COUNTY ABOLITION AGITATION.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1458, 16 August 1883, Page 2

COUNTY ABOLITION AGITATION.

A I'UBLic moeting to discuss the question of abolishing the "County: of; Wai-; rarapa East was held at the Theatre Royal,;: Masterton, last evening and attended by about three hundred persons, amongst whom'were a.good of. County ratepayers; the majority, however, wore non-interested individuals who attended to hear the " fun." .These latter were occasionally'the cause of much .interruption and seriously interfered with the fair discussion of the important question before the meeting by their interjections. .

Mr W.Lowes was votod'to to tho chair, and alluded to the importance of the subject they'had met to discuss, lie had no doubt the convenors of tlie meeting had the welfare of the district at heart, and they would no doubt provo that they had goodgrounds for calling'the meeting. On the other hand tho County advocates would be able to give reasons why the County system should.-be continued, and tho discussion between the two would relieve, much of the mystification that'at present existed on local Government natters in this district, Ho hoped no settlers would act in a blindfold manner and sign any - petition tliat was presented to them, but would thoroughly understand what;, they were doing, though lie was quite satisfied in his own mind that good reason would bo shown why the petition should be signed. He would now call upon Mr Kenall to move tho first resolution.— (Applause.) • ' '

Mr Renall, who was received with applause, said ho had no strong feeling in the matter. He had always held tho present county system in. supreme contempt, the counties had no power except to lay down roads and tax the people. (Applause.); -If the county had not levied, rates it might have had a longer existence, and. the councillors met each month'as usual with satisfaction to .themselves, and very little harm to anybody. (Laughter). But it was astonishing tho sympathy that existed between a man's mind and his pocket. The question was now forced upon them as to whether it was necessary to continue two bodies to do the same work, and it was the opinion of many that it was not, Some of his recent remarks had as usual been taken notice of by the Daily and misrepresented in order to found an argument upon them. What he had said was that as far as lie had been informed the county expenditure absorbed nearly the whole of the rates, lie held this to bo the case.. It was no use to say the expenses came out of the Government, When the Borough Council had Government subsidies it could have charged all its expenses against tliem and then told tho burgesses their management cost tliem nothing. It was just the same thing. (Laughter.) The general feeling among settlers now was that the whole of the county work should be handed over to the Road -Board and tlie money saved, (Applause.) If that was agreed to and the petition signed, he had no doubt the Highway Boards would take over the liabilities of the County. If they Imd one large county, which had the p iwer to administer all matters relating to its district, such as .fencing, rabbits, scab,- etc., it would be a different matter, Their Acts were made by men who knew very little of the subjects upon which they were legislating. So long as people would submit to be taxed, it would be piled on them. Taxation had become so heavy, that in many cases tho taxes could not be made off the land taxed, This was simply the result of over-government, Evejy Act of Parliament cost about £IOOO, hence the necessity for the heavy taxation, of the people, taxes which would increase so long as the people would sit still and not resist them. He referred to the old provincial days, when only one engineer was employed from Wellington to Wanganiii, and thought it very strange, if, as the ' Star' said, it cost iIOOO. (A voice: The Hfcar says £2000.) Oh, well, he would rather be too low than too high, or the Daily would trip him (laughter). He alluded to the principle of laying out 'new main lines, which he hold benefited certain individuals at the expense of others. He moved: That the cr-ntmuanco of the dual system of government in Noith Wai'rarapa was expensive and unnocos'saiy and that the Ooumj Act should bo suspended. The question to be decided was whether it was better to keep two bodies to do the work' which could be performed by one (applause;.

