THE STANDARD. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1873.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume II, Issue 96, 15 October 1873, Page 2

THE STANDARD.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1873.

“ We shall sell to no man justice or right: We shall deny to no man justice or right: We sliall defer to no man justice or right.”

We understand that a Petition is being signed bv the settlers along the Toanga line for presentation to the Road Board, with a view to urging that body to do something towards improving the road running through from the Makauri Bush to Colebrook’s. During the past year, a number of residents have settled down in that district, and through fencing their properties, have confined the traffic to the legitimate line of road, which, from want of drainage, is rendered almost impassable. It therefore seems to be but scant justice to give them such an instalment of assistance as can be borne by the funds at the disposal of the Board, without* a corresponding injustice being done to other and pre-existing roads ; but thi* opens up the whole difficulty of our impecu-

nious, isolated, and uncared-for condition, and suggests the enquiry—“ how can we best act in the emergency ? ” One of the foremost things for the country settlers to do is to extend the idea suggested by the Toanga Petitioners. Let them act as a whole—as a body—whose interests and very existence in the country depend upon the practical and speedy solution of this difficulty. The Toanga settlers—of whom the Chairman of the Board is one—cannot hope to have a large sum of money spent in improving the roads in their locality, while other lines, certainly of equal, if not more importance to the travelling public—(including the main road to Ormond) are badly in want of a money expenditure being made on them. If a round robin, representing the whole of the country interests, be sent to the Board, it will possibly have sufficient influence in awakening the dormant energies of that body, and set its members to work to devise some means for mitigating the evils which, to our mind, are simply unbearable. That they can be, and should be mitigated, there can be no question; but it requires a little administrative power, —a capacity to do something more than vote away a few odd pounds twice or thrice a month, as the assessments may be gathered in. The Toanga settlers, in their grievance, only represent the state of affairs in the whole district. North, South, or West, on whichever route we diverge from Gisborne, the same query presents itself “ what shall we do with our roads ?” Year after year rolls round, and the succeeding winter finds us as far in the mud as the last one left us in the mire. We talk in loud indignation. We complain feebly to the Board, and energetically to the gods. We struggle through the short winter season, and remain in happy forgetfulness during a long summer that another year will not only reproduce, but bring an addition to our troubles. So it will be this year. Probably the breaking up of the present bad weather, will be succeeded by months without rain. The Road Board will breathe in peace, and the Engineer’s quiet will not be disturbed by the importunities of hungry applicants for “ metal.” But is it wisdom to thus defer doing that which must be done sooner or later ?

Our conception of the duty of the Road Board in the peculiar circumstances of the district is one diametrically opposed to the prosaic jog trot pace in which it pursues some events, and the listless attitude it assumes, while waiting for others to forecast their shadows. Time must be taken by the forelock ; the potter should assert, a superiority over his vessel. With the small amount of revenue at command it is simply absurd to expect that any great or permanent work can be undertaken. The Board’s own assessments (very unwisely reduced at the annual meeting by one of its members) arc not sufficient to do much more than keep roads and culverts in repair. But we want men at the tiller of our small affairs who know how to create means. The auxiliary power of self-reliance is necessary to take this question of road improvement outside of the fog which at present surrounds it, to the clear fair way beyond, but which it will take a tedious time to reach according to our present rate of progression. A proposition to anticipate the yearly income of the Board may be met by the stale, superficial, reply, that “Road Boards have no power to borrow money.” To use a homely phrase, “ there are more ways than one of killing a cat.” Granted, Road Boards have no status in the money market; admitting that they cannot issue debentures as corporate bodies, ■what is there to prevent them hypothecating the year’s revenue, which would give them that much start ? As Mr. Poynter tersely put it at the last annual meeting, let them “ take the bull by the horns,” and not be contented to drift to sea with the tide of circumstances.

There is another important question which we believe has never been attempted to be solved by our own Board, viz., the completion of the three trunk lines of road in the district, by the General Government. It is unnecessary to trench upon our space by any lengthy argument in support of a self-evident fact. These roads have never been completed ; one, indeed, No. 3, from Mendlesham to the Ferry, not even formed —and we believe that if pressure were brought to bear through the East Coast agent, the General Government would see the reasonable necessity for these roads not being left in their present condition. It is idle to determine this question by a reference to the usual course pursued in making roads in new districts ;• but if there be an exception to the rule in favor of our view, it is to be found in the peculiar circumstances in which the trunk lines in this district are placed. They have been proclaimed by the Governor under the “ Immigration and Public Works Act 1870,” as not being “ roads which should be constructed by the “ Superintendent and the Provincial Council of “ the Province of Aucklandtherefore we cannot apply to them for assistance. The same Act also says “ the Governor shall have power to form, “ control, improve, manage, repair, and maintain, “ any proclaimed road, bridge, or ferry.” And the “ Payments to Provinces Act,” under which we obtain our quota of the annual vote, prohibits our laying out any portion of it in doing any or either of the above-quoted works on them. We say then, as all power, authority, and control, over these roads are taken out of the hands of both the Province and the Board, it is incumbent on the settlers to look well to their own interests and see that their money is not spent in either forming or maintaining the trunk lines of road through the country.