The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday Afternoons. Motto: Public service. TUESDAY, JULY 13, 1920. BOROUGH METAL SUPPLIES.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 548, 13 July 1920, Page 2

The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday Afternoons. Motto: Public service. TUESDAY, JULY 13, 1920. BOROUGH METAL SUPPLIES.

The need for good roads is being stressed very particularly lately, and rightly so, since no great progress can be made without adequate and suitable means of transport. In this connexion there is much ground for improvement in the Borough of Pukekohe, where the main , roads, with the exception of a short Stretch in King Street, ; are the worst in the Franklin County. So rough and uneven are the surfaces that cars have to be frequently slowed down as soon as the borough boundary is reached, otherwise broken springs would be very common. The secondary roads are in a deplorable condition, which is doubly unfortunate in a borough in which so much agricultural land exists, and heavy haulage is essential in bringing in 'supplies, and the export of produce. Under such circumstances the duty of making every possible and practicable provision for accumulating spawls and broken metal ready to put on the roads when the weather permits is one that the gov'sning body cannot afford to sneglect. But it is, nevertheless, painfully apparent that the Pukekohe Borough Council has as yet done nothing really effective towards accumulating stacks of metal in readiness for us<j during the early summer months. It is true that the council has been negotiating for the purchase of stone on the property of the, late Mr. V. Papesch, but the death of that estimable resident has resulted in much delay in negotiations and formalities. Probably this cle lay is unavoidable, but it does not constitute a sound reason for why absolutely nothing definite has been accomplished up to the present time. There are at least three local sources from which metal could be secured, and though each of them offers its special difficulties, any one of these deposits could probably be worked cheaper and more satisfactorily in the long run than by depending on outside sources of supply. The owners of quarries outside the district already have more orders than they can fulfil, and in any case the Railway Department has not the rolling stock to trans port the metal even if it could be secured at the quarry. It is. therefore, absolutely essentia' that the council should make thorough arrangements for securing its own metal locally, but it does not appear to be sufficiently wide awake to this incontestable fact. At meeting after meeting reports are sub■mitted, this and that suggestion is conveniently shelved by being referred to one or other of the committees, and that is the last heard of them. The metal exists right here in the borough. and also not far from the boundary, and it must be piocured, even at a considerable cost, if another summer is not to go by with;>ut substantial progress being made. Neailx every local body within fifty miles of Pukekohe is consistently calling for tenders for spawning and stacking metal, the onl\ exception being the Pukekohe Borough Council. The present condition of the roads has been responsible for many persons refusing to settle here, and the fact that during the past three or four months since the carrying of the loan no quarry has been opened up, and no metal stored, is a damning indictment i of the administration. It says | much for the patience of the ratepayer's that they have not made much stir about the faltering inactivity of the council and its feeble attempts to make provision for the future. 'Jood roads are the first requirements that should be given effect to under the loan, and drainage, | we believe, cuines a good second. Reports and discussions are rgcessary, but if these

things do not result in achievement they are just so much waste paper, ink, and talk. Let the council come to grips with the metal supply problem and deliver the goods, thereby justifying the trust reposed in J them by giving the community those facilities for which the ratepayers have signified their desire so intensely by sanctioning a loan of v;84,0()0. Money speaks all languages; translated into material services that £R4,000 means good roads, drainage, extension A electric lighting and water services and other things of secondary importance. In cases where materials are temporarily unprocurable, or have to be imported, much time must elapse before they can be secured, but in respect to metal, of which there is an ample supply locally, the ratepayers will presently be demanding to know—in no uncertain fashion—when the council is going-'to step into line with other local bodies.