The Coming Polls.

Manawatu Times, Volume VIII, Issue 240, 19 April 1883, Page 2

The Coming Polls.

— f — —— ■ . ';."- - TO THE EDITOB. . : .-I :■?}♦■ V/ Sir, -r- My •atfce.ntioa, haa been called to an article appearing m, your issue of the : 12th rnst., criti"* ciaing tlio actio.n* oi . Cojaaty Council m respbct'^jfhe'^birsKor^yl' to be taken/for ibe 'Ktzhefb,ert roa^V uniler the Roads ,anci Bm]ges . pont- ' straction jLcbcu £& the article, in* question is Joujidedjarija tuiaqasicepr. tiori of the Act, and is calculated* ton mislead the rattpar ort and "so tQ i^Bdoiigfir^e success^iibao^po]!, I | feel it incumbent on me to ask3ear« discuss the matt^rin your columni

and .to acquaint .< the - ratepayers urith the other side of the quession; . I quote from your paper :— ■" Now thii read is estimated to cost £5121 '" but tbe County Council is only to .'-rwjpive three eighths of that "amount, viz, £ 1920 one fourth "of which would be £480. But in- **' stead of merely aekinjr the rate " payers to consent to a . rate suffi"cient to guarantee payment of this " one fourth of what they have ac« *' tually received,* (and whiah is all * ; that the Act requires) the ; Coun- , "cil aska them to pay three timesas f l much. Instead, of being asked to " pay £48 per annum, they are "called upon to consent to the pay- *• Jfent of £128 on the very remote " possibility that the remaining five «± eighths of the grant will be paid •Vat*. 6ome'; future unspecified* date h f , , „ the proper course (i for tho Council to adopt would beto *• take.the i>oll to sepure one fourth ft 'oftl*9& amount only which has '* been granted, &c." The foregojag .statement, is hase pn a misconception both of the re» jquirements of the Act: and also v of what th^e Council asks of ; the ratepayers, wad it Jtlocs not a&k them to pay t.hree times th^e amount neces» sary asifc %31 now proceed to show. In discussing Jihe proper course ' tha Council was guided not by what VaT reasonable or otherwise from their tloint of view,' bht as far as possible, strictly by the requirements of the let.' |i Now, it : must WrT)orne iv mind irhetheir the GpVepnmen profides the money fo? s the J-itsjherbert road m one, two or more iristaiments there is, under the Act, but one application, and all these grants will be made on this basis only ; .and there is no machinery provided by the Act for taking the poll a second or third iime m respect of any one application. From a reasonable point of view too,' this is the most equitable course to adopt n for.it is .quite eyjdent jbliat if the first instalment 4 or instalments of th« money jifere laid out m the completion of "a road from one end, many, if not all of those ratepayers who had received all they required, wovjfon the subsequent polls vote gg^ffist a further rate, and the com* pletion ?6f '\. the road would be then jeopardised, ,and the remaining set" tltrs might be left out m th« cold. Then there is one important point which I wish to impress on all, and it is this : that though the ratepay ers are at the poll required to sancfjpri a rate sufficient to cover the payments on the whole estimated gpst of jihe work, theY areinotaaked |o pay this Smount, tor the said rate •fjrUl jpinly be levied m proportion to pumeif actually received from the Governtnmt, bo that m the case m point the rate to be sanctioned is five eighths Qf a penny, but as the amount to be at present received from the Govern* pent.is three eighths of the applica-tion,-the rate; which will bo actually gtruck will be three eighths of five eighths— or about three thirteenths pfftpßnTJyia the pound. When the next instalment of the «>p^Hcation is received this rate will m proportion, clauses §6 t and 6$ of the Act empowering the Council* to increase or dimish the rate as may be necessary to meet Ine payments; . / These remarks of course apply to all roads for which money has been applied for under the Act. v: - -v>o: ; I'ani &c., . ' .; • . y Gm. J. Beucej .- €!r Taonui Biding. *> Palmersiton North;; ■: ■ siJ iA^rilJlßth,lßß3. '- 4 *.-•■: •