THE OTAKI MAIL. Published. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 1919. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Otaki Mail, Volume 26, 14 March 1919, Page 2

THE OTAKI MAIL. Published. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 1919. EDITORIAL NOTES.

I The Otaki Bridge. ] '* Once again we draw the attention of j.tlie Horowkemia County Council to tlie i state of the Otaki bridge,. which is a t disgrace to the Council, and a distinct. | menace to the travelling public. Our ;■ attention was yesterday drawn to the I condition of the planking, and on inl speeding tiic structure wc found a largo hole, about JSiu x 2ft. right through the '.plunking. The wonder is that a ! serious accident has-' not occurred at ' this spot. If a horse wore to put his | foot in ibis hole it would break its leg, ! and possibly the rider’s neck. In vari- ! ous other parts the planking is rotting : quickly, and in a very short time it will I be absolutely necessary to re-deck tlio ! whole bridge, if such work is not ■ already required. This will mean a very heavy expenditure, with timber at its present price, and tlio whole blame lies with the Council for not having the work attended to a year or so ago. The Engineer's excuse that labour was not available is a weak argument. It would have paid the Council handsomely to have had the bridge asqffialted when the top decking boards were torn off, many months ago, even if they had had to pay double wages to get the necessary workmen. In. its present condition the bridge is absolutely unsafe, and the Council will be extremely lucky if it does not have to foot a heavy bill for damages in consequence, for the bridge has to carry a great amount of traffic, and sooner or later someone must have a serious accident with tho structure in j such a dangerous condition.

] Still No ' Lights. The Otahi Town Board has been unsuccessful, up .to tho present, in its endeavour to secure the. money necessary in order to proceed with its proposed electric lighting scheme for Otaki. If this scheme cannot be undertaken, the Board should at once proceed to provide some other light for tho streets, and at once remove the reproach attaching to us, that Otaki is the only town of its size in the Dominion that has absolutely no provision for street lighting. Seeing that wc already have acetylene lamps erected, it would probably be best for the Board to arrange to have these lighted, temporarily at any rate. The ! lamps are in a shocking condition, and ,will need considerable repairs effecting before being fit for use, but this will doubtless prove cheaper than installing j any‘other temporary light, until the j electric current is available. Seeing j that carbide is now available at less 1 than one-third of the rate ruling some , time back, the Board cannot now raise | the bogey of the cost of carbide being I prohibitive. We will have winter upon j us very and we urge the Board to | have the lamps ready for lighting be- j fore the dark winter nights are here. j