THE MOA DISTRICT.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 October 1915, Page 7

THE MOA DISTRICT.

THE QUESTION OF MERGING, The Moa district and the question of merging it into the Taranaki County was briefly discussed at yesterdays's meeting of the Taranaki County Council. The Moa Road Board forwarded a resolution passed at its last meeting stating that the Board was not in favor of the proposal to merge the Moa Road District into the Taranaki County, and therefore thought no good purpose could be served by the appointment of a committee to meet a committee of the Taranaki County Council with a view to facilitating the merger. Cr. D. McAllum said he was surprised to see that Mr. Hopson, who was formerly a member of the County Council, had 'stated that money coming in from a merged district into the county would be lost sight of entirely. Mr. Hopson must have been well aware that the County Council kept individual riding accounts, and that rates and other monies , accruing to the Moa district would be credited to the riding. The Moa Road Board had deluded their ratepayers in deciding to purchase a crusher and a roller. By purchasing the machinery now and leaving the question of merging for the future the Moa ratepayers would have to pay for the machinery, whereas if the Moa district merged now the cost of tSie machinery would be borne by all the ratepayers of the Taranaki County. The chairman (Mr. J. Brown) said that, as a ratepayer in the Moa district, he objected to having to pay a new rate for machinery. If the whole of the Moa district would not merge, he was going to take steps to merge the portion between Durham Road and Rugby Road, and he thought he could succeed'in getting this done. Mr. Brown declared that the Moa Road Board could only find three months' work in the year for the plant, and he asked what was going to be done with it for the rest of the year. The fact of the matter was that the Board had gone into the question hurriedly, because they were afraid of the merging question, which was a bogey td them. If the Council would again take lip the question of merging tile whole of the Moa district in the Taranaki County he (Mr. Brown) was prepared to go on the platform again to ! advocate this being done. Cr. J. Bridgeman was of opinion that if an attempt was made to merge the portion of the Moa district mentioned by the chairman it would only be a, waste of money and time, and the move would not succeed. If there was any likelihood of merging that portion' of the district it was quite likely the whole district would merge. i The chairman: That is what I con- ] tend. ! Cr. Bridgeman: Yes, but I think you will have difficulty in getting that portion to merge. I The discussion then dropped.