The Waipawa Mail. Published Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Saturdays. Tuesday, December 7, 1886.

Waipawa Mail, Volume X, Issue 1019, 7 December 1886, Page 2

The Waipawa Mail. Published Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Saturdays. Tuesday, December 7, 1886.

The poll to decide whether the Waipawa County Council shall borrow £ 12,000, under the ncw| Act, will bo taken Saturday next, and wc have a few very important statements to make regarding it. Indeed, wo wish that it might be possible for every ratepayer in the County to consider the few brief remarks which fol'ow. Some people have tried to throw cold water upon the proposals by' saying that all the money applied for may not be granted. Let them give us their kind attention for one moment :—Mr W. C. Smith, M.11.R., wrote to Sir Julius Vogel informing him that this point had been ruised, and the Colonial Treasurer replied yesterday morning as follows : To W. C. Smith, Esq., M.H.It.

Thanks for your note ; the danger yoi apprehend has not arisen, the total applic.a tions being just within the limit. —JuLlui Vogel.

The Colonial Treasurer was therefore right in predicting that the £200,000 set apart by Government would barely bo applied for this year. And the ratepayers in the Waipawa County will go to the poll with the knowledge that if the loan is adopted, the whole of the twelve thousand pouuds will be granted. Still another step has to be reported, which is that the Council has received official notice from the Treasury to the effect that the application to borrow .£12,000 was received* by the specified date and is therefore formal. Now, surely all the rest is plain sailing ! Tho Act distinctly provides that the sinking fund and interest aro both included in tho annual payment of five per cent for 20 years. The Government takes the onus of raising tho money, and the localities arc responsible to tho Government for the payment of the rate. If tho present opportunity is not embraced, it will be very unlikely that a loan can ever be raised in the future. On January Ist next, the new Acts come into operation, and the vole of every absentee will count against the loan. We never sympathise with the man who draws capital systematically away from the colony, but it would bo,doubly outrageous

on the part of the absentees if they could prevent the country from progressing and meeting the pressing wants of rapidly increasing settlement. Wo want to encourage settlement not prevent it. So now is the time to carry the loan, other wise it must be cast aside for ever. Those who have said that the allotment is not a fair one have failed to establish their case, and even if they had proved their assertion we reply that by borrowing, the Council will bo in a position to assist every single district , and not only those which are scheduled in tho list.

Wo feel that the majority of ratepayers will come forward cheerfully and in a determined manner to support the County Council in its action to push the district ahead. The cry for better roads comes continually from all sides, but particularly from the bush ; and yet there is no money, and a glance at the Council’s balance - sheet will satisfy the render that there will be no money for a long time to come, unless it is raised under the new Act, —or drops from the clouds ! If the loan proposals aro rejected, the only hope of half the residents in the County will be dashed to the ground ; land will not rise in value ; produce cannot be taken to market ; the railway might as well be running in Timbuctoo for all the use it will be ; and settlement will be harassed and come to a stand still. Roads ! Roads ! Roads ! We must have them, and bridges too. Is it likely that so good a chance is going to be thrown away ? Are wo deliberately going to refuse to take up cheap money when we want it so urgently ? No ! It is not likely ; and we believe tlie ratepayers will not refuse so good a chance. But they must help themselves No one else will do (he work for them. They may bo sure that all the ojgnments to the loan will record their veto. And if tho splendid sum of £12,000 is to be secured for the district, and spent in it let each one who has a vote exercise it. Let each ratepayer who is favorable to the loan proposals make a point of being at his post on Saturday ; and let him plump plainly and emphatically in favor of the loan being raised.

The balance sheet of the Waipawa County Couucil is published to-day. Il deals with the expenditure of (hat body during the six mouths ending September 30tli of this year. There are one or two special points of interest which may be referred to. One is that £ll worth of rates which were duo for the years 1883-4 and 1884-5, has Leeu collected l>y Mr Tuely, wl:o deserves especial credit, for the Council had no legal power to enforce the claims. Then, the 70-Mile Bush road has been liberally treated, the expenditure upon it exceeding tho receipts by «>ver £2OO. The account is thus overdrawn. The Government will probably be giving a bonus shortly, but it is not likely to equal the overdraft. The receipts shewn on account of publicans’ licenses, dog taxes, &c., are not a fair basis upon which the year’s receipts may be calculated, as tho income during the past six months includes payments which will not bo repeated in the six months that ensue. It may be said that tho impounding fees are nil, for the small item under this count is in payment of an old debt which accrued during several years, in one district. However, even if the Council does not reap a large revenue, it docs not lose over tho pounds, and the public are gainers. The expenditure column shews that £SO has been spent in the construction of new roads, and £1,(500 18s, on existing roads, in contracts, and £70(5 3s lid on the 70Mile Bush road. The item £232 lGs Bd, is ilso on account of road making, as is that of £l3O 4s, for expenditure bv the Road Boards. This makes a total effectual expenditure of £2,810 2s 7d on roads in the county, which is a very fair result for six month’s working. Tho Hospital and Charitable Aid expenditure comes to £214 18s 4d, representing £IOO subsidy to the Hospital, and two quarterly payments to the United District Charitable Aid Board of £57 0s 2d each. . By this means, charity is distributed throughout the district. Although one half of its territory was taken from it, the Waipawa County has still an important duty to perform, and we arc bound to think that it is fulfilling it in a satisfactory manner. The office expenses are not excessive, and so far as can be judged from the published statement, a very largo proportion of the income raised by rates is applied directly to the improvement of existing roads or the construction of new ones. It must be added that when the Joan of £12,00J is taken up, the very heavy and constant pressure upon the Council’s funds will be largely diminished, indeed it will almost entirely cease. Tho income from rates will, however, still continue to pour in, and thus the bank overdraft will be rapidly paid off. This will be a direct gain, as a heavy rate of interest is being paid for the accommodation, far and away heavier, in proportion, than that which will be due on tho £12,000, to bo borrowed from tho Government. It is not unreasonable to look, therefore, for a still more satisfactory statement when the loan money has been expended and has had time to operate in the favorable manner which we have indicated.