CORRESPONDENCE.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1312, 21 April 1883, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents], :o: TO THE EDITOR. SIR, —I beg leave to*trespass upon the valuable space nf your widely circulated paper. AgaiiiK*! the loan that is proposed to be polled for shortly, .1 have nothing to say ; but how it is likely to be spent is the rub. When the County Council proposed a previous loan it had been stated oy a correspondent that the majority of the Councillors were not capable of spending the money judiciously ; and their conduct, up to the present, bears out that assertion. There are some shrewd, judicious, and economical men amongst the County Councillors, but they are powerless. Finan cially, Councillors put one in mind of a young colt before he learns the length of his tether ; he gallops full tilt to its end, and is astonished by being pulled up with a shock. In the hat of proposed works to be done with the loan, extravagance is looming out. It is proposed to lay with stone the road from Wai paoa bridge towards Makaraka, If I mistake not the last contract for gravelling a portion of that road cost .£6OO, not to mention other smaller contracts of previous dates, Now, Sir, to go and tear up that road after the gravel has become set, and pitch it with atone is folly (it deserves a worse name), 1 think to widen the present formation with gravel and keep it repaired with the same would be all that that road will ever require ; and to keep depots of gravel in convenient places to effect repairs with, instead of the pumice sand or mud from the ditch that I have seen used to fill ruts upon the gravelled formation. I think that any roads that are convenient to gravel bods should he made and maintained with gravel. There ore roadways in the district that must be laid with stone if they arc ever to bo passable. Our Councillors and members of Road Board* seem to forget that drainage is the foundation of road making in this district. Councillor** seem to entirely disregard the convenience of the public with respect to the tram laying. They have it placed so as to occupy a very useful portion ot the road, I think a little forethought would have prevented all this inconvenience. In forming the road a d«le. table could be left of sufficient width to lay the sleepers upon, because we shall never ho able to do without the trams for keeping the roads in repair, and, therefore, we may Io »k upon them as permanent. Dray work would almost do ns much wear to roads as repair. It is u pity that Councillors do not show a little more energy on behalf of the loan, in holding a few public meetings, where they could answer questions and give a deal more information than what is published. Surely it would be more gratifying to them to see more than the two-thirds of the ratepayers poll, rather than the bare required number. Apologising, Mr Editor, for troubling you, lam, etc,, “ Ratepayer.