BILLS BEFORE PARLIAMENT.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1818, 5 August 1891, Page 3

BILLS BEFORE PARLIAMENT.

COUNTIES AMENDMENT ACT.

This Bill, which has been introduced by the Hon. Mr Cadman, authorises the council of any county to provide the necessary plant and labour to maintain an efficient fire brigade for the purpose of extinguishing fires, the expense to be met .out of the general account of the

county 'fund. The whole control of the fire brigade, with the appointment of fh'e inspectors, etc., is to be in the hands of the council. Councils will be erapowered to compel the removal of any obstructions caused by watercourse, si ream, or river, which are likely to cause damage to property ; and the owner or occupier refusing or neglecting to do so is liable to a penalty not exceeding £5 for every day during which the order is not obeyedj and a further sum equal to the cost incurred by the council in removing such obstruction. In regard to the readjustment of repi'esentation by county councils, it is laid down that some day in March preceding the expiration .of the term of office of the councillors, the council shall hold a meeting for the purpose of readjusting the representation of the different ridings, and shall alter the I'epresentation in such a manner as they shall consider fair. The Bill provides that in future county electors are to have only one vote, no matter what the value of their rateable property may be. In a case where there is more than one person appearing on the valuationroll as an occupier of any one property, the person whose name appears first on the roll shall be entitled to vote in respect of such property. Councils may levy general rates in the county, and separate rates differentially in ridings ; but rates made for any one year in any road district or town district within the county must not be greater than one-half of the rate made in the remainder of the county, and the latter shall not exceed six farthings in the pound. Subsidies are to be payable upon the separate rates as well as the general rates collected within the county. Separate accounts for each riding are also to be kept, and each separate rate collected in a riding, and all subsidies received on these separate rates must be carried to a seperate account in the ridings account, and shall be charged for the same work as the separate account was raised for. Before a resolution for a special loan can be put into operation, the number of voDes given for the proposal within the several ridings taken together must not be less than three times the number of votes given against the proposal for a special loan can be deemed, to be carried.