MOA DISTRICT MERGER.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 August 1918, Page 7

MOA DISTRICT MERGER.

ADDRESS BY COUNTY REPRESENTATIVE. RATEPAYERS NOT SYMPATHETIC. There was on attendance of about 80 ratepayers of tho Moa Road district at a meeting held in the Parish Hall, Ingleivood on" Saturday afternoon and convened by Ike chairman 'and other members of the Taranaki County Council to' place before ratepayers the advantages of merging the Moa ißoad district with the Taranaki County. Mr. J. S. 'Connett, County Chairman, was voted to the chair, several declining nomination. The chairman stated that as chairman of the County Council he felt that in the interests of the ratepayers of the County, which included the ratepayers of the -Moa Road District, it was his duty not only to maintain tho administration as he found it, but if necessary effect improvements, slop any leakages, safe-guard the revenue, and make the best use oE it. He found that the County was «ifferiiig loss of subsidy on account of the existence of the Road Board, and next year would lose £7OO from this cause. Subsidy was regulated according to the rates- collected. When there were 18 Road Boards in the County the subsidy was given the Road Boards at the rate of 10s in the £, on a Id rate, providing the rate did not, exceed £500." After that the subsidy was reduced to ss, the minimum being £230. When the road boards commenced to merge the County received a subsidy the maximum beine; fixed at £SOO. The County had only seriously felt ihis as more road boards merged. He showed the growth of the merger movement from 1003, when the first districts merged until recently when Waitara merged, leaving now only the Moa. Now that Waitara had merged the loss of subsidy would be more pronounced amounting to £7OO, of which £lo.') •belonged to the Moa district. There were now being collected sufficient ,rateß in that district to entitle them to claim £BO9 subsidy and the maximum subsidy now was £SOO. There would thus be a direct gain of £lO9 by [ merging.

Road hoard", were under no liability to maintain Toads and could allow them to ?et into disrepair. The County was IMble for the upkeep of its metal roads, and undertook to d'o so and <»d so. Ha showed two palpable instances under tlie Moa Road Board management, viz., the Lopper Road, which some years ago had been metalle out of loan money, and just recently the settlers had to' raise another loan of £3OOO to re-metal it, and also the Bristol Road, which the Road Board had said was in such a bad state and so low in funds that the settlers would have to go in for a special works rate to repair it. Ratepayers on a metalled county road were never asked to go for another loan to re-metal it. This was done out of rates. Under the council they would only have a 3d rate instead of Id as at present. A'voice: I have my doubts.

Mr. C'onnett continued that according to the blue book the cost of administration of tlie Moa Road District was £7OO per annum. Under the council this would be £IOO, as the one engineer and inspector could do the work." At present ratepayers paid their share ol the cost of these and received no benefit. The Moa Road District had a plant to deal with 200(1 jo £SOO yards metal per annum, say. .'lO days' work. Under the county one plant stationed at Inglewood would do the whole work of the riding and possibly of Mangorei riding as well, say 8000 yards. A hanking account could be kept at Inglewood. Some small road boards objected to merging because they were working on a smaller rate than the Sountv, some being as low as -Jd. This did not apply to Moa. who were working on a higher rate. He claimed that there would be a saving of £7OO per annum, which could be spent in metal, and would provide the interest on a. loan of £20,000, sufficient to concrete eight miles of road. At present they were entitled to £IO9O, but with an increased valuation this would be greater. They could obtain up to £2.500. The question he wished to put was, Can trie County maintain the roads as well as the Road Board maintained them? He said they could. Tf they could then the ratepayers had everything to gain and nothing to lose. The County kepe riding accounts and the money saved wnW be spent in the riding. ' He admitted that other portions of tiie County would benefit to the extent of £,500*. His statements would bear the closest investigation and every right-thinking man would agree with them.

Regarding the constitution of the district into Moa County, he pointed out that the tendency now was in favor of fewer and larger local bodies. It had been claimed that.if the district merged the County would be unveildly, but 78 of the 12.T counties were larger. From the blue l)Ook he read figures to show that the cost of administration of the larger counties was proportionately smaller, ranging from 0 per cent iii Southland, the largest: Stratford (3SI miles) was fl per cent; Hawera (193) !) per cent; Clifton (Gls miles) 13 per cent; Kltham (201 miles) 14 per cent. Taranaki (380 miles) 10 per "pent; and Moa Road District (125 miles) 22 per cent... Smaller counties such as Waitomo, Thames, Tnanga'hua, ranged from '•'o per cent to 24 per cent. Mr. Lyon: I take it you took -;it those most favorable to yourself. You should have taken a wider raii°o. Mr. Connett remarked that" he had merely come to place information before the ratepayers. Personally he did not care whether they merged' or not. It was for the ratepayers to size up the position afterwords. Another point made was that there was no community nf interest between Moa ami Okato. Community of interest was safe-guard-ed through the riding system. "Moreover, there was community of interest between all parts of the' County and Xew Plymouth, as that was where they exported produce and obtained their imports.

