CORRESPONDENCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 14, 16 January 1879, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

To the Editor of the 'Evening Mail' Sir, — lv your leading article of yesterday in remarking on the County Council proceedings at their meeting on Tuesday, you accuse me of holding out a threat on the part of the Road Board in my district, that they would resign if the County Council adopted the act in its entirety. As you have not chosen to report my remarks, aud make, I cousider, an unfair criticism on what I said would you kindly insert in your first issue what I did say, which was as follows viz: — " That I belieted the effectjof adopting the Act in its entirety would be the abolition of the Road Boards. That the Council on its adopting the Act took upon itself the entire responsibility of making and maintaining all the public works in the County of which they are the representatives, and to such an extent they are the responsible body and must necessarily direct and control the Road Board, and that I did not believe they would submit to the Council's direction and control. They had hitherto been accustomed to levy their own rates and to spend them in the way they thought most advantageous to the districts in which they were raised; but now as they will be directed by another body, they are very likely to say " you have now taken charge of the roads and works carry them out yourselves," and I further added that no public meeting had been held in the district I represented, but that I had asked an expression of opinion on the action the County Council proposed taking, from the Road Board at their last meeting, and, so far as I understood them, they were not adverse to the County Council adopting the Act, but they thought it would be the business of the Council to work it and to have one uniform rate sufficient for the works of the year, also their own staff of officers to carry it out, not to have two rates and two staffs of officers working the same ground, and that they were quite willing to merge into the action of the County Council on these terms and resign their former trust." I fail to see that the above remarks implied any threat either on my own part or of the Road Hoard of which lam a member. — I am &c, W. Wells, Marybank, Thursday, Wangamoa district.