PUBLIC OPINION.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 1, Issue 70, 21 February 1913, Page 2

PUBLIC OPINION.

A COLUMN FOR THE PEOPLE This column is "The People's Column." We invite them to express their views on all public questions and matters affecting the district. We do not identify ourselves with the opinions expressed bv our correspondents

Should the Road Boards Merge ? | TO THE EDITOIi. j Sir—At a meeting of ratepayers held at Waiuku last month to consider the question of Road Boards mererg, Mr Renall i* reported in your colum s asstatfrg that " tnere were some 14 or 15 local bodies where they proposed ti have only one. The expanses all told amounted to over £IOO each. Tn thia manner alone nearly £2OOO was wasted, which woull go a long way in the Council." Again, at the last meeting of the Council, having apparently forgotten his previous assertion, he stated that "the expenses of different Read Boards would amount to £2OO each, or £3200 for the 1(3 Road Boards in existence in the County." As possibly ratepayers may be misled by thesa assertions, ] have compilad from the official yeir book for the year 1911 (1912 not laving come to hand) the following table sliowin? the total revenue from rates, licences, rents and Government subsidy, cost of management and the rate per cent, of management against revenue, for ea?h Road Bo3rd in the Franklin County : Road Board. Total Mgnt. Rate R'viuie Cost per cent

These figures, I think, show conclusively that the Road Boards are nu the sinners Mr Renall would have us believe but it is interesting to nute that Waipipi (12.2 per cent.) and Awhitu (10.5 per cent.) are easily the worst offenders, and being more directly under hia eye (being Chairman .of the Waipipi Board) may possibly have biassed him somewhat against Boards generally. Further, Wfiipipi's expenses are nearest the £2OO limit fixed by Mr Kenail at last meeting, Waiuku being next with €97. Before proceeding to give ny own views Oil the que-ition I will quote from the same source, under the same headings, figure? relating to neighbouring counties, viz , Waikato, Waitia, Raglan and Hiako. As Wbikato and Waipa have the dual form of local government, I have bracketed the Road Boards with their respective Counties, Bting neighbouring generally sneaking the same topographical and Weather conditions obtain as in Franklin, and besides the average ratepayer will have a certain amount of local Knowledge as to how roads and bridges are maintained by these bodies, and a better comparison can be made with them than, say, with or Manawatu: County. Total Mgnt. Rate R'vnue Cost percent .£ I £ ~~\ W'aikato County 2249 ' 297 Waikato Rd. Bds. G3OG ! 543 i Total 8555 j 840 j 9'B Waipa County | 6233 j 586 I Waipa Rd. Bds. j 2273 \ 22:' Total | 8506 j 808 I 9*5 Raglan County ] 8016 | 885 ITO Piako County | 6233 j 990 15'8 (For Comparison) i Franklin County j Road Boards I 9212 i 736 8.1 To the intelligent ratepayer these figures should speak for themselves. Regarding practical results, from

personal knowledge of these Counties, and taking into consideration the natural difficulties and amount of traffic, I have no hesitation in stating that the roads in the Franklin County are better maintained than in the Counties under review. Now, I am not in favour of continuing the Road Boards as at present constituted, but would favour abolishing the present districts and making each riding a road district with a system of wards. Each Road District would then have an income of from £ISOO fo £2OOO, »nd could keep their own working foreman who should also act as clerk to the Board. A contractor's plant could be kept constantly employed, (hereby overcoming the present Board's greatest difficulty, viz., getting work done when it is needed. Very often repairs which could be effected for shillings cost puurds through not being done in tim?. Members of the Board would each l ave his own ward to lojk after, and as this woulj be dune withrut salary much better results would obtain—one volunteer hoinp worth a dozen pressed or paid men. Taking the extreme and sordid view that each member would be out on his own, there would be at least seven portions of the district benefiting, as ai<ainst one if represented bv a councillor alone.

