The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, SEPT 23. 1886. A Bridge at Aorangi. Sridge at Aorangi

Feilding Star, Volume VIII, Issue 44, 23 September 1886, Page 2

The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, SEPT 23. 1886. A Bridge at Aorangi. Sridge at Aorangi

We are pleased to observe that the settlers and ©there interested have commenced an agitation with a view of getting a bridge put over the Oroua River at or near the railway bridge jat Aorangi. When the Roads and Bridges Construction Act was in force the Manchester Road Board had plans and specifications of a bridge prepared, copies of which wer9 forwarded i to the Government, but from the ! opposition offered by the Manawatu Road Board the project failed. The 0 )St of the work was calculated to be £3800 for 487 feet of bridge with 14 fe«t of road way. In order to show how this work may now be accomplished, we quote the following: from the Local Bodies Loans Act 1886. "Clause 11. Where any public work or undertaking is constructed or undertaken for the benefit of a part of a district (whether called by any dis-

;inctive name or not) and tho votos to be taken as hereinafter provided, authorise tho levying of a special rato for all or any of such purposes within any such part of tho district, then the annual or other charges shall he paid out of the revenues received or derived from such work, and so much of the special rate so authorised to be levied as may be necessary for that purpose. Clause 12. All the provisions of this Act applicable to the raising of a loan in a district, and tho security to be cjiven. in respect thereof by a special rate, and general!}' all other the provisions of this Act shall, mutatis mutandis, apply in respect of such part of a district Clause 14. Tho local bodies of any two or more districts may unite to raise one joint loan in order to provide the sums required to defray the cost of any public work beuefitting the districts under their several jurisdictions and jointly undertaken hy such local authorities ; but the proposal to raise such loan must be carried by a poll, in tho manner herein provided, by the ratepayers of each district severally, and the local funds of each district pledged as a security for such loan shall be jointly and severally liable for the whole of the loan. Clause 15. Whenever any such joint loan shall be so raisod, the local authorities interested may agree as to the mode in which such loan shall be apportioned, and what part of tho special rate shall be raised by each of them, and also which of such authorities shall have supervision and control of the ptiblic work or undertaking upon which such loan is to be expended. Tke local authority of any authoritos of any district may permit any other local authority to construct or carry out a public work or undertaking in such first-mentioned district, on such terms as may be agreed between such local authorities ; and the local authority so receiving permission may, if so authorised by the votes of the ratepayers as hereinafter provided, apply all or any part of the monies raised under this Act for tho purposes of such work or undertaking in like manner as it could do in its own district." From tho above it will be seen that" the Borough Council, the Manchester, the Manawatu, the Sanden and Canarvon Eoad Boards may join together in the work. The lastnamed is the least interested, but the iates could be so apportioned as to fall very lightly on the ratepayers of that district. The whole annual cost would be about £190, a small sum compared with the benefits to be derived. Assuming that the local bodies named have agreed to make tho required bridge, the next thing to be done is to apply to the Colonial Treasurer, who will act under clause 6 of the Government Loans to Local Bodies Act, 1886, which provides : "Before granting any loan the Treasurer shall be satisfied that the local authority has been duly empowered to raise money by way of loan for the construction of a public work, and has made a special rate for the purpose of paying the interest and other charges thereon, and has taken all necessary steps to comply with an Act passed in the present session of General Assembly, called • The Local Bodies Loan Act, 1886," or with such other Act of the General Assembly, as may empower the local authority to construct or undertake a public work within the meaning of this Act, and borrow monoy upon the security of a special rato, together with such other security as may be authorised by any such Act and this Act." No difficulty exists, then, of raising the money. All that is needed is agitation and combination. The support of the Manawatu Eoad Board is more than doubtful if its members looked at the question only from the limited point of view as to how the opening of easy communication with Feiiding would effect Palmerston ; but should they have larger ideas, and consider how much the whole district would be benefitted, and the value of property increased, any merely local considerations would be thrust aside. The Manchester Eoad Board is already pledged, and we have every confidence it will give hearty co-operation to the scheme. The Borough Council, representing as it does a large section of the business connection of the Borough, may safely be calculated upen to assist. However, before these authorities can be expected to take any prominent action, they should have an assurance that the ratepayers are determined to have the thing done. Then they will take the legal and technical steps necessary for its final accomplishment.