COUNTY CONGRESS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1833, 21 August 1913, Page 5

COUNTY CONGRESS.

THE SECOND DAY, SUBSIDIES & GRANTS COME UP. . THE SPECIAL REPORT. SUMMARY OF OTHER BUSINESS. Important business was transacted yesterday when the Counties' Association. Conference was resumed in the Sydney Street Schoolroom under the presidency of Mr. A. B, Jull. There Vi'cro four remits with regard to the maintenance of main roads, but three of them were withdrawn in favour of the following from Cluthp, County Council: "That main roads should, under all circumstances, be under the control of' ciunty councils, and the* Government Bpccially subsidise their upkeep." This was moved by Mr. J.. Clarke (Clutha) who contended that there was no need to say much on it because it contained too much common sense. The sooner the county system was done away with the better. Mr. J. Fisher (Waipa) moved an amendment that the remit ))e adjourned until the committee's report was before them, during the afternoon. This was put to the vote and defeated, Rsd Mr. S. Andrew (Kaifcoura), continuing the debate, said that it was necessary that the main arterial roads should 'be kept in first-class .order. In one case the Government constructed a road too low and the result was that it was being washed.away by the sea. -It was not fdir to expect tho local authorities to make that damage good. , Mr. Middleton (Waimahaka) urged that in spite of tile vote just taken the matter should be referred back, remarking that it was easy,to ask what were main reads, but they would never got a satisfactory answer. On the appeal of the president the previous vote was-altered end'it was agreed nem. con.' to - withhold discussion until later in the day.' Customs Duties Act. Mr. J. Brown (Taranaki) , moved to amend the Customs Duties Act so as to admit road-rollers' free of duty, and this was I unanimously agreed to, it being pointed out that traction engines came in flee and in'many cases destroyed the roads, whilst .the scarifier, with which they remade the roads, cost up to .£l6O eccii for duty. Mr. W. Hathaway (Stratford) moved a remit that the Government ,bq urged to take off the duty and extra railway charges now imposed on Australian hardwoods, arid it was affirmed that tho native wood was not suitable for building bridges. One speaker asserted that the preferential tariff on the railways was most iniquitous, and another advised buyers to get the wood direct from the Australian miller. The Terait was then carried.- ' Dogs' Registration Act. Mr. C. Weaver (Vinoent) moved that lccal bodies be empowered to deal with the fees to be charged on all dogs, and this was agreed to.' Mr. W. Hathaway ■ (Stratford), on being called upon to move that local authorities be enabled to put a tax of .£2 2s. on all sluts, was asked to tell the conference plainly and clearly what he tf.eant by the word "slut." Mr. Hothaway explained that a slut was a female dog, adding that there was such a fearful lot of cross-breeding going on that if they asked for a cattle dog they would probably get a retriever. There was a lot of- 'sheep-worrying as ia, result; .and in two cases forty sheep out of 500, and nine out of- thirteen,', had'iibeon \so destroyed. Sluts "were not • tietf. up " but roamed the country. Tho 'remit .was. however, defeated, it, being described by subsequent speakers, as "ridiculous" and "nonsensical." ■ -

4 It was decided to urge the amendment of the Act so as to enable loc-al bodies to let by tender the right to collect the dog-tax in their district, and 'also that county . councils, instead of Maori councils, be' the registering authorities for dogs owned by the Natives. Harbours Act, Mr. J. H. Davison (Anniri) moved that the system - of election of members of harbour boards being cumbersome, expensive, and unfair, they should revert to the system of clcctioh by the local bodies, and it was stated.that in one caseJCSO was spent on jan . election where at • some booths not a single vote was registered, and that in.another case one candidate got sis. votes end the other three a: an election which cost' over .£3O. ■ The president thought it was not desirable in some cases that the nominative 6ystem should be reverted to, as the ratepayers should have the dpportunty of voting. The remit was agreed ,to. The Levies For Charitable 'Aid. Mr. A. Sinclair'(Wairon) moved that the present' system of hospital and chantable aid Boards levying on the other local bodies tor funds towards the maintenance of the institutions be discontin-

