COUNTY LOANS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2260, 4 August 1908, Page 3

COUNTY LOANS.

DISCUSSED AT WAIAIATA

111 response to an advertisement a small number of ratepayers met in tlio Waimata Hall on Saturday to discuss Or. W. D. Lysnar’s proposal to borrow £200,000 for the purpose of forming the County roads. Or. \\. D. Lysnar and Cr. T. Holden, were asked to attend the meeting, but as both gentlemen Iliad engagement from Gisborne they askeil that tlio meeting be postponed, and Cr. Holdon expected that Midi wouM he done. However, as a number of ratepayers attended at the appointed time, Air, Charles Gray was voted to the chair, and in a brief speech said the question of keeping the roads in eder was without doubt a Tory serious one. It h id been partially solved in that district by a loan of £6OOO to metal portions of it, but tho upkeep of the road had cost a good deal, and oven now tho road was in none too good order. The original topdressing had 'been allowed to wear through, and tho traffic had gone on tho pitching Alien this, which was originally formed of loose stones, had been broken up, with the result that there was far too little broken metal left on the road. Tlio hrokon meal put on this year had not been properly broken—it had been left in pieces so largo that a o-ooil iloal of it had been practically wasted. The statement that had been made that if £200,000 was borrowed it would reduce tho rates was quite wrong. If this money were borrowed interest would have to be paid on it, .and the usual rates would still be required for the upkeep of the roails, and in (forming and making and keeping in repair tlio roads not provided for toy the loan. Tlho statement made in the County Council, that if a read was made properly it would not cost more to maintain than it did to-day could not .be applied to the district, because there is not the class of metal or the quantity to make the road properly. Air. Gray then 'read the County Engineer’s report as published in the “Times” on January 17th, dealing with the question, which showed the schedule ‘for the AVaimata Riding under the proposal to be as follows: AVaimata Flat ... £5,255 Coast section ... £0,9/0 Gray’s to Branson ... £7,500 Po.uawa properties ... £7,645 Total £26..3i0 This gives nothing for a very important roail which will have a lot of traffic in the near future; he referred to the AYaimata-Arikihi road. Proceeding, Air. Gray said those present 'had to consider the very, great increase in nominal value of country land, and that, no doubt, this value would soon be used for rating purposes. The money market was unsettled, and tlio value of wool hail gone down considerably. It would not be a suitable time to adopt such loan proposals. If by borrowing £200,000’ they could metal the SCO miles of roads in the district in such .a way that they would stand for 10 or 12 years with only trifling repairs it might then be advisable to do so, but that could not be done. . The result of tho Joan would bo, in his opinion, Hi it they would have a number of roads partly metalled with indifferent- metal at a greater cost, and that in 10 years’ time much that was done would liavo disappeared, and the district would be saddled with a lie ivy rate. Ho had always been in favor of borrowing judiciously, but was not in favor of borrowing wholesale over the whole County, with a vory vague idoa of what was to be done with the money. The fairest way would be for other ridings to do wbat had been done in the Waimata Riding, and each borrow in special districts the amounts they require. Captain Tombleson explained that neither Crs. Holden nor Lysnar could attend the meeting, and Cr. Lysnar had asked him to put it off until after fleet week, but as nearly every ouo had reid Or. Lysnar’s pamphlet, and the discussion had been going on in the Council for some time, he saw no reason for altering the date. He had two main reasons for oilling the meeting. The first was that Cr. Lysnar bad got hold of the idea that “all are in favor of a loin, but differ as to allocation.” He hoped that the meeting would pass a resolution that would disabuse Cr. Lysnar of that idea. The second was the statement that “maintenance decreases with metalled roads,” and he contended that AVaimata metal experience proved the opposite. He moved, “That this meeting of AVaimata ratepayers is very strongly opposed to any loan spread over the whole County.” Air. Al. 11. Strachan seconded the motion, and said that he considered they had already spent up to their share of any £200,000 loan, and did not consider the result satisfactory enough to warrant repeating the experiment. He believed it would he bettor to split the County up into three so as to enable more money to be borrowed under the Loans to Loe•nl 'Bodies Act.

Air. Watson hoped a strong resolution would be passed, so as to leave no question as to wha t the feeling was in that part of the County. After a lengthy discussion, Capt. Tomblcson’s motion was carried without dissent, and also tho following, proposed by 'Mr. Watson, "That this meeting considers that the division of the County into three will be beneficial to the distrjet and enable each County to keep its own roads in better repair, and borrow three times as much (per annum under the Loans to Local Bodies Act, besides receiving considerably increased Government subsidy.”

It was decided to forward copies of these resolutions to the County Council and to Cr. Holden.