The Daily News. MONDAY, MAY 20, 1901. NEW PLYMOUTH HARBOUR BOARD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 104, 20 May 1901, Page 2

The Daily News. MONDAY, MAY 20, 1901. NEW PLYMOUTH HARBOUR BOARD.

It is not our intention to discu-s the conduct of certain numbers of the New Plymouth Harbour at the meeting which broke up in such a disorderly manner on Friday Lis 1 -, because whatever opinions may be held 01 the question of harbour representation, no right thinking or fair nvnded person can approve of the tactics followed on that oceasion. We cannot, however, refrain from saying that the coaduet of the Chairman in permitting any attempt to coerce members of the Board is (imply disgraceful, and whatever bis personal views, |he u bound according to all rules to give his cisting vo'e to maintain the existing order of things. It is well, however, that the ratepayers and the public geiserally should be aware of the actual position ef affairs so that they may see how altogether uncalled for is this agitation against the Government nominees who have seats at the Board's table, The New Plymou'h Harbour Board was was first brought in'o b;ing by an ordance of the Ta'aaaki Provincial Council in 1875. The abolition of the provinces, however, p>evented anything being done, and in 1877 an act of the General Assembly was pissed which af er defining, the harbour district reduced the amount the Board could borrow from £300,000 to £200,000 and provided " tVat s'x persons shall be elected by the ratepayers, within the rating area, whose names appear on the valua'ion roll of aDy County, Road Boa>d, Town Couccil, or Municipal Council within the rating err a, and that immediately after the ekction the Governor in Council shall appoint three other persons, and the members elected and nominated shall constitute the Board." In 1878 an Act was pusscd deling with the qu-s'ion of harbours and applying to harbours which were enumera'ed in the second schedule of the Act. Amongst these is found the New Plymouth Harbour, and the schedule states U-at the number cf members of the Board be nine, threi m-mbers to be nominated by the Governor in Council, and six p-rsons to be elect d by the persons entitled to vote at the elt ctien of members of the Taranaki County Council, New Plymouth B rough Council, and by persons who are on the eltctor»l 101 l of the Patea County Council on account of lands owned or occupied by them within the rating district described in Wse Act of 1877." This was befo e the constitution of ths counties of Hawera, Clifto", and Str.tford. In 1894 an Act was piss d giving his Excellency the Governor authority by Ordt-r in Council to tmpowora Harbour Boird, tho members of which ara not wholl) nominated, to oivide the rating area oi district into any numb r of electoral wards not exceeding tbe number as fixed for the Board, each ward to return one member of the Board. Afteproviding how Harbonr Beards shah give efftct to tbe Order in Council the act says, " This section applies only

to members by election and shall not iffict any provision of the principal Act or any amendment thereof elating to members nominated by the Gwmo l "." It will be seen thatParli m nt h*s a'l ilong carefully pr. served the right o c he Governor to appoint three member* if the Board to leprefen'-. intpre-t# thtr than those of (lie r.itepay rs. In other words the general pu v 1 c, outsidi the ratepayers, being large con'ributors to the levenue of the Board in the si ape of rent*, harbeur du< s, wharf Jges, land fund, itc, through the G v<?moi ippi'itn" three membarp, while the appoint six. Considering the email po tien of tho Board's revenues repres-nted by rates at.d that the Board can only apply rate 3 to p\y interest on the l<ar, it must be admitted that the ratepayers Dre fairly w 11 ieprrsen f e6\ On applying at the Harbour Bard office we find the ■evenue of the Board is as fo'lows : H-rbiurßa'es .. £4889 13s 21. General Revenue .. £6944 16s Id. Land Fund .. .. £6094 6s 3d. So that on a contribution of £4889 13 2d in latts the ra'epaye-s have six ieprefenta - ive?, while the general contributors, from whom the Board receives £13,039 2s 4d, through the Government of the day only have thre<\ A gr at del has be3B eaid about the unfairnss of the rtprcsentat'on, k utit is a singu'ar thing that the two members who have tbe most to say on the question are the ones who shouli ay least on the subj c 1; We refer to the Chan-man and Mr. Higce't. Strarge to fay instead of propcs'ng a redistribution of srats on the part of the elective member?, wh'ch can be done without an Act of Parliament, they want to use their position as members of the Board to dictate to the Government how it should usu the d;scretionary power placed in their hand*, in fact to deprive the Government of the power cartfu'ly preserved to it by Parliament. They even fCiup'e not to use the casting vo'e of the ch .irman to accomplish their puipo e. Reduced to figures they claim the right of the repres'ntatives of 1229 ratepayers paying £BB3 9s 2d in rates to exercise three votes. Tee following table in each ward and the amou' t of ra*es piid wi'l show tha absurdity of a great deal of what has b en said and written c.n this subject, ard that if any change is npceesary it is in ths direction of altering the boundaries of the wards :

KateWard, payers. Rates. Taranaki North ... 152* £lls* 9 0 Taranaki South ... 601 474 13 11 Olifton 628 40< 15 3 Stratford 1465 1071 10 0 Hawera 1125 1307 8 0

New Plymouth ... 740 573 15 8 If anyone will take the troubh to look at the personal of the representative ♦ hey will soe that the ratepayers have no sympathy with the eutcry that has been made. In the case of New Plymouth, a town constituency, the ratepayers have electel a farmer in the person of Mr. Oonnett. As chairman of the Co-operative Stere Compmy (purely a farmer's concern) and the Freezing Company, and one of the most successful farmers in Taranaki he certainly cannot be cons'dend a town against country man. In the case of Taranaki North, in every r-.sp°ct a country constituency, the ratepayers have done exactly the opposite, and havo elected in Mr. Kißg one of the most successful commercial in Taranaki. Then, ia the c<is of C!ifton, solely a farming constituency, they lat'-ly rejected a candidate, a farmer, and elected a tewnsman in the person of Mr. Eigne't. It ii clear that there is no feeling of injustice in the minds of the ratepayers and that the town against country cry exists only in the minds of a few agitators, This ngita'ion against the Government nominees is not likely to hive any other effoct than to secure their reappointment, because no Government could be expected to allow these intensely personal attacks to be made upon i's nominees without resenting them in the only possible way, viz., by reappointing them