THE MAYOR IN REPLY.

Manawatu Herald, 3 June 1899, Page 2

THE MAYOR IN REPLY.

TO THE EDITOB OF THE MAHAWATO HERALD.

Sir,— There are always two sides to every question perhaps you will be good enough to allow me to say a few words in answer to your extensive and misleading commentary on the late public meeting and Borough finance. You state, as a fact, that there is a yearly surplus of £300 in the revenue of the Borough after the fixed charges are paid ; this fact of yours will come as a complete surprise to all past and present Councillors and Mayors, who have always bad as much as they could do to make both ends meet; you further state that when the late Mayor came into office he had to obtain an overdraft to complete contracts let for new roads by his predecessor, and as the late Mayor was in office two years and increased the said overdraft by another £100, itag,, follows according to your own calcula-^ tions that there should have been during that time £700 spent on new roads — viz., two years at £300 each, and the additional £100 indebtedness. I will now take your own figures and see how it works out, £331 10s 6d for year ending 31st March, 1897, and £198 9s gd for 1898, in all £530 os 3d^ —not £700 — and will Mr Thynne tell us what new roads were made with this £530 ? There was none I with the exception of a short length in^ Harbour Street, which cost about £40, it was all wanted fpr maintenance.

Mr Thynne talks very glibly about " new metalling," but he knows perfectly well that in the last two years he quotes new metalling meant patching old roads, and not making new ones, as he would wish his readers to infer, and which is a vastly different thing.

That Mr Thynne may attempt to wriggle out of this with his well-known adroitness is quite probable, but the ratepayers will require a little more than his facts to convince them, and those who have known him the longest are the hardest fo .convince. I quite agree with a remark made by a Councillor at the late meeting (it was not reported though), '• that the time had now gone past when Mr Thynne could lead the Foxton people as he liked." If we have a surplus of £300 every year, what need for loan ; as a matter of fact (not one of Mr Thynne's facts), the total receipts of this' Borough are not sufficient to pay working expenses, and keep all metalled Wads and drains in repair. Any ratepayer can see that for himself,' and I Would advise ratepayers before being . guljed. by any garbled newspaper accounts to go and examine the Borough books for them* selves. They are , open *6 the inspection of all ratepayers, without charge, during office hours. I am,&c, ~lk£B Fraser.