PROPOSED MOA COUNTY.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 November 1918, Page 4

PROPOSED MOA COUNTY.

We hope tlio Taranaki County Council will not persist in its dog-in-the-man-ger attitude respecting the Moa County Bill. In a general way tiiie multiplicity of local bodies is a mistake, and it might toe successfully argued that it would be tetter for the Moa district as well as the Taranaki County if Moa decided to merge witto the parent county. But the whole position has been clearly and fully put before the Moa ratepayers, who have almost unanimously declared in favor of maintaining their own separato local government. They Tesognise there is a loss entailed in government subsidy by the existence of the Koad Board v.'itimn the county, and to get over it they desire to convert the road board district into a county. A Bill has been framed for the purpose, and will come up for discussion in Parliament shortly. The Moa people liiivo asked for the assistance of the Taranaki member of Parliament in putting the Bill through. We hope Mr, S. G. Smith. M.l'., will lend it his sympathetic and energetic support. Mr Wilkinson promised during the Taranaki byc-elec-tiou to do everything within ilia power to make the Bill law, and ho will not fail to make good his promise. TaralKiki County really has no interest in blocking tlio Bill. It will not seriously affect the County, only a portion of the main road .being taken over by Moa if the County is created. Moa has a good compact district. The Eoad Board has a splendid plant and machinery, and is looking after its present roads in a way that redounds to its credit, whilst the men directing the board's affairs have shown enlightenment- and enterprise. In such bands a county would, we feel sure, prove an unqualified success. We hope the Taranaki County will drop any opposition it may have felt towards the Inglewood project, and set an example of unselfish co-operation wit'H a district that is deserving of it. The creation of further counties may ibe against the spirit of the times, but there are special reasons why the Moa district should secure the greater powers conferred by a county, seeing that it is absolutely against merging with Wie parent county. In a way Moa is in the same position as the old Waimate Road Board that used to . : -the i: Wfli-

I mate Lived off, chiefly because of the great loss in subsidy, and ever since lias done excellent ■work. Without doubt it has i ! i'c best main and side roads in New Zealand to-day, and it has done it all without tlio help of the toll-gates that somo Tarauaki counties vainly believe are an indispensable adjunct in revenue raising. The same can almost foe said of Elthaxn, which separated just before Waimate. It is recognised as one of t'he most efficient and best managed counties in the Dominion. With these examples before us, tho Taranaki County need not fear for Moa's success. As far as New Plymouth is concerned, there is no opposition to the project. On the contrary it wishes Inglewood and its district well, and would be pleased if the Bill promoting the county is put on t!h© Statute Boole this session, as it deserves to be, and looks to its member according it all the assistance in his power.