CORRESPONDENCE.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3628, 27 February 1883, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

COUNTY V. PROVINCIAL GOVERN- -"" MENT MANAGEMENT.

[To the Editor of the Daily Telegraph.] Sir, —In your sub-leader of Friday last you state that there are more officers employed by the County Council than I stated at Taradale, wliich, if I were not to place the matter before the public in its proper light, perhaps they might think your statement more to the mark than my own, from which I beg to differ. In the first place the county has no permanent engineer, for it only employs one when engineering work is required, and then pays only for the time the engineer is dei-oting to the Council. The second place, although there is_ a clerk and treasurer, neither officer is fully employed by the county, and both these salaries combined Avould not be as much as one officer woidd receive, providing he devoted all his time to county work. Therefore, I again say I was correct in stating that the connty only employed two officers, for all the salaries paid would not amount to more. As to there being no comparison to the work done by the county in proportion to what was done in the Provincial Government's time, I again state that the County of Hawke's Bay spends more pn public works annually than the Provincial Government did in all tho three counties together, and that the number of officers employed by the county (in proportion to expenditure) is not one-fourth as much as was paid by the old Provincial Government. I am certain far better value for expenditure is obtained under the county system, ivhich the numerous bridges in good repair, and the existence of good metalled roads in all directions, now to be seen will back out v -all I have said in favor of the county system. —I am, kc, John Bennett. Omaranui, 26th February, 1883. [If Mr Bennett Averc to refer to the Provincial Blue Books he Avould find that avc were right and that he was wrong.—Ed. -. D.T.]