South Canterbury Times. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1881.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2660, 29 September 1881, Page 2

South Canterbury Times. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1881.

The “ Muncipal Corporations Act 1876,” under the provisions of which the Borough Council propose to move for an extension of the Borougb,seeinß to be defective in one particular so far as it relates to such extensions. Clause 25, which gives the Governor power to incorporate an adjoining district into a borough states certain conditions which are to be fulfilled before such power is exercised, but it does not state on whose application the Governor may proceed to make the Proclamation required. In other cases —the proclamation of new boroughs, the division or re-division of a borough into wards, the division of a ward and the abolishing of wards, and for the alteration of boundaries of a borough or of the boundaries of a district proposed to be incorporated—after application bas been made—a petition from a certain number of ratepayers or resident householders is stated to be necessary to set the machinery of the law in motion ; but for the case of a proposed extension of a borough, there is nothing said as to what kind of representation is required for this purpose. It is provided that if a certain proportion of the burgesses of the borough or of the resident householders of the district proposed to be incorporated—not less than one-third in either case—present a petition against the incorporation, the Proclamation shall not be issued. But nothing is said as to who shall have the right to request that a proclamation shall be made. Of course it seems right enough that a Borough Council, representing as they do the whole of the burgesses in the Borough, should have the right in question, but it would have been more satisfactory if the law had explicitly stated so much. The conditions to which the issue of the Governor’s Proclamation to incorporate an adjoining district into a borough, which apply to the particular proposal now under consideration are these : “ The Governor shall cause a notice to be published in the borough and in the adjacent district, setting forth the boundaries of the district proposed to be incorporated into the borough ; ” and, “ If, within two months after the publication of such notice, a petition is presented to the Governor, signed not less than one-third of the burgesses of the borough, or a petition signed by not less than one-third of the resident householders of such district, praying that such district may not be incorporated into the borough, in either case no such Proclamation shall be issued.” Supposing the “ notice ” to have been published and the residents of any portion of the district therein described disapprove of the incorporation, they have an opportunity given them to obtain an alteration of boundaries, the 26th section providing that “ If not less than one-half of the resident householders in any district which it is proposed to . . . include in any borough under the . . 25th section, petition the Governor, praying him not to include such part in the borough, the Governor may, in any Proclamation issued under . . . [the 25th section], alter the proposed boundaries so as not to include in the borough the part, or so much thereof as he thinks fit, described in the petition made under this section.” It would appear from the use of the words “ or so much thereof as he thinks fit ” that the Governor is not bound to accede to the prayer of such a petition, either in whole or in part. This gives the matter an awkward look, for, supposing the representations of a Borough Council to be sufficient to cause the Governor to issue the notice ” spoken of, a borough might go on extending their territory till they had reached the extreme limit fixed by the law ; but if the representations of a borough council are not sufficient to procure the publication of the Governor’s “ notice,” the proposal of the Timaru Borough Council will come to nothing. And then we want to know who has the power to ask for such notice. Supposing, however, that this question is settled to the satisfaction of those who are moving in the matter, and the Governor’s notice is published, the incorporation of so large an area as was indicated by the Mayor on Monday evening is sure to meet with resistance from those who dread the rating which must follow incorporation, and especially from those who have gone to considerable expense in providing themselves a good supply of water by means of tanks—for it is mainly, or wholly, upon the extension of the water supply that the question of extending the boundaries 1 will be decided. The boundaries named by the Mayor include consi- 1 derable areas that will not for many ' years be considered a part of the town 1 proper, and borough rates on pro- 1 perties in these areas, though they 1 might fall heavily on the owners, « would not go far towards furnishing 1

the proprietors with the benefits which the borough rating is ; intended to provide. There is something in the argument of the Mayor, that it would be well to have. command of the, whole of the basin draining through the gullies which intersect the B.orough, but not very much. The Borough sewers must terminate or rather commence, somewhere, certainly not on the watershed. We are inclined to think that it would be better to seek the incorporation of such portions only of the suburbs as are so thickly populated as to require the extension to them of the whole of the benefits derivable from Municipal management, lighting, draining, sanitary inspection, water supply, fire prevention, &c., leaving the portions still thinly peopled to be brought in as their future needs should require.