The Opunake Times FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 1894. PUNEHU BRIDGE.

Opunake Times, Volume I, Issue 12, 10 August 1894, Page 2

The Opunake Times FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 1894. PUNEHU BRIDGE.

We are please l to see that the Hawera County Council have deckled on the erection of the Punehu and Mangawbero bridges on the Eltham Road. Summer will soon be upon us now, and we are credibly informed that there are no less than four coach proprietors waiting for the completion of the road to start a daily service between Opunake and Eltham. Until these bridges are erected, however, tbei’e would be no use attempting such a line, as for days, in wet weather, these rivers would cause a block. Considering the great number of settlers there are who look to and use the Eltham Road as their main outlet it is a matter of urgency, aid we hope the Council will not lose any time in putting them in hand. We understand Messrs Latham and Co. have the contract for building the Punehu bridge, it having been given to them in consideration of their relinquishing Ihe Geo bridge on the same road. It will be remembered that they had the contract for the erection of the Geo bridge at a cost of between two and three hundred pounds, and that they built a shed and got in readiness to go on with the work. They had seventy barrels of cement on the ground, and bad arranged for the timber at the mills. They had erected the temporary bridge over the Geo, and it was considered that this would meet the demands of traffic for some years to come, and the Council consequently decided on building the Punehu before' erecting a permanent bridge over the Oeo. ‘The contractors agreed to cancel the conlract for the Oeo on the condition that the Council took • over the cement and certain other of the material, and that they should get the building of )he Punehu hi id go at schedule rates. <*We have no doubt but that they would be prepared to go on with the erection of the bridge at once, and allow the money to stand for a time at a reasonable late of interest until the Council's finance perluitted of payment. The settlers

mainly interested should urge their -representative to make enquiries and ascertain,4f this is the position of the case, and if so urge immediate action in the matter. The proposition submitted to the Council by petition that’ the expenditure be debited to .mild fund, we do not agree with. - The land fund was understood to be pledged to the. payment of interest upon loan, and was represented at the meetings to consider the loan proposals as sufficient to pay the rate for fourteen years, provided-—as it was pointed out at the meeting at Kapouga by the Chairman, Mr Forsyth—that the settlers did not capitalise their sections, which would diminish the land revenue and cause part of the rale to be struck at an earlier period. We believe, in order to definitely pledge the land fund, it should be done by'special order, and then there could be no diversion of it, aud this step should be taken so as to prevent any subsequent Council, who may not be aware of all the circumstances, from doing an injustice. If this part of the district had had an over-expen-diture and atf urgent work were required, then, upon agreement with the settlers such a course as that proposed might be pursued, but when, on the contrary, revenue to which they were entitled to the extent of five hundred pounds, as admitted by the Chairman of the Council, has been taken and spent elsewhere, then we think it extremely unjust that the settlers should be forced to take such a step in order to get such an urgent matter attended to. The alternative part of the proposition providing for the charging the bridges to the credit balance (if any) when the district is subdivided into ridings we look on as mere bunkum, as we are quite satisfied that even if the district is cut into ridings as proposed, so long as the separate ridings remain under the control of the same body, no such adjustment can take place exceptiug as a purely mutual agreement, and we think it will be found that the expenditure as between bush and open in Waimate in the Council’s accounts cannot be traced any further back than 1887. We consider that the Council might in the meantime borrow sufficient from the land fund, which we presume is in credit, to complete the two bridges named, and wdien the rates are collected refund the amount. This would prevent any complication of accounts, and would prevent the possibility of striking the special rate for the £SOOO loan. The settlers have quite enough on their shoulders at present without this additional aud unnecessary burthen.