The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1885. THE LOCAL BODIES CONTRACTORS ACT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2157, 28 November 1885, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1885. THE LOCAL BODIES CONTRACTORS ACT.

Many of our readers will perhaps .remember that a good deal of stir was caused throughout the colony a few months ago by a number of members of local bodies in the West Coast districts being prosecuted for being at the tame time contractors to the respective bodies ■to which they belonged, and that heavy fifnes were inflicted in every instance, The matter was then brought before Parliament,andasitwasargued that the thenexistingActwasnsvercontemplated to apply .to some of the cases', .and that it was absurd that a stationer who was a member of a Borough Council should become liable to a fine because the Town Clerk happened to buy a quire of paper from bim. A bill was then introduced for the purpose of amending the law on this point,' The result is now before us in the Statue Book, under the title of the Local Bodies Contractors Act, A perusal of the measure, however, quickly the' idea that

the law has been relaxed, 'if there' was a shadow of doubt under the old law, there is none .whatever under the new. Local bodies Predefined as consisting of Borough Councils, County. Councils, Road Boards, Town Boards; Harbor Boards, River Boards,' Drainage Boards, Education Boards, District Boards, and Ttustees appointed under the Hospital and Charitable Institu-'i tions Act. Clause 3 reads as follows: , [Any member of any local body : who enters into" any contract for the supply of anything, or the performance of any work with the local body of which he is a member, or who knowingly supplies anything whatever to such local body, shall not be-entitled to payment for the same, and any sum paid in respect of any such contract or supply shall be recovered, together with ten pounds in addition thereto, with full costs of suit by any person who shall sue for the same in a Court of competent jurisdiction. The amount recovered as having been improperly paid shall be handed over tb the localbody from whose funds it was paid, and the person 'suing shall

be entitled to the ten pounds, with the full costs of suit." Clause 4 renders any member of a local body, who knowingly is concerned in giving authority for the payment of money to another member liable to a-penalty ..of twenty pounds, with full costs, the amount being recoverable by the means provided in the preceding clause. Clause 5 repeals all previous enactments on the subject, The measure as originally introduced, exempted contracts under five pounds, but the Legislative Council did not approve of the minimum, and struck it out, so that a measure which was intended to be more liberal, actually

became more stringent. We cannot help thinking that these extreme provisions, are altogether unnecessary. In the larger centres of population they are not likely to cause inconven-

ience, because there would be numerous

places where articles required might be purchased, but in the smaller places

there would always be a risk of eithe

preventing a good man becoming a jnember of a local body, or in the case of his election, of being able to purchase what is required. If there is one good provision in the measureitis this, that in reduces. the amount of the

penalties, which under tho previous laws were in many cases absolutely ruinous; but in other respects it is one of those that might have been allowed to join the innocents when the time for their slaughter came round.