The Daily News. TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1901. THE COUNTY ELECTION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXIII, Issue 78, 23 April 1901, Page 2

The Daily News. TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1901. THE COUNTY ELECTION.

m To-moekow (Wednesday) the ratepayers - ef the Taranaki County are called upon to elect councillers to fill the vacanciei caused by the resignation of the mem bora on the toll gate question. As i vote on the questien of toll gates er m toll gates we fear that the result wil WJjb be satisfactory. It is hardly to b expend that Jbe voting en the queg tion will be decisive, and anless ever' member is returned as a straight ou" supporter or opponent of toll gates thi position will be very much "as yoi were." In the case of severe members of the council we have our selves heard ratepayers declare theii objection to toll gates, but their intsn tion to vote for members upholdinj them on account of their all round fit ness for the office. In the case of th chairman himself his manly and in telligent f tatement of the position wil win him a lot ef support from thosi opposed to t#lj and thus defea the very object he had jn resigning Notwithstanding the excellent speed made by the county chairman at Ingie wood ha appears to us to have miss«< the chief point of the trouble, which is not the easiest way to maintain th roads in good order, but the most efleo tire way to do no at the least cost ti the ratepayers Ths ra can be no doub butthat the simples* and most ecenomi cal methed is by raising a loan uedo the " Loans to local Bodies Act." I a careful estimate of the cost of renew hag all the brjdges and re-metalling tbi county roads in each ri.djng was madi and a loan raised to cover the cast fa less than the ordinary rate would b required to pay interest and leave i substantial margin for maintenance This has the advantage of throwing th cost of what is really county work oi the whole of tbe ratepayers of th county instead of as in the case of to] i gates throwing the burden on a smal aection thereof. The issues placei before the electors by ths county chair man are toll gates or mud, but th third issue, that of a loan, is one whic] would be found, we believe, to be ii the true interests of the district, am perfectly Bound from a financial stand point.