South Canterbury Times, TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1882.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2745, 10 January 1882, Page 2

South Canterbury Times, TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1882.

There was a great deal of talk in the earlier part of last session about local government. Several members; p'rofijlnent among them being the then' xhember for Geraldine* spoke at some length upon the subject in the debate on the Address - in Eeply, and later, a vote of Want of Confidence in the 'Ministry-was moved by Mr Ormond on their local government proposals. The impression produced by reading the debates is that the debaters themselves did not know exactly what they wanted. The only thing the majority of them (asked for was for greater rating powers !to be given to existing local bodies. iWe pointed out at the time that in ■South Canterbury, . at least, greater rating powers were not wanted. In most cases the existing powers are not fully exercised, and a desire is universally felt that the rates shall be kept down to the lowest possible point. The question of supplying the suburbs •of Timaru with water from theßorough i Waterworks suggests, however, that idnr lodal government system could bo ‘amended by making it more elastic, by giving more freedom to sections of the community to enter into arrangements for the carrying out of measures for the common good. The application of local laws, and range of local powers, are bounded by too hard and fast lines, and in other cases, a community is,compelled to put up with continued inconvenience because they cannot obtain what they require from the local body presiding over their affairs, while they cannot obtain what they want for themselves without forming themselves into a separate district, a course which involves the undertaking of miscellaneous business which is at present sufficiently well and more cheaply done by the existing body. There seems to be room for improvement in the way of facilitating the extension of particular powers beyond the fixed

lines of particular districts in which such; powers are in force. The question of extending the Timaru water supply to the suburbs offers a case in point. The jßdro.ugh, the residents in which undertook the work, does not comprise the whole of the town by a good deal, but those outside the municipal boundary, who want water as much as those within it, have no voice in the matter, and if ..they are supplied at all it will be in one sense as a sort of favor,— were it not that the Borough has a‘ large amount of the speciaMoati unexpended we may bp. pretty sure that the suburbs would not be supplied unless they amalgamated with the Borough, and nolens volens submitted to all the municipal laws. This they apparently are very desirous to avoid, and they probably know their own business. Now the water supply is not an ordinary municipal matter, a special loan had to be obtained for the purpose,and the whole of the accounts in connection with it have to be separately kept. Tt is a special work the advantages of .•which,.could be participated in by many outside the town boundary.. But the hard and fast line of the Town Belt limits'the jurisdiction of the Borough Council, and . a second set of special arrangements has to be made if suburban residents are to have the benefit of a water supply. Tt suggests itself that our local government might be much improved if provision were made for the ignoring, for particular purposes, of district boundaries,"whenever these do not also define the exact area over which particular, needs, which it is purposed to supply, are felt. What is wanted is a freedom to combine for. procuring a Common good which the system of sharply defined districts often denies.