Government of Conisborough

It would appear that things are ripe for a change in the government of Conisborough. Although not so near as to be practically a part of a district in which the popular voice is paramount and all-pervading, Conisborough is ruled under a system contrary to all our present-day ideas of what should hold. The management of Conisborough is still in the hands of the Rural Sanitary Authority, and it is surely time the connection between this rapidly growing place and the rapidly decaying Authority was put an end to.

Conisborough is too big to be governed by this fossilised and fairly useless Board where very little villages are concerned. Perhaps the management might not have been so obviously unsuitable if a little of the town’s influence had been felt by the Authority through the Parochial Committee, but the extent of consideration shown to the Parochial Committee seems very slight. If it is by the courtesy of the Authority that the Parochial Committee are allowed to exist the courtesy should be continued to the extent of allowing the Committee to lead their superiors in the matters for which they were brought into existence, or why should they be allowed to encumber the ground?

The recent report of the Committee’s meeting does not impress us very favourably as to its value as a body elected to guide and instruct the Authority in Conisborough affairs. The functions of its members do not appear to be very far removed from the level of those of ordinary bar-parlour critics. They simply had to consider the actions of their superiors. They learnt that the delay in carrying out the sewerage scheme was due to the Local Government Board insisting on a special system which required a greater area of land than had previously been obtained, and in consequence more land had to be bought, hence the delay.

They find that the Rural Sanitary Authority have saddled the parish with a cost of £290 a year for scavenging purposes. This very formidable charge was made without consulting the Committee. It is considerably too high a price for the work. The Mexborough Local Board have just made a contract for the scavenging of their district, and the amount at which the work has been let is £280; yet some of the members considered the figure much too high. Mexborough has about 1600 houses and Conisborough half that number, and yet Mexborough pays £280 and Conisborough £290.

This shall furnish a potent argument amongst the advocates of a Local Board or a Parish Council in the future. The bald fact that the Rural Sanitary Authority have decided to provide Conisborough with efficient scavenging is matter for congratulation, but apart from the extravagant cost, what is the use of the Committee if they are not to be consulted?

The Parochial Committee are shortly to be elected for another term of office, and as the old Committee is stated to have been elected illegally, at any rate to their position as “lighting inspectors,” it is to be hoped that an effort will be made to conduct the election properly at the next attempt, because there are those who feel that the efforts to get the “lost parish” lighted may be successful before another winter.

The sewage scheme and a better supply of water are within measurable distance, and these combined with the two other matters already mentioned comprise almost the sum total of affairs over which the Authority take control. On their actions in the next few months a good deal depends. Even if they complete the task fairly well it is still poor argument why the affairs of Conisborough should be managed by a body whose local sympathies—judged by the proportion of local members to those of other districts—cannot be sufficiently great to merit the confidence of the ratepayers.

The Rural Sanitary Authority are a body who sit with closed doors. Its members are even less careful than the Board of Guardians, of whom they form a part, to justify their election before the people, and they are one of a very few such authorities who dare not conduct their business openly. Complaints do not come alone from Conisborough, but at Conisborough the need for an alteration seems greatest.