor. WELL MANAGED TOWN. (Special to the " St-*r**) SUVA. March 29. To-day the Legislative council carr;ej a motion handing over the successfully, managed Suva municipality to Govern, meut control. The Governor, 6ufe of his unofficial majority, requested the official members not to vote, with th j result that, the motion, moved by Sii Maynard Hedstrom, and seconded by Sii Henry Scott, was carried by 7 to 4, tlio minority consisting of the two Indian members and Mr. A. Barker and Major Willoughby-Tottenham. As the Council discussed the proposal, a petition was being eagerly signed by hundreds of citizens pretesting «gainst their being deprived of citizen control by a Government-appointed council, upon which the 400 odd white ratepayers will be represented by one representative, while the Fijians (who have no property in the town) will have equal representation, and one Indian will represent over 100 Indian ratepayers. The European ratepayers want conditions to remain as they are, and they assert that no town is more efficiently managed than Suva. With less than 500 ratepayers, the town -revenue for 1933 was £43.131, being some £2OO above the revenue for 1932. The loan account is £96,300, showing a reduction af no less than £4900 during 1933. The electricity account shows a profit of £4141, which added to balance carried forward left a total of £9OOI, out of which £l7Ol went to redeem debentures, while £4367 was spent in buying an additional power unit, leaving a balance of £2944. Since 1925 the loan liability has been reduced from £55,500 to £40,800 this year. The electricity income has risen from £11,447 in 1925 to £16,161, and this in a v6ry limited community. The lighting rate has been reduced from 9d per unit in 1931-32 tn 7}d this year. The general rates have also been very substantially reduced. Is it any.wonder that the ratepayer*! view with alarm the proposal to hand over this valuable property to an official council, which means to the sole control of one man, the Governor for tin time being? The ratepayers’ petition will be sent Home to the Secretary oi State. The ostensible motive of the change fn control is the fear that the Government otherwise will be compelled tc grant a common franchise.