CORRESPONDENCE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3047, 12 June 1926, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

(To The Editor)

Sir, —Since writing my letter of caution appearing in your paper of may 29th, I have been accused of having an axe to grind and sundry other abuses. In looking up the folowing, it struck] me as being a glaring examples of rates: Hataitai property unimproved vnihie £420, rates £ll 14s 3d; Foxtonunimproved value £531, rates £29 18s sd. Now, sir, Wellington property has risen £3 per fool to £9 in fifteen years and there is no difficulty in selling at £lO to £ll per foot. It. was stated it is not a fair comparison. Well, sir, just Taney anyone being fool enough to put in a couple of hundred pounds into Foxton sections and having a rate of 0: ! per cent, per annum added thereto as there seems no chance of any unearned increment. Therefore, the borough, taxed as ii is, cannot possibly go ahead. A correspondent signing himself “Progress,’’ (in passing I wonder why all these nom do plumes ,as we are all well known in this small community) advises me to go to the right place for money to Iniild. I wonder if he can lay me on to any ? I am sure I would willingly pay for it. Then he goes on to exhort the ratepayers to vote for the loan and is not game lo sign his name. If only he knew it, he is doing more harm than good. “No Axe to Grind" is right off side. Puts me in mind of Paddy when he used to gel behind the fence to shoot the landlord. “Citizen," writes one for the council and two for himself. To gel hack to the main issue. In my opinion (if it is worth anything) our Mayor and Councillors have done a very wrong action in accepting a tender before having the loan carried. It is a wrong precedent. i understand the estimate for tlk* Town Hall was in the vicinity of £5,500, which is as much as we can afford, and it would be doubtful if a profit could be shown at that. In fact, sir, I am up against any municipal body having a trading account. If anything goes wrong they always have the rates lo fall back on. Look at all the cities to-day, re trams, busses, etc. Wjliat a difference bad they been run by private enterprise. Me have a very line “White Elephant” in the gas works. It would be a pitv to have another. I understand (tie memorandum re Ii nancy will be along in a day or so, which will probably give us a little more light. Yours etc., THOS. W. HUNT.