ued, and that the cost be made a charge on the consolidated revenue. Mr. Mac Donald, M.P., spoke strongly against I his remit,, remarking that to loot at some of the remits one would think he was amongst a lot of Socialists instead of.fanners who understood their responsibilities. The remit was defeated. v There were six remits with regard to the election on, and representation ":of, hospital and harbour boards, and the re-, mit was cari'ied that, counties, boroughs and town districts should have separate representation for that purpose. It was also agreed that power be conferred upon local bodies that in the event of any county, with the consent of the two hospital boards interested, one or more ridings of tho county by a legal subdivision, desiring a portion or tho whole of b. county to be transferred from one hospital district to another, such chango may be carried out without special legislation. Subsidies and Grants—The Committee's Report, The committee appointed the previous day to oonsider tho questions of subsidy on rates and grants in aid reported' as follows:— "Thaf as in tho opinion pf your committee the principle of subsidy from the State towards the construction and maintenance of reads and bridges is a sound one, w© rocommcnd that there be paid to all county councils a uniform subsidy of ss. in the £ on all general rates collected up to tho prescribed maximum as defined in Section' 117 of tho Counties Act, 1908.

"That for tho purpose of distributing grants in aid a board' • be set ui> for the purpose of dividing tho whole of the Dominion from time to time into'the following districts: (1) Districts (which may be called back districts) on account of the large amount of new settlement going on in them, so that tho loading of such districts should receive grants in aid. (2) Districts (settled districts) whore the work of the local body is mainly the maintenance of the roads, and which therefore should not receive grants in afd. Each district may be whole or portiou of the area under the local body governing the district. When such districts have bsen declared tho . board shall have allocated to it tho sum of money which Parliament annually votes for the purpose of assisting in making the roads of such back country districts. The bc-ird having given consideration to the present condition of the roads, the number of settlors requiring access, the finality of the land, the difficulty of formation and cost of completion of such roads required, and tho present facilities of acce*?, shall allocate such sums ns the board thinks fit, of the sum at their disposal to such local body under whose jurisdiction the district is, fur the purpose of cxpendituw on such roads ns ai'e set out -in the aliocation." Dobate on the Report, The president, in moving the adoption of the first portion of the report, said that if they were going to .achieve anything they must bring forward proposi-

tions sound in principle, be, consistent in their application,' and emphatic in their request. It was only by such means that a Government could be made to move. Governments did not move on principle, but only when there was a demand, which was "insistent and emphatic; if it,was also just that was an additional reason. In their case they had all those factors, and there should bo no difficulty in persuading the Government to give effect to the recommendations of the committee. Certain districts 'were anxious to receive extra subsidies because of special interests, and the second part of the report would meet their case. He felt sure the Government ' would give them a much more cordial hearing now than they had had in the past. -He could not say what .the total amount of the rates raised in the whole country

were, but the rates levied in the counties realised from .£580,000 to .£600,000, and a subsidy of ss. in the £ would produce .£150,000 in subsidies. Ho hoped the conference would make no mistake about voting for something, which was a distinct >advaiico on the present conditions. ■ Debate on Grants in Aid. The first portion of the report having been carried mem. con., the president moved the adaption of tho second portion, and remarked that he was sensible that some districts would like to see grants in aid abolished, and that unless such districts received assistance from the Government to develop their part of tlib country, they would not be able to develop it for many years, which would be very detrimental to the whole Dominion; There was no obligation involved in that report to say that the grant in aid should in all-cases be, an actual c&sh grant in aid. 1 „ „ Mr. Wilson (Bulls) and Mr. G. V. Pearce M.P. (Patea) strongly supported, claiming that tho change would be a considerable improvement on the present eyst<\m. Mr. Middleton however, congratulated the mover of the report on the attempt he had made to cover up tho cloven hoof. The viciousness of that system of grants was so bad that any attempt to remodel it must end in -failure. It was abso-. lutely impossible to get away from the abuses which were so well known. . So long as they could get grants from tho Government, set long would gTants be applied. for which were not justified. In case of undeveloped country, the Government should step in and road it. Mr.' J. B.'Gow (Opotiki) expressed surprise at the last speaker's remarks. They could not do away with .political control, but it was their duty to make suggestions, ?o that the Government would exercise that political control in the proper way.. Such safeguards were provided in that rekilution. Development work could be best done by the local authorities, who knew what was needed, and could carry out the works .more economically and satisfactorily than the Government. By the grants suggested, that work would be best carried out.

