THE ISLE OF UNREST.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 668, 19 November 1909, Page 3

THE ISLE OF UNREST.

, CONFLICT OF TWO BOROUGHS,; \ /.- ;, TO JOIN OR NOT TO. JOIN? _ '. .'■■' Hitting ■ one's !; -consciousness every morning comes ' tho everlasting question of tho fnto of .Gear island,,.;with. its. pros and cons. On one of .Ilutt; on the other sido' tho;-,iovc]led- : ,rilles.'of. Petone. It is a Homeric'.-■'strugglq-J-ton..' a "small scale) , which ;has, somehow''or , .other, , .: taken up its locale on. tlio wrong sido of tho world to find a poet t6.blay,o out its. dramatic side in verse. Uui it is a ' struggled there is no doubt about that iSirrin'd': the ipsi'ssima,yerba.- ; of,tho actors who ;tako ; part in any.struggle,'are always interesting; , Nothing, indeed, is inorc interesting than the .conflict of ■'. opinion's, whether on moonshine oririiedicinef : lii: this case tho bone of disputo ,is;an. oxtensiyp... island valued at' a largo and .increasing;.sum; ; -and this: island .is- (in twelve' months' time) to: be ; cloven, with, the sword of Solomori'.if Hutt' : and'Petono do not exchange the olivo branch.' • Interviews. on the chances .of. , .nmalganiatiori"..cifcctcd by..: a,reporter this ■.week arc; as. follow i^ ,, .:. 1 . V-.'.V"'■'■•■;.. \ f7 v ';-^.;;. : :vMr.; , E^;Pr , Bunny;s-:'Viow,.'' : : , ' ; ■' ;- "There rshould'bo, one. local body controlling all the. numerous-services of the local bodies in.this district," said Sir. E. P. Bunny, Mayor, ,oi Lower ; Hutt. Whether .amalgamation would\ :.indeed..come, to pass.in twelve months, or any : greater, period 'in the near future, depended on the - attitude, -taken ''up'by'. Petone; Lower Hutt was favourable to; the union. The only impediment .was local prejudices. which would in :time bo,.overcome. In the event of nonamalgamation, ..tho ..tenants : of Gear Island might not be quito satisfied with the proposed apportionment, as they all wished to jointhe Hutt Borough.' Thero would bo no difficulty in. getting every one of them to. sign, a petition ■to that.'effect, and.the : law contemplated that the wishes, of ' persons who ave occupiers .of. ;■ the,,- ■land', should.' be''■..■given effect to. ;V,:'- ■.'', M'Donald. ; . ■,'■ As'an ex-Mayor .and a ratepayer of Lower Hutt, T. -AM. M'Donald was asked to express an opinion. on the desirability and probability of amalgamation'. "■;' "I think," ho said "that amalgamation istheonlysolution of, the.mnny difficulties that have arisen between the two boroughs.'Certainly-from tho point of view of persons outside the district who are com- ■ potent to. judge, and judge • without prejudice, it is the proper:.course to take. Tor instance, Commissioner Short'has recommended that the settlement of tho Gear Island disputo be deferred until.it is seen if union can be effected. It appears to me that the-opposition to the 'movement that lias been manifested within-the district ihas been due in,a large measure to the unwarranted feeling with; a certain, section of the community that tho.people of the two 1 boroughs belong .to different classes, and could not bo blended together. This, in my opinion, is not tho case.. I consider that the people of Potone-are in , ; every respect tho equals of. the Hutt people, and vice versa, neither" being better than tha other.. Such an argument can .only bo regarded as one for fogging l the true issue; Nejthing points more directly to the'need for amalgamation-, than-the present agitation . that is going on for a tramway, system, and it is strange to -relate-that many of those who are strongest in opposition to ■ amalgamation are advocating the trams on* an amalgapiative basis and tiro stating to, the public that the approval of the tramway'system would, go a considernble i way towards securing amalgamation. Such inconsistency lam unable, to , under, stand. A conference of the boroughs of Petone and Hutt was held during'my. term ; as Mayor for the purpose of thoroughly discussing tins important question,' but, as could only be expected, nOifinal decision was..arrived' at, ■ oreven aimed at, on..that'-dccajion.V'Biit.l feel confident that,, if the matter .wero'.-taken- up earnestly, and laid "clearly beforo. the-, people of the two boroughs, it is very probable" that they could, in,tho near,future,ybe.educated.up to understand tho great benefits'that.'would' be. derived by making,, Hutt arid,Petone into one homogeneous whole. It would then, I believe, be onp of the' largest boroughs in New Zealand, and would be able to carry out its public works under much .-more.': -- : satist'actoTy, arrangements . aud without. any. duplication of services such as I is practically nievitablo if there remain two districts.";, .; ■'.;*■,,--.■• '.-:•,- ". ■ : •'.

■/•'•'■. Mr. R.'Short; : Mr. E.. Short,, a Eetouo borough councillor, was not in favour "of amalgamation. Ho considered that: Petoue, being a. compact borough, would'have its rates.'increascd were it to jinito mucli larger .'borqiigh".b£:Eutt,...raany ,bf the public works of which' Jet remained to be carried out. Having a river' running through,itS!,terrjtory, ll Hutt must always' he a .diffip'ultj'borqugli/.toj-inairitain'.and provide , for! Then,; too, Petonb Kadalways had better municipal management, with the'result ,that ratepayers were now looking to reap the results of their foresight.r'For instance,'they had their own -municipal buildings, and hoped soon to be able to reduce their rates by applying profits from the gasworks. -In-rregard- to the saving which it was 'said would result from amalgamation, there could bo no'-.saving in regard:.to either drainage or water-supply, schemes. Tho latter had already been provided for, and tho former ;could not bo' worked.-as a joint' concern, since the river formed a.barrier.. In regard to the staffs of tho two'-ftoroughs, no practica,l saving could be madci since they would- have to pay a higher-salaried engineer or town clerk, and, in addition, have ■ assistants to ■: control the branch office,.which would have to bo situated either, in. Ketone or Hutt. But,- apart .from, the economical aspect,.there was; the fact.that tho people of the two places were- of two diametrically opposed classes.! sTho : . people of Petone were thrifty ■ and liardworking, and those of "Hutt wero'ratlicr leisured-and •retired, taking little . interest.in, muuicipal , : pplitics. "If tho Tramway-Board is-successful in obtaining tho necessary -finance;" concluded Jlr; Short, "it might help to convince me that the two boroughs can^work' together practically." Mr. R. Stevens. As chairman of tho Htitt Kiver '. Board,' Mr; K. Stevens, expressed 1 himself as greatly in favour of amalgamation. Tho contiguity of tho boroughs was'i he thought, a strong argument ■in favour of thejproposed-union. The saving in municipal control would also bo considerable. The chief obstacle appeared to him'to bo not a material one, but-petty jealousy,, and. this, 1 he thought, was' more on the side of Petone than Lower. Hutt.'. ■'; ' . ..,..■