The Waikato Times. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1877.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 816, 8 September 1877, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1877.

Equal and exact justice to all men. Of whatever state or persuasion, religious o political * * « * # Here shall the Press the Proi’Le’s right ■ maintain, Untiwed by influence and unbribed by ga n

The question of main roads cropped up iu the House last month, but ere the motion of Mr Bastings—"That in the opinion of this. Houße, it being now established that the Counties are unable to make provision for the construction and maintenance of the main arterial roads of the Colony, it is imperative that immediate and permanent provision should be made by the Government for the gradual construction and maintenance of the same," could be either agreed to or negatived came the hour for adjournment, and when the house resumed, the great privilege question usurped all thought and consideration, and that of the main roads went to the wall, and has, doubtless, been consigned to the limbo of disrememberecl trifles. And yet the question of making and mending the main roads of the Colony is a matter of primary importance, and will be forcing itself on our attention when the breach of privilege case is happily forgotten. It is clear that sis a matter of fact, the Counties have fully enough to do without this work being added to the rest. It is

equally clear as a matter of right, that many parts of the Colony have directly profited little or nothing by railway expenditure, and, in which railways cannot be constructed from the . natural conformation of the country,, or are not likely to be for many years to come, should look to the Government for their share of the loans expenditure in the shape of good main arterial roads as the next best substitute for railways. In our own case, the railway expenditure has done, little to open up new country from Auckland Southwards, it has skirted either the be3t main road or best water communication, in the province, leaving the land to rio-ht and left on either side, as much in the back ground and Hinopened as ever. The consequence is, that more is thrown upon the Road Boards and Counties than they can possibly perform and settlement is retarded. Yet the people whose lands lie back out of the line of traffic are . equally called upon as those whose lands have been rendered immediately and permanently profitable to contribute to the construction and maintenance of thesj railways. If we turn to our own district, which embraces the Piakb on the one side and Raglan on the other, we shall readily comprehend the importance of this question. Even within the district of Waikato proper, we have a notable instance in the incompleted Ngaruawahia and Alexandra road of the loss which the Waipa settlers and land owuers have suffered for years for • want of road accommodation which the local bodies have proved utterly inadequate to provide, and which, even if we had a county working in Waipa, would probably be delayed for some time to come, on account of the presure of and cost of providing for other wants. The recently formed county of Waikato has already felt the pinch of having forced it the care of main roads, and has vainly petitioned the Government for assistance. The further afield we go from the centres cf population, the greater the necessity for Government provision, and the greater the right of the inhabitants to demand it. How much, for instance, have the Piako and Upper Thames districts gained from the expenditure under the Public Works scheme? How much has RaglaD profited ? The one is cut off from civilisation altogether for waut of a dray road ; the other, which has thousands and thousands of acres of the most valuable land for agricultural and pastoral purposes must remain comparatively shut up as a producing country till it possesses main and arterial roads that will enable its settlers to send their produce with profit to a market. And where are such roads to come from ? The energies and resources of the local bodies are already overtaxed, and had they the main roads made already to their hand, would find their full work in opening up the minor roads or branch feeders to them. This is even so in our more settled districts, and is why so many of these roads remain untouched by the Boards, leaving individual settlers co get the best way they can to the main roads, the maintenance of which so largely absorbs all available rates. Both counties and road boards need relieving, and otherwise than by giving the former, as proposed, power to borrow, pledging the credit of the Colony. The Public Works Act provides that certain roads may be proclaimed county roads and other roads be proclaimed colonial roads, the one to be provided for by the Governor the other by the counties, and if some system were laid down at .once for apportioning these roads, such, for 'in stance as that alluded to by Mr Gisborne, the burden would be more evenly arranged, and the work of settlement be proceeded with more quickly and fairly. Let roads affectin" more than one road district be county roads, and roads affecti lg two or more counties be colonial roads. This would relieve the Road Boards of much that is unfairly saddled upon them, and relieve the counties of what is altogether, in many cases, entirely beyond the possibility of their carrying put.