MARTON BOROUGH LOANS.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXII, Issue 9008, 22 November 1907, Page 3

MARTON BOROUGH LOANS.

gIR,—As I was unable to bo present at the meeting called to discuss the loan proposals of tbej Borough Council, with your permission,'-£l should like to give a few reasons ■why I think the ratepayers should vote for them. 1. There has been no money spent on the outlying streets of the Borough for the last 23 years. Bridges and culverts are becoming dilapidated, and constant do mands for rebuilding and fresh work: are coming before the Council. I seems to mo that if any money ii to be left out of revenue to do othei wort, such as extending water ami gas services to new houses, making now drains and footpaths outside the old “Town Board” area, it is necessary to raise a substantial sum to do all these works at once, ami according to a comprehensive scheme. It is not fair for one ratepayer to have Ids street done before others, and it is embarrassing to'.the Council to have to select one application from many others for first choice. If the £4OOO loan is rejected wo shall have to make onr improvements out of overdraft at 5 per cent instead of out of loan at per cent, which seems tome most foolish. It is said that these works are not necessary. If the people who say this would attend the Council meetings or walk round the side streets they would easily acknowledge that it was time something was done of a permanent character to improve our back streets. 2. Everyone coming to the town remarks on the untidy state of the main streets. Since the kerbiug and channelling the levels of Broadway want attending to. Wellington Road wants cleaning up. It costs the interest of the £ISOO in labour alone to keep the grass off the table' drains and footpaths in this street. High street kerbiug Las already been authorised-by the Council, and must be done. ' I do hot think airy ratepayer need hesitate ifbont the £ISOO loan. 15. Those loans must stand together. It wotrld foo unfair to as]c the ratepayers of flje 'by-streets to vote for the £ISOO unless the main street people voted for them. There are other matters if|so coining on next year—-Writer supply, and further on, the drainage. |f the fwo street loans are carried #nd got out of the way the revenue be relieved of constant demands OU it tor work paid for out of the pew loans, and so the residents in tlie'suburbs who are objecting to the Joans may get their wants Bati-h— 1 It scorns to nm ewe a R pull together. The residents m the out - skirts are not so far removed from the-Centre of the town that they will hot be benefited by these improvements, and, as I have already said, unless the loans are carried thorn will be no money to supply their wants out of’our present revenue. Other schemes put forward as preferable to the Street loans are Water improvement and drainage, I acknowledge these arc very necessary gud I undertake to support them in t-ime. I ihiuk the interest on the Street improvement loan can be paid without calling on the ratepayers for more rates. The recent defalcations have mostly berm cleared off, and the sixpenny addition originally imposed for paying for Opera House fittings and kept on afterwards to clear off the defalcations will by the end of the year be available for now loans. The increase on the ■•value if ■properties'so long looked for in Slartou has I think come at last aud the revenue will prove I think sufficiently elastic as new houses go up, to enable us to go in next year for larger mains and think about drainage. But as the larger main by increasing the water supply aud so diminishing the fire insurance rate, will obviously benefit the main streets more than the by-streets, where the fire insurance rates will not bo so much affected it is obvious that if this water loan is to get support from the by-streets the dwellers in the'main streets must support the £4OOO loan.. In fact, in conclusion, I cannot but think that it would be a mistaken policy for ratepayers, now that Mutton - ts commencing to def Mop, to check its prosperity by squabbling as to which much needed improvement should have first call. If one section of the community commence rejecting this loan because it thinks that that is more necessary the other section will act in a similar way aud so all works will languish and the work of the Council will be so hampered that nothing will bo done aud the town will suffer in consequence. I ask that the ratepayers will have confidence in their Council and believe that what is prepared by them is tire best for the borough.—l am, etc., S. SKBRMAR.