JJr It. R. Welch seconded the resolutipii with pleasure. He considered the County rate the most unjust that had ever been imposed upon tliem (applause), Pfi§ rates were formerly .£3 or £4 per annuii), but now they were ,£ls. If they increased much more, people could not stop in the country (applause'). "" " " Mr W. W, McCardle, who was received with applause said he took this opportunity to mako a few remarks in order to clear himself from a somewhat false position he would appear (from statements recently made) to occupy, in being it member of the,, County Council, and yet favoring its abolition. He had always held the opinion that the County was not necessary, and had only been elected to it because he considered while' it did exist all portions of it should be represented '(applause) He had taken an early .opportunity- of letting the Council know'"his sentiments in the matter when he first took his seat. As long as it was purely ornamental no one objected to it, but when it levied rates it behoved the people to see if they got value for their money (applause). He failed to see that tlie County carried out any works that the Highway Board, could not. undertake, It was said the Government would not give the Highway Board the grauts it had placed at tho disposal ot Councils, but he might say lie had been informed by- the Commissioner of Crown Lands that the Government had done so in other places, and the Board had proved fully equal to 1 the task (applause). Road Boards could do their works better than the County, because the latter was entirely dependant upon its engineer, while the Wardens of the former knew]' perfectly the requirements of their

Wards. He would mention the place lie represented, Pahmt-ua, as an instance hnd been the County. L2OOQ had been Expended there. ;A; , ; through a Go-j yernhient reserve, - and only benefited; two settlers,•: Mr Averyand himself.— (Shatae'i)—He asserted that a road: had been put through tbe Wellington Corporation reserve at a cost of L3OO or L4OO, and the Corporation had not spent v ut single sixpence ' in "improvenieuta; on its magnificent block, He noticed a City Councillor present, and lie lioped he would,.when. ( he returned to Wellington move that the block be made use of.—(Applause.)—All the settlers wanted wasa. cleared track to give tliem ingress;and egress to their sections, Rouglu-bridges could bo thrown ucross.vthe'ereeks, and these would last" till the population;;;, was sufficiently numerous to afford better. This course .would save immense. :ex-. peiuliture and greatly' assist the settlers, A formed ; .road without metal was worse than.-a track. The abolition of the County Jiad his hearty support, and heditlnot think any evil would result, from • the cliabge t , He pointed out- that i general ra f e- for special works jwas unfair; to njany ;pqrtions of the district, which would receive; no corresponding. benefit. lii conclusion he said he had retired from the Masterton Borough -Council in order to devote his energies to developing the country beyond, and he hoped by so doing he would still be serving their best interests. - (Applause.) Mr D. McGregor, who- ; was receive] with applause, presumed the majority present were not quite favorable to his views, but he claimed as patient a hearing as they had accorded to the previous speakers. The question was a very large one, and should be discussed fully and fairly - on both bides, He thought the promoters, of the,movement had done wisely in culling "a public meeting on the question,'but as the meeting was principally attended by residents of Masterton any resolution carried that; evening would be somewhat unfair.—(CHes of" No !") Well, lie would point out that the County, extended from' tlie. Waingawa to Manawatu, and a very large majority of the ratepayers would bo ignored, He was surprised to hear Cr McCardle make such an unfounded charge against the Wellington Corporation, when he said they had not spenta single sixpence to improve their endowment.—(Or McCardle: I admitted they had made the road through,)—He wished other Corporations' would act in a similar manner and open up their endowments. Mr McCardle advocated opening up country by means of/bush'tracks, and that opening up by good roads was tno expensive. Now, if there was one question he (the speaker) felt strongly upon it was that of opening up waste lands with good roads. The bush track system had loon tried, and had proved, an utter failure,: A bush track soon became unlit for a human being to travel over, and it was absurd to ask people to settio on land reached by such means. He-held.that to open up the land properly, good roads—metalled roads -should be made before an acre was put in the market. He entirely disagreed with Cr McCardle on this subject. The County had initiated a system which would lead to the very best results.' The Government had askod the County-to open up lands in the manner approved of by Mr McCardle, but the County had emphatically declined.—(lnterruptions. The chairman threatened to eject one talkative person among the audience.)-He instanced the Manchester block, through which roads were formed and metalled by the private company who. bought and settled it. The outlay for the roads was more than recouped by the increased price obtained from the land. As one reason for continuing the County he pointed out that the Council being a representative body of a large area, had more influence with the Government than a Road Board could have, The reason for striking a general rate was the Government subsidies as was well known had ceased, This necessitated taxation. Another reason was thai under the Roads and Bridges Construction Act the Government gave fths towards main roads, and the County had to find the remaining 5s in the i. Now lie did not intend to say be approved of the Act. He had always opposed it, but at present it was a means for opening up the country by meant of roads and bridges which might soon be withdrawn and the Comity would have been guilty of great neglect had it allowed other districts to obtain the whole of this money for the sake of saying a small rate,, It was clearly the duty of the Council to take full advantage of the opportunity otfered. Money was required both for this and for the maintenance of main roads.' It'had be ; en said that the special rates should huve been, collected. "Now" that was just where the Act broke down. It was impossible- to■} collect ; them as they could apt -define an urea to tax as being benefited by the special work without doing a grievous injustice to many, and that was why it was decided to pay the special out of general rates. He would instance, as an illustration of this faot, the firm with which he was connected. They used the main lilies with their wagons in all direct-ions, but th.oy. could hardly, include the linn's property in a taxable area for the main; road from Masterton to Waimata, or. Eketahuna to Tinui. It had-beeiv said that the Highway Board could make and maintain all the roads necessary. If the County had not relieved the Highway Board of part of the work the Board would have to levy its maximum rate. The members of the Highway Boards 'had been veiy ready to vote for tlie Colinty taking over the main lines. Had they not done so the Board would ■ have had to strike a three-farthing. rate, which would be absorbed in keeping the main lines in a proper state of repair, and special rates would have had to be levied, which woiild just bring them to where they were with both bodies, viz,, a one penny rate, : Some complaint had been made of the general -rate being struck to sare persons interested in the special rates, and that if the special rates had been collected the general one woiild'not'be required.

