THE HUTT ROAD

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2156, 23 May 1914, Page 7

THE HUTT ROAD

CONTROLS COST OF UPKEEP MINISTERS INTERVIEWEE) GOVERNMENT ASKED TO BEAR THE WHOLE COST PROPOSAL NOT ENTERTAINED. Another chapter was added to' tho numerous, long and complicated discussions which .havo taken place over tho allocation of tho cost of tho Hutt Read, when a deputation representing the Wellington City Council and tho other local bodies' interested waited yesterday upon tho Right Hon. W. F.- MasBoy (Prime Minister) and tho Hon. W. H. Hemes (Minister of Rai'ways) and asked that the road Bhould be declared a main arterial highway, and in that character maintained by tho Government. Mr. J. P. Luke. (Mayor of Wellington) said that the Wellington City Council had' decided not to spend any money on tho road in tho meantime. Tho deputation had come to urge that tho Hutt Read, should bo vested in the Government as a main arterial 'highway,'and ho thought tho proposal well worthy of the. Government's considera« tion. The Wellington "City Council was prepared to do what was fair, and admitted that it had some responsibility but tho Government had placed it in a difficult position. He thought himself that tho Government had been rather i' hasty in taking its men away from tho road. It would have been bettor that the Government should havo continued to maintain the road until such time . as the ma/ttor had been thoroughly dealt with, instead of vesting it m tho Wellington City Council. It had b«pn suggested that legislation might bo required in connection with the final vesting of the' road. So far as tho basis of contribution was concerned,

tho people of Wellington wero prepared to do tho right thing, and the * City Council was prepared to assist tho Government in any proposal that would settle tho matter upon a fair and iguitablo basis. Petone Will Nof Pay. Mr. J. W. M'Ewan (Mayor of Petone) said that the costi of tho road would bear much more 'hardly upon Petono than upon Wellington. -. The city's contribution would amount to 6s. per head of population, and ketone's contribution to £1 Bs. "6'd. per head of population. Wellington was called upon to pay one-halfpenny in the pound on a total rateable valuo of about nineteen millions, and. Petone- twopence in tho pound on a capital valuo of just a littlo ever £1,200,000. Ho went on to contend that the Petone contribution was altogether too large, and that if it had to pay anything, the borough!' should not bo asked to pay more than £6432. The Prime Minister: I fancy it will be necessary to make the payment of £40,000 (by ,tho Government) conditional upon the. prompt payment by the local bodies of tho other part of their indebtedness. Mr. M'Ewan said that the Petone people felt very deeply about this matter, and would resist the. payment of ■ this contribution to tho utmost. It remained to be seen how far they could go. The Priino Minister: I hope it won't be necessary for tho Government to take over Petone.'.'f!''A -«-_->. 7 ■■~ ; .-nw. ,.• Mr. M'Ewan! I won't 3ay: what will lio necessary, but I assure yo'ii, if tho Government do take over Petone, judging by tho prosont prospects, they will takeover a very- profitable business indeed. The Primo Minister: I am glad to hear that.

Mr. M'Ewan said that not long ago Mr. Eraser had expressed the opinion that sooner or later tho construction and maintenance of tho main arterial roads would havo to be taken over by the Government altogether. No doubt the Minister had spoken with a knowledge of tho requirements of the country. Lately, he continued, there had been a considerable increase in motor traffic between the city and Waiiarapa. Not only pleasure cars, but motorlorries, went over tho Rimutaka. This motor traffic was likely to increase still further. He proposed to say a fow words about the effect of motor traffic _.. u i ■ •.

■Mr. Massey: Is this necessary? Wo all understand that. . Mr. M'Ewan said he wished to show, that tho effect of motor roads was so serious that it was going to bo very burdensome on local bodies. It was going to bo a burden that they would be unablo to bear. Before very Ion" tho question of asphalting the Hutt Road would havo to bo taken iuto conjideration. ' A Pertinent Question. Mr. Massoy: Do you propose that wo should tako over this road after,paymenb by 'tho local bodies of _ tho £60,0U0 or that, wo should take it over and forego payment of the £60,000? Mr. M'Ewan: We ask that you should forego tho payment altogether. You havo made tho road and should maintain it. Mr. Horries: We made it a\ the request of tho local bodies. Mr. M'Ewan said ho did not wish to discuss that. Mr. Massey said that tho whole thing had been thrashed out in Parliament. Mr. M'Ewan said that none of tho local'bodies that asked.for the road thought they would havo to pay anything like the amount demanded. . Mr. Massey: Wo havo cut it down 40 per cent. Mr. M'Ewan said that tho Goverh- '• ment should follow the example of tho r Homo Government, which had sot up a board to control roads and undertake the construction, _ improvement, and maintenance of public highways. A tax had been'imposed on motor vehicles, another on petrol, and these taxes were devoted to the maintenance of main roads. This, ho submitted, was a proper policy for thb Government of this country to follow. The Other Local Bodies. Mr. H. Baldwin (Mayor of , Lower Hutt) said that he thought tho cost per head of population would bo even greater iu Lower Hutt borough than in Pctone. Ho approved tho proposal to declaro the Hutt Road, a main ar"torial road. Mr. C. Crump (Mayor of Onslow) iSaid that ho was not prepared to say anything at.all about tho matter. The' predecessors of tho present local bodies, and tho previous Government, wore the parties to make tho agreement clear and distinct. Ho considered that enough had been said to enablo tho Government and tho local bodies to como to a settlement. Mr. F. Townscnd (Mayor of Miramar,] said he thought it unreasonable that his borough, which was seven miles away from tho road, should have "to contribute to its cost, especially when tho road boro so much traffic to and from tho city of Wellington. As to tho upkeep of tho road, if Miramar borough had to contributo, it should have a say in tho control and he did not seo how such an arrangement Would work. Mr. W. Galloway (chairman of tho Hutt County Council) said tho local bodies were not consulted when the road was made. Mr. Massey: I think the.y wero. Mr. Galloway said it was hard that tho local bodies should be asked to contribute. Hutt County was twelve miles away from tho road. Councillor Kelly, of tho Eastbourne

