ROADS AND BRIDGES DEPARTMENT.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 562, 17 July 1909, Page 10

ROADS AND BRIDGES DEPARTMENT.

■ ; that. useless, Departments arc i being .in th'p cities, in .response to > demands' made by'tho Opposition ahd-Fftrm-s ers' TJnion, wo in .tlio .back-blocks have been •; waiting .expectantly to see wheiv the pruning ) kiiifo-wns to b3 applied to the Roads ■ and\ i Bridges'"Department, wlidre'iiiorb: money is i wasted iiv salaries' in proportion tb"its-'cx-peridituro' 'than any other under'the ; Gov,1; ernmorit control.' Instead pf absorbing it in .'- the Publio" Works Department, it ought to' > be.;,wk>ed out^of. existence, in counties,where ■ 1 tfioNOouiiiioa .'iatvis in.forcoj-ium' tlie. votes

placed in the hands of the load body for expenditure, as in the RaUgitikei county, whore the votes havo been spent (not allowed to-lapse) for. the last twelve years, with satisfaction, both to the Government ,an<l settlers. Take the \Vaimarino county as an.instance: Thero aro two different of'.fices in the same building. of the Roads Department, under two inspectors and nunierjous .understrappers. One has the, main road gunning from Pipiriki to,' Tokaanu, the.other the byo roads, that havo not been .handed over to the County .Council, and, therefore, there is considerable overlapping, as one has to pass along the, main roads to got to the bye roads. Then there is the county'roads administored ;by. the County Council, whoso ofice expenditure absorbs 25 per cent, of. tho rates, and who could easily and economically undertako the expenditure of ! all moneys voted' by the' Government for roads and bridges within twenty miles,of:Raotthi,. the- county town, thereby doing away with no f ower than two offices, as the County Council keeps its'officials in office'during the win-, ter.—l am, etc;, -■'■' [■ ;7. ECONOMY BACK-BLOCKS... ' Raetihi,' ! July 14. '?■ * , '■'' ; ''-'-\