GREATER NEW PLYMOUTH

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 257, 30 April 1912, Page 5

GREATER NEW PLYMOUTH

PUBLIC MEETING AT ST. AUBYN. PROPOSALS CARRIED. Between 60 and 60 ratepayers and residemts of St. Aubyn and Moturoa attended a public meeting held in the South road gymnasium last night for the purpose of consideriig a report from Mr. Okey, M.P., in connection with the question of amalgamating with the New Plymouth borough. Mr. Blanchard presided, and the proceedings throughout were very orderly. At the outset Mr. Blanehard, who is chairman of the St. Aubyn Town Board. briefly explained the position so far as that body was concerned. In November last the board by resolution decided, he said, to adopt a neutral attitude, neither opposing nor assisting the Greater New Plymouth scheme. Subsequently, however, owing to some technical point which cropped up in Wellington, about which it knew nothing, the board came to the conclusion that there was some underhand work going on. Accordingly it decided to fight the proposal. This was really through the quibble in Wellington over the short notice of the poll. The result was very close, so that he deemed it his duty to call a meeting to ascertain what the wishes of St. Aubyn people were in the matter. Mr. Okey prefaced his remarks by explaining what had led up to the present position. Proceeding, he told his audience how he came to act as mediator, and went on to relate the action of the borough in retaliating, after the defeat of the poll, with a series of resolution raising the water and electric light charges, as a very unwise move. As a result the St. Aubyn Town Board was thinking about hitting out at the borough by letting the lighting of its streets- to the Gas Company for a number of years, ,-nd by charging the council, if possible, for a eovt.-im ?mount of the traffic going over the St. Aubyn road.

"A MISUNDERSTANDING."

. Mr. Okey continued that he was satisfied that if two adjoining local bodies were going to quarrel it would be against the progress of the district. He, therefore, suggested that a scheme should be devised, to allow the St. Aubyn residents to again vote on the proposal by increasing the area to be included by taking in part of Mohiroa. Undoubtedly the feeling between the two bodies had been caused by a misunderstanding, which was certainly not due to the borough, as he proceeded to point out. The whole trouble was due to the delay in Wellington on the part of the Government officials.

AN UNWELCOME ALTERNATIVE. In event of the Local Government Bill being passed before St. Aubyn amalgamated with the borough the former district would, in all probability, be merged in the County Council. He was quite sure that the sympathies of St. Aubyn were not with the last-mentioned body. In pointing out that while it remained a town board St. Aubyn would not be able to enjoy the same conveniences as residents in the borough, Mr. Okey instanced the case of a water supply. It was fallacy, Be said, to think about installing a supply, independent of the borough reservoir. As for the talk of entering into a lighting contract with the Gas Company, St. Aubyn would find that by doing so it was cutting its own throat.

PIGS AND FOWLS.

In order to remove any misconception that might exist, Mr. Okey stated that the sanitary contract and by-lawi now existing in the borough would not be extended to St. Aubyn until the Health Department or the people themselves demanded it, and further that the by-laws relating to the keeping of pigs or fowls would not he made to operate in St. Aubyn until the area became much more closely populated. Tf desired, arrangements could be made for spending the whole of the ratrs collected in St. Aubyn in that ward, hut. in the -speaker's opinion, it would he worse for the ward not to do so. As n "\atter of fact the expenditure in Fitzroy had . amounted to over £3OO more than the amount collected there. Further, the whole of the £SOOO loan raised by the board would be spent in the St. Aubyn district, and would only be used for the purpose for which it was raised. Concluding, he reminded the meeting that if it did not now come into the borough it would be "left behind," and he stated that it was not proposed to take a poll, but to merge the area by petition. MOTION CARRIED. Mr. Blanchard then moved ,and Mr. H. J. Honeyfield seconded, "that this meeting favora the proposal of the merging of St. Aubyn town district and part of Moturoa district (as far as the Breakwater) in the borough of New Plymouth, and that the necessary steps be taken to petition the. Governor-in-Coun' cil to give effect to the proposal." The motion was carried, by ballot, by 45 totes to 7. At the conclusion vrf the meeting thirty-tfliree signatures were affixed to the petitiom.