RATES MUST BE PAID.
DEPUTATION, OF SOLDIER SETTLERS WAITS ON COUNTY COUNCIL. As foe result of foe Horowheiiua County Council’s decision at last month's meeting to sue for all outstanding soldiery settlers rates, a deputation of soldier settlers from Te Horo, consisting oi Messrs Jamieson, Trembafo, Grant, and King, waited on foe Council op Saturday, to ask that action should he deferred. The deputation was introduced by Cr. Jensen. Mr King, lor foe deputation, said that foe position of the settlers was simply that they were unable to pay.' They were hanging on now hoping that the Government revaluation would place them in a reasonable position. If foe Council persevered with foeir decision it would mean that they would have to leave foeir farms. Mr Jamieson supported this and protested against foe Way foe special rates were collected. There were fives special rates lying on their lands and one of them in respect of foe. Gear estate, he considered should be charged against the Riding and not foe Gear Estate alone.
The chairman (Cr. Monk) pointed out that the loan in question ihad been raised before foe subdivision :oif foe land and was therefore a charge on the particular land for which it was raised. •’
Mr Jamieson asked why this loan alone of all the loans in the Riding should not be spread over foe whole Riding. In the case of foe Waihoanga bridge, which benefited only a limited number of settlers, this had been done. , The chairman, explained that according to statute, .any two persons, provided they were a majority, of those interested, could raise a special loan for the purpose of effecting improvements of a public nature. This the owners of the Gear Estate had done: The owners of the Estate had at foe time been Mrs Gear and her son. The loan,had been raised on the land and the rate was collected from this land. In regard to the Otaki Gorge Road and the Mangaone loan, a poll had been taken over the whole Riding and the majority of foe ratepayers of the Riding giving their consent, the loan hud been spread over foe whole’ Riding. The case of the Gear Estate was, however, not an isolated one; there were plenty df other limited rating areas in the district. .
fo come hack to the main point at issue, continued the chairman, the deputation asked for more time in which to pay thieir rates. Was it nob a fact, foot, some of the soldier settlers sections had four years’ rates owing on them? He was not referring to the Te. Horn soldier settlers, mor to anyone particularly, but the County had records and knew who they were.
TOO MUCH FORBEARANCE SHOWN. Tlie Council had given a lot of thought to this matter and bad shown considerable forbearance—perhaps too much. There came a. time, however, when things must come to an end. Mr King bad stated that it depended on the revaluation, whether the soldier sf filers remained on their farms or not and this fact had an important bearing on the, case. The County could not claim rates after three years, Which left foe Council in this position. The soldiers might go off the hind and therefore the County must make sure that some, acknowledgment of indebtedness was made, which in the case .of the settlers leaving : the land would entitle foe County .to some consideration at the hands of foe- Government which as first mortgagee would resume the land. The deputation would realise that the County could not do without funds. They must therefore have a recognition from tlie soldier settlers that tlie rates were due. ~
There were a number of soldier settlers in foe County, who owed four years' rates and yet . had never acknowledged any of the communications from file County Clerk in regal'd to them. /There were more letters sent out about soldier’ rates than anything else the*clerk had to deal. with. These men did not say they could not pay, not that they could pay—they just ignored the clerk’s appeal for the/, rates. The Gouncil did not know whether these men could, pay or' could not. They might be right up against it, but at least they ’owed the Glerk the courtesy of a reply. He would like the deputation to realise this: the Council had full sympathy for the soldier settler. They realised that the soldiers’ farms were too highly valued and that if they did not receive a liberal reduction in those values they would be unable to earry on. Sympathy, however, would not take them very tar. He was rather disappointed that the deputation couhL-not, make some offer, he had thought that perhaps that had been their intention when they camp to wait on the Council.
What did they want the County to do? There was no use holding" the. matter up any longer. -Putting it off would not make a settlement, and if the Council deferred action any longer, they lost the power of collecting. Mr Jamieson said that it was not .a question of the soldiers wishing to refuse an acknowledgment of the rates, but that they could not. see how they were to pay off the arrears just now. ANY REASONABLE OFFER ACCEPTED.,
The chairman stated that • since. the Council’s resolution to sute for rates, a number of other soldier settlers had come into the office and offered to pay off the arrears at the rate of so much per month. Some of them iould not offer more than £2 per month, but the Council was prepared to do all it could provided they saw that the soldiers were trying to do their best. The soldier settlers miust recognise the liability of the County; there were alt the roads of the County to be kept- up; there was £3OOO to be paid.to the Palmerston North Hospital Board every year so that‘there should be accommodation for the people of the County When 1 they were ill; and besides this there was interest and sinking fund to be mot. Further than this again , there was the interest on th© special loans which must be paid whether the County could get in the rates or not, Tfliis
| was tlie position aiid tlie tioldiw-s must realise tout file County cornu not got along unless the rates came in. ii they could make any oner, it would make tne Council’s position easier. Where iaiid was u vex-valued and men could not make way it was l ecog" nised that they should get a reduction. Their landlord, who in other cases would be responsible lor file rates, was able to repudiate, because in this case it happened to be the. Government. This was a file county jntende'd, to go into iurtiier, more perhaps in foe case oi land which might be. forfeited. : Mr Jamieson asked whether, if the ! Government gave, a reduction in’land values, tlie soldiers, would be rated on file Government valuation or file County valuation.. , ’ .
