THE Inangahua Times, PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 1882.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1076, 19 April 1882, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times, PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 1882.

As the special organ of the County Council, it was only to be expected that our local contemporary -would regard the proposal to erect Reefton into a Municipality with anything- but favor. The arguments adduced in support of maintaining the existing state of things cannot but be regarded as weak in the extreme, though they are set forth as well and plausibly as is. possible when ' bolstering up a' ; bad cause. We are told the change sought for, the emancipation desired, would " only be; justified when" the existing' form of local govethment^ was found incapable of carrying; out the most important works upon which depend the maintenance of the public health and the protection, of l life and property." jWe' agree thoroughly-;' with .jbliis view, and it is l?e,caus,e "a majority; of, , the ; present County : Council is -,-. both <mr > capable and unwilling' to -discharge jbhese very duties, that : : the 'wish; to take?bur pw'n.'a^ir into our'/ovm" hands , comes..! The old. .couplet is by no means inappropriate in theuvcase-^- ' ' The Devii'was sick, the Devil a monk ; ;■;, '"' would |&e| : # J .".'.'., "'..."'['.] ,\ '•""". /' \ ' The DeviV got well^ the Devil a monk [ dJ, was^<,';.X' :■■;!/ v-c!r'-..ii" ■•■"■< 'Just when some ol the councillors have that ' the pe6ple6f; Reefton' ■ Jare not' "only '''dissatisfied ,with;.'tnemj ( ibut,will .haye. : np,"mpre u .df}tihejn,- > tlie3fi ;become most fussily-:- zealous in setting, ■about what they -ought.f to' -have ! d6iie : iye'ars ago/! They actually '-'Pn Mbriday jmbrning, hadj some r : .pf 'jjtfis' IBjcoadway. igutters cleaned out. i, : ,A'i!);,,a previous ■meeting, j they . authorised] the; •■ County ■Chairman to enter- into an agreement |with' property /holders, /whereby ' "the ilatter are ,tp byid-.themseiye^ ibo conjnect:their holdings with. a main drain; •as , we .are told " to : bring the (needed comfort and; cleanliness of the Impre closely packed properties." .This, of 'course,' means pretty ; heavy.yexpense to. every one, availing them selves;'' jof i .the, -drank „ Then again; we ;hear, .'that the Council have passed resolujtions in favor of drainage' arid water-" iworks. No doubt they 'have done, so, ;and that is all. These resolutions read | well partainly but all the benefit likely to arise from 'them is small indeed. .The Hon. Mr Oliver;' Minister" of Public Works, when waking the usual: statement in the House, during one of the late sessions' of Parliament, referred to the proposed railway .be r tween Greymouth arid. Hokitika, aud amidst uproarious, laughter solemnly assured members that he would " keep the' work; steadily in vie.w." At the jsametime it^was kniJTvn';that the unKlertaking was definitely 'shelved, and ! that keeping it in view was a red-tape way of letting that be understood. : Just so are the County Council resolutions with respect to, water supply I and drainage. These must necessitate | a loan, a loan can onlybe. raisfed by; the consent of all the ratepayers on a; :poll being taken, and as we before, pointed out this will never be obtained, i .■■ It is, ■ indeed,, keeping the wprd pf: promise .to. the i?ar,,,but breaking it .to the hope. The .excuse that the Council has not had funds issimple nonsense, for. had it had the inclination, funds, could have been' obtained. ; The lately born solicitude for iß^ef ton welfare has not .arisen. from a tardy desire to do justice to this, town,' but solely from the ,f ear lest,' it alienate Itself .from County rule. '■ There is no real wish to .benefit , ; the . proposed; Municipality-^r-had there /been it would hiave proved itself ' in deeds instead of resolutions long agp.' As to there being any gain or profit, obtainable by those, desiring a Municipality, beyond the expenditure of their own money for their own benefit; instead of on the roads leading to the homesteads or holdings of. their pets, x the idea is absurd. There will be. a Town Clerk, Surveyor, and Rate Collector^ and the united sums likely to be paid annually to these officers wiU be within £400, so the picking cannot be great, and seifinterest.jor. corruption of any. kind beyond what we have said,' is , put^of the question; . :A$ to the r roads ;and footpaths being kept in order, no matter .what their' length .ma y be, /they will, : un^er/a (^umcipaiity v '.l]iaye!-,a; far better /chance; of ; being .attended ito than / they, are iiow. ; : ■ But '. the richest part of our * contemporary's defence Is, where lie says -that those endeavoring to create the Borough" are "a faction fighting for place t with the' usual, weapons and poisoning . . the .political ; character of the people in, the. ; process.". Now,, we have heard of Satan correcting sin, but this really bangs that anomaloixs proceeding. If there was ever a faction in New Zealand, the maj ority of the County. Council and their supporters form an .unsurpassed one. It is that that the people are tired of. If the political, character of the people has been poisoned, this same faction have been the most active agents in the process. Unscrupulous roll-stuffing, partiality, and favoritism',. hq,ye been the. order of the day, and for these and other virtues of the same kind the Council has become notorious. The stuff" as to the main roads not being properly maintained is really unworthy of notice, for even if not for Reef ton's sake, for their own convenience, the Capleston people would take care to keep communication open, and the roads in order, and why that, or. any other neighbouring centre of population, should be jealous of the Municipality of Reefton, we cannot for the life of us see, Why again should Reefton, as a Borough, " fall into the position of a struggling debt, laden community," The rates paid

now , will amply meet municipal requirements and supply; interest and sinking-fund, as well as meet money-, borrowed" for _ needed; public works, provided' all raised within the proposed Municipality be retained by it. ; Are goldfield Boroughs struggling and debt' laden, do they need to harrass and annoy their ratepayers, do they invent every .-.engineof extortion by byelaw or otherwise 1 Rot, simple rot to f r ightenyt'ppls ! \vith is such nonsense; Bye-laws "do not spring into existence with the Jßorough. Every one has to be made by the Council and approved of by the ratepayers, and is it likely either that members would attempt or the public permit any that were oppressive or unnecessary to come into force. Whenever, in other goldfields, a Borough has been created, the very best results have followed. Should the people of this district be wise enough to sanction the proposed creation, the same will ensue hei-e. Our contemporary appeals to the good sense of the citizens, we do the same. If they exercise.it they will sign the petition to a man, and in twelvemonths hence, we venture to say, the most obstinate opponent will bless the day that • Reefton was created a Borough. That^the County Council in their time, has done great good is not for a moment' to be denied, but recently it merely represents the opinions of one class. The dominant | majority neither possess nor deserve ihe confidence of the public of Reefton at any rated. Their tardy recognition of Reefton's wants is not believed in, it partakes too much of a death-bed repentance, and has only been awakened by the prospect of a hew and vigorous Municipality being formed in the County, and like Oliver's, railway, they want only to stiltf. opposition by bogus resolutions that they have no intention of acting on, but will "keep steadily in view." Let the public, therefore, not be misled, but earnestly and energetically go in for real local self-government, the expendiiure of their own money, the abolition of jobbery, enhancement in the value of their holdings, and protection to life and property.