King Country Chronicle Saturday, February 14th, 1914 MAIN ROADS AND ROADING.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 643, 14 February 1914, Page 4

King Country Chronicle Saturday, February 14th, 1914 MAIN ROADS AND ROADING.

The main road question continues to agitate the public mind and the question pp ti whether or not the chief arterial thoroughfares of the Dominion are to be taken over by the Government is likely to again come up for discussion at no distant date. When interviewed on the point at Te Euiti, the Minister for Public Workß pointed out the difficulty of making a satisfactory"definition of a main road. He further advanced the suggestion that there was only one main road in any country, and the difficulty of deciding upon which particular thoroughfare was the main arterial road was a formidable obstacle in the way of a satisfactory arrangement by the leal bodies interested. In speaking at the recent Backblcck Counties' Conference on the subject, Mr Sandison, chairman of the Ohura County Council, referred to the position of inland counties where roads from other counties might be intersecting them in various directions. He pointed out that the county traversed by such roads was responsible for maintenance caused by outside traffic, and held that assistance should be provided for more than one road. Everything considered,it seems probable that the controversy on the subject will continue, but in view of the manifold difficulties and the various interests which have to be considered there appears to be little hope of a satisfactory adjustment which will enable the Government to lay down a definite scheme for the taking over of the roads. Moreover, in view of the fact that the control of the <soads would be split up between the local bodies and the Public Workß Department it is quite possible the public would not be as well served an if the control was left with the local bodies. As long as the local bodies have jurisdiction over the whole of the roads the matter of improvement and upkeep is directly in the hands of the people most interested,and definite action can be taken in any desired direction. It has now been clearly indicated to the Government that in the case or backblock main at least substantial assistance is necessary in order to provide adequately for the requirements of settlement and to facilitate progress. It may be argued that when it comes to a matter of Government assistance the same difficulty of defining a main road will arise. It is obvious, however, that if the Government decided to take over one main road in each county there would be small hope of obtaining assistance for any other road. At present there is an undefined responsibility on the Government to assist substantially in road construction, such responsibility being limited only by the requirements of the individual case. In new districts where there exists a continually growing demand for roads the measure of Government assistance should not be curtailed by any hard-and-fast rule which may be entirely suitable for old-settled localities. The responsibility of the settlers in this district for roads is an ever-increasing burden. The position, moreover, is complicated, and the burden increased, by the existence of roadless native lands, in respect to which the Government responsibility has not yet been sufficiently recognised. The manner in which unroaded or badly roaded native lands can be foisted upon the local authority is indicated in a small way in the Te Euiti borough, where undedicated roads through nativeowned sections have to be taken over by the Council and completed at the expense of the ratepayers. In view of the many issues at stake it is to be hoped the main road question will be considered in conjunction with the great, wide question of roading in general, and that care will be taken to conserve the interests of every section of the community.