The Telephone. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1884. TURANGANUI BRIDGE.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 73, 22 February 1884, Page 2

The Telephone. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1884. TURANGANUI BRIDGE.

Now that time has been given the public men of this district to collect their thoughts, it may not be inappropriate to make a few remarks respecting the contemplated Turanganui Bridge. As to the advisability for the construction of the said bridge there can be no question, and the only point for consideration is the “ ways and means.” The estimated cost of a traffic bridge over the Turanganui, at the end of Gladstone Road, is, we believe, about £4,000, and to meet this necessary expenditure the Borough Council has £1,500 in hand ; so that it will be necessary to raise the balance, and with as little delay as possible. The County Council has, it appears, given no promise to assist the Borough Council in any way in raising the necessary amount; but members of the former body are, we should think, open to reason, and would certainly contribute a small sum towards carrying out the work, rather than see the vote of £1,500 lapse. They must be fully cognisant of the shuffling characteristics of the Government, and also comprehend that it would be gratifying to the Treasury guards to find the vote not appropriated. The County Council, as a body, is certainly not ’<> much interested in the carrying out of this work as the Borough Council must be considered to be ; still, the bridge would form a connecting link to a main road, and we think that our townspeople have some claim on the country representatives in this case. Of course, the Maori settlers of the Kaiti ought to be asked to contribute, in some substantial way, towards the cost of the bridge, which would benefit them materially, and we should think they would be glad to do so if the matter were properly represented to them. But let us see how skilfully the application for the necessary funds has been conducted. It was only a few months ago that the County Council manifested an inclination to have the bridge in question constructed, and, in conjunction with the Borough Council, made an application to the Government for the necessary vote. The schedule was sent back by the Government for amendment, with the intimation that precedence would be given to bridges ; yet, in spite of this notification, the Council—in its wisdom—struck out all the bridges, and applied for votes for road-work. Now, the whole of the money required for the construction of the Turanganui Bridge could have been obtained from the Government had the County Council adopted a proper course, and we are surprised that a body of intelligent men should have been so short-sighted as to overlook this fact. However, we are not desirous of casting reflections on members of the County Council, and only wish to impress on them the advisability of their making amends for the mistake they fell into, by contributing a few hundreds of pounds towards the construction of the Turanganui bridge. The members of the County Council fully understand, of course, that good metal for repairing their roads can be obtained from the sea-beach near Kaiti, and they should not allow this consideration to escape their practical attention ; besides which, the interest of the district demands that its public bodies should act in unison, and we hope to find the earliest opportunity taken for giving effect to our suggestions respecting the “ ways-and-means” part of the bridge question. The information has been afforded us that a good bridge could be constructed over the river, at the end of Gladstone Road, for about £3,000, so that the necessary amount for carry-

ing out the work should be easily raised; but that is a matter for the consideration of the public bodies and their engineer,, and it only comes within our province to point out the necessity that exists for taking action in this matter without delay—that the Government may haye no excuse for retaining the money set apart for the Turanganui Bridge.