THE THAMES— WAIKATO ROAD.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 764, 10 May 1877, Page 2

THE THAMES— WAIKATO ROAD.

(From the "Thames Advertiser.")

The Waikafco County Council show every desire to ass st the Thames Council m their laudable endeavours to promote good road communication, between the two districts. The advantages will be reciprocal, and it is therefore graceful on the part of the Waikato Council to use every meaus m their power to promote improved Communication with the Ohineinuri and Thames Golclfijlds districts. The amount of imported produce at present consumed herejfwould be greatly lessened if

the Waikato settlers could only find a more ready meians 1 of Sending the products of their farms to this market;': The quantity of Napier ibejef;; and , Canterbury,, settlersl,. produoe, could just as readily fee replaced by the farmers and graziers of thatdis-i tricl;, and the ' money thus retained; m the Auckland province instead of being sent elsewhere. y?e under-? 1 Stand* that 'the sum of ifilOOO, 'vofd. ,by, .the general A^s^mbly las^s^sionj f for the construction of either end of the Piako swamp road,i is;;about to be expended on that object under the superintondance : 6£' the Waikato County Council, and this will shorten the distance between the Waikato and Upper Thames; by eight miles of the. worst part of the swamp.; The road is at present almost useless vfd* i :warit of ' this. oonnectiori, ? qnd when ! the ! Council have carried* it through, Hamilion an£ , the Pjako .will be "within easy distance of each other,' and the. main line between this place and < the ; Waikato , shortened and improved. ; The four Waikato couh ties ' have been asked 'by the Thames Council to undertake this work,' the latteV >n doiiQ^" their share on the road to conneci with them, and. we trust r steps will be taken by the ■ residents m, those ~ counties to see that thliworlc is pro- ' ceededi'with as ; speedily as' possible. If the Thames oConncil make 'good the road to Omahu, which they'have every intention of ■ doing as soon as other urgent works tire l m progress, it is aa little. as the ,Waik : ato Cpun- * v ties H can do ; id Jftirtner ( tneir ' <iwn interests and, open up a good market for themselves. The distance between the ; . Eiakp and Omah.u> will still remain to be improved, and some expenditure will be necessary, which we hope to find the united counties undertaking witlidut loss of "time. Unfortunately theWaipa and Piako counties are composed so exclusively „of large landowners "th ; at any taxation enforced by; sol3o bodies would fall heavily upon a. few — but, on the other band, , the .benefits would be reciprocal, and if they persist m • keeping such large "tracts of country to themselves they must, k^eep"||ace ■-'• with ( the devopmerit 6$ the surround- ■ ing districts by •' contributing' their quota to the "necessary expenditure on the roads. '1 1 =is ■ idle to r wait

for the Government to construct a line of railway throughthese places ' if an expenditure of a few thousapids on road making will, give ns easy' , communication m a yery short time ■' with nature's highwAys, the Waikato and ThajmeS riyers ; ahdhoweyer desirable, a railway may be we consider It is, tKe duty : of. .the. local bodies interested to furnish ' the settlers with- the readiest "means at their disposal for connecting two such important centres of agricultnre; aiid mineral wealth calliugr^for readier communication. ■.-,' The Wai-

kato' Times thus refers to the rejection of the County system by the Piako and Waipa Councils :— " The Waikato Connty Council is , .prepared to do its duty m the matter. " ihe Piako settlers, we believe, are equally anxious that their County should do the same, but the Council •declines to work the Act, hot as m Waipa, by the wish of the ratepayers, but against their wish, and ) m the supposed interests of" two individuals, one of whom is Mr Firth.' Now, we have more faith m that gentleman's public spirit than to believe, if the large majority of the settlers express themselves m favour of working the Act, that he will stand m the way ; nor is there any reason that he should fear to work it. Commanding, as, he and the member for Patatere riding do, half the voting p*wer of the Council, they can easily control anything like an unfair attempt to unduly tax their large properties for ...improvements which would benefit other parts of the district more largely than their own. We should, i therefore, like to see the iriends of progress m that Cotinty agitating for a reversal of the irisaiie resolution which has tied up the Counoil for all usefdland beneficial purposes. And so, too,- with the County of Waipa. Theri the ratepayers V ! of three out of the five ridings have declared against the working of the - Act, but how many of them who have done so understand its meaning? How many, indeed, have ever read it ! Every month, howeven, tvill show them the mistake , they have made." Whilst these people are quarrelling over the introduction of the system, and allowing their nibsiclies to slip away from them, they are also putting it out of their power to assist the Waikato Council m a ,work of so much importance to themselves. They are doubtless ready at any moment to avail themselves of the advantages of such communication, but allow trifling prejudices to stand m the way where a broad public spirit should rule.