LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4475, 4 October 1922, Page 2

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

RIDINGS DI S A IFECTION. Sir, —In your issue of Friday last, you published some remarks of Cr. Mayn’s, made at a meeting of the Hauraki Plains County Council on Thursday last, which I think call for some comment. In the first place, ‘he says “Turua and Netherton are the Balkans of the county.” Just so; but as the Balkan States arose in their might to get rid of the Turkish tyrant, so the Turua and Netherton ratepayers are taking action against the administration and bridge policy of the Hauraki Plains County Council. He goes on to say “Turua turned down their reading scheme and the same thing applied to Netherton.” Surely Cr. Mayn knows that the Netherton ratepayers carried a proposal for roads in the riding to cost £15,000. His Council is now trying to see how little they can get done for the money. If “every ‘ dunce’ in the county knows, where the Netherton credit balance is gone to”? How is .it that the councillors could not give us this information at the recent meeting there. Another remark, “when the accounts are rendered, Netherton people will find they are in the wrong again” : the last time they were in the wrong, in the opinion of a large number of ratepayers, was when they joined up with the Hauraki Plains County Council. Re pur "quibbling about nothing,” I would refer Cr. Mayn to the statement of accounts given by the clerk a|t Netherton, as follows: Credit handed over from Ohinemuri County Council, £1023 ; rates collected first year £1265, expenditure £343; rates collected second year £1535, expenditure £1165 ; rates collected to August 31 this year £952, expenditure £450. Total amount received £4775, and expended £1958. In addition to this we have a debit balance at the present time of over £2OOO, and also our proportion °f the antecedent liability, on which we pay a special rate, was over £2OOO. When asked to explain the difference between receipts and. expenditure the clerk said that “the money had been expended.” and that was the only reply we could get. A quibble pf ours was the expenditure of £lO6O of loan money on formation work on Wilson’s Road, a total distance of 146 chains, which works out at £7 6s per chain. The same class of work was carried 'out in this riding by the Ohinemuri County Council for 32s 6d per chain. Surely Cr. Mayn .will agree that our objection to metal costing. 34s 6d per yard to deliver on the road from Hikutaia quarry is not a quibble. And. finally, we are hqt quibbling when we complain about seven miles pf rOads being torn to pieces by motor trucks 1 to put on about 10 ch’.ains of new metal. In conclusion, I would just like to reply to the county chairman’s remark “that the ratepayers are not up against the Council’s policy.” Give us a poll on the Bridge question and he will then get the proofl whether his policy is endorsed or not. A BALKAN RESIDENT.