HIGHWAYS THROUGH SMALL BOROUGHS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 3842, 8 September 1928, Page 2

HIGHWAYS THROUGH SMALL BOROUGHS.

THE DEPUTATION TO THE GOVERNMENT. Wellington, September 5. A deputation representing nineteen boroughs, with a population of under 6000 people waited upon the Minister for Public Works on the morning of August 29th, to put before him the position of their towns in regard to main highways. The deputation, which was convened and organised by the Levin Borough Council, was very well-attend-ed, and was supported by several members of Parliament in whose electorate the boroughs interested existed. Mr. J. Linklater, M.P., for Manawatu, introduced the deputation, and in the course of his remarks, he said he wished to introduce to the Minister representatives of boroughs of under 6000 inhabitants which were progressive enough to enter into the spirit of the 'Highways i’Vjct and construct in a permanent manner the continuation of the highway through their boroughs. The Main Highways Board, under Section 23 of the Main Highways Act, 1922, paid these boroughs a subsidy based on the expenditure of the adjoining highways in the counties. On January 23rd last, however, an Order in Council was issued declaring' main highways these continuations or constructions.through boroughs of less than 6000 population, with an intimation that subsidies would in future be paid on construction and maintenance only, the subsidy based on highways outside counties being discontinued. This came as a serious blow to boroughs, which had put down their streets in a permanent manner. They had now to stand by and see less progressive boroughs receive £1 for £1 for construction. The streets that had been constructed of a permanent nature of either bitumen or Crete should, if properly constructed, require, no maintenance, but as a necessary corollary to such work, there was a fairly large interest and sinking fund to find each year. “The position seems to me to be most unfair so far as these bor.oughs are concerned,” said Mr. Linklater. “We ask that the Main Highways Board should contribute something toward the cost of this permanent work, which in other eases is subject to subsidy, either by paying half construction cost, or half the yearly interest and sinking fund on the cost of construction. This should be a reasonable proposition because boroughs which have of recent years permanently paved their streets are the worst off of any local bodies in the Dominion since they receive neither petrol tax nor help .from the Highways Board. I think you will realise that we have an excellent case; and that Boroughs should receive more consideration than they at present receive under the operation of the Highway Act. Mr. T. Hobson, Mayor of Levin, endorsed the remarks of the previous speaker, and followed along the lines of his report to the Levin Borough Council. Mr. Hobson said that the boroughs concerned in this request were Birkenhead, Dannevirke, Eastbourne, Featherston, Feilding, Hawera, Inglewood, Levin, Marton, Morrinsville, Newmarket, Northcote, Rotorua, Pukekohe, Otahuhu, Stratford, Taumarunui, Te Aroha and Waitara. He asked the Minister to give favourable consideration to their case. Messrs Runiciman (Mayor of Dannevirke), Fair (Mayor of Feilding), Todd (Mayor of Otahuhu), Manson (town clerk of Stratford), and Cr. M. Mortensen (Levin Borough Council), also spoke in favour of more liberal treatment being extended by the Highways Board to the smaller boroughs. The Minister gave the deputa j tion a very sympathetic hearing and promised to give his considered reply after he had conferred with the Highways Board on this important matter.