NORTHLAND GRIEVANCES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1595, 12 November 1912, Page 9

NORTHLAND GRIEVANCES.

~ (To the Editor.) , . Sir,—At the monthly, meeting' of. the Northland'. Municipal Electors' tion, held on Friday last, : the reply furnished by the Earori. Bofoug 1 ! Council to a deputation from, this association in conneclion;-\vjth: tramway mutters' and increase in rates was discussed and considered to be,of a most unsatisfactory nature. As the reply in tju'estioft had been' published in-full, it .was decided to,give the views of this association similar : ' publicity.' ,'-.'' .'..-. ' '■■ ,The following'queStiOils weTe, asked the Karori Borough Council by the 'deputft-. tion:— . . 1. "Why tho rates on tramway loan had increased from jd. :iit ISO 9 to IJd. ' in' 1912?" - Mr.' Cathie's reply to this question was/- that''since the 'original rate was struck the valuation on.a. number'of properties had been reduced,-, atid consequent-' ly a higher rdte had'. '¥ Toe "charged to cover the interest required.. We might state that no, such revaluations' have been'made on Northland' properties:, and if Mr. Cathie's: contention is correct Northland ratepayers are therefore .paying :on- ahigher scale thaii Karori'' residents, who have had the reduction's made;' Further, Mr. Cathie stated those'-. Who 1 , had their properties revalued n'cre bcnefitiiig at the expense of their neighbours, and the practice should'bo stopped by law. We are informed that Mr. Cathie- is one ■of those people benefiting at the expense of their neighbours. .-.'■■ 2. "What was .'the. amount of accum-ii-lated tramway profits up to the end of March last?" No reply was given to this question, and a reforc'ndo to the balance'sheet just issned :: fails t6"give any'information in the mftttef... As we-..are joint, partners in the concern,, wo consider ourselves entitled, to-this- - information,- \ 3. ''tVhat was the, .reason, for the increase in fares on the .first tWft Sections on Sundays and a dqcreaso oh the, extension?". : .The reply'given'was that the increase was made to iilfeet the extra "mileage- oharge-, levied .by .tho' City -Council. so/why has an increase*of .100per cent, in fares...to Northland itnd, 50 per cent, to the- ce'ihetory Wen.levied.to meet an extra mileage-charge of Jrß3.per cent.; and, further, why has a "reduction' of 25 per cent, been made oh fares bter the extension of line to Karori, Park when -wo understand, that tho increased car mileage ateo applies to this section? • . We'feel, that this'is.ftdevico te extort money-from oity-residents whose only.; opportunity to visit the cemetery-.is.oh aSunday. In proof of this ivo would mention, that Karori -residents can, and do, make use of concession, tickets (procurable only in the borough) at a. -cost of half the ordinary Sunday ' fare. ' Is-this, also another method by which some seek: to bonefit at the expense of their'neighbours? 'From the above, it wilt 'be seen that very little, attempt. «as made to-supply, the deputation with the information ask-ed-for, but in place thereof a lengthy statement was read by the'.ilayor purporting to set out the position as Northiland and E'arpri,, which statement abounded in ina'c'cu.rades.-inuch inteniper-' ate language, and abuse-. In. the first place Mr. Cathie-stated: "ft is-the Karori ratepayers who have-causo-to complain and some effort will require .to be rnade to put the burden on: the right horse. It is quite unreasonable." that- Northland should be able to-evade so much of then responsibility for the scheme. tsey w«ro so earnest in ■laiincbing.'" .We would point ' out -.iitha't- "Northland has nev6r . .attemptedr to:,..evado its , sponsibility. in-,;"any . way, but on the other hand, ail adjustment of accounts was applied for by Northland, as |between the Karori Borough Council and. Wellington. City , Council,,, the, farmer strenuously and successfully' opposed any [such adjustment being' made. If, as-Mr. I Cathie alleges, the burden is not at preiscnt resting, on the right horse, why tho Karori Borough Council not seize the opportunity: of obtaining a .satisfactory settlement whoa the opportunity .was afforded them to do so ? In. this connection the action of the Northland ratepayers who refused to pay their rates was only done in anticipation of-. an adjustment being made, and on the advice of the highest legal authority on municipal law in New. Zealand, who still' holds to .'live opinion tlm. given by him, despite ihts adverse.'judgment. In connection with Mr. ■ Cathie's statement thttt the tunnel \ service was demanded by Northland ratepayers, wo would point out that Northland residents'only made a request for a tunnel service during rush hours between 5 and 6 p.m.; thoproviskm. made by the Karori Borough Council being totally inadequate. Mr. Cathie's extraordinary statement that the conduct of the seceding district was of the most tirdhn, selfish, null' contemptible kind imaginable was as unjustifiable as the Town Clerk's statemltht that a member of our executive was an "unmitigated liar." Truly, this is a position of ".when you have no case abuse the other side;" but we 'would,remind them that abuse is not argument. Mr. Cathio's statement- that the irajqr portion of the tramways loans was expended in Northland does nbt carry any woight, as tho council only expended Whut was actually. necessary in our district to get the tramway to their own doors. As a matter of fact, from ft residential point of view our benefits cease DTI the city, side of the tunnel, and it should not be overlooked that Northland proper is, situated ten or fifteen, minutes' walk from the tramway route. Had Northland remained a, portion of the Karori Borough, the extension of Makara would have been contingent upon the construction ol a branch line to Northland proper. This question was freely discussed at the lime of the poll. We would,also like to say that Mr. Cathie makes no mention of the f'M,(X>O borrowed for (he construction of tho. tunnel and Recreation Ground, for which we are rated, but'derive no lenefit whatever. In conclusion, we regret that Mr, Cathio did hot meet the deputation in a reasonable manner, and make .use of language more befitting his position, and we wish to assure him that under no con'sideratioh do the Northland Ratepayers desire to be again included in the lutrnri Borough. So far, we are quite satisfied with the treatment received from tho City Council, which includes benefits we could not hope to obtain from Karori for many years to come, viij-iAVnter, diainage, fire prevention service, ete.~-W« arc, THE EXECUTIVE, Northland Municipal Electors' Association.