King Country Chronicle Saturday, Sept. 26th, 1914. THE TANGITU ROADS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 707, 26 September 1914, Page 4

King Country Chronicle Saturday, Sept. 26th, 1914. THE TANGITU ROADS.

The enthusiasm which marked the celebration of the completion of the Waimiha-Tangitu main road indicates beyond a shadow of doubt that the Bettlera ato fully alive to the importance of roading their district. Thoße who have nut lived in the back blocks and withstood the annual siege of winter due to impassable roads, must utterly fail to realise what it meanß to the families of settlers to bo literally tied to their bueh honu-stcuda for months on end. To those in the prime of health and vigour the experience ia sufficiently tryinpr, while in cases of sickness or accident the situation borders on the tragic. Ah illustrating something of the conditions in the average buah settlement a speaker at Waimiha function on Wednesday evening proudly related that bb a result of the progress of loading in ths dietrict a woman who had been taken ill had only to Lie carried a mile through the mud before reaching a place whence it was ponaihle to drivo to the railway. Compared with the conditions which prevailed a couple o£ years ago this is doubtless a tremenduiiH improvement, yet it indicates a state of things which can hardly bo described aa luxurioup. Thin ia the case from the social standpoint, and the commercial aßpect of the position is equally important. Access to markets has been immensely improved ae a reoult of the completion of .the main road, yet the fact that numhers of settlers have still to use the pa:k horse as a meanß of transport to and from their sections bears eloquent testimony to the fact that conditions are yet far from ideal. A Bcheme JJis now being promoted with the object of raising money by way of special loan to metal the roads of the block and thus provide permanent meanß of transit for the further back eet--1 tiers. Such a step is imperative, and is bo entirely in the interests of the whole settlement that it is to be profoundly hoped nothing will be allowed to Btund in the way of it being carried through. As far aa the details of the scheme ara concerned these are entirely in the hands of the settlers themselves, and with the ansistance and advice of the local authorities little difficulty should bo experienced in promoting reasonable and equitable proposal. Unfortunately the conditions created by the war may render it difficult to obtain the neceßsary loan, but every elfort should be made to overcome this difficulty. The prosperity o£ the individual settler, and of the settlement as a community, depends upon roading facilities being provided to enable the settlers to market their producta and to carry on the great work of settlement, and the powers of the Gov ernment should be exerted in every way to assist the settlers to attaiti' this end. Every credit is due to the Government for the manner in which its responsibility in the matter of the main road has been recognised and fulfilled, and the settlors on Wednesday evening were unstinted in their appreciation of the fact. Still, this iB only tha initial step in progress, and the settlers who are manifesting spch an active deEire to help themselves in undertaking farther public works are deserving of encouragement. Thu conditions unde* vhich the settlement was created made it impossible for the settlers to progress without liberal assistance from the authorities, and it is to be hoped this view of the position will be as liberally and intelligently accepted by the Government in the future as it has been in the past.