"WORST TO BEST”

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 362, 24 May 1928, Page 12

"WORST TO BEST”

MATAMATA’S ROADS HIGHWAYS BOARD TRIBUTE (From Our Own Correspondent) PUTARURU, To-day. The chairman of the Matamata County Council, Cr. J. W. Anderson, gave some interesting figures in regard to the allocation of subsidies by the Main Highways Board at the last ; meeting of the council, j The chairman prefaced his remarks I by thanking the council for giving him an absolutely free hand as their representative on the No. 2 Highways District Council. He said that many of the representatives went to the meetings of the district council with their hands tied by the body they represented, and he felt this was not a good thing. In quoting figures, the speaker said they referred to main highways only, and did not include subsidiary highways. In Matamata County 101 miles had been approved as against 571 miles in Waikato County which had the next highest total. In the estimates for the year Matamata had £17,850, while the next highest was Piako with £7,845. MANUKAU TOPS LIST For construction work Manukau County topped the list with grants totalling £17.850, as against Matamata’s £10,115, but the bulk of Manukau’s expenditure was for the concrete road. On top of this amount Matamata got £12,000 of free money for the Kaimai Hill, so that their total was really £22,000. Matamata’s full total was £40,565, but it had not all been spent, as they could not do so economically owing to various costs being considered too high. GOT IN EARLY Some people thought the county had received preferential treatment, but this was not so, despite the figures. The fact was that the county had been able to take advantage of the Act when it first came into force because the council had made their main riding roads county roads. This was their guiding principle and he was satisfied that they could not have done as well under a riding scheme. This was strikingly borne out at the last meeting of the district council, when a recommendation was passed that all counties adopt the county roading system. BEST IN NEW ZEALAND The chairman of the district council, Mr. L. B. Campbell, had further stated that Matamata county roads had been raised from being the worst in No. 2 Highways District to being the best.