WARMLY DENIED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 May 1943, Page 2

WARMLY DENIED

COUNCILLOR’S ALLEGATIONS OF BIAS ABBOTSFORD LIME PIT PROPOSAL. COUNTY COUNCIL DISCUSSION. No further progress has been made in the proposal to establish a lime pit at Abbotsford to serve the East Coast area. After a long and heated discussion at yesterday afternoon’s meeting of the Masteton County Council the matter lapsed without any further action being taken. Councillor G. Moore alleged that at a meeting of ratepayers in the Uriti riding recently the chairman, several members of the council and the county clerk gave biased views regarding his proposal to establish a lime pit at Abbotsford. Councillor Moore's allegations were strenuously denied. REPORT ON MEETING. Reporting on the meeting of Uriti ratepayers the chairman, Mr R. E. Gordon Lee, said the meeting was convened by the council, but Councillor Moore wanted his own chairman. He thought that the chairman would have asked him to speak on the proposal but he asked Councillor Moore to do so. Mr Hugh Morrison was in the chair. Questions were asked about output and costs and it boiled down to _ cartage costs being the main item. If — cartage costs could be cut clown more lime would be used. The general feeling of the meeting was not unanimous as to having the lime pit. Councillor Moore had used all his persuasive , n powers but he had not yet got them all convinced. Mr Lee said that at his instruction, the County Clerk, Mr J. C. D. Mackley, had prepared figures regarding the proposal. A motion was s put to the meeting that the matter should not be gone on with, but an ' it amendment was carried that the Cas>g tiepoint County Council be met to see 1 how it felt about the proposal. Coun- ■ cillor Moore was asked to meet the - Castlepoint County. Mr Lee said Councillor Moore was wrong in talk-,' > s ing about 9s a ton for lime. At We- , n raiti it was being sold for Ils 6d per ' , r ton. ' , 0 Councillor Moore: Maybe I have ■ j made many more mistakes according to you.” j 3 Mr Lee said that Councillor Moore ( should not have given such a low { figure. As an instance the same thing happened with the Te Ore Ore River < o . Board when someone went around and told settlers that the rate would be r about Is per acre, yet it worked out 5 at about- 6s 6d per acre. ‘ RULES OF EVIDENCE. \ Councillor Moore said Mr Lee had c i taken exception to his choice of chair- J L man. The council was represented in c 1 force and had a lot of evidence. The I * clerk had figures and he was over- fc whelmed by them. The rules as re- c gards evidence were that the evidence Ishould not be given in a court unless I the other mart knew what it was and

was given a chance to consider it. j The rules of evidence had not been ,[adhered to. The figures quoted by Mi Mackley were biased, to say the least. ’ Councillor Colquhoun had amazed him I by his attitude. He was continually J interjecting and it looked as if he wanted to throw discredit on him and the scheme. Councillor Moore said Mr ‘ Lee had presented a misleading case at the meeting. What he wanted was [ for councillors to view the matter from the district point of view. Councillor Moore said he welcomed cooperation in his riding and also criticism, provided it was fair and honestly given. He would not put up with biased criticism. Councillor Colquhoun denied that he had expressed biased opinions at the meeting. ACTION IN RIDINGS. Councillor P. R. Welch said he went as a spectator and looked on the proposal as purely a domestic matter. He did not want to be branded as one of the councillors who had knocked the scheme on the head. Councillors should have the say in their own ridings, otherwise the riding system could be abolished. Councillor Colquhoun: “Councillor Moore’s statement is not correct. We went to give the true facts.” Councillor J. Donald said the lime position was muddled. A subsidy on the cartage of lime was needed. Twothirds of the lime output from Mauriceville went to Marton and passed other works. Lime from the Manawatu works was going to the Lower Valley. “We want to give the ratepayers the facts,” said Mr Lee. He read out a copy of the statement he had made at the meeting. Councillor Colquhoun said he wanted it driven home now that the trustees of the estate offering the site at Abbotsford for sale only to the county should be told that a private company or contractor would work the pit. Mr Lee suggested that the people in the Uriti district could form a company and run the pit themselves. Mr Mackley said he had been carrying out his duties as he was instructed and if any member of the council required information it was his duty to give it. In reply to Mr Lee, Councillor Moore said he had met the Castlepoint County Council, but he had nothing to report. At Councillor Moore’s request the matter was allowed to lapse.