The Wanganui Chronicle. "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1904. TODAY'S LOAN POLL.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLVIII, Issue 12366, 5 December 1904, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1904. TODAY'S LOAN POLL.

Extract from- the Mayor's Published Appeal to the Ratepayers : —•

"As I have already stated, no material (if any) increase on the rates will be 'required if the proposal is carried. On the other hand, if it is not carried, one of two things must result. The proposed work cannot be done out of present revenue, and must remain undone, or a large increase in rates will be necessary to do the work."

Thus, at the last moment before the poll, does the Mayor strip off the covering and -reveal to the ratepayers the true inwardness of the roseate picture he has been at such trouble to paint. ■ Yet he and bis supporters, with the "Herald" as their mouthpiece, have presumed to stigmatise as pessimists those who have counselled prudence and predicted the happening of what the Maiyor now admits .to he inevitable. In its last issue, in its final appeal to the ratepayers to swallow the Mayoral pill and vote blindly for more Iborrowing and a bigger debt, the "Herald" unwittingly confirms the Mayor's .concession. Our contemporary says:—

"A section of the ratepayers opposed to' the loan proposals contend that if ■they are parried the rates must increase materially. These same .pessimists argued on the same lines six years ago, when the £16,000 loan was authorised." Precisely so. "These siame pessimists" argued .that when we had exhausted the borrowed money we,should have to "pay the piper," and that we shouldn't be able to do it without raising the rates. Well, we have exhausted that loan money and £70,000 more on top of it, and now the Mayor tells its that unless the burgesses are 'prepared to sanction another' plunge into the <coffers of the money-lenders one of two things is inevitable—either important and necessary work will have to remain undone, or the rates will (have !£oT -be seriously increased ! Could more positive proof of the wisdom of the "pessimists" and the correctness of their predictions be desired than.this? And "these same pessimists/ with increagmig emphasis, counsel .prudence, and advise the ratepayers to refuse to 'Siainoiion further-borrowing for Borough work ifntil -Shey" have been allowed time to esTSfirrate the true proportions of the iburden which will fall upon them when the interest charges on the £70,000 loan become payable a few months hence. A correspondent whose letter appeal's in another column fairly gauges the position when he says thait in addition to (the 2s 2d rate now existing there is a penoing liability of over £4000 interest <and sinking fund not provided for, and tha^'ori tlie present valuation this means"ia'~ls Id addition to the present rate, making it 3s 3d. "This," adds our .correspondent, "is the fact which 'botlj tih<e .Mayor and the exMayor are so an3Ssu§ to hide from the ratepayei-s. For tJVe past--few years they have preached the doctrine that large loans mean small rates, out they are now face to face with facts which prove them false preachers, and they want another £11,000 to hide this ugly fact." Our correspondent, we 'believe, touches the spot. He has discovered the Bburoe from which springs the enthusiasm;that,;is;,behind the present loan proposals/'/Never-; theless-we are at a loss to understand : why the Mayor shoiiSl" oe so' feyerieihly anxious; to postpone the day of jrecKori- . ing. If the borrowed mo"ney r :h.as. been, well spent and we have value to show for it, -why should we object to pary honestly for value received? And, after ! all, is there anything very discreditable j in a 3s rate?' Nay, Ts it not distinctly creditable, especially at a time when , prudence counsels a hal€ in the borrowing policy of the past few years, to pay a somewhat heavier rate 'and run the Borough on selif-fSKaSE lines, than to continue to pile up our indebted-ness whale'sailing'under the false pretence of a low rate? As another correspondent whose letter we'pubusn this morning very sensibly points out, "If we cannot how pay interest and sinking funds on the present loans" and provide the wherewithal to carry on ordinary expenditure, how are we to provide these sums when an additional burden ds placed on our shoulders?" The only answer to this question, from the point of view of the Mayor, is that we musT-go on borrowing etewiailiiy. We advise our readers to carefully peruse the schedule of works on which it is propose*! to expend the £11,000 now asked for, in order that they may judge for themselves whether the works are of such a~ character as to justify .immediate borrowing. For ourselves, after mature consideration, we have no hesitation li\ saying that the Borough will gain, rather than lose, by the postponement of further iborrowing for the purpose of what, after all, are ordinary requirements. As to the £15,000 asked for for gasworks ex-

tension, we see no reason to oppose tho proposal, for the reason that it is only intended to raise the money as it is required, and that when raised it will be expended on reproductive work. In short, this loan, if sanctioned, will be self-supporting, and will entail no extra burden on the ratepayers. The question as to the allocation of the gas profits, although discussed incidentally with the proposed loan, does not enter into the issue of to-day's poll. It will be necessary for all who are opposed to the £11,000 iproposal to register their opinions at the -poll. Indeed, it is the duty of every ratepayer to record his or her vote, and we .hope, whichever way it goes, that to-day's poll will be a heavy one and substantially representative of the opinion of the ratepayers as a whole.