COUNTIES CONFERENCE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 90, 20 August 1913, Page 6

COUNTIES CONFERENCE.

REMITS APPROVED. [Per Press Association.] Wellington, August 10. The Counties’ Conference adopted the following remits : That the Auctioneers’ Act be amended so that fees be paid to the District Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards, instead of to the local an thority as at present. That as the only moneys received by many local authorities (including counties) from cemeteries under theii control is from the occasional sale o.' a plot, and seeing that the hank charge a fee of 10s per annum foi keeping a hank account, it should not he necessary for the local authority to open a hank account for such moneys, notwithstanding anything, that may he contained to the contrary in the Cemeteries Act 1908. Tllat powers be given to the coun oils of a borough and a county whose boundaries are contiguous to amend such boundaries by mutual consent, in the same manner as the councils of two adjacent counties are empowered to amend their county boundaries. That the roll of county electors should be prepared triennially in April of the year in which the. triennial elections take place, and shall, during the currency of the triennial period, he amended by the county clerk up to within twenty-one days of tin elections.

That counicls should be empowered to pay the chairman an honorarium not exceeding £IOO per annum in lieu of actual travelling expenses, as at present. Discussion took place at the Counties’ Conference to-day on matters relating to harbor and hospital boards. Mr Davison (Aimin') moved that the? present system of electing members jof harbor boards be discontinued, and jtbat the previous system of election by local bodies be reverted to. r J he mover said the present system was cumbersome, expensive, and unfair, especially to country districts. Tt gave an undue advantage to electors in towns, many of whom directly contributed very little to the cost of harbor boards. The motion was carried. Short shrift was accorded a remit from Wairoa and Bruoo Councils I affirming that the present system in force of hospital and charitable aid 'boards levying on other local bodies I constituting its districts for funds forwards the maintenance of respective institutions be discontinued 'and that the cost of administering [ hospital and charitable aid institutions

bo made a charge on the consolidated revenue. The remit was rejected by a large majority. The Conference decided that for the purpose of representations on hospital and harbor boards and all other governing bodies, where practicable, counties, boroughs, and town districts shall have separate representation, and where such representation is not practicable and united representation is necessary, the franchise possessed by borough or town districts shall be the same as that exercised by a county. SPECIAL COMMITTEE’S REPORT. The committee set up to consider the questions of subsidy on rates and grants-in-aid presented its report to the Counties’ Conference to-day, recommending that County Councils should receive a uniform subsidy of live shillings in the pound on all general rates collected up to a prescribed maximum. The committee also recommended setting up a board to divide the Dominion from time to time into districts in connection with the distribution of grants-in-aid. The board having given consideration to the present condition of roads, the number of settlers requiring access and other matters, shall allocate such sums as it thinks fit of the amount at its disposal for tho purpose of expenditure on such roads as are set out in the allocation. The report was unanimously adopted.