As the law stands at prtsent the County Council must contiuue, and it has its sphere of usefulness. It eoulrl collect all the rates, returning to the Boards the amount they would levy for their cwn requirements, less the cost of collecting. Ihis would eltett a considerable saving and entail very little extra wurK on the (!erk Each Koad Hoard would send its chairman tg represent it on the Council, under the provisions of Section 70 of the Counties Act, theieby saving the cost of an election. The election of the Council last winter cost close on £2OO. The Council would look after the arterial roads traversing the County and used largely by the neighbouring counties and maintain all bridges over, say, 30 feet. A permanent engineer would not be neceEsaryJn

sn eld district such as Franklin, tuV when special work was required one I could be engaged to car y out such work. A working foreman would be required to operate the Council's plact and supervise the works contracted for. This, briefly, is the systrm I favour, and we have only to note the working o£ the Waikato County, which is practically run on the lines 1 have advocated, a 9 compared with the Raglan district, which is on purely county lines, to be convinced of its economy and efficiency, wafkato was run on the county system at Its inception, but the ratepayers petitioned fur Boards and now the roads are better, their rates lower and the people better satisfied than their neighbours in tbe Raglan County. 1 will now quote the opinions of the Chairmen ot the Waikato and [ Wat pa County Councils, as record id in the report of the Conference on the Local Government Bill, held at Wellington in May, 1912: "Mr John Bailey, Chairman of the Waikato County Council, said that in the county that he had the honour to belong to, and in the county which Mr Fisher represented, they had Roarl Boards and the Counties doing their work harmoniously and well. When these Road Boards were formed it was> by petition, and the taxpayers in the Jiatricts concerned signed the petition to a man. The Cojnties Conference had no right to di3franchioe these people. If the Government of New Ztaland set out to abolish these small local bodies the small local bodies would abolish the Government. Some of the Road Boards which were too small might be grouped, but the Town Boards Act should be kept in lorce." Mr John Fisher, Chairman of the Waipa County Council, said: — 'i'he present system of local government, | especially in connection with tbe town districts and roid districts, done excellent work in the past, was sufficient tor the requirements of the present day. To abolish th'est' districts would be a mistake, in his opinion." In conclusion, I would a sk ratepayers to fully consider the different points 1 have raised. Do not be misled by mere assertions which will not stand investigation, and if in doubt remember Shakespeare's injunction "to bear those ills ye have, than fly to otherß that ye know not of."—l am, etc., R. LYONS, Councillor for Mercer Riding.

•*»— Maoris and Pakehas. ITO THE EDITOR. | , * Sir,—Like your last correspondent I, too, might bign mjaelf "disgusted" in connection with Maoris and public diningirooms. Not because they were refused, but because three of them were once permitted to sit ~f beside me to eat. With the educated and clean Maori 1 have no quarrel, but I cannot stomach mj dinner in sweaty-smelling company, white or black. It's all very well talking about the dignity of the Maori—but in Maori or pakeha there is not much dignity in dirty and evilsmelling bodies and clothes. In your foutnote you said the discussion was a delicate one. But don't you think, Mr Editor, that it wuuld Le kinder in the long run to say roughly and straight-out that the average Maori is objectionable only because he makes - himself so by neglect of himself physically? And that his company would be much more welcome it be used soap and water more freely?— I am, etc., CLEANLINESS.

£ £ Awhitu 334 35 10-5 Drury 487 27 55 Hunua 402 40 10'-. Karaka 445 43 9-7 Mauku 641 '50 7*8 Maungatawhiri 181 17 9'4 Mercer 118 ' 10 8.4 Opaheke 402 36 8-9 Paparata 361 24 6-6 Pokeno 329 17 5-2 Pollok Settlement 123 11 9-0 Pukekohe East 1076 97 90 Pukekohe West 1664 54 3"2 Waipipi 1565 191 12-2 Waiuku 1084 84 7 . 7 Total for Franklin County 9212 736 8-1