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MACHYNLLETH.

MONTGOMERY. |

NEWTOWN LOCAL BOARD.

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NEWTOWN LOCAL BOARD. To the Editor of the Montgomeryshire Express and Radnor Times. Sir,-Ti.e Chiiirwan of the Local Board has two itrings to his buw-he writes a letter, and mlikes » speech. In the former he declines to enter into & jurrespoudence no doubt for reasons best known to oinifeif. but easily imagined by others. His friends ,yill admire hi,, discretion. In the latter—his speech —however, he attempts a reply, evidently apain witiiout consulting the Clerk, and, as a tesul:, help- essly and hopelessly flouuders amongst the figure* r, his command-misquotes them, aid only still fur- oher myslifie, the whole matter. He mixes up the fates of a series of yearn, and hits upon 3 Id, 3i0 ,Jd, and 38 41 as the average. How three different urns is the average, or an average, I cannot make out. He is evidently trying to bmsier up a bad but the figures won't fit into his theory. I BUP- ,jose he would say, So much the workie for tbe- i^urees." He aays in the speech Now I am called upon to go moie into aeiaiis, and I will give the exact rateff ot some tiign y,-ara. I find there have been three rat.a of 38 4d ',nd one rate of 3s 9d, and I find that tae ge^tlen an who misapprehends what I said at the lJ.SG ii-ard w, z actuaily Chairman of the Local Board when three out of lour of those high rates were levied, even lbcinding the 3s 9d rata." This is nolt; {.ii e true. Wire only two 3s 4d rates, not three. rbo ;Join AhioU i:e either wishes to hide, or has not yet toun out, is the cawt of which th* high rates for miosis yeai-A was the ejfict—namely, the fact that on our assuming res^cnaVbility in 1883, wtf iiad imposed upon us an accumulated liability of our predeae.is'rs of no lets o. sum than £2,031 is Sid, in addition t < which there was a. large sum paid tor oltIlk interest and cuaimiisioo on the overdraft until is was 1. ai-i oil ..ud as borrowing money on loan* t )r the (jut-pose of paying cutrent expenses, was noS; even dr. amed of, we naturally fell back upon tb. only legitimate course to adopt, viz., high rates and s.lIct economy, And, by to doiug, we, during our ■.rTin ot olhoe, turned tho advsrse balance of j £ 2,031- ,ttto a credit balance of t869 lis lid, as shewn oil tile baliUiCe-theet for the ye.tr ending March tb. 1891. l'he rates for thoi-e years having been all fol- OW", commencing 1883-38 f),t, 3a 4d, 3s 4d, 3a, 38. 2s 6d, 2s 6J, 2s 9d. These figures are facts, not fan- cies, aud i re copied from official documents open to all who wis a to find out the truth, and have no other t .terest to se; ve. The Cii-irmau f ays I ought to be fully acquainted wtih the fluetu'itin# r. quirQments of a public body." I suppose ho u.eans that as an excuse for extraor- dinary expenditure. I quite agree that that must bo a factor wi 'h all publio bodies, but he must not assume tba.t they ..re a new feature, and will help to explain away their extravagant expen- diture Duritg our term of office they were of almost yearly occurrence, such as—one action at law ajmm-iiced one thro-tened by the Canai Company in consequence of a leakage; one arbitration ca Mr Parry Jones's, explained I see by Mr Thomas Joiies, &- c.-iused by some misadventure or other" auotner one ciused by Mr Edward Jones's diBasree- ment, as architect, with the builder of the cemetery w).it iii,i /louse, and which was decided against him the buistiii* or the main sewer below the town, is t vo different places, ai different times; etc., etc., to the Ohuiramii will see that we had our share of fluc- tuating vi quiremeiits," but we did not patade them as exemses for extravagance. The Chairman is evidently riding for a fall, and has the feur of a coming election before his eyes but I think be need cot tea. as success may probably bo obtained upon the same terms as before, for further on. in his speech, he says: Whether any or ail of us are on th" Board for the next year or two veare. our rate is bound to go up unless something is done to brin« in an income to meet the heavy interests and loans connected with the Board. Aud again: "But, I diati cty wifh it to bo understood that we, ae members of the Board,foresee that unless undertakings are take., ever t,iut will bring in a profit, that it is only ft ques'e.n <t re*conabki rime before the rates musigoup." I maiuiaic thut it does not depend upo:i tLa,, altogether, or at all, it depends a great- deal more upon the meulb, rs of the Board themselves trying to U;1(]f.r,.t\lnd thojoughlv the details of their work, and exeroitdn: t.he -amo care in the control of of the ratepnyers' money, as they would of their own, only more EO, if possible—instead of which they have increased the annual expenditure, apait from the loans, as I have previously shewn, X500 a year and in addition hive absorbed the -t'33o—th.t was to finish the sidewaiktl ou!si ;e the town. The Chairman asks me to !int out nhtre the alleged unnecebsary .-xi-, i.-e and x ravaghiice has been incurred. I wouid reply that it is net my duty to do so, even if I had ucc a to the account-, n.ch, of course, i have not. I have tó aurge, .1 41 I think have proved it. It is t..r those who axi-urue responsibility and exercise auihoiity to find ttia* out, and appiy the remedy. In taking leave ot this subject-for the present- permit, IDe to thank you for allowing me to oecupv so much of your valuable space, althuugu up n a ub- < jecs of great local importance to ns hI, iu ihebe ,J.. pressed times, and when the outlook in per hap- n oxe gloomy than it has been for a generation or two. Aug. 25, 1893. ALFRED FORD. P.S. I am reminded of two more examt, o s of fluctoatii,g requirements," which we pai i for out of the ordinary income of the Board, viz., tie ixiiid- i1'\g' of the stabies and wain house on the Canal rua.d. at a cost of, I think, about .£100, Also the. sum of Jioi 12s 3d paid for the completion of the cemetery contracts, over and above the amount born vtct. oa loan for the purpose.—A. F.

- HAIL COLUMBIA! HAPPY LAND!!

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