The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 1869.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IV, Issue 179, 2 August 1869, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 1869.

A meeting of the ratepayers ofNelson is to be held to-morrow evening at the Provincial Hall, when, among other matters, the question of formiug the town into a Borough under the Municipal Corporations Act is to bo taken into consideration. It would bo -well, if before hastily demanding a change in the existing state of things, those interested should pause and ask themselves what it is they want to do away with; why they wish to discard it; and what they propose to substitute in its place ? It is now thirteen years since the Nelson Improvement Act was passed in the Provincial Council, and those who remember the state of the town as it then existed, and compare it with the aspect it now presents will, we think, allow that on the whole the Board of Works has ; proved a most valuable institution. Under its regime streets have been formed and kept in order, and general improvements have been effected to an extent that may allow Nelson, in this respect at least, to vie with any other town iv New Zealand; now however, the desire for a change of some ; sort is beginning to shew itself among the ratepayers, and it is proposed to sweep away an institution that has given very general satisfaction,, merely for the purpose of seeking to better our condition by placing ourselves under an Act with the provisions of which we take leave to doubt whether five per cent of the ratepayers have made themselves thoroughly acquainted. The reasons for which this change is desired are, so far as we can learn ; first, that the borrowing powers of the Board as at present constituted, are notsufficienfcly large ; and second, that it is desirable to divide the town into wards, for which no provision is made in the Nelson Act. It is stated that a large sum is required for the purpose of coutruetiug two main sewers, one in Waimea and the other in Collingwood Street, and that, as the borrowing powers of the Act are limited t > £1000, which is about a fifth part of the amount required, the carrying out of this j desirable work is rendered impossible, j Even if this were correct, we see no | reason why these drainage works should I hot be commenced, for it is not absolutely | necessary that the whole of the sewer j should be completed at ouce ; the j thousand pounds -first borrowed might be expended upon beginning the work, and year by year additions might be made to it, because, as the special rates are paid in they would be devoted to. paying off a portion of the debt, which portion, by express provision of the Act, may beat once re-borrowed, it not being absolutely necessary that tbe whole of the original £1000 should be paid off before a new debt is incurred; — iv other words, by the 26th clause of the Nelsou Improvement Act, the Board is allowed to be in a chronic state of indebtedness to the amount of £1000. But ■ by the 24th clause of the same Act it is 1 provided that for the purpose of draining the town it shall be lawful for the Board to raise a sum of money to which no limit is placed, provided that a special Act authorising the same shall have been passed by the Provincial Council. To this, the objection is raised that the Act would require to be sanctioned by the General Assembly and that but little chance exists of its allowing, any more borrowing, this, however, has not yet been ;. ascertained, and it would be well at all events to make the attempt before giving it up in despair. Something of the same argument -is -applied to. the subject of dividing the. town into wards, it is said if

you begin to make alterations in your present Act the General Government will not permit it, but will insist upon your coming under the Municipal Corporations Act. But neither has this, so far as we know, been tried, and as we have said before, there is no reason why we should succumb to a purely imaginary evil. In lieu of our present easily worked little Act, we are asked to substitute a gigantic piece of legislation consisting of some 390 Clauses, which in itself we believe to he no trifling objection to its adoption, for there are few amongst us who would devote their time to thoroughly mastering the whole of its numerous provisions. Again, in addition to the cumbrous machinery, we are iuclined to think that the motive power requisite to bring it iuto play will form a somewhat expensive item. We must have a Mayor and Councillors; now, of course it would be a great honor to be elected a Councillor and a still higher one to be a Mayor — the elect of the elected — but we have grave doubts as to whether the honor would prove a sufficient remuneration for tho amount of work that would have to be dove. We are disposed to think that a more substantial reward would be considered necessary, and visions rise before us of a salaried Mayor, of guinea-feed Councillors, and of a corresponding falling off in the amount of money to be laid out upon our town improvements. This, and numerous other considerations lead us to believe that it would be injudicious to insist upon a chauge, nud, while willing to admit that amendments may be made with advantage in our present Act, our advice to the ratepayers of Nelson is that they should "rather bear those ills they have, than fly to others that they know not of."