The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. FRIDAY, JULY 31, 1885. Local Bodies Finance.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1536, 31 July 1885, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. FRIDAY, JULY 31, 1885. Local Bodies Finance.

The abolition of the provinces in 1876 was speedily followed by a strong reactionary wave of decentralism ; people who had fondly hoped that the new form of Government would at once remove the ills of provincialism were soon compelled to admit their disappointment. But still the Counties Act is perhaps one of the most satisfactory of the numerous measures designed by Sir Julius Vogel. It has faults, as grave as they are conspicuous, but it must be remembered that its author was beset by most formidable difficulties —difficulties of a peculiar and unprecedented character. Abolition was suggested, it was clamored for by a majority of the electors, it was accomplished, and a substitute for the provincial form of government had to be found. Sir Julius Vogel approached the task with numerous conflicting interests before him and without experience directly applicable to the undertaking, but still the result has shown itself to be fairly successful and certainly is not the least creditable of the Colonial Treasurer’s legislative productions. It must be a matter affording Sir Julius Vogel some satisfaction that the Act designed by him nearly a decade ago should have remained on the Statue Book of the colony, practically unamended, until he, having reentered Parliament, applied himself to its reconstruction. The Local Bodies Finance and Powers Bill now before the House of Representatives proposes to remedy one of the most important defects in the present system of local government, by providing the Counties with an “ assured finance.” The third clause of the Bill provides for the establishment ot a “ Local Bodies Finance Account, to which a sum of Li 50,000 is to be. paid— Lso,ooo from the Public Works Fund, and Lioo,ooo from the Consolidated Fund—for the period commencing October 1 next and ending March 31, 1886. For a period of five years from March 31 next, L 300,000 annually is to be paid to the Fund—one-half from the Public Works Fund, and the remaining half from the Consolidated Fund. For a further period of twenty years the annual payment of Lsoo.ooo will be provided from the Consolidated Fund. The sum so transferred to the Local Bodies Finance Account will be divided amongst the local bodies as follows:

(a) To each Borough Council and Town -Board—(i) When the general rates actually collected shall not exceed a total sum of L 750, then a sum equal to Li for every Li of such rates, and no more. (2) When the general rates so collected shall exceed a total sum of L 750, then a sum. equal to 10s for Li of such rates, and no more. Provided that no lesser sura than L 750 nor greater than Li,soo shall be paid in any one year under this sub-section (2) to any such Council or Board, (b) To each Council of a county wherein there are no road districts—(l) When the general rates so collected by the County Council shall not exceed a total sum of Li,ooo, then a sum equal to L2 for every Li of such rates, and no more. Provided that no lesser sum than L 2,000 nor greater sum than Lio,ooo shall be paid in any one year under this sub-section (2) to any such Council, (c) In respect of counties when there are road districts —(a) To each Road Board in such county the general rates actually collected by the Road Board in the road district shall not exceed a total sum of Lsoo, then a sum equal to L2 for every Li of such rates, and no more. (2) When the general rates so collected shall exceed a total sura of LSOO, then a sura equal to Li for every Li of such rates, and no more. Provided that no lesser sum than Li,ooo nor greater than L?,oqo shall be paid in any one year under this sub-section (2) to any Road Board. Provided that, whenever any road district becomes divided into two or more road districts, these road districts shall each share under the last sub-section, if the road district at the time of division would by a rate of in the pound on the capital value have levied more than LSOO. (b) To the County Council—(l) When the general rates actually collected by the County Council in the outlying districts. of such county shall not exceed a total sum of LSOO, then e sum equal to La for every Li of such rates, and no more. {2) When the general rates so collected shall exceed a total sum of LSOO, then I, 9, sum equal to Li for every Li of such 1

rates, and no more. Provided that no lesser sunn than Li,ooo nor greater j than L 2,000 shall be paid in any one | year under this sub-section (2) to any such Council. Provided that, whenever one or more Road Boards or parts of Road Boards merge in a county and become a riding or part of a riding, the same rate of subsidy shall be paid to the County Council on account of such riding or part of riding as would have been payable had the riding or part of riding continued a Road Board or Road Boards or parts of Road Boards. Provided that no greater sum in all than Lio,ooo shall be paid in any one year m respect of the total amount of general rates levied and collected altogether by the Road Boards in the road districts and by the County Council in the outlying districts in any county, and in the ridings by-the last proviso : and when the total amount of subsidy that would be payable in respect of the total amount of general rates collected as last aforesaid shall-exceed Lio,ooo, then the total amount of subsidy to be payable to the Road Boards and County Council shall be apportioned pro rata according to the amount of general rates collected as aforesaid by such Road Boards and the County Council respectively.

Should the Finance Account be insufficient to follow the above plan of distribution in its entirety, subsidies will be subject to a proportionate reduction. The Act makes provision for the construction of district railways, and in different directions somewhat enlarges the powers of local bodies, but for the present we will confine our observations to the financial provisions of the measure. The Ministry have already abandoned some important features of the Bill. They have consented to strike out all the borrowing powers which were to be conferred upon the local bodies, and have expressed their readiness to make the measure a merely temporary one, provide for a year or two and further consider the question during the recess. In following this policy of concession Ministers, while consulting the interests of the colony, have for a. time evaded the resolution of a question fraught with peculiar danger and difficulty to themselves. In its present shape the Bill, so far as the tax upon the public purse is concerned, bears a strong resemblance to the Roads and Bridges Construction Act, and in the principle that money is to be found for construction of new works, and for construction only, the measures are identical But a difference, and a very important difference for this part of the colony, does exist, in that the Roads and Bridges Construction Act distributes money almost at the sweet will of the Ministry of the day, while the Bill under discussion proposes to distribute it on something like equitable lines. We recently published an extract from Hansard giving in extenso Mr W. C. Walker’s remarks upon this subject, and we may at once say that we agree in a great measure with the views concisely expressed by the member for Ashburton. The great desideratum is to secure permanency, and that that permanency should provide equitable and economical administration- Having briefly stated the salient points of the Bill we will return to their examination at a later opportunity.