GOOD ROADS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 1957, 27 March 1919, Page 1

GOOD ROADS.

The Queensland Agricultural Journal says: —“The road question is one of vital importance to farmers at any distance from a railway station, and there are many splendid areas of arable land in all parts of the State which would become important centres of agricultural activities were it not for their inaccessibility, owing to the rvant of roads of communication to a railway. “In the days when the Romans, under various emperors extended their conquests to other lands, they invariably gave great attention to the construction of good military roads, especially in countries which they permanently occupied. These roads were so well constructed that (hey have lasted for over eighteen centuries, and are as good to-day as when the Roman generals, the soldiers, and the conquered peoples laboured at them. To construct such roads at the present day would be out of the question, for the cost of them would be prohibitive, no forced labour being available, as it was in Cicsar's day. Neither are such splendidly built roads necessary for ordinary country traffic. But whilst we have bon expending our energies ami large sums of money in establishing an excellent railway system, we have most shamefully neglected our high roads. Time was when high roads and bridges were made, built, and maintained by the Government, and the main roads, at least, were kept in a good state of repair, because money could gener-

ally be found to cany out such public works, and to maintain them afterwards. The building of railways to the interior caused neglect: of the main high, roads. Coaches and wagons, bullock and horse

teams being discarded for railway carriage, it was deemed no longer necessary to keep the road in repair. When the old road hoards were done away wit it, (here was no one to attend to I'm matter and (ravelling hy road became fraught with discomfort, damage, and danger. Nearly 100 years ago the United States Government was engaged in projecting and building - etxcnsive systems of public highways to develop (he resources of the country, and probably that policy would have been continued hut for the rapid growth of railway systems that seemed better adapted to the needs of the expanding traffic of the country. Within recent years there has been no adequate system for maintaining (lie-highways in that country,and as an American journal puts it. 'their condition in this age of general development is a disgrace to a civilised nation.’ Now, an Office of Public Road Inquiries has been established through the Department of Agriculture, and this office is maintained hy yearly appropriations from the Treasury resulting in groat good in promoting road improvement, and there Ims been an increasing demand upon this office, not only for achieving aid, but for material assistance. In responding to the people’s call for Government aid, there has been made a safe and healthy beginning, and the lime is opportune for enlarging and extending the work in that country.”