Proposed County Loan.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume I, Issue 36, 3 September 1887, Page 2

Proposed County Loan.

At the County Council meeting on Thursday Mr Stubbs proposed that the Council borrow £12,000 under the “ Government Loan* to Local Bodies Act, 1886 ” for urgently needed public works in the County. He urged that when all other Counties were tail* ing advantage of the Act to the (uilest iff)*; slble extent thia ooilntj; had not availed R*el| of the extremely favourable term* under which the Government loaned the money* He explained that by the Act the County or individual ridings benefltted had to pay £5O per annum for 26 Ireitte for every £lOOO bon rowed: it practically amounted to borrowing money at 8} per ceht, and being allowed id pay back the principal by yearly instalment! running for 26 years. He considered that loan* on such term* were tbe only mean* Government had of paying in ever ao small a part the Customs duties collected. Although by the Act it was necessary to strike a special rate in order to prbvide fof the payment oihe yearly sum specified] ii was not - nodes, sary to collect it as it could be paid out of ordinary rates. He instanced several much needed works—the Rangatira-Waipao* road' Kaiti roads, Waimata-Ormond roads, road from town boundary to Morice’s gate, tram, way te Barker’s quarry; and others; It was not for the Council to veto a proposition stidii as this. It was for the ratepayer* themseive* It became a question as to Whether ownere of property along certain lines of roads should have their rates of, say £l5O, a year frittered away yearly in making tracks; they could not be called roads, passable for a portion only ct each year, or te borrow £3oooln a lumpsum, make permanent roads and repay yearly by exactly the same rates as they before paid; but for whioh they reaped no permanent

benefit. He Reminded the Council that thti South Pacific Company having obtained pay> able oil in their bore hole the Rangatira" Waipaoa road would have to ba made, as it would never do to throw obstacle* in the way of an industry such as this, whioh would bring hundreds of thousands of pounds into this district, He was in a position to lay that during the summer at least 800 tons of machinery and stores would go over that road and that the Chairman of the South Pacific Company, who was now in Gisborne, intended to apply to the Council for permission to run a pipe.lineover the County roads. After some discussion it was resolved that a committee of the whole Council meet and report to the next Council meeting, the Com* mittee to nleet at 12 o’clock On the usual meeting day.