THE PAPAWAI BRIDGE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3155, 5 April 1909, Page 7

THE PAPAWAI BRIDGE.

DEPUTATION WAIT ON SIR J. G. WARD. Before the ceremony of opening the Featherston 'Post Office on Friday last a deputation was introduced to the Premier by Mr W. C. Buchanan, member for the district. Mr Loasby, Mayor of Greytown, said that there had been great delay in getting the long-promised bridge over the Ruamahanga at Parawai. A vote for the bridge was passed in 1900, and now in 190S there had been nothing clone. When the Premier visited Grey town last year he admitted that the bridge was needed, and if it was needed then it was needed all the more now. Mr Drurnmond had supplied a plan of the district that would be opened up by the bridge. This showed a piece of country 100,000 acres- in area which would be benefited. The I;c*t kind or a bridge would be one chat could carry vehicular and railway traffic. He would like to receive a promise from the Premier that the bridge would be erected as soon as possible. Mr Drummond said that the agita--1 tion for the bridges had been started about 15 years ago by Mr Fabian, and the agitation had been kept up ever since. Mr Buchanan that the first that was done in the runttei' was when the Government Engineer ! i?d visited the place and a vote had been placed on the estimates. Since then there had been a vote annually, and that was as far as the matter had gone. Sir Joseph Ward, in reply, stated that he cnuld i.ot give a definite promise. The expenditure of was a thing that had to be considered very carefully. What he would do was to get the Minister of Roads and Bridges to-bring Che matter before Cabinet at the very first opportunity.