THE MUNICIPALITY QUESTION.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 108, 13 February 1872, Page 3

THE MUNICIPALITY QUESTION.

To the Editor of THU THAMES GUAIt WAN Sin,—-I have read carefully every word that has been written on the municipality question, besides attending several meeting. I have perused the Act, and listened to no end of talking, and it seems to me so far .that very little argument has been used either for or against a municipality, and that the general public is equally ignorant of both sides of the question. Your contemporary of this morning attempts to throw oil on the troubled waters, and to give good advice to both parties, but only succeeds in showing that he does not understand the point at issue. In the following lines I do not pretend to be able to give even an approach to a complete view of the subject, but I shall endeavour to notice some of the main arguments in favour of a municipality, and to refute a few of the objections that have been urged against one. The first and main objection that has been nnred is that the Act under which alone these townships could be incorporated, is cumbrous, and not suited for the

peculiar tenure under wliicli our land

held. If this objection is a valid one, it strikes at the root of the whole matter. That the Act is cumbrous must be admitted, but then any good Act would

necessarily he so, for it is no child’s play to draw an Act which will provide all that is required, and yet leave no loophole for litigation. This Act has been worked down South, but I have never heard of any of tho lawyers there “ making fortunes by it.” Chi tho contrary, lam told that it has given rise to very little litigation. I deny that there is any peculiarity in the tenure here to make the Act unsuitable. In London one may traverse miles of streets belonging to the Duke of Portland, the Marquis of Westminster, and the Duke of Bedford do they pay the rates? do they make the improvements. No : their tenants do both. The leases, it is true, arc rather longer, but, then, the tenant is bound within a certain time to erect a building, and to make improvements described in the lease, to rebuild in case of fire or other accident, &e., so that, on the whole, the terms are more onerous Ilian here. Our neighbours in Auckland are many of them only leaseholders under the Missionary Society, tho Provincial Government, and the Harbour Board do these bodies pay the rates ?or do they grant long leases ? No; tho tenant lias to be content to take a short lease, pay taxes, and improve the property. It is no doubt desirable, and, if possible, it should be managed, that the landlords should bear at least a considerable quota of the expense of permanent improvements ; but it would not be difficult to show that everywhere, especially in England, they evade this obligation.and throw the burden on the tenant; but it is no argument against the adoption of this Act that it follows in this respect other Acts of tho same sort—among them the Highways Act, now in force in this district—and if, in this respect, any amendment is to be obtained, it surely is much more likely that an iniluential corporation will succeed than any mere committee that could bo appointed for the purpose. Let the electors here only agree on the amendments required, and return a council pledged to bring in and carry through the House a bill for the purpose, and they may be sure of obtaining their wish. Lot them, on the other hand, appoint a committee to obtain a special Acr, and ten to one that it will never be carried through. A great deal has been said of the power a municipality would have of levying rates, and much has been made of the fact that the ratepayers under the Highway Act have the power of fixing the nature and amount of the rate to be levied. By recent legislation of the General Assembly, this power has been virtually taken away, as it is enacted ibat no rate ean.be enforced after the 30th June next above one penny in the pound on the value to sell. Now, as the whole rates in the Kauwacranga District this year amount to less than £B3O, at twopence in the pound, it is evident that, unless the extreme rale is in future levied, the highway trustees will have no money to spend. But even granting the premises, it seems to be overlooked that, while the highway trustees may fix any valuation they please, and a reduction can only be obtained by a costly' appeal to the Supreme or District Courts. The Corporation lias no direct power in the matter, but must appoint proper sworn valuers to assess the property. As to the rates themselves, the maxim-urn general rate is one shilling in the pound on the annual value, about equal to 3d in the pound on the value to sell, it tho property is taken at four years’ purchase, and less as the value to sell increases. As the district has never been assessed as a whole, it is not easy to fix an amount, but as nearly as I can estimate, a one shilling rate would not exceed £3,000 in one year, and as the highest amount allowed io be borrowed is five times one ordinary rate, Hie whole loan could not exceed £15,000. As the loan would probably be taken at from six to eight per cent., a rate equal to 10 per cent, would cover interest, sinking fund, and expenses, that is £1,500, or aGd rate. And even should it be asserted that the general rates will yield more, the proportion would remain the same, the only other rates possible under the Act are special rales for local improvements, amounting to Gd in the pound, on particular localities. Thus the highest possible rating for every purpose could not exceed 2s in the pound of the annual value or rental at a hi/ time, but it is almost impossible that, _ in tne first year, so much could be levied, and unlikely that in any future year, unless under extremely urgent circumstances, tho corporation would push its rating or borrowing powers to tlicir utmost extent, ns prudence requires a reserve to be maintained for unexpected contingencies. Having thus reviewed the objections most worthy of notice, I turn to the arguments in support of a municipality ; and, first, r.Nlox is strength. Acting astliis community lias done, by .small sections, wo shall never arrive, as it were, atmajority, and be able to take our place among similar communities; wc shall never be able to exert much influence in Parliament, or to obtain our rights from Government. At present we are simply laughed at as a set of fools, who live peaceably and quietly enough when nothing is stirring, but who, so soon as any object is to be attained, begin to fight and continue our quarrels till some third party has quietly eaten the oyster; now” the reason of this seems to bo two - fold : first, most of ns (like all majorities everywhere clso) will not take the trouble to think for ourselves, but arc content to accept the dicta of others. Second, there is no recognised body in which questions of local interest arc discussed in such a way as to afford the necessary information to the public to enable them to judge of matters without the trouble of much thinking. It appears to me that one of the great advantages of municipal institutions would be their tendency to form public opinion. But how about the outlying districts ? Take, for an exainpie, Block 27. Judging from the stnall sample wo have had in the cost of making Scaloy-strcet from Kolles-ton-street to the Terrace, the making of roads in that district will he a most expensive affair, totally beyond the means of the inhabitants, if formed into a separate district, and quite impossible for the Highway Board as at present constituted, if it is really to be shorn of its powers according to the recent enactment ; in short, its only chance of roads is the establishment of a municipality, and as the inhabitants are numerous they would have considerable influence in the borough elections. Take Parawai —happy people beyond the llape Creek—ye say ye need no Municipality, and yet try to get one by a side wind by getting the Superintendent to bring the Municipal Police Act into force within vour district.

Lastly, there are advantages to be got. The Superintendent was asked to hand over the water works to the Highway Beards. Answer—They could only be banded over to a Municipality. These same works are said to be now yielding an income of not less than £1,011" per annum, and the income goes on daily increasing. Tire Highway Boards recently asked for a little assistance to do some drainage works most urgently required. Iteply—

The drainage of Shorthand and Grahamstown can only be advantageously undertaken by a Municipality. There, Mr Editor, I leave the question for the present with the hopo that theso few remarks may lead to thought on the subject, and that when I go round with the petition to-morrow people may not say they are quite ignorant of the question. — I am, &c., M. J. Perston. Shorthand, February 12, 1872.