TO-DAY'S POLLING AT CAMBRIDGE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1821, 8 March 1884, Page 2

TO-DAY'S POLLING AT CAMBRIDGE.

The £603 Loan. To-day the important question of borrowing the sum of £000 for tho purpose of improving two of the public buildings of Cambridge is, to be decided by a poll of the ratepayeis. It is an acknowledged fact that in all towns, large or small, the possession of suitable and commodious public buildings is a matter of public pride, and tins urges us to again refer to the subject. For some time past the Public Hall of Cambridge has boon a complete eyesoie, and the condition of the library has been anything but consistent with the pi ogress made in the town dming the la«t few years. The hall has been allowed to fall into a condition of disiepair which is exceedingly discreditable to .such a tlniviug community, and the library, unsightly m appeal ance and limited in accommodation, will, if allowed to lemiin in its present condition, bear witness to bho apathy of the ratepayers, if to-day they do not biippoit the propisals now befoie them. In fact, should the result of to-day's polling prove adverse to the proposed scheme, a few weeks will find the Cambndge people without a hall. This statement may at fiist appear rather bold, but to tho»e who are fully acquainted with tho particulars of the situation it is selfevident. In the belief that there are a fpw persons of positio.i in the township, .so fai as the paying of lates is concerned, who, through their ignorance of matters of detail in this paiticular instance, have blindly endeavoured to obstruct the path of progress, we leel ourseh es called upon to lay befoie those who have not yet had an opportunity of judging the met its of the piopo^al, and of the local benefit to be deiived therefrom, the true condition of afi'aiia connected with tins subject. The hall cost oiiginally about £."500, and until lately has been found of gieat advantage, and well suited to the wants of the community, and though not replete with every convenience that might have been desired, has affoided sufficient accommodation to those who used it. Hitheito a number of trustees have been elected fiom to year, and diumg their lespectne terms of office have allowed themselves to be held personally responsible for any liabilities due on the building. The Town Districts Act coming into force, the site*;, and consequently the buildings (we include the library), became \ested m the town boaid, and, as is goneially known, at a joint meeting of the committee of the hall and hbiary and the members of the town boaid, it was lesolved to effect considerable improvements in both buildings. After much discussion, and the evercise of much paiing down of the plans mooted, so that the most stringent economy should be manifest in oveiy p.uticulai, it was deteinnned to adopt the piesent scheme. We have heai d it said by those who intend to oppose the scheme, " Oh, we cant afford to throw away £o'oo on the Public Hall to benefit ceitain individuals by enhancing the \alue of their piopeities." To the rational mind .such a statement is altogethoi too absurd to b 3 seriously entei t lined, 1t is not pioposed to spend £l>oo on the hall, noi o\en £400. as has been stated : m point of fact, only about £200 moie will be spent than would hive been expended m the ordinal y com so of affairs had the late tiansfer not taken place, and the old committee still continued in office. Out of the £400 of the loan pioposcd to ba devoted to the hall, £100 is i crimed to liquidate tho existing debt on the building. The nnpiovements, as set foitli on the plans, aie only tlio-,e found absolutely necessary, namely, the piovidmg of diessing and supper rooms, and painting and geneially repanuig the building. As an instance of the severe eco'iomy displayed, it is not proposed even to line or enlaige the hall, however necessary these nnpiovcments may seem. Not only will the contemplated additions add to the acomodition of tne public, but they will tend to inatciia-Uy inciease the revenue of the hall. And now we may state that, although these pioperties have been handed over to the town boaid, the internal fittings of the hall, including seats piano, lamps, stage fittings, &c, still belong to the committee, and should the ratepayers by their vote to-day negative the pioposals, they will place themselves in this position: they will enliiely depiive themselves of a Public Hall so fai as any practical Use is concerned, foi the n.embeis of the old committee who aie responsible for the bank oveuhaffc will seize on the fittings and fuimtuie, valued at £100, which really belong to them, and tho town boaid having no hinds to devote to the puiposc, it being a special woik, will be unable to pi ovule the lcquis-ite sum to iot.nn this propeity, and the latepayerwill find themselves m possession of an empty building l.qndly falling to decay, and of no seivici? wbatevei. This is a fact which we would ask those adversely inclined to seriously consider before going to the poll; let them lemember that the question is not merely a loan or no loan, but a Public Hall or none, and we all know the los-, the deprivation would be to the tow n ; it would be a state of things that could not be allowed to exist, and the ratepayers should now make up their minds to agree to the pioposal before them. We think it hus already been shown to the satisfaction of all concerned that the joint revenues of the hall and libraiy aie sufficient to pay, in addition to oidinaiy expenses, the interest and sinking fund leq imed, and as a business spucu latiou, moie than one pnvate individual would be glad to advance the total amount piop'ised to be laised, and spend it on the hall alone, could a lease for, say, ten yeais be guaranteed. The question of the position of the hall enhancing the value of certain propel ties, m;iy be dismissed with the contempt it meiits. The hall must be s'miewheie, and cannot be m eveiy man's back yaid, and no unbiassed peison will affiimtluta better site than the present can be obtained. We much regiet that a number of latepayers have allowed themselves to be made the dupes of the false reasoning of such prejudiced persons as Me&Ms Keid and Htewait appear to be. We cm scarce credit that the stand which Mr Stowait has taken m the matter can havp any influence on even a small poition of the ratepayers. It is difficult to believe that the piisonal convictions of Mr Stewait (presumably a man of intelligence) are m harmony with his public protestation-:. At the meeting lecently hfld he spoke with the air of a man, who caung little about the question at issue, availed himself of the oppoitunity of venting his personal spleen. Again, let business people, and indeed all property holders m the town, look around and see the progress made during the past three years, and ask themselves to what cause tins piogiess may be attiibuted. They will not fail to recognise that, had the Native Land Court not tavomed the town with its piesence, the prospenty would not have been so marked, and propel ty would not have become so valuable ; wedaie say that even Mr Reid would willingly bear testimony to tbi -. fact. And what kept this source of prosperity in our midst so long ? Simply the Public Hall. This being so, will the ratepayers allow the hall to fall into decay and became unfit for any such use in the future. The necessity for maintaining the public library aud reading room I in proper condition, and of providing therein accommodation adequate to the increasing requirements of the distiict, rau&t be so palpable to any intelligent mind that we need not enlarge in this point. We do not fear anything like a numerous opposition to the proposals. If they are defeated, it will be through the apathy of those who are in favour of, or at least do not object to th "m, and it is to these that we more particularly address ourselves. The law requires not only a majority of votes, but that more than half of the ratepayers on the roll must vote in favour of the proposals befoie they can be carried. It is therefore necessary, if tho scheme is to be carried into effect, that at least 151 out of the 300 ratepayers on the roll must record their votes in favour of it. We trust, therefore, that every man who is in favour of progress will not neglect to record his vote to-day. The polling takes place in the Public Hall between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.