•Mr. F. T. Moore (Makara) appealed to the delegates to take a national view of that matter, and not study merely the interests of their own county.

Mr. Kenway (Cook) thought the suggestion of the committee met the difficulties in the best way, and added that his county raised .£28,000 in rates, all of which

was taken- up .by maintenance. Tho president, replying to the discussion, said that the remedy suggested b\ Mr. Middleton seemed to be, "We cannot improve the system, which is a bad one, bo leave it as it is." They were there, however, to offer suggestions which, were calculated to meet the exigencies of local affairs. If the Government was not capable of erecting machinery to give effect to their suggestions, tho delegates would be able to induce someone else to do it. They had all along been dissatisfied with the,present system, but it was impossible for a Minister for Public Works to oppose alone the request of 75 other gentlemen who were approaching him. as every'man's hand was turned to the Minister/when it camo to grants. They wero not satisfied with the present system, which- was a hot-bed of inequalities, but if anybody had n better solution than the committee had brought forward he would agree to it.'Sand , thr6w ; ''.the' committee's rennrt overboard.

Thp committee's report was then tarried ivith only two dissentient voices. Counties as Bankers. On resuming after the luncheon interval, • 1 -Mr. J. Studholm® (Ashburton) moi'ed that County Councils be empowered to receive deposits, ■as provided by the Municipal Corporations Act. but the president pointed out that there .was a danger in talcing largo sums of money repayable at call. Before long the municipalities would probably be "up against" the problem that the only people whom they could call to find the money to repay the deposits were the banks, against whom they'were competing. Would the banks be ready to find thtk- money in time of financial stress? ' It was contended that , the remit only made it permissible, and, on this understanding, it was carried ou division. Grants to Old Employees. Mr. Studholme next moved that a council may grant.an annual payment to any employee who had served the council faithfully for 25-years, on retirement. Mr. JF. T. Moore (Makara) seconded, but ' Mr. F. Horrell (Rangvora)' thought this was only tinkering with the superannuation scheme, and until the Government submitted a comprehensive superannuation scheme embracing all local bodies under which all employees could pay into one general scheme, they would never succeed: The best tiling they could do was to give an old servant twelve months' leave of absence on full pay.

The president pointed out that, in view of the changes which were taking place in local todies it would not be profitable to engage in such a scheme, whereas, under the National Provident Fund, there was a set of tables for contributors on different tables, and he suggested that they make an effort to get all bodies to amalgamate in a scheme which could be universal.

The remit was ruled to be lost when voted on, and on a division this ruling was confirmed, but the decision was challenged, and a third count was taken, with the same result. ' A Deputation, At this stage a deputation was introduced from the local Government EngmInstitute, which was formed two years ago, and which embraces 90 per cent, of the county and borough engineers in the Dominion. Mr. Jickell (Palmcrston North) ,who acted as spokesman, asked the conference to assist the institute's superannuation scheme, to : help them towards incorporation, and to allow their engineers to attend the annual' conference at the ratepayers' expense. They thought they 'were entitled to tho same superannuation as Civil Servants. It would have paid them better to have gone contracting. or to havo gone into private life, but they had stuck to their employers, and many of them had been unablo to put anything by. . !Mr. Basham (Eltham) added that their institute was not a trades union, and it was neither antagonistic nor monopolistic, but they intended to have system of examination, and put their brand on all future engineers, though none having employment now would be interfered with. Control of Main Roads. The remit of the Clutha County Council, that all main roads should be under the control of county councils and tho Government especially subsidise their upkeep, but this was rejected by a decisive majority. New .Hospital Buildings. Mr. W. Hathaway (Stratford) moved, and Mr. W. C. Dudley (Egmont) seconded, a remit to tile effect that before any expenditure was authorised for the erection of new hospital buildings a conference of contributing, authorities be held to consider the matter, and that all persons with good incomes should b6 made to contribute directly to the upkeep of hospitals, in proportion to their incomes. The proposer asked for permission to delete the latter part of the remit, but this was denied him.

