GREATER NEW PLYMOUTH.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 303, 1 February 1910, Page 8

GREATER NEW PLYMOUTH.

snii-MK =:■!:-:i.'L"i-:D at \vi>t |,, There was a fair attendance lav, | '• night at ihe meeting of ratepayer- in i'■ the West End school gymnasium to ci-• i;- | i shier til ■ omnium uf joining liK.- I■ realj ' New I'r, liiouih scheme. Mr. Ji. Oiiia-ri j ' 1 : ' lu '' i ' Mr. S. \\. Suaw. one ol the e.'UV'U- | ei>. -aal thai the w ;.j, <i of liio lu.viiug in llie interests of the district. Mo one! wanted to pay mure rates than iie could I help, nut wanted to yet oil a.- ligh;!y as possible. lie had oeen om* of tho- : j who had siuned lhe petition for separ.i-j lion from tile county when the >'l. | Aubyu township was mooted. At Uiai | tiini', aliiloujrli tile On ater Xi-w Pi,.*-1 month scheme was in tlie air, there was j nothing definite: 110 tennis liad been announced upon which the boro'.igi! won:.! take in this suburban area. Sine- then the Borough Council luul made a move. The Mavor had obtained and published figures showing very {•onelus:veiy f to u:s mind., that they would be considerable yainer- by gt.'ai-j into the borough.- Of course he was open to conviction. j: anyone could <s!iow aim that lie could do belter by standing out. he was going to stand out. Jiut the arguments jll favor of joining the borough were so stroll-:' that the arguments against U would need to be pretty strong. It was a "real mi-take to multiply email local bodies, for administration under those conditions was expensive ami inefficient. First of all, he urged that there would be a saving in rates. In tile borough the rates would be a general rate of Is Id in the .t! and a wat'er rate of (id. They would not be liable for the special rates no\ V levied in the borough. A certain area had been pledged as a security for loans, and that area could not be extended, of course. Bv .going into the borough, they would get the services of the office staff, no extra expense for engineer, ov plant, and they would get the benefit of the fire brigade, and electric light. A serious objection to the winds of -ome people was that 'T shan't be able to keep a pig." Well, verv soon that would come about whether they joined the 'borough or not; Xew Plymouth was going to grow, and it would prosper all the more rapidly if the area of the borough were increased. The multiplication of a lot of little local I" bodies around the borough would only keep the place back. As for expenditure on streets, the district couldn't be u worse off than it was under the present I Barrett Road Board. TTe quoted figures 1 showing the actual saving in rates that 5 would be effected by individual ratepayers joining the borough. It might be said that the rates would be reduced in the proposed St. Aubyn town district i>v the extinction of the county rate, iie didn't think the town district would be able to reduce the rate from %d and %(] (which they now paid) to %d only. In the Fitzrov town district they were rating up to the full l'/od allowed by law, and !?ie proposed district would have to keep up more main road, carrying much heavier traffic, and farther ■■<?- moved from metal supplies. Fitzrov, of course, would lie able to place me':al on its streets more cheaply than ot. Aubvn. but even there the iy 3 d rase was needed.

llr. Enroth mentioned, and the towr elerlt confirmed. tliat the town board, if formed, would have to pay 3d a load for metal carted through the borough.

