What is Possible.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 11 August 1891, Page 2

What is Possible.

« ~+ The proposed alteration in the manner of voting under the Counties Act Amendment Bill becomes more glaringly unfair the more the new clauses in the Bill are considered. We have a case in view. The Horowhenua County has the township of Otaki within its boundaries. The population is not large enough to allow of a special government, and the County ratepayers, in the persons of the small holders, until recently, outnumbered the other ratepayers situated on country lands. The township was fortunate in having had a metalled road formed through it before the Counties Aot ever came in force, and until the railway was ■formed its inhabitants were content to pay small rates and leave the im : provement of its, neighbourhood till after years 1 . The 1 railway, has altered all this, ; and though the population is not large they awoke to the necessity of roads, and both Criunty and Road Boards ha,ve had all their work to find nioney to carry out the wished for improvements. We believe that every penny raised in rates within the area of the township has bean spent there. Any one conversant with the difficulty there is in making roads even with the highest rates tho law allows, -will easily understand that satisfaction can never be given to a township, which, by its formainto allotments, has many roads an

& number of fdrjr sriiall ratepayers by any 16ctii.bocly p'oSSes'siite the rating powers they do. A County that has one or two townships within its boundaries, possesses an unavoidable discontented number of persons, who imagine that their wants should be first attended to. The only power that has kept them in check has been the plurality in votes. This plurality has been 8d framed as to be entirely in favour of the small men, as a ratepayer of one shilling has aa tiliicb pWe* as the ratepayer of over £8. The ratepayer of an amount of £4 to £9 has only two votes, if he pays £9 he has three votes, if £15 four votes, arid if £80 or more he has only five votes. The voting is a long Way out of being proportionate, the difference between a ratepayer of one shilling and the ratepayer of six hundred shillings, is only sto 1, not 600 to 1. The ratepayers in the Horowhenua County do not number many, and the small men outnumber the moderately large owners very considerably, and if all were placed on equal footing in voting it would merely be placing the whole County revenue for expenditure in the close neighbourhood of the small allotments. The County ratepayers placed on an equality in voting could swamp the -whole developement of all the Railway Company's land for two years by not only absorbing all the general rates, but by carrying a special loan, the Act permitting a County to borrow up to £6000, though only £8000 a year will be advanced. It is not necessary that men should do this to cause an objection to be raised, it is sufficient if it be shown that they could do so. It is indisputable that the one man one vote clause would allow them to aot so and is therefore most unjust.