WAIKATO NOTES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 192, 20 September 1909, Page 5

WAIKATO NOTES.

(Own Correspondent.) I was glad to see the interest shown by the Hamilton citizens in the requirements of hackblock settlers the other day, when a deputation from the country districts waited on the member for Waikato with reference to the improvement of roads between Frank ton and Whatawbata, Te Kowhai and other ad- ; jacent palccs. This question of good communication is a burning one. It is one that has agitated all public spirited men for a long time past and the pressure upon members of parliament, and through them, upon the Government, is such that some practical results cannot be long delayed in the present instances under discussion. There is the Te Kowbai-Tc Rapa road in an almost impassable state; the Whatawhata swamp road, which gives direct communication between Raglan anud Hamilton in urgent nerd of repairs and improvement; and many roads in the King Country have been "hung up" so far as improvements go. owing to the lack of funds from the State, f have some very strong opinions upon a question like this. I hold that geod. metalled road.*, kept in first clas# order are a vital necessity if the country is to he settled at all. and the only means by which many parts of this province can even be reached in comfort. In America a great Roads Commission is devising a comprehensive scheme for providing national roads out of the funds of the Republic. America is a great country, but proportionately it has as much difficult country to road as we have. It is estimated that the savin*? in hauling through being able to puEl heavier loads over good roads, more than compensates for the capital outlay on road construction. But wetl-rotled, tarred and macadamised roads are a necessity. It is useless dumping down metal and expecting the road to make itself.

Mr Wm. Goodfellow, of Hamilton, has jttit bought an auto buggy for personal use;. It is from America, cost £250, runs on an ordinary buggy body, carries five or six people, and can travel at 10 to 21) miles an hour on roads- good, bad or indifferent. I hop*; to get details of cost of running at»d upkeep at a later dat»r. I understand lAdamile cov.r the running cost at present, and when heavy loads can be carried this looks like economy as compared with horse traction. But here again, good roads help, as the less friction the greater the load possible. The steel work for the new Hamilton traffic bridge is at last on the way out from England.

The v irdict in the case of John Murphy, contractor of Tamahercwas death from a gunshot wound, but that there was not sufficient evidence to show how it was inflicted. James Famcis Maxwell has been committed for sentence on a charge of forging the name of Allen Campbell Smith, and attempting to obtain £5 by means of a forged withdrawal notice. He tried to obtain the amount at the Hamilton Post Office, but the postal clerk's suspicions were aroused, with the result as above.