The waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume XI, Issue 903, 6 April 1878, Page 2

The waikato Times.

Equal aud eiact justice to all men, Of whatever state or persuasion, religious «. or pulitical. Here shall the Press the People's right maintain, Uuawed by influence and unbribed by gain.

SATURDAY, APRIL G, 1878.

The result of (lie meeting cf Tlmrs dny evening must be extremely unsrttiKfaclory to the bulk of the burgesses ot* Hamilton, and we fear may result disastrously to the interests of the Borough. It will be in the recoleetion of most persons that the townships of Hamilton to<*fc advantage of the Municipal Corporatitfdi. Ac, in the first instance, almost »ulply with a view of pushing forward i-iiG prection of a r»rM«je across the Waikato river., It was considered that a corporation competent to issue debentures and Lorrow money thereon could appe.il to Ihe money market, whereas Road BourJs ViUi their extiemoiy limited Uwvvers would be unable to effect any ; iinancial arrangement in referenge'tothis much wanted jwblia

work. Early in the month of! February, the Mayor aud Councillors ' were in a position to commenca MWHWdJL.ngs. The public looked ll^wousiyV 01 ' a s »S n °^ act^ 8 niove- j ment in ?the desired- direction, but fpr^sorab time no sign was given. |U length, a notice appeared in the; Times, calling a meeting of raife-payei-s to authorise a loan. The day of meeting was fixed for April 4rth, •fiVo weeks from the timo of the first advertisement. During this interval the public had numero»s opportunities of observing how their ne wly el ected tr us tees were discharging their duties, and were sorry to observe that the d scussions in the Council were rapidly" degenerating, into a duel bei ween the two late candidates lor the Mayoralty chair. The worst effect produced by this unfortunate disagreement became most apparent when, the question of plans and specifications for the proposed bridge came under consideration. Then it became manifest/ that one party in the Council desired to take advantage of the offer of Sir George ; Grey, and wait for certain plans said to be in Wellington, whilst another section proposed to offer large premiums for the best designs, to be furnished by competition drawn from, the general public. Either of these ideas was probably feasible; enough, but unfortunately neither side would give wayj the absence of the Premier from Welling ion gave officialism .a, chance to refuse to take the trouble to forward the plans lying in the Public Warks Office; the idea' of offering premiums could not be carried, and so, at the meeting last Thursday, the public were met by the Mayor and Council 1 without any details of the proposed works.: The result of- this was great confusion, and it has been publicly stated in some quarters that the poll, which certainly is the only legitimate method of getting a real expression of opinion from the public (for meetings are never attended by more than one-tenth of those qualified to express an opinion upon the subject brought before them), will result iii the refusal of the money. : Now, it appears .to us, that under the circnmstance3, the people of tlie place should forget the arguments, which have, no doubt, been drummed into their ears by one side and the other of the opposing elements in the Council and adheue: to the one great fast that the commercial prosperity of their Borough demands a bridge. If plaus and specifications hare not been made it ■ is not the fault of the people, and their interests should not suffer because two parties chouse to play battledore and shuttlecock with them. It seems to 'us; very absurd to say that a matter of spoh importance shall be shelved until the mistake has been rectified. Time is running on, and time is in this case the very essence of oiir ;contracji with the Government. There is a statute of limitations applying to all the estimates of a Government. The arrival of the next financial year puts an exting-uisher upon all votes of last session, and that time is now rapidly approaching. The common sense position appears to us to be this. Let the rjtepayers agree to raise the money. This will be a step which will compel the ruling powers to tell the Borough at all eventssomething definite in reference to the grant. Let the people insist that the bridge shall be built, and ■built,* if possible, for a sum less than that now asked for— but let us have the bridge in any case, — and on, or . near| the: . site of Clarke's survey; The' Council cannof) disregard the absolute commands: of" the inhabitants of the Borough publicly expressed. There is no .real danger of anything going wrong. Bufc if quibbles and qiiari'els and attempts to stir up party strife in this ' little place ate allowed to have dominion and sway the judgment of the people we unhesitatingly assert that the growing commercial prosperity of Hamilton will soon be j a thing of the past.