The Southland Times. TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 1873.
Provincial legislation has not of late years afforded much material for interesting comment ; and it may safely be said that of the quota of new Ordinances which our M P.C.'s seem to consider themselves in honor bound, probably as a quid pro quo for the honorarium, to manufacture each session of Council, very few indeed ever receive sufficient attention from the public to become generally understood. We are aware accordingly that in announcing our intention to analyse one of the products of the collective Provincial wisdom of last session, we may be furnishing our readers with a plausible excuse for " skipping" the present article ; but we warn those of them (nearly all probably) who may be connected with the lately elected Road Boards, whether as chairmen, members, or mere ratepayers, not to do so, lest by such neglect they should fail to hear what the lawyers' advertisements describe, in vague but suggestive terms, as " something to tbeir advantage." The Ordinance to which we refer is the Counties Ordinance, 1872. It professes to provide for tbe better management of local affairs within the rural districts of the Province ; and the means by which this desirable result is to be accomplished are described as the establishment of Counties and County Councils. As the in habitants of the Southland portion of the Province have certainly not yet arrived at any very clear perception of the blessings which are to spring from the establishment of the Road Districts, as at present laid out, and their corresponding Road Boards, it may seem premature to descant on the advantages which are to be derived from the adoption of the more elaborate machinery of Counties and County Councils. These Counties, as provided in the Ordinance, are formed by the union of a certain number of Road Districts, including, if desired, any Municipality or Borough locally connected with such districts. The necessary steps for effecting the union are of course detailed in the Ordinance, and we tax our readers' patience regarding them no further than to say that the smallest scale on which a County can be formed is a continuous area of not less than 25 square miles, and an actual payment on account of the last rates levied of £1000. Given these conditions, any number of road districts, with or without the add; tion of a borough, may combine and pe-. tition to be formed into a County, and if the Provincial Executive think that it will be pro bono publico to comply with the petition, such County may forthwith be constituted. The County being organised, the next thing provided for by the Ordinance is the election of the County Council. On the details of this process we also, for the present, forbear to enlarge, but content ourselves with remarking that every care seems to have been taken that the County Council, when elected, shall bea highly respectable body. The next point regarding which information will no doubt be required is of course the practical question, " What is the County Council, when elected, to do? and what useful purpose is it to serve?" To this we are happy to ba ( able to reply that these Councils possess considerable powers of local taxation, in addition to the taxation which may already have been imposed by the Road Boards, and they are also privileged to deal with questions of roads, bridges, tolls, tramways, drains, markets, ferries, and what not, in a much more authoritative manner tban the Road Boards. Those who are curious as to their powers in this respect will find them very fully detailed in the Ordinance itself. Tt can not be denied, however, that did the measure stop short at this point, the establishment of a County in the present circumstances of the Province might be considered rather a matter of bonor than of profit to any particular district. There is, however, an interesting clause in section <_l of the Ordinance, which defines what shall be the ordinary revenue of the Counties, and which is worth a little attention. After enumerating the usual sources of revenue, such as rates, tolls, grants by the Provincial or General Legislatures, &c, the Ordinance further assigns to the County Council " the portion of the Roads Endowment Fund defined in section 2, subsection 3, of the Otago Road Boards Endowment Act, 1868." This, in plain English, means twenty per cent, of tbe land revenue raised within the area covered by the County. It follows accordingly that any district comprising two or more Road Boards, with or without a Municipality in connection, possessing a territory of twenty five square miles, and an actual cash payment lor rates of £1000, may be proclaimed a County under tbe Ordinance, and having been bo proclaimed, may establish a valid claim to the coutrol fur local purposes of twenty per cent, of the land revenue acruing within its bounds. Of all tbe powers and privileges conferred by tbe County organisation, this one would probably b"6" "~_i'o_t " valued, and most pertinaciously insisted on. As there is little doubt that with the assistance of the Municipal organisations already in existence, Southland could furnish at 'eafct-two such areas, we commend the (
provisions of this measure to tbe careful study of those who are interested in the progress of local government. The localisation of twenty per cent, of the land revenue ia an object worth taking some trouble to attain ; and tbis Ordinance, together with the Road Boards Endowment Act,of 18GS, appears to furnish the means by whicb this result might be accomplished, by a simple application of the provisions of the present law. It is only necessary to add that the law is not automatic in its action, but that some trouble and exertion will be required on the part of the Road Boards and ratepayers, if it is desired to profit by its provisions.
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Southland Times, Issue 1686, 7 January 1873, Page 2
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984The Southland Times. TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 1873. Southland Times, Issue 1686, 7 January 1873, Page 2
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