Mr. J. Brown (T.-irnnati) eimpl.iined that- tho Inspector-General had j.ower to mako a local body erect a new hcspital, whether it was wanted or not. mid the local body had to find hall' tho Money and tho Government the other half. New Plymouth hml to build a hospital .it a cost of -£33,000, and it was not fair to ask any local body to borrow money at 6 or 7 per cent, for such a purpose. Supposing the matter was put to the ratepayers, and their vote was against the

erection of the hobpital, what would be the position ? Thio president declined to give an opinion. Tho remit was defeated. Minister's Correction. The Hon. H. D. Bell (Minister for the Interior), who was present during the afternoon conference, asked permission to correct a misstatement of his speech the previous day. He was reported to liavo said that in the Bill which was about to be brought before Parliament that day would be found the policy of the Government, whereas he said exactly the contrary. He said that tho (\nmties Bill contained tho 'egislation giving effect to a number of remits of previous conferences of the Counties Association. Continuing, the Minister announced that that Bill had been read in the House that afternoon, but there was an alteration which he had to make before the piinted forms could be circulated. He proposed, however, to give a conple of copies to the president, from which they would see that the' Government had .-done all it could to meet the views of previous conferences.

Other Business. The remit was defeated that Crown lands and settlement lauds should be roaded before being opened up for settlement, and that the land should be leaded with the cost of roading, the president remarking that there would be a great outcry on the part of settlers who were anxious to get on the land if that remit were carried.

A rtmiit which was carried at the last conference was again carried, its effect being to amend the Land Act by giving power to the Land Board to pay tho "fourths" of all rents from pastoral leases to tho local authority for tho construction and maintenance of roads leading. thereto. A remit to enlarge the powers conferred on counties for,the raising of leans ever tho whole county where such leans had now to be raised by poll of ratepayers, was defeated, with very little discussion. Eight remits, involving alterations .in tho Local Elections and Polls Act, were withdrawn, the Hon. H. D. Hell explaining that they had been incorporated in the Bill brought in by the Government, the only remit objected to by the Government being tho one suggesting that voting papers be marked by the striking out of names as formerly, instead of voting by a cross as at present. The remit was strongly supported by several speakers, and was again carried. Motor Regulation Act.

Ten remits suggesting various amendments to the Motor Regulations Act, together with a letter from the secretary of the New Zealand Automobile Association, were referred to the following committee, tho Hon! -H. D. Bell notifying tils conference that it was the intention'of tha Government to introduce a Bill on tho subject:—Messrs. T. M. Chambers (Hawke's. BSy),. S. A. Staples (Christchurch), J. tJtorry (Ellesmere), J. Studliolmo (Ashburfcon), K. W. Dalrympie (KangitiKei), F. Horrell (Rangiora), J. C. C. Gebbie (Mount Herbert), and J. T. Quin (.Bltham). ■ Native Land Act. It was decided: "That the Government be urged to repeal Section 094 of tho Native Land Act, 1009, which reads: Sections 110 and 11( of the Public Works Act, 100S (relating to roads) shall not apply to the sale or subdivision of Native land situated elsewhere than in a bor-

ougli," though it was contended that this would stop the settlement of ..Native lands. I The president remarked that it was distinctly desirable that the Government should issue instructions to Native councils that 110 subdivision be permitted n nere theTe was no road access provided. State Guaranteed Advances Act. It was decided to draw the attention of the Government to the fact that th» 'State Guaranteed Advances Act hail failed in the purpose lor which it was created so tar as the lccal bodies were concerned, and aiso to ask t'ho superintendent to name the particular loan in respect of which ,the. half-yearly .demand for payment of principal and interests applied. Public Works Act. A protest was mads against the condition of reads handed over by the Government to local authorities, and it was also iscided that the Government should not proclaim roads a3 county roads without the consent of the county council, whilst the other remits under this Act were referred to the Executive Committee with power to frame a requisition to the Minister, though the president stated that it was very unlikely that any legislation demling with heavy traffic would ba introduced this session. The remit giving local authorities power to enter upon private lands and remove firewood- for the purpose of burning clay for road-making was defeated, Rating Act. A series of remits under the Eating Act was referred to a committee consisting of' Messrs. Brown (Taranaki), Dudley (Opunaki), Bridge (Woimate), Quin (Eltham), Gov (Opotik'i), Kenway (Ccok), and Johnstone (Raglan), it being mentioned that the Minister hod promised to bring in legislation dealing with the Native rating problem. The conference, then adjourned until 10 o'clock this morning.