LOCAL GOVERNMENT. To the Editor.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 637, 22 August 1882, Page 2

LOCAL GOVERNMENT. To the Editor.

Sni, —ft is with the object of seconding your efforts in the almost hopeless task to excite an interest in the above, that I venture to address you again on the subject. It is difficult to elicit an opinion on almost anj subject in which everybody is interested, on the principle, I suppose, that what is everybody's business ia nobody's business. Nine-tenths of the residents, in place of giving an opinion of tbeir own, prefer to grumble at tbe opinion of others, but should any one get his team into a bog, he has no hesitation in expressing an opinion that somebody ought to be abused. It would not have been unreasonable to sup - pose that in any public matter in which the county is inti-rested, the County Council would, at their last meeting, have given a vigorous exposition of their sentiments in this matter, and placed before the Govern-, meat their position in relation to the county ■

and the useless expense entailed upon tho ratepayers by " The Counties Act," when only in partial operation. But as nobody expected anything from them, nobody wag disappointed. A more lamentable fiasco, coming from " the leading men in the county," it would be difficult to imagine. The mountain was in labor and brought forth nothing. The mountain went into committee, and the committee were conclusively of opinion that the remedy for all difficulties would be found, and an immortal blast on the trumpet of fame be secured, were the Chairman of ihe Akaroa County Council created a Justice of the Peace I It has been recorded somewhere that the vagaries of our species sometimes make angels weep. Their angelic sympathies in this case would be irresistibly inspired by another feeling—contempt to wit. It is satisfactory to know that the member for the Little River Riding had no hand in this silly and most ridiculous burlesque. Space will not permit entering into an analysis of the provisions of tho proposed Rating and Road Board Bills, sufficient that the Road Boards, and consequently the ratepayers will be in no better position than at present. The advantages set forth in the preambles to the bi Is are simply humbug, and the Government might as well leave the thing alone. Hero we have an olla podrida of some 40 enactments. By the way, the cost to'the country of those acts must have been something prodigious. As has been repeatedly urged, the local bodies do not want legislation, they want money. In the appropriations for the current year the Government propose to spend a large sum—l forget how much—in making roads to open up Crown lands previous to sale. Now, as has been repeatedly pointed out, the settlers in this county and in other counties in Canterbury, deposited with the Provincial Government ten shillings per acre for the purpose of making roads to the land they had bought. The Government stuck to most of the money, and a large portion of the land is inaccessible to this day, and yet by tho above appropriation these settlers will have to pay their share towards making those roads contemplated by Government. But as I said befote, people will not wake up until they get into a bog. However, through representations made to Mr Montgomery l>y the Little River Road Board, that gentleman intimated his intention to do his utmost to secure 20 per cent of the land fund for the local bodies —we shall see. Failing to get any assistance from the Government, either by legislation or direct subsidy, and I see little indication of either at present, it will be necessary to turn our attention towards reducing the cost of management as far as possible, and if the County Council are anxious that the interests of the ratepayers should be of primary and paramount importance, they will at once, seeing the large saving to the country, delegate their collecting duties to the various Road Boards. For instance, there is tho dog tax, if I am not mistaken this Council is the only one in Canterbury that collects the tax, it being generally left to tho Road. Boards. In the first place there is 5 per cent for collection, and then the Council after exacting a tribute of some 40 per cent turn over the balance to the iload Boards, who finally use from 20 to 30 per cent of this balan-e in expending the remainder, so that you will B>.'e out ot £100 there is only about £30 to spend in public works, ami the same with the public house, slaughtering, etc., and it would be worth while to known how much of the public lioiiHe licenses is c crificed in expenses under the '• Licensing Act " before it reaches the County Council at all. Now, if ihe Road Boards had the collection of these taxes thore would be a large saving to the county, and the various Boards could easily arrange about a pro rata division of funds. The sheet is full and there is still more to be said, but if I can succeed in arresting people's attention to the importance of ihe above there will be something gained.—Yours, etc., J. WILSON. Little River, August 19, 1882