NEW PLYMOUTH HARBOR BILL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 164, 2 July 1908, Page 3

NEW PLYMOUTH HARBOR BILL.

OKtVIAWA CABBIES A KAYOKAULK r RESOLUTION. , ill!. MARX'S DECLARATION. | (By Our Special Reporter). About thirty ratepayers attended the i minting called by Mr. Maxwell at tfctiavja on Tuesday evening. Mr. Olivers I presided. |

fer. -Maxwell traversed the same girj-'iid as he did at Mauaia the previous j everting, dwelling at length upon t1., ; I ! ony remaining point upon whieli he and i Mr.rMurx were'at variance, namely, tlisinking fund. The speaker contended that the sinking fund provided for in ll U! Bill was a unique one, unsurpassed bv any other in the colony. Without tlw slightest doubt the whole liability i e the .-£300,000 loan, would be wiped out in thirty years' time, even allowing that there would be no increase in the harbor earnings during that time, that the Board's valuable endowments in the town of New I'lymouth would not improve in value, and that the Board would receive but threepence! per acre as its one-fourth

share of only 300,000 out of the .130.000 Crown lauds yet to be thrown open to settlement. He purposely based his estimates oil the lowest possible scale, in this as in every other connection, berause he hoped to reside in Taianaki for ft good many years to come, and he would nev.-r have it said of him that he ovcrstaO'il the position or misled anyI one. At iJAtamu time, he knew his estimates jfl|>j particularly low. .Now, if, as -Mr. would have it, they inner cent., mean Hint instead of ihe the loan from its] it, thus tniWerring (he responsibility for the lialMy of the loan from the Board to thM ratepayers, which would mean the recasting of the whole <if the Bill, strongly opposed any

ifluch change, tor- he was convinced i'l would provcJfimieai to the interests ol tli» rateDa'lH He felt that the eoun- ' proposals '^HW 1 that they had, had 1 got the. fund possible. Ho ■ (lid not to take Ins word for He wanted 1 them to about it. They the matter to any actuary or anyTrwountant, and he wouli be surprised Tf, when the position had been investigated closely and thoroughly, the ratepayers were not told that

he (the spealcr) had not only stated the position correctly, but had erred, and erred considerably, on the sale side. Regarding the two points brought forward by Mr. ,Marx at Manaia, namely, differential liability, giving the area in the third schedule of the Bill immunity from any future loan, and Board rcprj- ' sentafion on 1 a valuation basis, be acIknowledgcd that Mr. Marx had done excellent service to the ratepayers in bringing them forward. lie accepted them because they were fair and just, ! so much so that he felt convinced the ! promoters of the Bill could not and Would not refuse their incorporation in the Bill. The .differential liability point Mas most valuable and important. So far as the other was concerned, lie did not fed it was 'so important, for the reason that in the first place provision was being made (at Mr. .Maxwell's own instance) in the general Harbor Bill to come forward this session providing for the same thing, and that the position of the country'"party on the Board, in the event of the. redistribution of boundaries,would he weaker than now. lie explained how the weakening would be r brought about. He took a map of the harbor district and showed that owing to the increased valuation of the Plains lands, Waimatc would have two seats where it now had one. Stratford, Clifton, Rahotu, and New Plymouth would give a block vote for harbor progress. Waimate had one Government nominee;

the north had two. It would thus be seen that the progressives would easily he in the majority'. Still, as he had before said, he would ask that the provision be made in the Bill. Mr Marx addressed the meeting cm the same lines as ot Manaia. He had striven for what he believed to be in the ratepayers' interests, and it gave him satisfaction to lijid that the faults he had found in the till were to he remedied. Mr. Jiaxweimvould admit, that the Bill with the twjTextra provisions included was a far diffJrciil Bill so far as it affected the interrlts of the ratepayers of the southern lid to that submitted originally, and Ivcr which he and Mr. Maxwell had Jliercd. Regarding his future attitude %. respect of the Bill, he was not in!a position to say what he would do; he. was in the hands of his committee, composed of representatives of all parts.>flhedislricl,whom "he ivonld call together at Kapuni on Tfi.ifsiiay evening ailii discus the mat- - ter with theiii. lie was in their hands. lie would act as they,directed him. For the pivsenl ratepayers could do as lliey wished. He would advise them neither way; lie admitted that the sinking fund point was of minor importance; the acceptance of the other two points —differential lability and Hoard repre-sentation-removed, he admitted, the. chief objections to the Bill from tiiiu southern ratepayers' viewpoint.

