THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1907. BACKBLOCK ROADS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 49, 27 September 1907, Page 2

THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1907. BACKBLOCK ROADS.

Some weeks ago there appeared in some of the leading newspapers of the colony a long letter from MiGregg, a Kiritehere settler, dealing with backblock roads, and calling attention to the state of affairs in the Marakopa - Kiritehere district. At the same time a petition was presented to Parliament by the settlers of the district mentioned, praying for an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the case. The Minister for Public Works delayed giving a definite reply to the charges contained in the petition, pending a report from the District Roads Engineer. The report is now to hand and has been published in the " Wellington Post." The reply is very comprehensive, and deals with each of the charges in detail. As was to be expected the charges of mismanagement are satisfactorily answered as far as the Engineer is concerned, and it certainly is to be regretted that the personal element was introduced in connection with the petition. It is universally admitted that the settlers have a genuine grievance and have every right to clamour loudly for a remedy, but in making specific charges of a grave nature against an officer of the Department, there should be, in common fairness, not the slightest possible doubt as to the ability to substantiate every statement. The. conditions described by Mr Gregg as obtaining in his district, are about as bad as they can be, but that an improvement should be attempted by the sacrifice of an individual is a creed dangerous to society in general. The reasons for the deplorable case of the back country settler are not far to seek, and in the reply to the statements made by the settlers the Engi~

neer does not hesitate to go to the root of the matter. The direct reason is the alienation of the land before ' reasonable provision has been made for reading. For years past, in pursuance of the progressive land settlement policy necessary for the progress of the colony, the Government has been throwing open land in remote districts heedless of the fact that roads are the first essential to success on the land. The roads were not provided, nor was the land loaded sufficiently to enable decent roads to be made. The result of such a shortsighted policy is now becoming apparent. Little wonder that, the settlers feel aggrieved, and possibly the desire to sacrifice an individual is engendered by the knowledge that they themselves have been offered up on the altar of political party policy, or condemned to hardship by the ignorance of an administration which refused to seek cniightment from trustworthy officers before launching into a scheme which meant so much to the colony. The pity of the matter is that any improvement of conditions must come slowly. It is useless to delude ourselves with the idea that the Government can eradicate existing evils by means of the magic wand. The money required to bring reading into line with even the needs of present settlement is enormous. The various departments of Government must be kept moving and reading, vitally important as it is, can only obtain its share. The present system of work on the roads is manifestly expensive, much more so than if sufficient money to complete the work was obtainable, but the officer in charge is not responsible. A national reading policy is becoming every day more essential, in order to enable the Government to fulfil its obligations, and in order that the colony in general may reap the benefit of the consequent enormous increase in production which would follow the establishment of proper means of transit between the backblocks, and the railways and harbours. This is a policy we have consistently urged, and to those conversant with the crying needs of many of our North Island districts, particularly the King Country, the. urgent nature of the case must appeal forcibly.