Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, JUNE 28,-1894. The Conference.

Manawatu Herald, 23 June 1894, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, JUNE 28,-1894. The Conference.

Thk conference. of members: .of: the adjoining local bodies . .which .was. held at Fox too on Thursday afternoon fully justified its being summoned. The. meeting swept away, msny. * mikappretien^ong; and from our rejpovt' it' wfll'ife se&iWli&ij. .-every representative viewed the erection" 'of the ; wo'brittg'es as a necessary and possible work. A little more*'"'workin ight perhaps have been accomplished had Mr Kebbeli acceeded to tJ^Q request of the Mayor to taljje,., .th§, chair", "asr .undoubtedly he has had more" ' MpSTetfce' »in that position than Mr Williams, but all will admit that the Chairman did his best to put the matter in a clear and impartial manner before the meeting. We were very pleased to sco Mr Kebbell present as it sh6wed that in tljis-jniportant business to a very large portion of his constituency, lie was desirous of acting justly by them, and willing ..to share with them in the taxation of a work which would be of little advantage to himself personally, but then Mr Kebbeli has--always been built- this way. Mr John Davies appeared to take up the question in as good a light as his confrere Mr Kebbeli, agreeing that his Riding of the County, should be hel<J responsible for the"bnelfalf of the 'cost of the most expensive bridge. As this is the arrangement between the southern representatives it is very' nnlikely any. hjt.eh:W/tfi arise with the residents in the Tokomaru Riding as th«y j appear to be offerred that which j they want on exceedingly light : terms. '• - "j It may appear at the first sight that our southern friends were get- !

ing;- the best of the bargain by ■sticking,': oilt for being burdened with only one-half the cost, bnfc W8 ; think the settlers generally will admit that it is after all a fair proposal. The estimates of the cost appear to us to have been un necessarily increased jusft as much aa the anticipated revenue Was reduced) but> it was a hopeful sign of succeSSi that eveh these figures were not supposed to be burdensome for the benefits rec'ejveci, We. Have the f^ct tjiafc Uie Wirokino bridge, w'itAi drawbridge, can be erected for I some £7,500. Mr Kebbell is ..under the impression that the drawbridge will not be insisted on, which would then materially reduce that aruouufc, and as the river at Motoa is not near so broad as at Wirokino, and ho drawbridge would be required there } it is Very fair estimating to call the cost of both bridges £13,500, Now the actual receipts from rent from the two ferries is known, one at £95 and the other at £f G a year, and it may be accepted that the lessees of these ferries expect to make £100 a year for themselves, so that instead of £300 a year being the amount to be deducted from the annual sum to be provided, -is nearer the murk. In other -words say that £71«") is needed for interest} the tolls should proyld.e :HB?O and the settlers i l fJ4o !or ■"£■•! 72 by the settlers on the north aud £172 -by the settlers on the south of the Manawatu river, The more the /matter gets looked into tlm simpler the business appears, aud the shrewd representatives of the ratepayers, assembled on Thursday did not see their way to find any peculiar difficulty in the .business. It having '■•thus been so far satisfactorily talked' over, " it ' must res t until plans and estimates can be prepared. We think no difficulty should be experienced j we are not asking the Government for much, and we certainly understood the Premier to suggest an application of this nature would be favourably entertained by his Government. We never did believe in asking the Government to build a bridge, as I once began they could never stop, but engineering assistance they can surely grant as it would cost them little and be worth much to the settlers i