The Pukekohe and Waiuku Times PUBLISHED TUESDAY AND FRIDAYS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1912. A PLEA FOR METAL TRUCKS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 1, Issue 37, 22 October 1912, Page 2

The Pukekohe and Waiuku Times PUBLISHED TUESDAY AND FRIDAYS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1912.

A PLEA FOR METAL TRUCKS.

"lit 1 nulhiiuj extenuate, nor set ilmrit itujlit in, malice"

■' in the interior of the North Inland, |iarti(i'lai ly, road construction is an expensive t'udeitaking, and the uiainteiiaiice under heavy and regular trallic is in many instances 'ikely to bo a continuous burden owing to the absence of metal and the rapid deteiioratiou of the formation through broken country in wet weather." The foregoing paragraph is taken from the I'libbc Works Statement, presented to tho House (>t ljeprc.sentatives week bv the Minister for Public Works (Hon. W. Fraser). Here i-, another declaration by the Minister to which we desire to direct esperial attention : "In my opinion, to the settlers of the Dominion access to tin ir holdings by means of roads should be the lirst consideration in any scheme of public works. 1 have no desire to minimise the value of lailways to tho Dominion, hut these are of secondary impoitaiice if the se.tlers cannot reach tlien)." We al'e ill ire til ttl glad of these Milli-telial plonolllieeiiielits, because tlley ~el\e as texts tlpoll wllicll to hang a li'tle homily of coiicein to tin.- distiirt A slioit time ago the

! ! plained wry bitterly of their inaj liiliiv tii procure trucks for metal 'r. quirrxl. It was said that the Railj was Department was nevor very free of providing trucks for local : bodies becauso the charge was only half that paid by private individuals, and tliat while private individuals could get trucks promptly local bodies had to wait long and wearily upon the convenience of the Depart* men f . If this be so we think the policy of the Railway Department ought to be amended without del ay. j When local b dies ask for metal i trucks they usually want them very urgently and by supplying the trucks promptly the Department is conferring an advantage not alone upon [ the members of the Board but upon all the ratepayers and users of the ' highways in the district. As a matter of business policy it is plain that the liot'er the road channels are the big: r •« ill be the volume of produce j to and from the railway, so that after all it is to the interest of the * Railway Department that good roads should bo encouraged. This encouragement can lie given by reversing the state of affairs which is ali. leged to exist at present and by giving local bodies first call upon the available trucks.