The Pahiatua Star. (Published Tuesdays and Fridays.) TUESDAY, JULY 20, 1886.

Pahiatua Star and Eketahuna Advertiser, Volume 1, Issue 12, 20 July 1886, Page 2

The Pahiatua Star. (Published Tuesdays and Fridays.) TUESDAY, JULY 20, 1886.

Os the question of striking a rate coming lit fort the Road Himnl on Saturday night, a somewhat eccentric point wits raised. One of the mem hers. it appears, on tin i snihli.slimo!it of tlie Town Board, will cease to hold a qualification in the Road Hoard District, and it was thought it would be an illegal act to strike a rate whilst that member continued to sit. How such an idea originated it is impossible to say, for the Road Boards Act, 1882, under which the Pahiatua Hoard is constituted, makes no provision for contingencies of this sort, and indeed we do not see the necessity for it. The election of a member on a qualification is sufficient guarantee that he is entitled to sit and vote as such, and until the expiration of the term for which lie was elected has expired (unless he should be guilty of j any breaches of tlie Act contained in ; sub-sections i to d of section 29), even j supposing in tlie meantime he has ; been deprived of that qualification | owing to tlie establishment of another i laxly, we cannot see where any illeI gality comes in. Section 88 of the Act states that every person of the full age of twenty-one years whose name appears on the valuation roll of a road district, or of any subdivision thereof, as the occupier of any property, shall be a ratepayer so long as such roll is in force and his name so appears thereon ; but it does not say that a member shall cease to “ hold office ” because his name does not appear on the valuation roll. If such a system were in vogue some local bodies would have nothing else to do hut conduct I elections, for it frequently happens that members are returned who liud it to their advantage to part with the qualification on which they were elected almost immediately, thus creating a vacancy, and putting the local bodies to considerable expense. The case under notice, however, has no disadvantages as far us we can see, | for the member who would lose his I ratepayer’s qualification on the constitution of the Town Hoard should still have the interest of the district at heart, and would undoubtedly act consistently. To have delayed striking a rat*- because a member “might" part with his qualification at a date unknown would have been a course unprecedented.