TIMARU BOROUGH EXTENSION.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2663, 3 October 1881, Page 2

TIMARU BOROUGH EXTENSION.

[to the editor.] Sir,-—You will oblige by inserting a few lines re the above subject, and if you arc of the same opinion as myself you might kindly add your help in trying to enlighten those outside the Borough on the subject, I feel satisfied that the bulk of those who have signed the petition against the Borough extension have done so more out of antagonism to the Timaru Borough Council than anything else. I have had conversations with several of the outsiders, and it is

astonishing to what wild conclusions they jump in regard to the awful amount of taxation they are going to be let in. for if they join the Borough. A seventy-five-pound-rated outsider said he could not afford to pay £2O in rates. I showed him, as I have showed several others, that as they pay ordinarily a shilling in the pound to the Levels Hoad Board (besides this an extra shilling or two has been struck for the special improvement of a particular street or path) which would equalise the usual Borough rate of a shilling, and give them gas and more or less improvements of the streets, of which they at present get next to nothing from the Levels Board; and to my mind they would get even less if depending on their own borongh rates. Now the only other rate would be a shilling or fifteen pence (which in all probability would' be soon reduced to, say half) for the purpose of watersupply, and to those using it say another shilling. A £75 householder, rated at say 3s in the £, wonld have to pay, say £ll ss, for which he has improved streets, gas, and as much water as he wants for household, garden, and sewerage purposes saving doctors’ bills, •greengrocers’ accounts, and awful stenches, &c., &c. The outsiders have the advantage of joining a wealthy borough which requires little or no outlay in a groat part of the town, so that the funds wonld be available for the outside. Every year sees it grow wealthier, and it is fair to presume that the rates will bo reduced year by year. In the new borough—without a shilling to bless itself with and only thinly populated—it means, if anything is to be done to improve those awfully hilly roads running north and south, a very heavy rate account to be paid by someone. In a very hurried way I have sketched out the above, hoping that if nothing else is gained that at least it may'tend to make the outsiders consider carefully the matter of advantage or disadvantage before utterly giving themselves over to the idea of a new borough. I think a meeting might be called to let the matter be publicly discussed for the benefit of all concerned.—l sm, &c., IN AND OUT.