COUNTIES LAW

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 17, 15 October 1920, Page 8

COUNTIES LAW

THE AMENDMENT BILL

COMMITTEE MAKES SOME CHANGES

Tho Counties Bill has teen returned to the House from a special committed with a number of amendments. This Bill is a, consolidation of the law relating to counties, and as originally presented to the House it made merely a few minor alterations, although some clauses had been redrafted wholly or in :part. The committee, which took evidence, has mado some amendments of importance. A person is not to be entitled to 6ign a petition if his rates have been unpaid for twp years. Tho period originally stated in the Bill was 6ix months.

The number of ridings in any .new county formed other than by the union of counties is not to exceed twelve. The number of electors for each riding is to bo fixed as nearly'as may be in proportion to rateable value and th'e number of electors of each riding.

A riding is not to comprise any area which is part only of an undivided, tpad district, or part only of a subdivision of a divided road, district, or part only of a, town district. A ratepayer is defined as a person whose name appears,.-for tho tdme,being iiv> the occupiers' - column of the rato book. Various amendments have been made regarding elections. The roll is to be prepared on. or before January 22 in each year in which a general election of councillors is to be held. Tho roll is to be open for public inspection from January 27 until February 15. Ob: jections may be lodged up to February 22, and the roll will come into force on the first Wednesday in April. The .disqualifications clause had been amended, to cover some difficulties thai have arisen in rocent years. A person who is concerned or interested in a contract made by the council is to be disqualified from membership if the payment made or to be made by the council in. respect of any 6uch oontract exceeds is in the ,case of o single contract or altogether in any financial year in the case of two or morn contracts, "except in special cases to. bit approved by the Audit Offioe on the application of the council; in any eucb special case the Audit Office, may authorise the payment nnd receipt of such amount as it thinks fit, not exceeding in the aggregate in any financial year in respect of any contract or of- two or more contractu." The general election of a countv council is to b« held triennially on the second Wednesday in May, the first general election, 'under this Act to take place on the second Wednesday in May, 1923. The limitation of the 6anitory rato to one-halfpenny in the pound on the! capital value lias been struck out. A new ■'clause authorises tho counoil to levy a special, rate of such amount as will cover the estimated expenditure or to • impose instead of the rate a uniform annual charge. _ : The power of a county counoil to bop. row on overdraft is extended,to includo temporary loans from any corporation or pei-sona as well /as overdraft from a bank. \ , Increased powers fl.ro given to councils in regard to drainage works. A council may bo granted by Order-in-Council tho powers of a borough council for the supt ply of water for domestic or industrial purposeß, _ i " Public halls and mortuaries are added to tho list of institutions that a county council may establish and maintain^ A new clause gives the Governor-Gen-eral power, on petition, to include neighbouring islands within counties. Where the capital value of all rateable property in the road districts in any county is less than two-fifths of the capital value of all rateable pre •perty in that county, the council may by special order declare the road boards dissolved and such road districts to bo merged in the county. Councils are empowered, with tho con-> sent of the Minister of Agriculture, to establish cattle-dips. Thov may_ also purchase and sell rabbit-proof wire-net-ting, and may purchase and hire to road boards road-making plant of any description. Another amendment made by the committee provides that the number of Totes to bo. exercised by an olector in a county shall bo based on "the rateable value of his rateable property" instead of on "rateable property." Tho old law allowed a land-owner to vote on his_ capital value while he was taxed on his unimproved value. v Mr. D. G. Sullivan (Avon) moved that the House report progress on th© Bill and ask leavo to sit again. He intended to move later that the Bill be referred back to tho Solect Committee that had considered it, 'with a recommendation that the Parliamentary franchise should be incorporated in the Bill.

Atr. Sullivan's amendment was defeated by 51 votes to 7.

Mr. V. H. Reed (Bay of Islands) said there were indications that tho townspeople did not at all understand tho country and the work of county councils. The work of county councils "boiled down" to reading. He thought that as the ratepayers wcro tho persoys who paid for works they were tho persons who 6hould vote on loan 'proposals.

The Leader of tho Opposition said that the amendment ho would move later excluded voting on loans from the rights of electors. Ratepayers were to hav.o tho exclusive right to vote on loan proposals,

Tho Minister of Agriculture (Mr. W. Nosworthy) said that Mr. Wilford proposed- to take away votes from soldiers on the land by substituting 1 for the prosent franchise one that would veduca them to the position of municipal electors.

Mr. Wilford's amendment was to strike out works in the clause dealing witli electors, in order that there might be inserted the following words: "That subject to the exclusive right of ratepayers to vote in Tespect of loan proposals, evory elector shall be entitled to vote at every election of a member of the council for the riding in which he is enrolled, and hais resided for at least three months then last past, provided he has the qualification of an elector under tho Legislature Act, 1908. For the purposes of this section, a person shall be deemed to Te3ide in the place in which he has his permanent home."

The amendment was 'defeated by 31 votes to 21.

Mr. R. P.' Hudson (Motueka) received an assurance that the Minister would inquire into the advisability of adopting the following sub-clause: "Tho council may purchase and sell plant, fittings and nil things necessary for the distribution and consumption of electric power within the county district."

Mr. Massey indicated that he thought the provision should apply only to counties in which there was no electric powci board. Mr. Anderson undertook to have n clause drafted for - consideration in another placo providing for the settlement of disputes between county ridings. Tho Bill was reported from committee and passed at 11.40 p.m. MR. wilforeTexplains In The Dominion's summary of tho remarks matlo by tho Leader of the Opposition upon the report of the Butter Committee, tho following passage occurred: "He added that if a tax had been levied by the Government on the increased value of the land, it could have been ear-marlccd for a stabilisation fund." Mr. Wilford has pointed out that from this it might appear that he advocated taxation of tho man who held on to his land, while others were making sales at high prices. Mr. Wilford did not advocate that. In one part of his speech. "Mr. "Wilford did complain of "tho failure of the Government to provide that part of the increased valuo of tho land should be ear-marked for the stabilisation of prices when the prices reached an outsido limit," and his intention was mado clear by his use of tho following words a little later: "I mil not contending that the tax should be put on the man who has been in occupation of his land from 1913 to tho present day, as that man has not received any benefit from tho increasod valuo of his land, because ho has continued holding it." Mr. "Wilford favoured a levy upon the high prices obtained by sellers of buttor land after tho commencemont of ther war.