The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. SATURDAY, APRIL 29, 1882.

Kumara Times, Issue 1741, 29 April 1882, Page 2

The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. SATURDAY, APRIL 29, 1882.

The proposal to raise a loan for supp] \ - ing the town of Kumara water “ for fire and general purposes,” will be finally disposed of on Monday next, when a poll will be taken to d°cide the matter, which is one of the most grave im portance to the ratepayers. Before voting against the scheme we have before us, due consideration should be given to the question in all its bearings. The plans are complete, the estimates prepared, rind if the present opportunity be lost, then good-bye to all chance of a water Supply. Those who object to the raising' of a loan, should remember that no' special rate can, under any circdrrtstances, exceed one shilling in the pound, sind fhat in’ rill human probability, the small sifm raised, would be very far exceeded by the amount lost tfn every occasion' when a fire takes place. It is not always the particular mtfividnal who is- “burnt out” who suffers the must. A conflagration, even on a small scale, often lead's to* the immediate insolvency of one or more persons, and those who may he residing half a mile away from the fire, find out to their cost, that they are the’ real losers. If we take the amount of losses by fire in this town through the entire period of its history, and strike an average, we shall find that every year the' damage done far exceeds the amount which Would require to be paid tfnd'er the Special rate. Under such circumstances, it is only reasonable on our part to suggest that money should rather be expended in preventing the destruction of property than in paying a' far larger amount in making up, one wa‘y or another, to the persons whose premises have been destroyed, their several loses. We may have an exceptionally wetseason, oranextremely dry one, and assuming the latter to he the case, we all know perfectly well that at times all the tanks in the town would not contain a thousand gallons of water, and! if a fire took place then, half of the town might be destroyed by fire; although hundreds, or even thousands, of pairs of willing hands were doing their best to arrest the progress of destruction.

The poll, as we have previously rhen'tioned, will be taken on Mduday next, and will be conducted strictly In accordance with the provisions of the “ Local Elections Act, 1876,” and it may be stated that a bare majority will not carry the day in favor of the proposal now before us. The Municipal Corporations Act declares that “ if the number of votes given for the proposal exceeds the number given against it by one-fifth of tha latter, the resolution in favor of the proposal shall be deemed to be carried, and the Council may proceed with the proposal accordingly , but if there is not such a majority in favor of the proposal, the resolution shall be deemed to be rejected, and the Council shall not so proceed.” The ratepayers have the matter entirely in their own hands, and we venture to express a hope that every one who has a vote will record it, and thus cause the real views of the majority to be clearly shown.