THE MERGER PETITION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue 33, 24 December 1880, Page 3

THE MERGER PETITION.

• : , We quote the following remarks upon the manner in which the petition to merge the i'oxton highways district into the county was got up from the Feilding Guardian. It will be seen the ideas expressed are ident ical with those we gave utterance to : — " If the merits and demerits of the scheme had been discussed in a meeting, of which. due public notice had been given, previously to the petition being taken round for signature, though the minority might still protest against the impolicy of its prayer,, they could not complain at having to bow to the expressed wishes of so large a majority of their fellow ratepayers. The promoters of the petition, unwisely, we think, so far as their immediate object was concerned, did not follow this ordinary and straightforward course, but made .sure of their signatures before giving the usual publicity to their project. If they themselves were fully persuaded that the merger would result in the greatest good of the greatest number, we should have thought that they would have gladly seized the opportunity of stamping it with the authority of the resolution of a public meeting. Their not doing so, lays them open to the charge of having obtained their majority by surprise, and this suspioion will, when the merger petition ia eventually laid before the Council, detract- very irnich from the weight to which it would otherwise have been fc entitled. This is an important point, as it is quite optional with the County Council tenant or refuse to entertain the prayer of the petition, and the idea that a public matter of this kind has been promoted in what may be termed a : private way, will not only odd .strength to the arguments of the opponents of the merger, but will neutralise the efforts of its supporter^ We should recommend, quite »pa*t from . the question of whether merging is or is not the, best policy Iq pursue, that the p ejent petition be torn up and a start be made de novo. Let a public meotiagj h& oontened after due notification, and then let a x'esolntion, approving of the merger, and an amendment discountenancing it le submitted to thefote. The question will then be brought to an issue, of which none can complain, and should the merger movement be approved of by the meeting, the County Council will be able to attach due weight to the signature pf every ratepayer on the netftietftiton resulting from such decisioA 1?a ■\^%mKk6 these remarks in no unkindly and bbsinictive spirit. The promoters^of the; petition havo made a mistake! Let them retract that mis^ke^.npjk depend upon it, their ctrajp, ftgooddp itself, will not suffer thereby. Into the question of the advisability of the merger we will not ent|LJiiljlrtr~^rtieieT'"nVe may say«JiovevGij that though such n course niipt^vove suitable in sonic

parts of New Zealand, we do not think that it would at the present time be productive of good to nnv Highway District in the Manawatn."