THE MOA DISTRICT.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 September 1915, Page 3

THE MOA DISTRICT.

TARANAKI COUNTY WOULD ADOPT IT. ROAD BOARD REFUSES OFFER. The future of the Moa Road District —whether it is to remain under the Road Board or is to form part of the Taranaki County—was touched on at the meeting of the board on Saturday. The discussion arose from a letter received from the Taranaki County Council, asking the board to appoint a committee to confer with a committee from the council on the question of merging the whole of the Moa Road District into the Taranaki County. The chairman (Mr. H. Trimble) reported on the visit to Wellington of a deputation to give evidence before the Local Bills Committee on the Moa County Bill. As was known, the committee had thrown out the Bill, but he (Mr. Trimble) said he was sure the evidence given by the deputation from the Taranaki County Council had no influence with the committee, whose action was more a matter of policy than anything else.

Mr. Trimble said that during the time he had been connected with public life he had appeared before many commissions, etc., and he did not think ho had ever met with Such a great lack of courtesy as he had met with from the Local Bills Committee on this occasion. The other members of the deputation would bear him out in what he said. When he first went before the committee an effort seemed to be made to prevent him from speaking at all. Mr. Trimble maintained that the deputation was entitled to a fair hearing, and it had not received that from the committee.

The report of the deputation was adopted. Mr. Trimble then said that with regard to the letter from the Taranaki County Council he would move that the Moa Road Board was not in favor of merging into the Taranaki County Council, and was, therefore, of opinion that no good purpose would be served by appointing a committee to facilitate the merging. Continuing, Mr. Trimble said the net valuation of the Moa Road District was £779,198, which was a larger valuation than that of many counties in New Zealand. Some years ago the Road Board carried out its administration with a revenue of £6OO or £7OO a year, and it was, therefore, absurd to say that it could not conduct its business in the future, when rates would bring in a revenue of some "£2OOO a year. On the rates collected the board would be entitled to a subsidy of £SOO a year, which wns the maximum allowed, and the board would get half of this subsidy (£250). In these circumstances the roads in the district would be better off than they were before. If the ratepayers wished to merge into the Taranaki County the board could not be prevented from doing so, but he hoped the ratepayers would not want to merge. It was rather absurd to have two local bodies doing the work, but, nevertheless, he believed in the formation of a separate county in the Moa district. They had failed now to get a separate county, but he still believed it was a better plan, and, personally he would do nothing to assist in merging into the Taranaki County. A good deal had been made of the statements that the roads under the Road Board were getting in a worse condition every year, but they had received an independent report from Mr. C. E. Robinson, of Stratford, which disproved this. The Local Bills Committee, Mr. Trimble added, would not allow him to read that report.

A member: That showed that their minds were made up beforehand. Mr. Trimble then read a lengthy report by Mr. Robinson, which stated that the district roads now showed a great improvement on what they were ten and fifteen years ago. It would be incorrect to say that the roads met the requirements of the motor traffic at the present day, but, remembering the limits of the board's finances, it could be justly said that the board had faced with success the problem of providing suitable roads to meet the requirements of settle™. The roads compared favorably with roads in other parts of the district.

Mr. Trimble remarked that the report showed the roads were satisfactory, and he was convinced that if they maintained a separate existence as a road district the roads would be just as good as they would be if they were under the control of the Taranaki County Council. He further believed that in a year or two the roads would be Better than they were at present.

Mr. A. E. Lawrence said he agreed with all the chairman had said, and he seconded the resolution, If the district was merged into the Taranaki County the county would have to purchase more machinery, and lie thought that the Road Board should purchase that extra machinery now. It was essential that the Road Board should purchase a crushing plant. He suggested that a loan should be raised to purchase a plant, as he could not see how It would be possible to get a plant out of the rate revenue. Without further discussion, the resolution was put and carried unanimously.