Borough Council, .said ho represented t'lio smallest contributing authority. Ho supported the proposal that tho Govoniincnt should talco over the Hutt Road as a main arterial road, hut remarked that it could not bo oxpected to do so except in pursuance of a genoral policy which would apply equally to other roads.

PRIME MINISTER IN REPLY. THE GOVERNMENT'S POLICY. Tho Primo 'Minister said that the Government had no intention of being at all harsh or unreasonable to tho local bodies interested in the Hutt Road, and ho did not think it could bo said that tho Government had been harsh or unreasonable. Tho facts were that somo years ago (before tho time of tho present Government), tho Government entered into an arrangement with tho local bodies concerned and agreed to make tho Hutt Road. Ho was quite prepared to admit that,when the construction of tho road was first contemplated it was not expected that tho cost would bo anything like what it had turned out to bo. Tho actual cost was £100,000, of which amount the Government had agreed to remit £40,000, leaving £60,000 to be paid by tho local bodies. That was the position to-day. Now the local bodies had come to ask that the Government should take over tho road as a mainj arterial road. Tho Government had not yet decided upon a new policy in regard to main roads, but ho was inclined to think that Parliament would not agree to take over as main roads' such roads as that between Wellington and tho Hutt. If the Government took over, this road, it would immediately bo asked to take oyer many others. Tho Auckland people would ask that tho road to Onchunga should bo taken over as a main road, the Dunedin people would put forward a similar request in regard to the road to Port Chalmers and the road to Mosgicl, and the Cliristchurch people would comq along and ask that' tho road to Kaiapoi should bo taken over. Theso people would bo ablo to make out a better case than tho deputatfon had done, because they had made their roads, whereas tho Hutt Road had been mado by tho Government, or at anyrato the Government had contributed very largely to its cost. However, tho whole tion would como before Parliament during the approaching session. Mr. Eraser, he understood, had expressed an opinion that something would have to be done in connection with tho main roads, but it did not follow that becauso a road was a main road it was a Government road. In somo places where, tho land was unoccupied or of such small value that very littlo could bo collected in tho way of rates, the Government had to render assistance. Ho could think' of local bodies on the West Coast of the South Island and in tho North. Auckland Peninsula which, if thoy spent tho whole of their .revenue on the main roads without spending anything on by-roads', would not be ablo to keep the main roads in repair'. In such cases, where the Government ran a mail coach over the road, it 1 assisted tho local body 'to keep the road in order. From £30,000 to £40,000 was'provided annually for the assistance of bodies so circumstanced. He had been glad to hear the representations of the deputation, hut thought it just as well that he should state the other side, as they had put one sido to him. He hoped that tho matter of the Hutt Road would bo settled to tho satisfaction of all concerned. Tho Government intended to meet the local bodies and do what was right in the circumstances.

Tho City's Risks. ' Mr.. Luke: May I suggest that the Government continue- to maintain that road in the meantime? At present it is gazetted and vested in the Wellington City Council! The'city running a big risk; in case of "an accident on the load tho question . would arise whether the liability could be rightly put upon the City Council. Railways Ministers Objscts. Mr. Hemes said that tho question was ono for Cabinet to decide. As Minister of Railways ho did not .see why the Railways Department, now that tho work was finished, should bo called upon to maintain tho. road. Tho law said that as soon as tho work was finished it should bo handed over to the local bodies. That was in the original Act. The Railways Department chose the Wellington City Council because it thought that the council would probably call a meeting of the local bodies concerned and arrange about tho maintenance of tho road. The Department might ha-o vested the road in all tho local bodies, but it was thought that it_ would be moro convenient to vest it in one. It would be hardly right that the Railways Department should be saddled with tho cost of the road in tho future. He understood from Mr. M'Ewan that if tho Government did not decide to take over tho main roads, no maintenance would be paid on tho Hutfc Road. Mr. Luke: That may not be in the minds of the deputation. Mr. Herrios repeated that ho would certainly object to tho running railways being saddled with tho cost of maintaining the road. Mr."Luke said ho did not suggest that at all. Ho suggested, that the Government should take over tho liability in tho meantime. Mr. Herrios: It seems to mo that our offer lias not been roceived in tho spirit in which it was made. Mr. Luke said he did not wish to discuss tho thing on that basis. The City of Wellington did not wish to shirk its responsibility—he thought ho had the backing of tho people of tho city in saying that—but but ho had not got the backing of tho city in taking over sole responsibility for tho control of tho Toad. Ho thought tho Minister was right in contending that' the responsibility should not be imposed on the Railway Department, and ho had merely suggested tliat tho Government should assume the responsibility meantime. . With this tho discussion terminated, and the deputation withdrew.