AMALGAMATION.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1212, 24 October 1882, Page 2

AMALGAMATION.

[To the Editor, j' Sih,—Events march quickly; the theory of yesterday is.the accomplished fact of to-day, Last year I had, at a conference of East and Wast Counties, two supporters only nf my motion for amalgamation—this year the motion is oarried almost by acclamation. I sincerely hope that the Counties and Boards will find it in their power to test the opinions of the ratepayers, and to put in motion some organisation for the purpose. ■'. 'j,J ; . :

In theirhands itwould not be difficult to get petitions oiroulated. I confess that I fail to understand your difficulties ymi imply in your article that amalgamation is fatal to the hope of obtaining our legitimate share of the grant applicable to roads and bridges construction. - I have not the Act, but your suggestion as to its operation does not seem reasonable. Counties East and West will exist till January, and I presume will, in harmony with one another, put in applications for °Mnts for roads in the Counties. If after January amalgamation takes place, I conceive tho grants applied for by the two Counties will goon to the amalgamated County, which will be their corporate suoces>or. The Conn'ies do not die j their assets q,nn* liabilities will 80 to and be undertaken by them in their combined authority. If'' any Buch technical h\\v exists, it will be the duty of the Government to ignore it, and to take care that the Wairarapa is not deprived of its ju 3 t share of the grants to meet its just necessities.

And now as' tq amalgamation. It appears thnt nothing hinders but tho want of a petition nf ratepayers and the opposition of seoiiminl interests. The first I sincerely trust the County and Board organisations will dispose of. As' to the second, I think it a pity to dwell too much nn them. Ido not doubt that there is plenty of selfishness: we all have our share, nnr even in the best and most public-spirited of men is it alwavs possible to hoid an even scale between public good and private interests, or, where the two lines separate, to follow at once the former. But it is not wise to dwell on the subject. It js better to direct our whole attention and urge lo the utmost the advantages and tho good whioh we desire to attain. Your contemporary, the Star, thinks it undesirable to discuss such a question as that of tho seat, of nffioe of an amalgamated County. I demur to this view, agreeing as I do to almost all else that he has said. I think* it much better to point out. to our Carterton friends that nothing would justify an amalgamated Council in sitting elsewhere than in Masterton.

Far the greater part of the works to be done are to be done north of Masterton. To take the offices and stiff to. Carterton would cause most, serious loss of time to the Btaff, especially to the engineer and his staffand to all contractors and persons engaged on works. The question hardly affects Councillors, but so far as it does, it would bo easier- for Councillors from the south to enmo tii Mjistprtoii, having Ike rail at Iheir command, than for Councillors from tho north, somo of whom have thirty or forty miles of not very good rpad fq travel h,eforp getting even to Maßterton. Therefore, I trust'that if & vote of ratepavers is taken our Carterton friends will vole in frank acknowledgment of this necessity, They, in common with the other towns, have a serious Interest in Boeing a strong Council, and I hope that all who take part in this question will do so under a ' full sense of'the important interests at stake.

A new departure is to be taken; much that is old must be abandoned. The dribbling and waste of money on Bmall contracts njust cease,. Alargesum will'be at the disposal qf the County, and if raised the first object of the Council ought to he to see how muoh work they could get done, and well doue for their money. The present barbarous and extravagant way of getting wads rnaije, aqd metalled in little seolmns with narrow wheeled parts and insufij. cient horseflesh should be abandoned as unjußt to the ratepayers and the Government, The fullest information should be obtained as to the use of portable tramways and even Bteara. t The object should be to mako quickly, make well, and at tho cheapest rate that modern appliances put in our power to do. .

I am convinced that a large eating of outlay may be effected. Our enginoer is always ready to learn. He has a tive mind. Let the Council say to him, " Mr Kino, be so good as to look about you and let us bow if there are not em tirely different ways and moans of road making than we have hitherto adopted, Shake yourself quite free of the past, We want to make our money do for two miles of road whero it used to do for one, two miles of good, hard, well-formed macadamised permanent road where we used to make one mile ofmiserahle mud track. We want to do public works as public works should be done. If you want a tramway say so, and tell tjs when, it can be got and what it will coat. '\ portable steam engine to run the can and work a stone crusher, and anything elte which you think will facilitate and economise the execution of tho works which we have to undertake. We aro roady to entertain and oaretnlly consider any suggestions you may make with this view." I am sure that Mr King is not at the bottom of his satchel, that he ha< plenty of ideas and a cargo of notions of which we onsht to have the benefit, but no time lato be lost. uOnoe the. money obtained the works should be started, Tby mean a great deal lo all of qs | the bona Mo opening and'settlement of much unoccupied country, the relief and encouragement of numbers of hard workins settlers, a largely increased employment of labor, and the Rreat.'advancem'ent of trade and' corameree in the Valleyij '■■-.■>■; v: S.HmiHs, Bowlandß,l3latOotobar,is, ■', ;:,,.:.