LOCAL BODIES FUNCTIONS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 573, 4 June 1913, Page 5

LOCAL BODIES FUNCTIONS.

HON. MR FRASER'S OPINION. In the course of his speech at Porigaroa on Thursday Mr Praser, Minister of Public WorkH, observed that now local government had to be dealt with. He regarded local bodieß as the most useful of all bodies in the Dominion. A voice: "Abolish them all! Mr Fraser: "No, no. If a local body is not doing its work well, you have the remedy in your own handsturn them out; but if you do not like to do this you must put up with it." But with regard to local bodies, he held that they should be classified according to their means and requirements, for some were rich and some were poor. Having done that, then let Parliament decide how much money it had that can be devoted for a particular year for roads and bridges. Local bodies could make out their estimates and submit them to the Government, which very natuially i would want to know what was going | to be done with the money. If the local bodies did not exercise proper discretion as to the expenditure, then they would have to explain. He held that local bodies were the best judges of what was wanted to be done far better in fact than any Minister; what bridges, what roads were required. He was convinced that the whole sys« tem at present followed was wrong. For that the present Government was not to blame. Then it might be asked, why did it stand unaltered; but it would have been foolish for the Government to have abolished it until it had found abetter way. He hopedfl some local bodies measure would be got through this session, or possibly the next one.