South Canterbury Times, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1882.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2781, 21 February 1882, Page 2

South Canterbury Times, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1882.

In how different an aspect must the twb' Councils of Ashburton and’ Geraldine be held by their respective constituencies : the one occupied in carrying out a variety of useful works ; the other resolutely declining to do anything that they can avoid doing in the way of assisting the material advancement of their district. It is quite refreshing to peruse the published reports of the monthly meetings of the Ashburton Council, to note the promptness with which they push bn to completion works of public utility. It is the very reverse of inspiriting fo read the reports of the Geraldine Council’s meetings, wherein one meets with little but discussion about the collection of a two-penny-half-penny, dog tax, and still more useless and vexatious slaughtering licenses, occasionally varied with expressions of, dissatisfaction at some piece of departmental book-keeping at Wellington. The Ashburton County Council has justified its creation by its works. Our nearer neighbor had better have remained in the nothingness from which; it was caused to emerge, unless it aims at being more useful in the future than it has been in the past. We take it that County Councils were formed to carry out useful works that small sections of the people.could not carry out for themselves, and such works being pointed out to them, they should; take them in hand. Instead of this, the Geraldine Council have consistently declined to do anything at all that could be avoided, and consequently; they are never or seldom asked to do anything. The. Council is’ looked upon as at best a useless body,; as it has deserved to be ; in the estimation of some who have had to do business with it; a harsher term, obstructive, would more justly describe them. The Council cannot point to a single work that it has carried out, cannot indicate a single direction in which it has labored in the interests of progress. The Council certainly handed money to the Temuka Eoad Board to assist in building the Opihi, bridge, but the Councillors did very little work in connection with that 1 structure, and avoided as carefully as possible incurring any real responsibility in connection with it. The only other work of a material character that has received any serious attention at their hands is the extension of the Bangitata traffic bridge, and the part played by the Council in regard to it does not redound to their credit. In- : stead ..of ,lending the , neighboring Council a helping hand, or even giving; the matter the patient and impartial: consideration it should have received,; the Geraldine Council obstructed the work to the best of their ability, and continued to condemn as impossible a 1 work that was making fair progress 1 at the very same time. Other applications for improvements in the means of communication, which of all things, it is their business to attend to, have; been shunted until people have learned that those they should first look to for assistance in developing the resources of the country are determined not to help them. The Ashburton Council has constructed 267; miles of water races for irrigating the: plains between the Ashburton and Bakaia, at a cost of £IO,OOO, and have other extensive races in hand, both on those plains and between the ; Ashburton and Bangitata. These works will be an immense boom to the country, and will greatly increase its productions through years to come.. How many miles of them would have been constructed if the Ashburton Council had displayed the same desire to remain inert, as the Geraldine Council have done ? The Members for Geraldine and Gladstone must not be heard in the House of Bepresentatives advocating an extension of local governing powers, while the chief local bodies in the districts they represent, declines to exercise the powers of local government it already possesses; i The Geraldine Council is to be given an opportunity to make some amends for a blunder in the past. .They opposed with much bitterness the proposals of. the Ashburton Council, relative to the Bangitata bridge extension, but the latter persevered in their belief that their proposals could be successfully carried out. The event proves that they were right and the Geraldine Council wrong. The latter asserted that it would be found utterly impossible to drive piles in the river-, bed, spouted the idea as absurd, and refused to have anything to do with the business. The Ashburton Council with full faith in their ultimate success, went to work and drove the piles, and the whole of them are now in place, except half-a-dozen which require to be driven to replace the others that were broken in the driving. At then next meeting, we understand, the Geraldine Council will be invited to reconsider the position they had previously taken up with regard to the works, and, changing their attitude, to become partners in its completion. We hppe the proved error of their former opinions respecting it, may induce them to look more justly upon their neighbors efforts to improve the means of communication between the two counties. Instead of charging the Ashburton Council with reckless waste of the ratepayers’ contributions, they will apparently be called upon to admit that, in demanding that the bridge should be extended on a much more expensive plan, there was some recklessness on their side. It is to be hoped that the Ashburton Council’s offer to consult with them as to the kind of superstructure to be adopted for the bridge, will be received in a better spirit than previous overtures respecting the work have been.