Now the special rates only amounted to £23 sis lOil,while the general rate over the same properties comb to three times tlii.s amount. The agitation had been principally got up by Opaki and Te :.Oref Ore residents 'of. the ' Master ton Riding, because t'ley held they were : not betiofited v . by the rates. He 'would point out the County was responsible for the main road from the Waipoua to the Taueru and from the Wai•poua to , the Camp, The Waipoua bridgo iiccount had also been handed over to the East County by the West County. ' All the settlers in tho Masterton Riding used the bridge and the roads, and were they justified in repudiating the liabilities incurred on their behalf? Still, to,provide against any possible injustice being done to other Ridings through the arrangement re special rates, it had been arranged to give the Masterton Road Board £4OO as compensation. Putting these two facts side by side should clear the Council from the imputation of taking rates from one part of the County for the sole benefit of .another. A great deal had been said about' the working expenses of the County.. Erom the books of tho Council, which were open to'all interested, he' had taken the exact amount, and he found the total sum 'was £1790. From this had to be deducted the share of the ■ engineering stall' expense from the Wairarapa West Counly and the Castlepoint Road Board, which would reduce the amount to about £I4OO. Then in connection with this was to be taken the amount they expended, which with Government grants came to £20,000, and it would be found the county was managed at a cost of 7 per cent, while 10 per cent was generally the minimum of other bodies. He would point out another argument in favor of the general rate, and that was that the provisions of the Crown and Native Lauds Act enabled' the County to collect £6OO or £7OO from the Government which of course they would have lost if they had not levied a rate. The statements in the Star re county expenses were absolutely false (applause and interruptions). He quoted from the Star and said emphatically it was a false statement, 1 Mr Beetham at a former meeting hid referred to this question and had stated that all that was paid for working the, county out of rates was about «£3OQ, and it did not amount to any more —money spent for the Government in opening up Crown Lands being charged against Government votes. The officials engaged in such work received not one penny of the rates, lie agreed with a previous speaker that there was too much local government, but he was not prepared to say what should be got rid of. He was not prepared to say that the dual system of Government was economical or desirable, but if tho County system was discontinued while they were getting £3 for one from tho Government a great wrong would be done. The lime would come when one or the o;hev would bo abolished (hear, hear). He held that large bodies .With good staffs were butter than a lot of small ones who simply frittered away their money. It was much cheaper to spend a large sum than a small one. The tendency was, however, to split up. Portions of the Masterton Highway Board were forming themselves into new districts, and the time would probably arrive when the Board would not be in a position to pay an efficient officer,—(lnterruption, " No!")—He understood tliey had met to discuss these questions, and he considered tho constant interruptions not very conducive to fair debate, He had only a few more words to say. Ho thought the agitation at this time, when means were being found by the Government for opening up the country, was very unfortunate, as they should wait till their roads and bridges were made, and not endanger their present chances. He never had two opinions as to which b jdy should survive. He believed the larger and stronger the governing body the more eflicient it wus in every way, and if ever there was an opportunity to establish a united Wairarapa County with extended powers it should have his best assistance to make it an accomplished fact.—(Applause.) Mr Hogg who received a round of applause said he had been asked by several gentlemen in the room to reply to his w ell-informed and eloquent young friend Mr Duncan McGregor, who had challenged certain figures, he ( the speakor) had given publicity to, He would stand by his figures a,id would quote the well known words " 1 am called upon to speak the truth contravene it who list." He spoke in order that people might not be misled by the blatant platitudes of those who were simply urging to throw dust, or he should say sawdust in their eyes, (Laughter and applause.) The Roads Construction Act would not bear inspection, and lie had not hesitated to denounce it. By a process of manipulation with which lie was unacquainted, the council had managed to get three new n|ain lines put on the schedule. Was this to benefit the hardworking settlers ? No; it was to benefit the few wealthy men at the expense of New Zoaland and the rest of their fellow settlursof WairarapaNortb'. What were tlioso main lines 1 One stopped at a river, why—because it was a wide river (laughter and applause), They could only say that these who acquired cheap land in such localities, got their roads at the expense of others, got them at 5s in the £, and had not the honesty to pay that out of their own pockets (applause), after having agreed to do so, No I The Council said "gentlemen, we have polled you, but we do not intend you to pay, wo will strike a general rate over all, and pay for your roads out of that," Was this right? Was it fair for the general body of settlers to pay 20s in the £ for their roads, and tho favored few, who happened to live near wide rivers, should have them made at the expense of the County 1 (applause). He held the transaction was a direct fraud, The people who did this were not the representatives of the settlers, they represented nobody out of gaols and penitentiaries (applause). Their deeds would stand on the records of the district, and in time to come would : make them hang down their heads with '

