THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 1908. BOROUGH LOAN PROPOSALS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9167, 15 August 1908, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 1908. BOROUGH LOAN PROPOSALS.

On Monday the ratepayers will be asked to sanction or refuse the raising of a loan of £47,500, £40,000 of which it is proposed to devote to drainage extension and improvements and the conversion of the existing drainage loan, and £7,5.00 for the purchase of the Dixon Street Showgrounds for a Municipal recreation reserve. In connection with the former proposal it is hardly necessary to reiterate that £IB,OOO is not fre3h taxation, white with the balance of £27,000 it is proposed to place the drainage system of the Borough on a thorough, efficient and reliable footing, and to extend its sphere of utility tu important sections of the town at present suffering under almost mediaeval sanitation systems. The ratepayers of the Borough have had a surfeit of reports on the faulty nature of the present system, and the urgent need for remedial steps, whilst of health officers' and engineers' reports there has' been no end, respecting both the evil and the remedy. And yet there have been suggestions made that the whole matter has been pitchforked before the ratepayers, and that the Council

is acting precipitately in taking the poll at the present time. Sensible ratepayers will probably not be sorry that at last finality is capable of realisation in the urgent matter of the town's efficient spnitation, as the Council could go on spending money in Engineers' reports ad infinitum, and yet get no further ahead than they stand now. Let us deal with the most momentous aspect of the question at the outset, and that is, the financial responsibility attached to the carrying of the loan. Fortunately it can ba very simply stated. The Council proposes to proceed with the work under the loan if the poll is carried only on the condition that the Government advances the money, which means a cheap rate of inter-

est. Should tho poll be carried, and the Government rise to the occasion, this borough of Masterton will be pledged to the nominal rate of about 8s 4d annually on every property of the value of »bout £soo for what? A system of drainage possibly second to none in New Zealand provincial towns, better than several city systems, and in every way desirable for a town with the aspirations we believe Masterton holds. Undeniably high engineering authority has said so, and there is little use in questioning such authority. If the poll is carried and the Government fail us the ratepayers will have done their duty, while if the Government money becomes available, surely the Council can be congratulated on securing an excellent bargain. Attempts have been made to side-track ratepayers by obscuring the main issue, which is—does the drainage system come up to the town's requirements? A conscientious answer must be in the negative, for whilst we have in the | heart of busy streets such horrors as open house drains and septic tanks so long will be have the microbe of contagious disease lurking as a perennial foe to public health. Our gross municipal indebtedness has been pointed to gloomily as a reason for rejecting further loan proposals, how vitallyjthose proposal affect the town being entirely ignored. Anyhow, Masterton has a broad back on which to bear its present Municipal taxation, and the additional amount proposed to be levied. Then the question of whether or not we,should improve our water supply, or embark on some other municipal venture, is nothing whatever to do with the question of whether we want better drainage. The salient points which should influence ratepayers on Monday are these:—(l) Their interests have been fully safeguarded by the proviso that the loan is only to be taken up it the Government lends the money; (2) The present septic tank must inevitably be improved at great expense, and perhaps ultimately removed; (3) the Council has gone to the bedrock of the matter, and is acting on expert advice; (4) the work will be carried, out on the most economical I lines, while at the same time the beat engineering skill available will be engaged. This fourth point is the guarantee of the Mayor, who has throughout faced the question with commendable promptitude. It has been suggested that the present time is unsuitable to raise a large sum of public money, but we have that much confidence in our Municipal administrator* that we do not presuppose that they are going to force matters at an unwarrantable speed. It must be remembered in regard to this particular loan that a great proportion of the money to be raised is expended in labour, and therefore the townspeople —ratepayers—get it back again directly. Far outweighing pecuniary considerations is the fact that irreproachable sanitation is a noble public ideal. We advocate good drainage for Masterton ad fearlessly as we would any scheme that made for public moral improvement, and we feel sure that if ratepayers throughout the Borough look at the matter in a broad, unseliish light, they will not hesitate to second the efforts of the Borough Council to keep the town in the van of progress —progress easily within its means. Wellington was a hot-bed of fever until it took seriously to solving its drainage problems, and now drainage expenditure is regarded by the Metropolis as its most laudable disbursement, and nothing is too good for the sanitation system. Enough has been said, and written upon the drainage question—it is two years' old—to convince ratepayers that they are face to face with a necessity, and with a Council unanimously in favour of the loan it will be surprising indeed if it id not carried. The Showgrounds proposition has been so thoroughly explained and commented upon that we shall not again enlarge upon it. To ratepayers the proposal will appear in a favourable or unfavourable light according as they believe in a "looking ahead" policy. No doubt there is even a present necessity for such a Municipal reserve as the Showgrounds could be made, and with a maintenance of our rate of progress for the last decade we could find an extended sphere of usefulness for the grounds.