King Country Chronicle Wednesday, Nov, 23. 1910 TOPICS OF THE DAY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 314, 23 November 1910, Page 4

King Country Chronicle Wednesday, Nov, 23. 1910 TOPICS OF THE DAY.

♦ Now that the Public Works Estimates arc once more before us, we are able to compare the various amounts allotted for back-block roads in one part and another of the Dominion. The total amount for the current vear j is £229,520, and out of this consider- j able sum the Taranaki road district, j which includes, amongst others, the ! counties of Waitomo and Ohura, has a sum of ,£72,890 put clown as to be ; voted. This sum is cut up into votes of from £SO. for such roads as the ; Makaihikatoa road in the Ohura, to £9OOO for the main Ohura road run- j ning between Taranaki and Ohura. ! The Arapac road is allotted £ISOO, j Mangapohue road £1250, Marakopa : river road £750. Miroahuiao to Ma- , tiere £IOSO. Then we have the ordin- j ary road votes which give £13.910 to ! the Taranaki road district, included in , which is Te Kuiti to Mokau road ! £4OOO with £958 liability, the greater j part of the remainder of the votes be- j irig allotted to other parts of this vast j road district. The point we would j

like to emphasise is the necessity for concentrating road votes on the completion of main arterial roads, rather than in splitting up the amounts over a large number of byeroads. Well-constructed, well-metalled main roads do more to develop a district and assist the settlers than any number of bye-roads, however important they may be secondarily. It pays a settler, who has cream to cart, or stock to drive, to be able to use a metalled highway to the railway, but no matter how good his sideroads are, they are useless to him without the main arterial roads be-

ing in good and satisfactory condition. It is, then, desirable to concentrate on main roads, when pressing for Government aid. We are led to this conclusion by the experience of other countries, as well as our own. In a recent number of the "World's Work" an American writer shows very conclusively the intimate connection between net profits for the farmer and good roads. A waggon carries a load light or heavy just according to the nature of the roads it traverses. If the driver is sure of a well-graded metalled highway all the way to his destination, he can load to the utmost limit of the waggon's capacity. If the road is good in portions only, he cannot draw as large a load. That is one good and sufficient reason cor working for the construction of our main arterial roads before any other large works are contemplated. Then we begin at the right end and benefit by every yard of road metalled.