shame, The settlers' rates had increased tremendously, and money was dragged out of their pockets for taxes which should be spent in seed and improvements, and not one of the settlers benefited except those who had property on the fraudulent main lines. Did they call this representation 1 Was a single meeting called to consult- tho settlers prior to the last county election! No; yon were led to the slaughter, gentlemen,— (Laughter and applause )—Mr Smith, Mr Jones, and Mr Robinson quietly took their seats and said, we are tho representatives of the people. Tolls were swept away so that wool nnd other produce might travel free; they:! i spread the salaries of their officials; levied a special rate for the benefit of a few, and then wiped it out with a ' geno/al rate.—(Applause.)-With rc-. gard to the County expenses coming out of the Govornment, the latter might say to taxpayers : see, your government costs you nothing, as the ' British capitalist pays for it,—(Laugh-' * ter and applause.)—He maintained that no district in the colony had two ' engineers working over so small a section of country, and the two fought like Kilkenny cats. (Laughter.) —He hoped no specious reasoning of the County chairman—the inflated young/; ' gentleman who had now reached the pinacle of fame—would mislead them. They were already like a horse with two riders, They had a Government Property Tax andaHighway PropertyTax, and they were now asked to take up Mr County. He hoped he had said . enough to show that they were better off without the County, and better ' ' without the £3 for LI altogether. Let . the Government do their own work. His advice was. to pay as few* taxes as possible. What did they care about .il opening up new country,—(Hisses and applause.)-Look after No 1. —(Renewed disturbance,)— They wanted tho money for improving their own properties. When they had too much government let them get rid of it, The present system would not stand a moment in other parts of ~ the world, and was ti disgrace to those who inaugurated and perpetuated it,—Applause, Mr Maclcay, who was received with applause, supported the county system | and the county rate, lie said the ! '' County had incurred certain necessary . liabilities, which they had to get rid of, and'the only way out of the difficulty was by a rate. He was the mover of - the count}' rate in the Council, and thought that the maximum three farthing rate, which amounts to £1,300, . would not be sufficient for the one ' hundred miles of roads they have : under the control of the County, Ho said Road Boards could not do the work as satisfactorily as the County, and instanced the Mungapakcha road, which had been metalled at each end ! and was a bog in tho centre, because tho Roads Boards could not agree who was to.do that portion. He could not understand for what reason so much luf I been said about the main roads of ' the County when substantial grants were allowed by the Government for the maintenance of them. Respecting the road which so muoli had been said about, that slopped at a river. This must eventually proceed and open up a splendid tract of country, which ho considered was what the people of Masterton wanted, as the town could not exist without the back country, and by-and-by, after the railway had been extended, they would only be too glad to fall back upon it. A great deal had been said about locating tho .main roads. It was well known that the Government did this. (Mi; Rupp: Who recommended them?) He (the speaker) was not aware that tho County had done so, A deal had also been said about the unfair rate and that the Castlepoint district was getting more than their fair share of it, He could say that they did not get a cent more than they were entitled to, The Masterton people had good roads, railway, schools, and every public convenience at their doors,'but the Castlepoint people, who assisted to pay for them, did not grumble, and lie did not see that they should grumble now because the u|>-coimtiy settlers were having roads made to get to their homes. He heard a gentleman say at the preliminary meeting last week that because we bad roads and bridges made we did not want the County to make any more, lie (the speaker) was surprised that the gentleman shewed so much ignorance on the subject. He was a man who ought to ( havo known better, and spoken differently, and. instead of advocating the stoppage it was his duty \ to encourage as much as possiblo the"T opening up of the back country, so the trade of the settlers would cotne/fo p Masterton. (Applause,) ] yU Mr