THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE CAMBRIDGE PUBLIC HALL AND LIBRARY.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1830, 29 March 1884, Page 2

THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE CAMBRIDGE PUBLIC HALL AND LIBRARY.

FAILURE OF THE VOhh. The ratepayers of Cambridge will regret tolenrnthat, though the returning officer declared the proposal to raise a loan ot £000 for the abm o purpose was .successful (in the recent poll of ratepayer being taken, such is not the case ; the proposal has instead fallen through. It appears that in taking the poll the town boaid proceeded according to the Municipal Corporation^ Act, 18S0, which only lequires that more than one-half of the ratepayers of the town shall vote in favour of the proposal. List session, however, fresh legislation was made on the matter, and instead of allowing town districts to remain on the same footing as borough councils in respect to borrowing and taking a poll thereon, an amendment was made in the Town Districts Act to the effect that in order to carry such proposal, no less than two-thirds of the votes of the town must be polled in its favour. This new provision seems to have been altogether lost sight of, but the oversight may to a great extent be attributed tothe fact that the new statute book contaiuing the amendment referred to has not yet found its way into the possession of the board. The mistake is certainly a sad one, and has caused considerable disappointment amoug-the people of the town. The fact that two-thirds of the votes of a town district are required to carry a borrowing proposal is a great injustice to a place like Cambridge, where there is such a considerable number of absentees whose votes cannot be obtained. Indeed, it is a generally accepted fact that at the present time it is altogether impossible to poll two-thirds of the votes of the to «vn. When the recent poll was taken, with the exception of about eight votes, almost every available vote in the town was polled, and the entire number recorded for and against was only 188; whereas under the new law, or Tpwn Districts Act Amendment, 1883, no less than 201 votes are required in favour of the proposal alone. This places Cambridge in an extremely awkward position in regard to the improvement of its hall and library. Both these buildings, now that they have been vested in the town board, must be kept iv decent repair, so to do this the ordinary rates of the town will have to be drawn on ; nevertheless, this seems the only means which can now be taken to have the work carried out.

Mr J., S. Bucldand will sell at the Waitoa yards on Thursday next, fat and store cattle, sheep, horses, Sec, Sec. On Saturday, the 12th April/ho ;wili 9fer by public . auction,' the racehorsey l^wry apd Sn^ko, „