The chairman explained that there was a misapprehension in this matter. Tire County had no valuer, but merely rated on foe Government valuation which was sent to them. He quite agreed that • the soldiers had some claim against file Government, ii land was reduced from £SO to per. acre, lie considered that file soldier had a claim against the Government, for tfie difference in the rates.
. Mr Jamieson asked what oiler tlie Council would be prepared to accept ironi tne soldiers towards the payment oi overdue rates by instalments. The chairman said that 'this was a matter for tfrrangement with the rate collector. The Council was prepared to accept-anything in reason that it could get. ' The County Clerk suggested that file soldiers concerned should write to him and . make, an offer." Each Case oould then be considered on its merits and in this way the matter would be opened up for consideration. Gr. Harkness said that he would like to say that the Comity had not rushed into this matter. * Every possible request had been .sent to the soldiers, but nothing icould be got from them. The Council was really out to help the.soldiers by bringing matters to a head. The Government would not give any indication as to what they intended to do about general rates and the Council felt that the only thing to do .was to proceed against the soldiers so that the Government would be forced to recognise the position in . which these men were placed. The County luitod to do this, but it would force foe Government’s hand to a certain extent. THE COUNTTY’iS,-POSITION.
Mr King asked-if the Council went ahead and sued, who would judgment be obtained against—the Government or the settlers. ’
The chairman answered that it would be a against the soldiers. The difficulty of'the Council was that there was no use, going to the Government and saying that they could not . get anything from the soldiers as things stood at present. Tfie first thing tlie Government would ask them .was: “What had foe County done to collect the rates. Had they sued for them?” They would have to acknowledge that they had not. When Idle Council laid tried .everything <and still could not get the money in, they could then go to the Minister'and say with a clear conscience that there was nothing" to’be .got. : He Would ask fife soldier settlers to recognise that the. Council had a duty to perforin to the people of the County—to foe soldiers as well as tlie' others and must do the best they could lor everybody. He hoped that the soldiers would yet make good. They were the right, .men who were on the land -and provided, fiip Government gave a. reasonable reduction'all would yet, be right. He could only sifcate finally that if the men would make an offer the Council would fie prepared to consider it.
Cr. Catley stated that die reason for spreading the loan for the Waihoanga bridge .over the whole of the Te Horo Riding was that previous to its erection there had been a road around the bluff by the river, which had taken about £IOO per year to keep up, this amount being paid out of general revenue. It was felt that it woiild be better to raise a loan, the interest of. which Avouid amount to only £2O per vear, and spread this cost over the rather' than. continue to draw £IOO per year-, from the same source.' The Te H.oro Road Board had "been in operation .at the time this hud been done, and the people of the Riding had given their consent to tlie loan. v Cr. Jensen said that - apparently the Wellington province was behind others as far as revaluation was concerned. He understood that it would be about. November before the Avhole oif the land was valued. 7 SOME SETTLERS 'NOT TRYING. Cr. Ryder said that until the results of the revaluation came to hand, it was better that the soldier settlers should endeavour, to merit their obligations. There was one thing he would like to mention and that ,was that there were a dumber of soldiers '■who were not playing the game with the Countv. There were some of these men who ‘had not paid their rates and yet could afford to run motor-cars. When the County saw this it was hard for them to look on and see the rates accumulate. It was hard on many ol the soldiers that the County should take the action it had, but the County had to be protected. The chairman stated that the Council Avas not going to let the matter of soldier rates rest where it was. They were out to help the soldiers and they were going to take the matter up with the Government. This was all he could say. If it Avas not as satisfactory as the deputation Avouid have liked they Avouid at least recognise that the Council' had been straight with them. It was all that could be offered at the moment. The’ deputation then Avithdrew.
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Shannon News, 12 August 1924, Page 3
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2,012RATES MUST BE PAID. Shannon News, 12 August 1924, Page 3
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