ill'. Tisch, Hay or of Xcw Plymouth, said the question was a very important one. not only to the ratepayers here, lmt to the borough. Tins question, however, lay absolutely in the hands of the ratepayers here. The Borough Council had no say. About years ago he had mentioned the advi'sablen ;5S of forming a Greater Xew Plymouth scheme. The Elliot, Frankley aiV<i Carrington Road Boards had raises!, the question when they became dissatisfied with county and road board control. Il'e reviewed the steps they took. Sow the ratepayers here decided to secede from the County Council and EVsad Board, and had decided to form St. Auliyn township, under the control of a town board. He had thought it worth while to show how much better they would be to join the borougii Xow, even supposing that the town.' board could exist on the %d rate no>r j charged by the Barrett Road Board, tile rates in the borough would be lower than that, in most cases. lie gave Instances. He didn't think tlmt they <-(j(i]d hope to curry on with the %d rate, cither. Some of the advantageof joining the borough would be that ihev would have representation on the! Borougii Council, a voice in the water and electric light extension, the services of a fire brigade, which would reduce insurances. Other advantages would be lower rates; facilitating the introduction of trams, which would benefit so I '- .urban people equally with the burgesses; cheaper stone, crushed by the Council's up-to-date plant; and very little increase of administration expenses in the town clerk's and engineering departments. Tie couldn't sec w.'iy the borough Vntc should be increased, as some proposed to fear. On gencal grounds, too, all would benefit by raising the standard of New Plymouth vy increasing the population and importance of the borough. With a Oron-Vr i Xew Plymouth scheme our population would I=ooll be shown in the "statistics as 0000 or so, instead of 5000. or thereabouts. To ?ilr. .T. W. Wilson: Some of the bonmgh Jonns had a sinking funds; some hadn't, ifr. Wilson said it was important. If there were a sinking fund the present borough area would have to repay the :o;';i: if not. then the whole of tile flieater Xew Plymouth borough would 1i;-v" I" repay the money. The town clerk said that there was no =inl;ing fund for the £90,000 loan, l-ut fo ; . the abattoirs and electric light 1 onns ami the waterworks extension loan. Tile revenue of the borough would be nledged - for the repayment of the £OO.OOO. but lie thought that it

wai- fairly safe to -:ty it would • iimh.ul to tile a,i a aiiv.tuv pledged fur the lilOile' , Mr. -aid lim unit w« reserves ill the Stratford di-ii'ie'L. ; iii' 1 ;. now at 2s an acre, won! 1 fall in in about twenty years' time, and it was worth 15s an aero to-day. The-e euoowmen'. s of 20(10 acres must be an '■lamense source of revenue to the bor- ■ _ii in ; lit* lin nre, and tiii> di-trici would >liare the benefits. Air. Oeo. Blancliard i-poke in .opposition jo the pronosal. Keplying to Mr. Shaw's arsruinent lhat New I'iyniouili was prewnled from expanding owing | to her limited area, he said the town | wouid never liave a bigger population, 1 because there were no industries, and I because tile rich people wouldn t e-ta>-i lislt anv. it was of 'no use to look tor I a biguer popnlation. Why was Mr. Tisc'h here, and why was the Borough Council -o anxious for this amalgamation? Why. because the borougn want- ! a! to pr-li the burden on to -omeo.ic c^r 's shoublers. The population of t]r.< town, he said, wasn't going to grow until the rich speculators threw open for l»r:ldiiiff the sections held for ipecula- | tive purposes. As against the figuria; r,'!i ted (his own included) to show tbrail vantages of joining the borougn. i.e instanced the pa so of a. borough re-ide;it paying -C3 lis 4il on a quarter-acre section. Mr. Blancliard made a point that in any future borough loans tne new district would have to be rated. There were all sorts of disadvantages, for instance, they would have to obtain building permits before improving their 'oroperties. (A voice: What would that cost?. —The speaker: Half a crown). ! There wa>< a great cry for trams. W hat I benefit would they derive out here? And how would they hinder the tram scheme by not joining the borough? J There were few advantages in the pro- ! posal before the meeting. It would enhance the value of property, from tj which only the big owners would reap a benefit, and then move outside 'lie . borough again. They had not considered the fact that they would share .he borough overdraft. The Mayor and town clerk, appealed to by Mr Blancliard to state the amount of the borough indebtedness, said the ■ fund was in credit,'and had been every j vear recently.

