King Country Chronicle Wednesday, Sept. 24th, 1913 THE COUNTY BOUNDARIES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 605, 24 September 1913, Page 4

King Country Chronicle Wednesday, Sept. 24th, 1913 THE COUNTY BOUNDARIES.

Tha alterations in boundaries effected by the Waitomo County Council amounts to practically a redistribu tion of ridings, and the Council is to be commended for going thoroughly into the matter and making such alterations as are with the progress of the district. In order to preserve the community of interest of the various localities and distribute the ridings as nearly equal as possible in the matter of valuation it was found necessary to create an extra riding, and this will necessitate the election of another councillor aB soon as the alterations come into effcet. That the new riding is necessary is evidenced by the fact that the Aria riding with a valuation of £542,486 of ratabls land has about double the valuation of any other riding. The valuation for the whole of the County amounts to £2,087,576 of which £115,791 repiesents unratable land, leaving a ratable valuation of £1,971,785. The greater portion of the nonratable land is held by the Crown the amount of non-ratable Crown land in the Te Kuiti riding alone being valued at £31,594, while there is no native land in the riding which is not liable for rates. It is gratifying to know that the steps taken by the Council and the Valuation Department in conjunction with the Native Department have rendered it possible to include practically the whole of the native lands on the rate roll, for in view of the rapid settlement of these lands this will mean a steady and increasing sourc" of revenue to the County. A considerable number of native owners already pay their rates and the provisions or the Rating Act make it possible for the Council to collect three years' arrears of rates from all native lands. The Council has taken advantage of the opportunity to readjust boundaries in such a manner that the community of interest of the settlers in the various roads is well maintained and the valuation of the various ridings is distributed equitably. As settlement extends in the more recently settled parts of the County further alterations will doubtless be necessary, but in the older settled districts the boundaries will probably become premanent. In the case of Waitomo, Mairoa, Paemako and Aria ridings separate road system exists with bye roads acting as feeders

to main roads which led to the railway. Thua within these ridings it was possible to strictly maintain the community of interest. In the cbbb of To Rauamoa the riding has been extended to the railway in order to include the land to wh.ch acceae Will be obtained at Kawa station, this being the natural outlet for the whole of that district. The Hangatiki riding has been remo.Jelled so as to include consideraable portion of the Rangitoto block, while the Te Kuiti riding and the new Tangitu riding also include portions of the land on the eastern side of the railway. Altogether the work has been well planned and any subsequent alterations which may be fuund necessary should be readily adjusted to conform to the requirements of progress.