R. S. Hawkins was received''" with prolonged applause on rising to 1 - speak, said that one of the most*hope- \ ful signs he had yet seen for the future of the district, was tlie largely attended meeting before him. Ho said ' at the last elections when Mr Beetham was before them soliciting their influence and voto, a deal of comprint was made, and bitterness about the Gqcernnjent dqiijg tips i}i)(} that. He considered that the people ought to sav these things before and not after tho mischief was done, they ought'to watch public affairs as they were proceeding, and do what they aro going to do at tho time, He was very glad to see that tho people of this district had begun to take an interest in County affairs, and now that they bad done so he had no fear of the future success of it. He was pleased that the cat had at last got its tail ; pinched, and that the cat was present!, to pew and to scratch. (Laughter.)" . With reference to local Government ; measures he said no one was opposed to them whnn they were passing tho House of Representatives, they were given to the local bodies to carry' out, and they did so, to the best of their | abilities, and he was sure tho meeting s . would agree with him that the County Council had carried out their duties as ' honorable and conscientious men (applause). He said he could not join'" in the cry against men who 1 perform their duties without pay, and'' ' L who sacrificed their time and labor for ' ' the interests of the district. He \Vould ;V ' ask those present to consider this'question seriously, and not rush into the

matter 'blindfolded,' - not lo'acfc like 1 schoolboys, 1 and throw .nwiy.theif, toys Wansti tliey mo tired of thorn, ]f tliey would think ;tlio matter Over, ho .wits mire thny would agree with'him ■.that it would be ii. folly to abolish the County, and throw the wholo affairs of the ■ district into confusion 'lhe district (except m the neighborhood of the town) was suffering for want of i-fiads. Within a radius of the town : : . there were nico metalled roads, am) the fcettlers feel coiiilbrtiiMn when riding along them (Mr 11. W'AAr. Wek now , : till about that.) Mr huukins Miid he was glad someone knew all about that. No doubt someone has a road to his ; own door, aiyl has no sympathy with 1 " his fellow settlers who are suH'oring from the want of a proper system of county government (No, No.) He mid they might call it what tl\e_v liked, but the district was not likely to get the best form of local government by cutljng it up us iliey intend to do, they. say that the United Wljf America could exist as well separately as they do under the federation. It had been said that wedon'twant our crown lands opened tip. 'Ho could tell them that it was essential to everyone mid every class, that they' should be opened up. Unless this was done the district would be,stuck in the mud as the settlers of the I'mieni were at the present." He looked forward to the time when the Fuketoi country would bo opened up. The settlers of this district would find a place there that would be as wealthy to them as a gold mine. He would liko to see it well opened, and not see the blunders repented that weremade in opening up some of the other crown lands in the district, where the roads were made by the settlers at a very gieat cost to the country, and then the unfortunate men paid so niuch for their provisions that they had notlii.ng, left to spend upon improving tlieir lands. He said the settlers must be placed upon ji different looting. Gqod roads must be made so that they can get to and from their properties with, .their produce. He contended that the Government should have made the roads to the lands they, had sold from the money realised from ouch lards, mid .not left the settlers to out their wavs to the sections. The Only way to get a proper system of local Government, was lo jpiye one large central body. Tho settlers should take more interest in their {heir affairs, and bring pressure upon the Government to open up the waste lands and make roads. Jf t|iey would do this tjiere would be a great difference in tho settlement of waste lands jn the future. He would again, ask tficm to pause before voting against the abolition of t|ie County, and weigh Well the different views of the queswould advocate the formation of a County Settlers' Association, with representatives from all par's of the district,;; Meetings should be held lit regular intervals, and all questions fairly discussed. He would ask everyone to join it, as one and all were interested in the welfare of the district and of Abe colony. He hoped that if he had thrown" out any suggestions that they thought would benefit, the district they would endeavor to carry thorn out as far as possible on a broad principle. He would tell them he had no private interests to serve; all that he had done was for the intorests of the north County of the Wairarnpa.