PROPOSED MOA COUNTY.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 February 1919, Page 7

PROPOSED MOA COUNTY.

TATtAN>AKI COUNT? COUNCIL STUA*i OBJirXTS. j The proposed Moa County came up belore the Taranaki Cuanty Council for discussion yesterday ami the trend of the opinions of members showed that the Council is determined to adhere to I its attitude of objecting to the institution of the new county. The subject was introduced by Cr. J. B. Simpson,] who, in accordance with notice of mo- j | tion, moved in the_ direction of rescindI ing the resolution whereby the Council j decided to objeot to the proposed county. In speaking to the motion, he i said that at last meeting a deputation I from the Moa Road Board waited on the County Council and asked that the objection he removed. He did not wish, to go into statistics, but he wanted to point out that the sentiment that actuated the settlers in the matter held sow stronger than ever, They were satisfied that the formation of the County would tend to closer administration and gi>-e better results. The Tarsmaki County Council objected to dual control. So din the ratepayers of the proposed county. He could not understand the attitude of the TaTaiflfci County Council, which he considered tad nothing to lose. The constitution at the new council did not create a new local body. It merely gave the Moa Road Board increased powers. The ratepayers, the majority of.whom were in favor of the county, had expressed their fixed determination that if they did not get the county now they would not give up until they did. The chairman had recently experienced the feeling of ratepayers when he went round the district over the proposed merger,and that feeling had 'been further accentudt.il lately. He asked Councillors to put themselves in the Moa ratepayers' places. Okato and Omata would lose nothing thereby.- There might bo some small financial matters to be adjusted, but he could not see why a closely settled district like Moa, with close community of interest to Inglewood, could not be allowed to control its own affairs. Conditions had altered since the Counties Act was passed. They had had numerous instances of snlit offs from counties, and in each instance the off-shoot gave better results than the parent body. He instanced Fltham, Stratford, Waimate, etc. Community of interest had a good deal to do with the success achieved. The climatic conditions in the Inglewood district, which often hampered work in the other portions of the County, were a factor in their favor. The claim that thev could administer their rates better was borne out by the results of other counties. The Moa Road district would go ahead by leaps and bounds if the people were in closer touch with the roads. He considered the road ing problem would be to a great extent solved if road districts like Moa were given more power, and the Government took charge of the main roads, appointing a provincial council to act in the same way as the education boards now did. That would be a step towards a local Government Bill that would give (satisfaction to tbe people. There Was, he said, a feeling among a large*number of settlers in the district whether rightly or wrongly that the opposition to the Moa County was in the interests of New Plymouth. A proposal would shortly be brought forward in the interests of the whole of Taranaki; and if the present opposition was continued, that proposal would meet with a toii.?h time from hundreds of ratepayers in the district. He would not like to see this, as he was vitally interested ,m the proposal There was no seconder, and the resolution lapsed Cr- Morton said that there was the matter of Hie replv ti the deputation from the Moa Road Board, that waited 01 the Council to ask that the objection should be removed. The chairman seid that he was absent from the meeting but was surprised to know that the deputation had waited on the Council, because, as a matter of fact, the Board had absolutely ignored the Council from beginning to end. Where a deputation from this Council waited on the Moa Road Board and asked that a committee should be set up to discus.l with a committee from the Taranaki County Council, the question of merger, they absolutely turned them down and refused to discuss the matter. Later, when they felt they could not accept their verdict a.a beiny representative of the ratepayer* or. the question and addressed the ratepayers, they attended the meetings and endeivored to instil hostility He very much doubted the statement that all ra.tcpay.ers within the area desired the county. He thought it was very largely du« to the energy displayed by the chairman ot" the Men Road Board that the requisition for the proposed county was so largely signed, not only in the Moa Road District, but in the district recently merged into the County, a district where the Council had to spend £l7« to restore the roads, when, as a matter of fact, they were entitled to £I4OO, showing the state the roads had got into So keen had (hepromoters of ihe Ril' been that they made >' a political question at the recent by-election and elicited the sympathy of parliamentary representatives by means of a threat, as Cr. Simpson wa« tryinsr to do in his address.

Cr, Simpson: "i am onlv tellim;' the feelings of hundreds of the ratepayers. . A Couno.illor: It's the :ame thin;;.

The chairman, continuing, paid tli.it «-lirn the Inglewood County Bill w.ij before the, Local Bills' Committee, evi(K'icc was tendered that was totally contrary to fact, showing that they did not mind what lengths the"y went to. A statement wa.i made that the Taranaki Comity Council proposed to erect a toll on the Mountain road, although it wns opposed hy the Moa ratepayers. They knew ouite well that even since Ihe toll-gate had been erected at Strai;ford, there was a feeling among ratepayers that Taranaki was entitled to sQmc of the revenue, and though it was patent it was not the idea of the Council to have two fates, but to gam a portion of the revenue from the Stratford "nte. that aspect was, for their own particular reasons, ignored. When evidence was being tendered before the Local Bills Committ. ■!•, it was suggested that the matter he referred to a Roval Commission to tsvke cv'deuce. This the promoters of tiie Bill were loath to ;!.■ eept, and oni/ accepted it w>en they saw If they did not something w«r«s would happen Now the matter had been referred to f U commission. Tt was as well to let it vo on. Both sides could nut their opirions before the commission, which could weigh for and against, and decide whi ß h was the hotter course to pursue. The members, of t!ie Road Board l.ad ta.!con the commission c er their district, had belauded their own roads, and belittled the rVnmtv roads as much as possible, an 9 TaraflaVi had not comnlained. and now, aftnr *r'w fo bamboozle a"d bluff them. came and asked them forego their op:

' posiwte and give way. He had his own i and saw no good reason to! change it The only reason absolutely! tnat he saw in favor of tire proposed] , county was sentiment. As far as dual control was concerned they said theyj did cot want it. Neither did the Council. The advocates of the proposed county claimed that their administration i would be move economical than If •merged. They must be ruled by the law of averages, and taking the whole of the counties of a similar size to the proposed one, it wouKl be seen that the average administration cost was H per cent, whereas Taranaki. was only 8 per cent. If the Moa Road District merged it stood to reason that the more revenue received the rates of administration would be reduced. Regarding supervision he claimed that the Taranaki County would be of Bucli a size as to be conveniently and economically supervised by one They were now in a better position Tn this Tespeet than when they waited on Moa ratepayers, because they had placed their bridges under the control of a practical bridge builder and had also appointee! an overseer in whom both the Council nnl the employees had confidence. Regarding the suggestion that the Council was working in the interests of Haw Plymouth, he could claim that the 'Council was above such things. He was there to stndy the interests of the ratepaTers, and he felt that Tn opposing the proposed county he was endeavoring to save the Moa ratepayers from themselves

The chairman then moved. That the Moa Road Board be informed that the Council does not see any reason why thev should withdraw their opposition to the constitution of the Inglewood County as they consider it a retrograde step, and not in the interests of the ratepayers, either of the Moa Road District or the Tarannki County. This was seconded by Cr. McAllum. Cr Wooldridge considered there could W nothing fairer than the commission because the side that presented the betv; ter ea»,s would rriThe resolution was carriea.

Cr called for a divi'inrt, which showed that lie was the only dissentient, Cr. T.aurenc3 declining to vote, ho being neutral.