Mr.' John Hislop said it gave him great pleasure to see Air. -Marx and Mr. Maxwell come as cloSe together as they . had in regard to the Hill. There was really nothing now between them. This was'well for lh-v southern rale]...vers, fc.r the con serving and promoting ot whose interests both men were striving. He believed that the Bill was an excellent thing. It woul-d relieve them from future rates. If they preferred to stop under the old Bill they would never see the last of their rate cards. It was a big consideration .to have their present responsibility of ?;d reduced to i/jd. As a member of the Taranaki Land Board he would tell thin that Air. Maxwell had in his calculations vastly undcr-es-timated the harbor receipts from land

revenue. Replying to questions. Air, Afaxwell said that he was not asking ratepayers to vote for the J,SM because he believed that dairymen would save money by reason of"big boats coming to Wew Plymouth and carrying their butter, lie li.nl for years maintained that the limine liners would pay the coastal freight to a central place like Wellington rather than journey around the colonv picking up dairy freight at the - ilpier'eut ports. He instanced the case of' Auckland, the dairy produce of which dMrict at prewnt was forwarded by coa-lal steamers to Wellington. There was, of course, a different opinion held bv others in regard to attracting Home liner, were the facilities available. Rut there w,..- no-getting away Iroin the fact that the harbor's great increase ot trade had made it absolutely imperative, for improvements being made immediately. The wharfage was altogether ;„„,i..„„„'in Thev .oust make addition?

thereto Again, thev would have to go in for a good dredge. This alone woulu ecst il.em .C2-'>,ooo. The present dredge was altogether inadequate. It was a marvel to him how it had kept together for the tine it had been in use and , don,- the w«rk it had. 'Jo give /.hem t - a»id«iajy|)w the ports trade was iiu- , I \ trade. W* -JiWmTrea-ing evc% yeai , « but one l.il it reached last yen' i-l-V , t 7H Ciuuliiioiis at Hie-harbor had al- , i tered gi'vll; during the past live or six years and lie would frankly say that « 'the alterations were aiicll as would warrant anyone in changing or modifying '• view, hitherto entertained m regard to ,l the utility and future.of the port, the

saml-diiityruublc, at one lime regarded a, iiisuri/ountablc, had been cllec.lively checked; 't he brcaU«ater, the slabilly uf whirl, was scriousl- threatened, had, in the hands of expelt engineer., been made smeesstul; and trade had, as Ik; I had saH gone ahead by leaps alld bouiuN As a business proportion, the JWard 'were compelled to extend the harbor and provide the necessary lae.lilies, and he was quite satislicd .CJuoAIOU ] cuiiiil he spent witll prolit tu the Hoard

and tin- ratepayer*. |„ ™iv lo Mr. Marx, Mr. Maxell -aid he admitted.! with all irankness, that Hi- Hill bore,-'a dUl'iient complexion with tile two chub's that, had bee,, suggested bv Mr. Mjirx attached. Jle had ■tcle-'i-aiificd tu .Ui. King and asked him it„ cumene a special meeting of the. Hoard In consider tlic~ suggested altera turns and in n't -likelihood Ihe meeting would take placcSw,' friday. Other mic-tiuns. touching upon matters alieady v>nlilaH|cd and reported ill Ilu< "JJailv' -News," having been aSkcii

the "JUllv /-'•«". nawug ueen .i"*^ami am-vcral, Mr. .Maxwell moved a resolution m ] I'av-ir o[ tile Bill with the additions of dill'ercnlial liability and. equality of Hoard rc|ircseiitali'.n. This was seconded by Mr. li. JJurgon, 1 and c,v being sii.b uitted to the meeting I was carricd r hy .'•> to (i. the other hall i !,f those present mil voting. l.ai-t'Ni'.'iit -V'- Maxwell fp'ike at Kaijonga.; Mr. llislop l'acetiuiibly remarked at I the Okriawa meeting that, the coming togetlifr of Mr. -Maxwell mid .Mr. Marx I renfimid h:ni uf the reconciliation ol man aid wi c e after they had boon al loggi liocils, M in the ease of'the man and wl'e. lu- felt sure Hint a. reeimcilinj tion \inrl.l make for success in the future. \\e may add that before the. . I Manifii -e'eting both men were strongliy ojifos-d to "r.nc anotliev. At Okai- " I awn iky shared the same bedroom at ": the ht# U'Jtel.. j •• W ' ''■ t'r-