Mr. Blancl-Vard continued: "If we £,O into the borough we will put a rope round our own necks that we can never shake oil'.'' If they formed a town district. or merged into the county, they could still join the "borough, but if they joined the borough there was no chance of drawing out again. He favored giving the town board a trial, ile was surprised, lie said, to see the borough scheme urged by people who had signed the petition for the St. Aubyn town district. Mr. Shaw, in replying, said Mr. Blanchard had been very unfair to Mr. Tisch, than whom 110 man had greater interest in shoving New Plymouth ahead. It was very unfair to accuse him of trying to shove a burden from the rich man on to the weak. He regretted these personalities. Mr. Blanchard complained of his water charges. He could escape these by joining the borough. (Mr. Blanchard: What about the valuation going up?) Mr. Shaw said that was one thing they wanted — for their property to increase in value. •As for Mr. Blanchard's objection !o paying for a sewer, it was better 10 •pay for that than to have an outbreak of tvphoid. Mr. B. Eisroth, who claimed to have had a good deal to do with local government in Australia, said he had always found It better to amalgamate with the bigger things. Mr. Blanclusrd was doleful about tire future of New Plymouth. He wasn't, and principally to account of iti? unrivalled attractions and cap;:, bilities for the tourists' anvt visitors' traffic. His idea was that they had only tc show the outside world that they belreved in themselves, ancs in their own town, and the place woui'd gro-v, and grow rapidly. S'rams. he thought, were bounv? to come, hut multiplication of local bocTies would iiot help. Be instanced a parallel case. He reminded Mr. Blanchayd that the-' present borough wouldn't be able to dictate alt oathor to the new Ivorough, for wouldn't they lut ve councillors of their own? Tit.-* laid .great stress on the necessity for. and value of, water extension- for lirt-pre-vention purpo-vs. Airotftcr lK>3t»nt would , lie tlie more economical and cient expenditure pf tlia- ratepayers' money. The present system in tliat district mould, in private life, dri'.-e a man into insolvency. In tlie boroirah tliey would have a trained' stall", with ail Its attendant advantages. He suggested a committee to confer with tlie Borough Council with a view of arraajfmg a basis of negotiations, whereby Dip proposed addition to the borough would' be assured of proper representation am! a- suspension of such by-laws as w?.-e objectionable in a suburban area. Fi'e moved in the direction of setting up a : committee to confer with tlie Borough Council, ami report to a future meeting.

Mr. -Shaw preferred to test the feeliirg of the meeting as to its desire or otherwise to join the borough. A cornmittse could be set up afterwards. Mr. Enroth said that, if the meetinrr decided against the scheme it would To so without the full information tiWt would lie gathered by the committee as proposed. In answer to questions, the Mayor said that by-laws could be drafted to suit, the new ward;, which would probably he entitled to three members. Mr. Skinner said he was in favor of joining the borough, but he wanted further information before voting on : he matter, tfor that reason he favored Mr. Enroth's proposition, which provided for a conference between the ratepayers here anrl the Borough Council, and for a "report from them. In answer to questions, Mr. said that ratepayers outside the borough had, until recently, got water supplies more cheaply than borough residents. Now all were rated on practically the same basis. ' Mr. Blanc-hard thought it better .0

-ft Sic -iraigiit a.vay v.inihr ike meeting ill \ii ed tne ii'*];ic uf i;u. I ■ ii. i:> l -li'lll. .i) -ft u;> oinmill >' Mr. >ii.li> lie'.ion Javoriii" : .■.i.a,!gail..ni- 11. Mr. i). K. Morrison >w «i led, and explained 111t wheal lie signed the town district petition he hadn't known of the greater advantages obtainable iiy joining the borough. . Mr. .1. TV. Wil<-on said !i.> was sure that in a few yi*ar« tl.f\ wo.iM lia ;<■ ■, to join tlie borough. The first move in thai, directi»!i wtn ill- "Mermin'.it'um to sever from the County Oouneil. If the motion were carried, hj" didn't think there would be time to get into tlie •borough before flip 31st March. For that reason he would vote against the motion. Carrying the resolution would mean haugine l; ]> the set i lenient of the business until after -i 1 March, and •render tliein liable to another county rate. , The motion was put. ani 10-t by 13 votes to 0. Heart v votes of thank- to the elini>--man and to the Mayor concluded the meeting.