THE HUTT ROAD BUNGLE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1242, 26 September 1911, Page 2

THE HUTT ROAD BUNGLE.

Sir,—Certain facts re the iiutt Road stand out with slortlinjr clearness, mid:'■ lest your renders should have forgotten' • them, I venture to recapitulate them: (1) The Hutt Railway nnd Kond Improvement Bill .authorised .1 loan of .Clflfl.OQO for the purposes embodied in the' Bill. : (2) That sum has been exceeded by .£•235.000. (3) The, local bodies concerned Imva hnd no voice either in (he expenditure of the' moneys, the management or control of, the formation, or Hid raising of Die extra, moneys required; practically, then, they , signed a. blank cheque, which the. Govern- ■ ment could fill up ns it liked. To that extent they are to blame. The Government might have covered (ho road from one end to tho other like, a second Crystal \ Palace with a glass structure, and the ' local bodies had no recourse. As it is. the Government laid down a 20ft. asphali ' cycle track (not dreamt of by the local bodies), and in addition have loft outside the outermost rails, ample room for a third ret if required. This,'of course, us it necessitated much more filling in deep water, will have materially added to tho cost of the road, as well as of Hie railway. (4) The alluring; bait held out by the Hon. Sir. Miliar at the time cf the passim; of the Act, that he had no doubt tho sale of reclaimed land would more than recoup the outlay, and thus tho read and railway would cost nothing, has turned out the merest delusion, or, shall 1 My, "Millarism." (5) Tims, there is only loft to the local bodies their experience of Government. methods when tlio.v have a five hand, and Ilia pleasure (which the lion. Millar so often leaves us to experience) of "tooting this bill," or in tho alternative getting the Ministerial boot.—l nm, etc.,