— (Prolonged applause.) Mr \V. H.. Beetham, who was well received, said that after the excellent speeches they had heard, anything lie might say would fall lamely to them, but he could not let the present opportunity pass without expressing his views on the matter. He could not call it a representative meeting, as the short notice given would not admit of a great many being present who lived at a distance, He hoped they would bear this in mind when they were voting, He. hoped the residents near tho town would not attempt to wipe out the county system because they had to put tlieir hands into their pockets, The district required roads, . they required to be kept in repair, and how was this to be carried out? How k was the taxation to be levied 1 The representatives wont into the County Council and adjusted the rates as equitablo as possible. He thought it was far easier to spend money than to define boundaries satisfactory to all. He hoped, that the Masterton Bond Board would hand back the money they would' receive from the County to those, who have not been benefited thereby. No doubt those ; who had to put tlieir hands into their fi to pay the rates, like to know | esnoney was being spent. The juld\ not be a permanent one, i wriat-was required now was to study economy, and make the roads passable. Opinions were expressed tliat .one body, call it by what name you will, could well snd efficiently attend to the whole ■ roads in the district- [Hear! Hear!] He would say. they hud never had a chance of try ing, Whilo the present easy process of cutting up Koad Hoards existed, it would always be tis en !Hl v a n tage of, Mflgtertpn hp jnS'ilfN ?}S pnep being {toad {ioarfl district, Carterton seceded from . jt, Pahjatua now wished to separate,and he contended that it would be unreasonable to oppose them in their wishes, as it was impossible for them, to make tliemsohes in ai d from such a distance, and they thought they were as well able to do the governing for themselves. He had been told that this district thought of separating. He could not iip-iv \nlrso many small divisions, a:,.iliry .would be unable to keep ellie.e'.ii' j.tall lor their works; The Castlepoint Board made use of the East Countv' i tails, and all tlio other Boards uiiist do the :Same,. and L it tho County was disposed of it would be a great loss to the district. He Imped they would give tho question their seiious'consideration, before voting, as. the step was one that seriously affected tile whole district, and he concluded.by saying tliat he did "not think County.Councils at present should be abolished. The. motion.was then put, and about two-',birds of those: present held up their handsiin. favor of it. About half a dozen were -put up against it, and the chairman declared it . carried.; The, Chairiuapjaid th ere was another l resolution to put before- tho meeting,

; and ..called upon Mr Brown Hunt to jnoveit,- ■. Mr Hunt, in moving the resolution, ' said he had not much lo say, as the other speakers had well ventilated the subject, lint Mr McGregor hail said no previuiis fault had been found with the County Council! he would ask, Did they not levy a dog tax. and tax the rabbit and live stock dogs T He said the Legislature never intended this to be done The Government sued the settlers for having too many rabbits, and the Comity imposed a lax for that which they kept the rabbits down with; he thought it was against common sense. In former times the Road Boards spent the money where the rates wero collected, hut now tho rates were levied to make roads for large owners. He then spoke of the dilliculties • himself and Mr Chamberlain had to contend against when they first went into the bush by l aving to make their own roads, and thought those people who came there to talk of new roads without contributing towards the others, should put their hands into their pockets as they have had to do. The resolution ran as follows That petition be prepared aud signed giving effect to the foregoing reso- : lations. Mr Woodroofe in seconding the motion, paid that it had been said the prosperity of the district depended on making roads, he could tell them that to make roads through this district would cost millions of pounds. He asked what was the population in the back districts, ho would say they were few and far between, let them stop till their country is settled and roads would follow. Men were tiying to pioneer the forests in this district, and the rates would drive them away. We put a few characters in oilice, and they think they .can do as they like. Mr i McGregor would fly if he had wings, and all his practice is false. What good tire they doing under the Bonds and Bridges Construction .Act? Why the man that brought it in will have a curse upon his grave—the County is already groaning under it. He believed in small Boards of a reasonable size, aud thought they would be a benefit. Big Boards he considered enabled some men to profit by the loss of others. He said the County Council had struck a rate, and if they were left alone they would strike rate upon rate till they strupk them' dead. (Uproarious applpsp.) The motion was then put andcai vied. The Chairman said he jiad been requested to state that petitions ready for signatures were in the bands of Mr Kapn. He congratulated tlie promoters on tjie success of the meeting. It was one of the most successful meetings he had attended. The question was one that required solution 'and ought not to be rushed at like ahull at a gate. He hoped careful consideration would be given to all sides of the question, and that they would give thoir decisions according to their conviotions, and not lie led away by clap-trap. A vote of llmnkH to the chairman concluded the meeting,