The Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, DEC. 16, 1893. A Lesson.

Manawatu Herald, 16 December 1893, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, DEC. 16, 1893. A Lesson.

n uessuu. * In another column will be found the official result of the poll taken by the Manawatu County Council for forming and metalling the road from Shannon ferry towards Foxton. Out of forty-eight votes exercisable thirtythree were recorded in favour of the scheme and not one against it, the result being that the loan is carried. The amount to be borrowed is some £1500 which is considered sufficient for the work, and we may expect to hear of contracts being let as soon aa the County Chairman is assured by the Government that the money is available. This successful polling is a sort of rude awakening to those who declare, that the ratepayers are against incurring future liabilities for present gain, and the Warden fur the Riding of Awahou, Mr Allan Strung is most heartily to be congratulated on the result of his first public act. The Riding does not contain v very large number of ratepayers, but it included some big holdings, the owners of which are constantly being accused of beiug against the opening up of the country, in this polling it is clear our large property owners are not of this class or they would have easily knocked the proposal on thi head. " The portion of the road between Shannon ferry and Foxton having been arranged for, and the portion from Shannon to the ferry being now under contract places the Borough in the unenviable position of being the only public body that is making no effort to complete this main line. Feeble efforts have from year to year been made to gravel bits of the Motoa road, but after the contract now in progress is finished there will still remain one mile in a most disgraceful state 1 . Will the Burgesses lie under the ; stigma of being the slowest and the least mindful of the --interests of their town and the travelling public of all the local bodies in the immediate neighbourhood ? Or will they awake to the urgency of the case and remove the barrier to free intercourse with the country districts ? This remains to be seen but we earnestly press that there is no time for delay if anything is to be done this season. We have so often pointed out the advantages deriveable by business men from good roads over which they can dispatch their goods, and over which customers can drive to do business with them that to mention it once more is to tell an oft told tale. We are very sanguine that the time is not distant when tfie cross road to the Wairarapa will be made from Shannon, and then the importance of this road from Foxton to that town will become very apparent. We are willing to admit that for the single purpose of travelling to Wellington and back, the moßt direct road would be to Levin, but that excellent city is partly populated by ex-residents of Foxton and have so imbibed the notion that main roads are of little consequence, that they will make no effort to put the road between the two places into deoent order, thereby forcing the traffic upon the line of road which is easiest navigated. This may be taken as a lesson by

the Burgesses of this Borough. Apart from the desire to proceed to Wellington we do not louk upon the Lavin route as lh> hest-.,- as the line is very spars.-ly populated and is no' the m >st convenient station on tho railway for communication with thr-setti-=TneTrts-Tre^ii*e-move"parfciciHai4y interested in. We wish well to every ■sy'tfcleni'i.nfc.'bnfc the rich backcountry round Shannon and Tokomani belong to Tho Port, and wilh" V good metal roads bee im a an adjunct to itiandwe have that opinion of our local business men that given an oppnr: unity they would not be slow wo take nd vantage of it. Even to our coach service there is no doubt that, the Shannon route would be the m >st profitable. It is so possible for any man to weigh these probabilities and arrive at a conclusion that we do not think it necessary to say more. The responsibility of putting the business to the test lies at the door" of the" Mayor elect, and we believe he will prove he possesses the energy we credited him with.