After the war the question of road improvement would have to ho faced. Metal was becoming more difficult to obtain and more costly, and it would l be necessary to have either concrete or tarsealed- roads and the County wonM have to consider motor traction for road-mak-ing as horses had out-rived their usefulness.

There was an idea that., it the duty of the Council to metal bye-roads out of rate, but he pointe*autr that the rate was struck for«tb,e maintenance-of metal roads and new nwtalluig would Jhare to; be q*ane

subsidising to ihe extent of iiO per, cent, though ho doubted, whether;this-- was justified. Tho* first business was to maintain main roads.

Mr. Kenwood said the speaker -nad made the future look like a bed of roses, but how was it that tho council could not keep 28} miles of main road against over 12S miles of road board roads? He considered Waitara West would, not have merged but for the system of pooling rates dissatisfying ratepayers, tie asked if merged would the council keep sernirato road accounts?

Mr. Oiimctt said they would not, as that was not legal. Mr. Cork ill pointed out tliat the council got £4OO more than the Road Board out of the riding and could not keep its roads in order. It was quite right that some of the smaller road districts should merge, as they had direct interests with New Plymouth. This district had Inglewood as its centre and the majority of its ratepayers could not get out without passing through Inglewood. Taranaki should assist them to get a new county. The Taranaki County was too large and allowed of greater leakage. To say they would get cheaper administration was '■absolute rot." Even with the stated loss of revenue they saved money through better management and closer supervision. Lepper Road had been worn out by sawmill and tourist traffic. He considered Mountain Road was in a worse state than Lepper Road hnd .said that if the Road Board had the county revenue in addition it would guarantee to tar-seal the county road in three years.

Mr Lyon said that if the ratepayers of the Moil Road District chose to maintain their entity, it was not for ma council to say either one way or the other. He congratulated the chairman on the way he had put the matter, not glossing over any points against Himself. As an ex-chairman of a backblock's county, he thought counties more settled should have been taken for comparison purposes, as in some cases the cost of administration was out of proportion owing to administering Government grants. He worked out the administration of the Taranaki County at over 13 per cent., and, from figures submitted by a councillor, Moa Riding revenue was £4065 and general expenses £1054, or over 22J per cent. Therefore, Moa was bearing an impost as compared with other ridings. He thought possibly the idea was to include this closely-settled and rich, fertile district in order to bolster up the general finances of the whole county. He admitted that the Moa Road Board had done good spade work, but some of the members should take a spell and give younger members an opportunity. . He had motored over the Bristol Ro'ad that day, and had not found it in such bad order. He also referred to the fact that the county had refused to subsidise the Manganui bridge, which had been built by 23 settlers, and yet had sent their crusher across it when the bridges on their own road had got out of repair and were unsafe. This he called consummate meanness. They had also refused a subsidy on the Makara 'bridge. The Moa ratepayers had to pay a rate for bridges over the whole county, yet when bridges were required on the •function Road the county proposed to raise a loan over the Moa Riding only. The Moa Road District was considered a very good milch cow, but they were going to form a county and kick over the bucket.

The chairman stated that the county refused always to subsidise bridges in a road district, as this would be an inducement for that district not to merge. Tf the district came in, it would be given every assistance, and he did not think there would be any difficulty in consolidating loans such as the Manganui The settlers who went in for that bridge |oan probably got 20s in the pound in the increased values of their property. Of the first loan over the who|e county, eight bridges had been erected in Okato, and none in Omata, and of the new loan three were in Mangorei aaid eight in Moa.

Mr. Lyon sonaidered the county administration was bad. He did not'think it was profitable to undertake an expenditure of £17,000 per annum without an engineer or expert advice. Tlie chairman pointed out the difficulty of obtaining a practical man. regarding the Moa district being so rich and fertile, he stated that the various valuations were:—Moa, £8 per acre; Mangorei, £l2; Waitara, £l4; Omata, £26; Okato, £C. Mr. A. Corkill said that he would like to hear further regarding the county administration. The county extended from Tarata to Okato, a distance of about 50 miles. Men were planted all over the county, with no overseer and no engineer. He wished to know who laid off (he work and who supervised it. He took it the men did as they |iked, sent in their time, and the council fl|led in the cheque at the end of the month. He claimed that no good reason had been advanced for the merger. The one idea appeared to be that everything should be centred m New Plymouth. They had the breakwater, (he freezing works—(a voice: And the Agricultural Society!) Mr. Corkill said: "You have come up here to take this district, but you won't take it as long as we can block it. The world is at war for the same principle that we are fighting fertile right to exist." The county administration, he considered, was worse than the road boards. He referred to the fact that the riding had been saddled with the whole costs and damages in connection with the accident near Tariki as the resu|t of work authorised by the council and a|so touched on the mess that (he council had got the Mountain Road, past Tariki, into this winter owing to starting work too late. The road had been blocked and the men were.engaged half their time in pulling cars out of the mud. He considered that Taranaki should have had half the revenue from the toll to which theywere as much entitled as Stratford He considered it was absurd for them to come and say what smart administrators they were.

