THE HUNTLY PRESS PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT 1 P.M. Friday, February 13, 1914. The Great South Road.

Huntly Press and District Gazette, Volume 3, Issue 6, 13 February 1914, Page 2

THE HUNTLY PRESS PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT 1 P.M. Friday, February 13, 1914. The Great South Road.

At this time, when the making and repairing of the Great South Road is causing such a stir in the minds of many people (chiefly motorists), it may not ho amiss to make a short review of the position of some of the Local Bodies with regard to the question. The Local Bodies nearest home are the Huntlj Board, the Huntly Road Board and the Whangamarino Rond Board. The Huntly Town Board controls nearly four miles of the Great South Road, the Huntly Road Board about ten or 11 m ilea, and the Wll :i Ilgam :i----rino Road Board about twelve miles. In the Huntly Town District the Great South Road forms the main street, and the Local Body recognises that it is its duty to keep its portions in repair without outside aid. With the two Road Boards the position is quite different, for the Great : South Road, is not their main road, and to the majority of the ratepayers in these districts it is one of the least important of their outlets. This raises the question of what is a main road, and the solution we leave to our readers; but we would point out that, if the main road is the road which carries the most traffic in « any given district, then the Great South Road is, in many places, anything but a main road. To the settlor in any given district, the main road is the road that leads him to the • railway, or to the creamer) 7 , and he will submit to heavy • taxation to have that road made • good, but when you ask him to • tax himseif to make roads for _ people outside the district to use, and that chiefly for pleasure, you rouse a spirit of antagonism which is hard to counteract. He objects strongly to spending money to make roads which he does not use and in which lie has practically no interest, and no amount of clamour from those who use the roads (but do not pay for their upkeep), will ever convert him from the belief that those who use the roads should make and mend them. It will he objected that tlsis is a selfish way to look at tho question, and that the country settler has free use , of the roads and other eon--1 veniences when h > goes and, therefore, ought to be willing to make a return b\ viding got >d r >ads for seeking c ousiris fr m the city, but no doubt tho country • cousin will answer with tru'.h that whatever conveniences ho enjoys when he takes a trip to town, he pays for in full. It would appear that the only practical solution of thequ wtian is for the Government, the interested Local Bodies, and the motoris'.s to arrange a scheme under which each would pay a fair share t (his i <>ad. A ! pre out ment doles out small grants on no known system, the Local Bodies do their best with the small moans at their disposal, and the motorists wear out the roads. It may not be widely known I hat the highest registration• fee that can be charged on a motor car in New Zealand is ten shilling-. In England there is an annual charge according to the horse power of the motor, and the fees I range as high as £3O per car. It I will he agreed that the fee often i shillings is ridiculously 1 > v, a a 1 ! that the law requires altering in | the direction of an increase on a graduated scale of the Registration Fees. The Local B alias would willingly contribute to the scheme in accordance with the benefits received, and if the motorists would pay in accordance with the b mefits received : by them, no doubt tho Govern-! ment would do its share. The conference to be held in A nek la nd is a move in the right direction, and if only the representatives of the Local motoris ts meet in the rigid, spirit, there is no reason why a w >, kable scheme should not bo evol /ed. In the two Road Districts we have in our mind’s eye, the position is more fraught with difficult problems than in any other. Take the Whangamarino District. This district c insists of a very large area of land, ranging from had to very yy >od. on the east side of the Railway line, and a small area of comparatively poor land on the western side. The rates yielded by this latter portion probably amount to considerably Jess than £IOO. This gives the Road Board about £8 per mile to make and I mend the Great South Road, and to do this, they would have to neglect utterly all tho roads leading to the various railway stations. Is it tiny wonder .that little or no improvement is made on the road from year to year ? Coming nearer home, we have the Huntly Road District with its 10 miles of Great South Road running throuy,h pamio ) c unit rv . As in the c m a ri no Road District the railway is near the western boundary of the distriei cud the people on the east side of th line have little or no interest in any ol the roads on (die wosi ; side. I a i his case, pssition is most unfortunate', ! because there are no feeder i roads which c add be drawn < upon for a contribution lo the ; i cost of keeping up (his alleged I I main road, for from Rangiriri ! , Huntly, (die road G jambed in j ( between the Waikato River cm K

| the one side and a series of lakes j on the-other, while from Huntly | to Taupiri we have the River on i one side and a high and steep I range of hills on the other. The I revenue from the whole of this • territory is about £7O per annum !or £7 per mile. It j must be j evident to anyone who til inks | the position out, that it is quite J impossible for Iha Local Bodies | ove.n to keep the roads in. repair, I 11 d those who desire to have i j the roads improved'will need to i Innk ol s >ni9 ot her m 'ans of attaining their desire, than harrying Local Bodies. It has been freely said, that the Government ought to take over and maintain the main roads, j hut it is a question whether this | ■* within the range of practical polili :s, and any Government that inaugurates such a scheme will have a most une..viable time in proving to irate settlers that the Great South Road is the main road and that various other roa ls that carry far more traffic are only by-roads.