The Daily News. MONDAY, APRIL 10, 1905. BOROUGH AFFAIRS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 794, 10 April 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. MONDAY, APRIL 10, 1905. BOROUGH AFFAIRS.

r The near approach of the election o a Mayors and Councillors should sti mulato the citizens of New Ply mouth and other boroughs to great •- or interest "in municipal adminas _ juration than is usually displayed in this important matter. It is somewhat curious thati in general, . there exists a; disinclination ou I the part of townspeople to exert themselves in the slightest in the direction of securing ab(le and wise administrators of thSir local affairs. This cannot be due to the feeling .. that the question Is one of little import, for afc a ru'.e when people's -> pockets are affected they are roused from apathy and exhibit an activity which no other cause can exciitc. The municipal history of New Plymouth for, the last decade has, so far as the election of Mayor and Councillors is concerned, been dull. If the old adage "Happy i s tho country whose annals are didl" applies with' equal force to a borough then we are a happy commure nity, and tho Council "a happy faj>e mily.'i But it is very doubtful if this assumption wtfl be accepted astrue. Theru. is yet another hypothesis which may be advanced, viz, in that the borough has been so well administered by those who have (ll sought and obtained admission to tho ranks of our City Fathers that tho citizens are well satisfied with >n the honesty and aMlity of thoir re- 1 presentutives. if this ia so, the , t _ town occupies an enviable position and it is better to leave mutters as they are. One thing, however, is certain. The rates are becoming .- heavier, anil abother loan is looming ahead. There are also, as is ajways the case, some who are asking; what value has been obtuined for the loan expenditure, and how of much more might have been done ir. with the; money if, it had been used in a different way. Tossibly no reply that could ibe given would sa,t tisfy the latter class unless it coincided with their own pet theories and then, in all probability, all the rest of tho electors would have u different opinion. That t»e borough has been improved, no ono can d«ny, tho only question at issue being as to whether the right work hat been done in the right way. The H- water gravitation scheme, which is now practically, completed, will commend (itself to every ratepayer, not only because it supplies one of Is tho first and most important ncccs- ! saries of our daily life, but also b} reason of its being revenue pr xlui- _ rag. Directly, however, this point Q is touched upon, the question of wise administration supervenes. Tho Council have waiter to sell. Should they ar-bStrai'ily hedge the supply aro round with conditions as to source and price that materially affect its sate, and thereby restrict the inflow of revenue ?, or should they, having an exhaustible supply, offer jams Bucemouts to every resident within n # reach of the mains! t 0 tacomc a consumer and contributor to the borough' revenue ? There appears to be a divergence of vjpws on this point thougH in reality there is' but one lS- principle which any business man ,j._ would adopt—that of obtaining the largest revenue possible from the undertaking. Admittedly the intake !• has been constructed and tho pipes flaid by extending the loan money ""' voted by the ratepayers who bear the burden of the interest payable therefor, (ft must be onjually pn- - tent, even to those of small ntelligence, that the pipes being once laid should coin money for the r " borough coffers at every available point, and by so doing reduce the annual charge resting on the rntcfc payers. There are some wh 0 argue r that because a house is outside the borough the occupier should, if he wishes to have the water laid on .j, from the borough mains, pay deara. ry for the privilege. When tho first schedule of charges was settled this foolish principle was adopted, but wis'v'r counsel has since prevailed, and "outside charges l " have been made more reasonable. There is H still room for improvement in this direction, and the Council will be ~ acting ty the best interests <jf s,he, ■iiiiMffiiTiif#iif[Mn#^f

istray 'by specious arguments, and | ; Mdhcre to itho businesslike principlo M: >{ charging only such a reasonable a , lum as will secure a constantly In- bc ;rcasing revenue. The drainage a scheme is another work which is th approaching completion. Apparently e the trend of events in this uia'ttcr j, t biad been to demonstrate how easily 0I the town sewage could have been v< disposed of years ago by emptying fu it into the HuatoM and letting it 0I find un outlet on the beach. There is, however, to be a septic tank, A in fact it is now in course of con- C£ stri.ction, meanwhile fresh conncc- y tions are constantly being made to a the main drain. To build this h j tank Jaf>t instead of first seeuiod \ b somewhat like putting the cart bo- w fore the horse, though some of the tl delay must be attributed to the ; s: question of site. With regard to .P street improvements, the work which I has been done is a move in the ' a I right direction, but there has been :0 I the usual outcry for the loaves : ° and fishes. It was manifest when > f | the loan proposals were issued t that there would not be enough mo- fi ney to put all the streets in order, r The Council have in the main exor- ' ciscd a wise discretion and paved , the way for a further loan to 1 complete the work. The new bridge f at the Henui and the regrading of ' the approaches form a great improvement on the old state of af- 1 fairs, though there are many who I consider that the Council did not ' make the most of the opportunity , by makings the bridge four feet | h'igher (as was proposed at the time) | and extending it to the full width ; of the road. The abattoirs are in . full working order, and though late- , ly necessitating a further loan, i should prove self-supporting. Anoth- j er ma'ter of administration which is constantly occupying the alien- . tion of the Council is that of enforcing or suspending the bye-Jaws. This is a very delicate and serious , business inasmuch frequent applications are made to suspend some bye-law or other. Some are granted, while others arc refused. While deprecating a red tape system of administration, there ■is an espial , danger of partiality, and ifr the choice of Councillors the electors should consider that their rcprcscn- ■ tatives have to act as a Court ' of Appeal, and should therefore possess the necessary qualifications. This is very important, because interwoven with this .question is ani other that may at any time force itstSf into prominenpo—the possible preponderating influence of offlcial- . dom. There does not seem at present to bc any danger in that respect so far as New Plymouth is concerned, but a weak Council is often over-ridden, and prevention is . better as well as easier than cure. It behoves the citizens to select the fittest men for administrators, and to tote a lively interest in municipal affairs'. It is not reasonable to expect the best men to come for- '* ward for office if the electors arc apathetic over the good name and fame of the town in which they re--5 side or carry on business. The work involved demands more than average albility, and while it is a thankless task, it is one wfcich is quite as - honoraible and useful (if not more so;) as that of an M.H.R. ON THE FOURTH PAGE. Literature, f A Russian Giant.