Mr. Connett said that he was pleased at the spirit of the meeting. Nothing was gained by throwing mud. Mr. Lyon: The mud is to be left at VPaipuku. The chairman, said that he did not approve of doing without an engineer. That was purely a war measure,"while men were not available to carry out works,

Mr. Lyon: Bo you excuse the action of the council as honestly right in throwing the costs of the accident on the riding? The chairman said that it was the practice of the council. The same thing had occurred at Okato, and' the Waitara Hiding had to bear the cost of the damaga to the Waiwahaiho bridge. He-recognised they should haw had a share of-the toll-gate revenue, but the l t«8.-gate had been established some

liine. They were quite entitled to h»Y* w toll on their site -3?vory road: tjnjt carried extra traffic needed a toll. The Waitara Riding needed die as "bad as any. He was an advocate of tolls. There was a lot of through motor traffic which was not taxed. It was recognised that a tax was necessary, and motorists were willing to pay a tax, but because they could' not allocate the revenue after it ws collected a tax had not been put on. Mr. Lyon considered the refusal of a subsidy to the "Manganui bridge was parochial and not conducive to the welfare of (lie county. As the bridge took a lot of traffic oil" the county road, it would have been a graceful act to subsidise it as compensation' for the less wear and tear on their own roads. The elmirman reiterated that the county would not subsidise bridges or roads in the road district. If they felt disposed to come into the county, they would get assistance. Mr. Lyon thought the council should show a little sweet reasonableness instead of coercion, and recognise their claims. The council said: "If'you come in, you will get roads and bridges but, if not, you won't." The chairman had been long-suffering at the meeting and had the speaker's sympathy. The chairman: We'll be able to shake ■hands after the meeting. I feel I have done my duty ill placing the position before you, and it is for you to decide whether you follow it. On them otion of Messrs D. Todd and J. W. Henwood the chairman wag- accordsd a hearty vote of thanks. DISCUSSION - BY ROAD BOARD. At the meeting of the Moa Road Board on: Saturday morning, somer/Strong remarks were passed by members anent the action of the County Council members in addressing meetings of , ratepayers on the question of the merger after having addressed the members of tlie Moa Road Board, who had given them no encouragement. Mr. <[, W, .Henwood characterised it as a gross insult If the board was' elected by the ratepayers, and of tne ratepayers did not think the board capable, theb oard shoufd resign in a body* Mr. Reesby thought that TaranaKi County could not manage the roads it had as t'heywer in a bad state. He drew attention to the fact that Cr. M'Allen had given notice to move that the roads be laid down, in concrete at a cost of thousands of pounds for the benefit of Jfew Plymouth people and the travelling public, and probably that councillor did not own an acre in the county. Mr. Hunter thought it was time to form a Moa County. The district already paid £3417 per annum to the Taranaki County Council, Who only had 28% miles of road to maintain aginst over 120 miles of meta|led road under the board which also Igst revenue from subsidy,- dog tax, etc. The council received £l2O per mile to maintain the roads, but he was certain the money was spent in the interests of the travelling public, and not of settlers and he instanced the road to Tarata. They should invite the Minister of Public Works to Inglewood and point out their needs. Mr. Todd: You will soon regret that he does not believe in smal| counties, Mr. Hunter: He might not believe in the way we are dominated by the Taranaki County. Mr. Henwood: The best thing to do is to turn Okcy out. He fought against our county. A member: We are in Mr. Hine's- district and he worked hard for us. The chairman said that he had been making inquiries for months past, and felt that the time was not ripe. Mr. Hunter pointed out that his little district—the Bristol Road—paid £420 per annum to the Taranaki County, and only used one mile of road, and that in a bad state. Mr. Resby said there was no doubt they would get a county. Mr. Henwood: You won't until after the next election. Turn out the men who are no good. You will get a county if you go the right way to work;. The chairman said that the county were making a big bid to snare the district, and there must be something be» hind it. Ratepayers were not being told all. Evidently the county was in financial troubfe and could not maintain its roads under its preseit- system of mess or muddle, and if they joined the county they could be in as big a mess. They had a nice little district, and if t'hey collected the whole of the rates he would guarantee, in the. course of two or three years, to tar seal the whole of the county road. These were at. present worn out, and if the district merged the rates from the side roads would be utilised to maintain the main roads, Cr. Morton stated that the council were maintaining these roads in a high state of efficiency, despite the high cost of material, etc., with the same rate, and this was absurd, Mr. Todd said he at first thought the county councillors were nice, kind gentlemen, and were doing al| this for the benefit of Moa ratepayers. He now began to think it was for their own benefit. They had got into a bog-hole and wanted to pull Moa Road district into it. He considered that the way they had graded their roads and built bridgeg out of pine when gravel was available showed that they had squandered money from the start. The delay by the council in aeteding to the wish of several ratepayers in the Waitara district to merge into the Moa Road district was also strongly commented on, and it was resoived to write to the County Council on the question.