THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. FRIDAY, MAY 10, 1907.

King Country Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 29, 10 May 1907, Page 2

THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. FRIDAY, MAY 10, 1907.

The news to hand that a conference between local bodies and the Minister for Public Works is being arranged for the end of this month, will be widely welcomed. That such a meeting is necessary, and in the best interests of back-block settlers, has long been recognised by the Waitomo County Councillors, and the Chairman of that body, is to be commended for his efforts in bringing about the meeting. Already, delegates have been appointed by the Raglan and Kawhia Councils, to co-operate with the Waitomo Council, and some definite understanding between the local bodies and the Minister may confidently be looked for. The counties mentioned are all faced with the same problem, and if an equitable solution can be obtained, there will be room for rejoicing. Even if little material benefit, in the shape of larger grants for roads, be obtained, there will at least be the opportunity of discussing one of the most important questions of the day, without prejudice. A better understanding, and a more expeditious means of securing information, and assistance from the Government Department is badly needed, and one of the chief aims of the conference should be not only the establishment of sympathetic understanding, but of a business-like and constitutional method of communication. By this means, the cry of "spoils to the victors," and the suspicion of political favour at present attaching to Government grants in all districts will be enectually silenced. The difficulty of obtaining a satsifactory reply from a Government department is proverbial, and practically the only definite communication obtained by the Waitomo Council from the Government, stated that the responsibility of making and maintaining all roads in the County rested upon the Council, but that the Government might make grants for the purpose from time to time. The absurdity of the letter was obvious, considering that the Department had a special office and engineering staff located at Te Kuiti, and was employing large numbers of workmen on road works in the County. It is well known that the Government is spending a large amount of money annually in making new roads in the backblocks, and the idea that the most remote settler shall have a road or track formed to his section before engaging in any more expenditure on roads already formed, is highly commendable in theory. However, a road or track, which is impassable in winter and hardly fit for use in summer, is hardly satisfactory. Better by

far would it have been to have delayed the opening of some of the more remote blocks, and devoted more money to making better roads to lands already opened. Belter still would it have been to have evolved a workable scheme of throwing open the large areas of Native lands, and allowed settlement to grow out from the railway centres, instead of planting settlers in isolated blocks, miles away from a centre of any sort. Still, the conditions must be accepted as they are, and the best methods of meeting them adopted. An objectionable feature of the present system is the practice (encouraged by the Government) of settlers in various localities appealing straight to AVellington for assistance in local road matters. The system was initiated for purely political purposes and has assumed inordinate proportions. It is not a Haltering tribute to the authorities that such a practice exists, and besides being grossly unfair to its officers, it is open to abuse in every form. A department responsible for so much of the public money, and upon which so much of the prosperity of the country depends, should be above such paltry methods. The time is ripe for the adoption of a national system of reading, which will be apart from local political influence, and the administration of which will have the confidence of all.