T. N. E. KENNY.]

7

I.—4d.

Thomas Nepean Bdwakd Kenny examined. (No. 4.) 167. The Chairman.] Your name? —Thomas Nepean Edward Kenny. 168. You are the Clerk of the Ohinemuri County Council ?—Yes. 169. Will you make a statement with regard to this Bill ? —The County Chairman has covered all the ground I could speak to. lam willing to answer any questions. 170. Mr. Herries.] Do you consider this Bill will give you an assured finance?— Our finance is not assured now, but it really covers what we applied to the Government for before. The two local bodies could come to no agreement, so the Government was asked to decide. 171. Have you read the Bill?— Yes. 172. In what way do you think it will affect you ?—Under the present circumstances our gold duty is about £4,000 a year, which is insufficient to enable us to carry out necessary works. The clause gives power to take away half the gold duty, but I do not think the Government would enforce it with reference to the Ohinemuri County Council. 173. Do you think it is a satisfactory arrangement—your finances being dependent upon the Government ? —No, I cannot say it is ; but there is no other alternative that I know of. 174. You are taking it for granted that you will get a proportion of the Waihi gold duty ?— We assume we shall. We have no money to spend upon luxuries whatever ; our whole revenue is insufficient for necessary works. 175. If you had any impression that you would not get a portion of the Waihi gold duty you would then not support the Bill ? —I do not know that I can make any statement upon that; but we could not be in any worse position than we are in now. It is possible that under the Bill we might lose half the duty, but it is unlikely. Any Commission would see we have no money to spend on luxuries. Where there is special work required we form special rating districts and raise loans for them. In the lower part of the county we recommended to the ratepayers to borrow money. There are drainage-works required, and we propose to form a special drainage district, and to raise a loan for the purpose. 176. What do you propose to spend the gold duty upon ?—There are large calls for miningworks such as tracks and aids to prospecting, and there is the river. 177. That is the principal?—Oh, no ; the roads—we have to make miles. At the present time we are asked to spend £2,500 in making one road, though if the silting of the river is not stopped the road will be useless in five years. 178. Under this clause you are entirely dependent upon the Government notifying in the Gazette what you will get ? —lt is left to the discretion of the Minister. 179. Are you satisfied with that ?—I am not the Council. 180. Are you satisfied, as Treasurer, to leave your finances to the discretion of a Minister of the Crown? —That is for the discretion of the Council; I am the hand, they are the brain. We can reasonably expect that the Minister of the day will see to our requirements and will not cripple us. 181. Does the Government do that now with regard to grants ?—Last year we sent a letter to the Premier thanking him about grants. The early distribution of them enabled us to get our works done economically. It would be better if the revenue had been allocated statutorily, but whether this case could be met by statute is another question. 182. Mr. Beid.] A special loan is being raised for water ?—We are proposing to raise a loan for drainage. We have formed a special rating district for water, and have rated ourselves. 183. Paeroa is a borough ? —No ; it is a town, and is rated by the county. 184. About what year was the Eiver Board formed ? —Some twelve years ago the Harbour Board district was extended to Paeroa, and they were rated by the Thames Harbour Board. The people applied to the Government to form them into a Eiver Board, so that the authority of the Harbour Board could not extend so far up the river. The Eiver Board was brought into existence really as a defensive measure. 185. You have a grievance now, inasmuch as the river is silting up ?—Yes. 186. And you want a contribution from the Waihi Borough to provide against this ?—Yes. Ninetenths of the deposit going into the river is from the Waihi works. 187. Mr. Kidd.] Is the silting of the river likely to become dangerous to any portion of the district ? —Yes, Paeroa. The greatest danger will be where there are equal tides. 188. Has any portion of the revenue of the Board been used for this ?—lt has no revenue. The gold duty revenue has been held in abeyance. We are using our own county revenue to mitigate the evil to a limited extent. 189. And you think it is a fair thing to get a portion of the Waihi gold duty revenue for that ? —I think so. 190. Mr. Moss.] The gold duty has been increased ?—I could not say that. I only know what we get. 191. During the last five or six years has not the gold duty increased?—l reckon there has been an increase for the whole district. 192. Paeroa is an older township than Waihi ?—Yes. 193. Do you know what money was spent on the Waihi Eoad by the county from its inception ? —I could not tell you that. 194. As a matter of fact, was Paeroa sacrificed for the purpose of keeping the road open to Waihi ? —I could not say that. 195. Mr. R. Mackenzie.] You do not think anything in the Bill will affect you ?—I do not think it will alter the position, because we are in the hands of the Ministry now. 196. Do you not think it will affect the many boroughs and counties throughout the colony ? —I cannot say; I have not thought it out. 197. You are not in a position to express an opinion that it would be better for the counties to be rated towards keeping the roads ?—I think that is what the rates are for. 198. Do you not think it would be a fair thing for a proportion of the gold duty to be spent on agricultural roads ? —lf it affects mining. The view I hold is that the gold duty is for the benefit