The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1881.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 901, 17 October 1881, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1881.

Wk sympathize wiili the efforts now being made by ilu; residues of bV\ town to get rid of the Waiolitne tof:-. Wr question whether any piflicnm will lake npnn hinooii'to d. fend tin toll system us an economical umklc o collecting a tax I Hut so lug as ii is ■■ legal method it will mresMnily be resorted to. We would gladly see tb Legislature sweep away nil tolls -,<; relies of semi-bur''iti'im.; a,;es and ihn force local hodies to ,i(ln|it oilier. e> perlients for rai. ftn.tls. "J" 11».- >•■ a why Pni'liauieiit nti'iiis ill in i. prohi.lily iecau-e it, migli' be Ufi:, d li. lind the inopey wlneh is now r.ii.ed from them if they wuv nlmbli d, iim' it would not he very eonveuieut lv. the House to do this. The fol bodie. on whom the nwponsiliility of mai taining bridges and roads rest, niv no in a position to givp them op un'ess they impose somo other lax in ihn i I'lace, If the enuivy of W'airarapa West aholishes 10l s it must strike; county rate, If settlers prefer a counts rate to tolls they wi'l havo an nppor titnity of expi'issing iliut opinion a the coming county elcetii m, and no doubt the Couiicillors electid wi'l give effect to their views. Wo believe, however, thai though sett'ers dislike tolls, they would have a still stronger objection to a county rate, and the upshot will prohalily lie that tippresent system of raising ways and means will have to be continued till our Parliament can agree to »n adjustment of our present local self-govern-ment arrangements. When such an adjustment does take place, we hope to see, lolls abolished. In the intorim. there is very little prospect of ihei being dune away with, The truth is that we cannot afford in JS 7 ew Zealand extriivagaiit methods of taxation. While ihe big loan was disappearing in the colony like the tail of a great comet, we. could aft'rd ninny things' which arc now too dear for us Gradually we arc coniiii" In llmt stage when our ordinary income will have to brtir our ordinary expenditure, when Government subsidies will be cutaway, and colonists will have to defray out of their own pockets the cost of incJ goveriiiii'iit and the cost of the mitral oovfi'innent,—when at last we are driven to fare our responsibilities, such taxes as tolls which pei haps cost Cor collection seven or eight shillings in every pound received, must neeessniily be a'adf-died. A county ra'c, even now, would lie mine profitable, than tolls, but. ihere is a strong feeling against chore being two rating bodies for roads in any one district, and till Parliament settles whether the County Council or the Highway Board should be the one rating body which is mres sary. there is but little prospect of ut county rate beb'g struck. We reens;nise that New Zealand requires the services of both counties and road hoards, and that neither one nor the other should he abolished. We. however, fail to see any good reason why both of them should be rating bodies or either of them have the power, of levying tolls for road repairs.