ROAD WORKS IN WAITEMATA COUNTY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 107, 8 May 1896, Page 2

ROAD WORKS IN WAITEMATA COUNTY.

(To bhe Editor.) Sir, —You were good enough some Hms ago to publiah a letter from me on bhe subject of bhe roads in Mairetahi Ridingr, Waitemata County. Since tbab time the Treasurer of the county has published big accounta. I venture again to ask for yonr assistance, because bhe introduction of tbo Local Governmenb Bill at tbe ensuing session of Parliament will afford a good opporbunity of establishing matters on a beneficial basis. I take the libertyof' suggesting that a criticism by yourself of this Bill, which has baen published, mighlba productive of great public benefit. In the meantime, I will make a few comments, on Mr Mays' accounts, with the view of showing tha way in which the ratal' have been spent. I should state that these accounts, in which items such as "Refund, to genera) account," " Transfer bo interest* account No. 2," "Transfer to separata account No. 7 " frequently appear, are very puzzing to a man who, like me, is ho accountanb, but sbill bhe general tenor appears to be tolerably clear. 7 I find bhab bhe general rates and robsidies, rents, etc., come to aboub £2,600, The administration tota up to f 930. Tbev Charibabh. Aid Boaid of Auckland gets per annum aboub £600. Under the head of - public works, we have an expenditure a.'. about £1,650, including the _urn of £<Rft received irom the Government. 7, As to Mairetahi, bhe riding in which! and my son 3 are interested, I find that tho expenditure fos tho year isi £6 5s Bd, and under the general hooding I find again Mairetahi £90 18s Sd,./ I cannot with certainty explain why thajMpenditure on diatrict roads in Mairetaii. riding ia stated to be £6. odd, and thee* pendibure on public works fin tbe earns riding is pub down ab £90 odd. I can only guess bhat tbe latter sum refers to money thab haa been spent on bhe mak.Dg of anew road from Helensville to Kumeu, a diatancsf of 10 to 15 miles parallel to the railway, which, by the way, ban eight stations during the distance. During the we6 season thia new road was partially under; water, but whether the road is a good ona, or a bad one, it ia difficult to understand why, in view of tbe sad state of the old roads, the Council should spend the ■rates.in making a new road parallel to a railway.' I have been informed thab ib is tbe intention ot persons to pub on waggons for the carriage of goods from Helensville to ltiverhead, and thence by steamboab bo Auckland. It seems strange bhat we should be now making new highways bo compete with sn existing railways bub, strange as ib may seem, ib would bS difficulb to find any more plausible rea.._ for the formation of this road. Mr Bnckv land, the largest owner of cattle and sheep ' in the districb, drives his cattle along the beach, and my sons and Mr Webster used the beach and the old Maori roads with lifefele inconvenience. I should here state thab the Mairetahi Riding is 40 or 50 mjita. long with v breadth of sis or seven miles, and bho attention of the Council seema to havo been mostly given to the southerly half, although bhe rates paid by tha northerly half, to which, i suppose, the £6 5s 8d refers, amount to about £160. I may here state that some years ago 1 offered to the Council to keep the roads at our end of tbe riding, thab is, the northern end, in repair, for half our rates, bul my offer was declined. In September of last year, I wrote again calling tha attention of the Council to the impassable state of our roads, and wai informed that tbe Chairman would deal with the matter as coon aa funds were available. The Chairman did nothing. I wrote again asking permission to spend ona half year's rates In a°* vanca on repairs to the Mairetabi Road, and waa informed bhab the matter was lefb in tbe hands of the Chairman without restriction, as to expenditure. I think, thab this proceeding was quite illegal, «*» possibly the Chairman thought so too, for he did nothing. During tha aummernow passed one man has boen engaged repairing the road, under whab arrangement I do nob know. On March 22nd he waa in sight from our station, bub the parb intervening was, when I lefb Kaigara bhree weeks ago, qmw untouched and quite impassable. The "Mb and a boy employed on Nelson's Monument formed, perhaps, the precedent for '»• Council. I may add that my sons only once tried to use the road for a cart. Thay had two horses tandem, wibh a man at tbe head of each horse. The whole concert toppled over, and bhe carb was smashed. Our neighbour, Mr McEwen, in order to j bring hia wool bo Auckland, had to make* new road to the water and transport Da wool by boab. ..""■■. Talking on this subject generally with an intelligent man of business in Auckland, * was informed by him thab ib waa qaiw useless struggling abont the matter, an bhab bhe only chance of gebbing anyt-in? done waa by one of us getting on bo ta Council. This seems a very shocking esaw of things. . When ib is remembered bbab the harbour opposite our place is six or seven m"^ wide, ib will be perceived how difficult it far persons, especially women, to tr&vflj, . or from our place by boab. and punctuality is impossible. I hopo when the nex" * vision of valnations for rating ParP°^ takes place thab the judicial officer may w induced to determine th.it the absence oi» road affects bhe rateable volue of a P perty. u_b I I renew my appeal bo you to look thro^ o j the proposed Acb and use your influen^ ks I getting ib pub in such a form as B»T°v I these local bodies of some service to w" 1 conntry.-I am, etc., F. IX IW*: 1