LETTERS TO EDITOR

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 176, 12 August 1937, Page 6

LETTERS TO EDITOR

State of County Roads f | — / Sir, — Having read Mr. Edm*mdson'» Vs critieism of the Hawke5s Bay roads, -v and also the comments of Mr. F, B, Logan on the- same subjeet, I myself, along with many others, cams rbiterate what Mr.' Edmundson says r.egarding the roads. I reeently toured the North Island, covering over 1000 miles, and not in the whole tour "did I find anything to npproach the arterial roads of Hawke's Bay- . ' v A glaring example was the state of & the Tukituki-Haumoana road during "j the past winter. A disgrace to. the 1 county. ' " . i I have resided in the district for tho . past 17 years, and during the. whole of that period we have not averaged a grader on it once a year, and it was only after a prote'st meeting that we had - the grader put in operation. After that the road was praetieally impassable owing to clay being graded on the surface. On various occasions two or three inen were put on trying to fill some of : the pot-holes. Another the county '■ examples, of waste of ratepayers' money. * Mrl F. B. Logan doubts the capacity of Mr. Edmundson 's qualifications ' as engineer, as does the writer doubt Mr, F. B. Logan 's. However, I will grant them honours even. But it does not require an engineer to discriminate between good and bad roads. We need not go to Hyde P«rk to let * off steam, as the country chairman remarked. He himself is not slow in ' letfing steam off, as has been very noticeable on many occasions when he has been brought to task. Mr. Logan also makes reference to . the faet that, out of eleven members, only one was a ratepayer. That, of course, might be correct, but I nofaee that at the last meeting several members of the county complained of the. state of various roads. Surely they ' were ratepayers?. Mr. Logan also speaks of billiard- , ■ •table 'roads. That is certainly futile ; and ridiculous. The nearest approacb to them might be found in the Kereru district. ? It is no secret that the change ib the Hawke's Bay Tatiffg has hurt qur chairman, and on the face of it he appears antagonistie to the small holder. Thanking you for your valuable space. — Yours, etc., . G. H. SMITH. Haumoana, Aug. 11, 1937-