LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 462, 4 May 1912, Page 5

LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL.

♦ DISCUSSED AT AUCKLAND.

MR MASSEY'S OPINION.

[]iy TKI,F,<;IIAJ'H.—I"»KBB ASSOCIATION.] Auckland, This Day.

An interesting discussion took place yesterday at a conference of delegates dealing with the division of Manakau County on the Local Government Bill. Amongst thoße present wer« Messrs Massey and Lang, M.P's. The circular issued by the Hospital Board at the suggestion of the Minister for Internal Affairs was read calling a conference of deleagteß of local bodies to elect seven delegates to represent the district at the Wellington conference, Mr Massey strongly opposed limiting the Auckland district representatives to seven men. If tha Wellington conference were to be of any value at all, every local body should have a representative. He denied that the hospital board, or the Gove:nment, had any power to limit Auckland representatives to seven. Mr Lang pointed out that seven men chosen by the conference called by the hospital board might represent one particular form of local government; There were many different interests local bodies and all these should be represented at the Wellington conference. A fairer way of electing delegates would be on the basis of ratable area.

Mr Massey said the real difficulty with regard to local government was in connection with country local bodies. It was the conditions under which they worked that required improvement. An important scatter that needed amending; was the dual system of raising loans by counties and road boards. He felt that if at the conference they were to have representatives from boroughs and counties they would have confusion, as their interests were so different.

The conference appointed four delegates, two to represent Frankton, and two for Manakau.