LOCAL PUBLIC WORKS BOARD

Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1376, 28 April 1881, Page 3

LOCAL PUBLIC WORKS BOARD

The subject is one which has gained a significance, in respect of the action adopted by the conference of the local governing bodies held iii the County Council Chambers on Monday. Enough transpired at the meeting to show that,in common with what we believe to be the facts of the case throughout the entire colony, the proposal is but very indifferently understood. In addressing his constituents at Taranaki the Hon. the Colonial Treasurer described it as a measure that should receive consideration, by which we infer that, the subject is one which will again crop up in the Legislature. The annexed may be taken as a fair representation of the views entertainad on the subject, by the different section of the House :—: —

Major Atkinson. Government proposed to provide a fund foe the assistance of local bodies throughout the country, aud in this way : They proponed to set apart £150,000 from loan as a start, and to add to it every year £150,000 from the land sales, if the land sales produced that amount after paying expenses of adminstration ; but no money would be spent, if not received, for the purpose of constructing main roads. So that we should have started the first year with a sum of £150,000, and whatever the surplus of the land sales might be up to £150,000. It was intended to deal with that fund in this way : A board was to be appointed at Wellington, with poweis strictly dH&ned by Act ; it was to have practically no discretionary power at all, the Act hetting out distinctly what it was to do upon eveiy occasion. Now, supposing a country make a piece of road, or a budge, at a coit of, say, £10,000. It would have to prepare estimates, and to bend them up to the Central Board, and levy a rate upon the county, which would in ten years repay one-fourth of the £10,000. That is, it would have to repay £2500 in ten years without interest, or £250 a year, if it wished to spend £10,000 in constructing a piece of main road. The reason for charging .something upon the district was this : Of course, the onefourth was a mere arbitrary atnouut ; it might have been one-third or one-eight, but it was necessary to charge something, or everybody would be applying for money. But if the ratepayers pat their hands in their pockets it would be evident that they thought the road necessary. Supposing there were more applications than money, the amount was to be divided pro raUi according to applications. If the land fund had produced no surplus in any year we should have had to wait a bit. That is the state of things we must come to. We must not spend money before we have it. With regard to district roads, it was not proposed to give anything towards their construction, means not being available, but to provide a fund which would enable them to borrow at a cheap rate and repay in an easy way. For instance, take the case of a Road Board which wished to borrow £100 to make a small bridge. It would get out an estimate for the work and forwaicl this with application to the Board, and the Board, if it had funds, would grant the £100, and the loan would have to be repaid in this way ; by the district before it received the grant rating itself by a special rate which would yield £9 per annum for fifteen years. That would, while paying 4 per cent, interest, at the same time wipe oft the debt. That mode of repayment was devised simply for convenience of calculation, but the practical working of the scheme would be this, that the district \\ould boirow ftom the Board at the rate of 1 per cent, with a five per cent. Milking fund, in all 9 per cent, per annum. There would have been no fear as to repayment, because pioper provision was m.ule in the Bill for the appointment of receivcis of the special late in case the Boaid failed to collect it ; and in every case the rate was to be levied beioie the money was gi anted. A sum of £50,000 from loan was to be given to the Board to start the fund, and the Board Avas to be permitted to borrow up to £100,000.

Mr. Ormond. The mobt impoitant policy Bill brought down by the Goverameut was a Local Public Works Bill in the early part of the session, the subsidies to local bodies to be discou tinned, and this Bill w as introduced to meet the requirements of the outlyiug districts. The subsidies ond the 20 per cent, land fund taken away, and the Bill proposed to make piovi.sion instead thereof. It was then proposed in the first place to double the rating power of local bodies, and instead of a shilling allow them to levy two shillings in the pound in futuio. Bonowiuir power*, weie also altered and bodies allowed to borrow money at any l.ite of inteiest they could get it. The assistance the Government proposed to give was that Ciown lands be allowed to be rated, but they weic to be rated ita fixed sum, but not m the proportion boine by settlers on land. There was alto a proposal to allow bodies to tax native lands, with the peculiarity that although lands weie to be taxed the money was to come out of the revenue which the settlers provided. It was held that the natives weie not in a position to have taxation enforced upon them They were to be taxed, however, where they held lands in boroughs, but tho product of that would be infinitesimal, aa tho natives held vtry little lands in boroughs ; and, in addition to these provisions, the Government scheme provided that out of the proceed? of laud sales a sum not to exceed £150,000 was to be t>et aside, and made a fund out of which the rates on Crown and Moari lands were to be paid. It was also proposed to establish a fund by loans, out of which lical bodies could borrow money for bridges or roads, repaying the same in payments extending over a number of years. When the Bill was brought down he expressed dissent from sts principal features. He disagreed with the mode proposed of paying taxes imposed on native lands. The £150,000 mentioned to be got from waste lands, he would remark, "was to be administered by a Board, iv Wellington under certain regulations. The measure was not received with favor by any portion of the House, and although one of the principal measures of the Government, if not the main one, the Bill never came on for actual consideration. When the Government found the provision they had proposed was not Fatisfactory, the Bill practically dropped, but not till Government found out that the opinion of their own supporters was against it. It was the largest financial measure Govsrnment brought down, it was lost sight of and no provision has as ' yet been made for the future of local bodies. It had not become law, uor was likely to, aud thus absolutely no provision was made for the two forms of local bodies, counties, and road boards, who were engaged in exactly the same work, their functions being little else but roadmaking and assisting charitable aid — there their duties ceased.

Mb Whitaber, of Diptori, 'has, according to a local correspondent) up to the presbnt time exported seventeen and a half tons of rabbit skins ! As the correspondent aptly remarks, "This, is anitqm not by any means io be deispised from the district, . „ i, „ , -