Making Ends Meet.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIX, Issue 64, 7 July 1914, Page 5

Making Ends Meet.

THE COUNTY TOLL-GATES. INTERESTS OF THE BOROUGH. The Mayor moved at last night's meeting of the Borough Council that the County Council be requested not to proceed with the erection of the toll-gate at Waipuku until after the next Counties Conference. Mr Kirkwood said that he expected that at the Conference something would be done which would make the gate unneces-

sary. The gate would affect the town to some extent, and therefore it was some concern' of the Borough. Council. The gate would detrimentally affect the town. The revenue from the gate had been calculated on the amount of traffic passing along where there was no gate, but he thought that when the gate was in operation the amount of traffic would be less. He was not moving the motion in any spirit of antagonism to the County Council. He knew they had a lot of work to do and that their finances were not too good. It was just possible, that in order to make both ends meet the County would in future have to erect the Waipuku gate and others as well. All the same he hoped they would not be compelled to do so. The County roads were in a bad state, and he could not see how they were, to be fixed up. He thought the four Taranaki members of Parliament should make representations to the Government. There was no district in New Zealand which had such difficulty with its roads as Taranaki. Cr. Masters seconded the;motion. Cr. King said he sympathised with the County Council, which had a lot of work to do and not much money to do it with. It was possible that a ring of toll-gates might be erected round Stratford. The other Ridings might find it as necessary to erect a tollgate as the North Riding did now. Ho did not think, however, that the gates would increase the County revenue. Cr. Richards said all could appreciate the trials of the County ratepayers. They were still paying rates on loans the asset purchased by which had vanished, and they were now faced with worn-out roads. Members of the County Council seemed to think that the most wear on the roads was by motor cars, but personally he thought it very likely that a tax would be imposed on motor spirit or tyres, a proportion of the tax being given to local bodies to spend on roads. Boroughs were placed in an unfair position, as County vehicles could use their roads and v they had no legal power to erect toll-gates. /The Mayor said motorists would not object to a tax provided the money was spent on the roads they used. When the system of taxation was devised motor traffic was not allowed for and ho thought the whole system should bo revised so that motors could be made to pay their sharo. Broadway was the central road of Taranaki and all the motor traffic wont over it, but the Borough got no recompense. The motion was carried.