NEW ZEALAND ROADS.

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 56, 7 March 1921, Page 9

NEW ZEALAND ROADS.

TjtfßAT A VISITOR THINKS. prTTKH lIIAN KXl'l-.i I F.l). ' Amon"-t !•%.■;.-o.i- lruvi-l'.Trt hel.i up owing In ' : 'i'' « iliT.-iiln in,i11,1,, in sir Raymond M m<. I<.U.K., maiia K i>uf aircotur hi" M.-.-r-. Penni- i; r ~~.. Ltd.. the «vll-knr«!i m 'lit lurry ami tirr engino iiiiimilaiM nr.-rr. nf <.uil.lf.ir.l. Englen-i. <ir Uayni..nd. si,-.,-, hi< was in! Aiu'klan.l :ii ti.e i-n.l nf .Janiinry. h:is motored ..mi.- SiliKl inilee over lln-'roaiN o f the Mi-niinion, .in.i his viewn ~n tl c jnportant i|i:i-rtinii ~! (lie ,-,,n,htion and the dcvolnjiini-nt <■; mir mail sy-tom was sought liy ~ I:,- rr|irr»t>i tilthi<.

■The rua.l- in N".w Zi-aliunl." sai.l Sir B»ymor,!. "haviin; n-pmril \o i\w pcriml, o f tlir yi'iir. ih-.it i- In s;w . when ro.id! fiirfsri-.-. tliriMur!, ilnuijjlit. hi'como .IL-in ; tf!ir:itt"i JU'I ;i|i;<rnr ai their ivnrot. nn\! pn thi- wlu.lf Mlin-li lirttrr I hail I ! pxppctfii. Bin! ilfi'iiirillv in nilviiiin< of' the roa.l- i» AiKtmli.-i. In tin- southern' ;art of tin- Niirt'n Isl.ind an.l in the South Uliiml you 11 ro fnrtnnsUt 1 in pos-| §pssinc liiiliinitoil Riipjilii-s of <r om \ rondniakini; material, capuhlc of supporting motor transport. 11 I may a,1,1 a word: of criti.i-in. I would say th:it road surfaces rniilil hi' prpiilly iniprovpcl and thfir wenring quiiiitii'-: incrcasod—this applies- fliii-th to the South Island - if a fine mnti-rinl woro used as a l>indrr; on top of tin- larger metal, which should first be rnwlinil. and the whole veil rolled in «"itli a ?to;un roller, water being fn-i'ly npplicil during the process. The practice in many parts of tho South Island Hppoiirs to ho to spread loose metal over tin , road reiiuirinp; repair, and to leave it to he worn in liy parsing traffic; I<Ul while this method may havp answered in the old days with slowmovin;:. iron-shod wheels. it is now altogether out of date. The pneumatic tyres of motor cars squirt the loose metal to the roadside: in a little while a clean trnok is cleared on the lied of the road that needed repair, which all the vehicles follow, so that it becomes deeply grooved, and the road is very soon -worse than hefore it was mended. I have motored over long stretches of road where one-half, to which all traffic clings, is worn into deep ruts, calling for a very high clearance, while on the other half the loose metal, which motorists fight shy of. is exactly as it iras thrown there when the road was last under repair.

"During thp pnst year," continued Sir Raymond, "'I have spent some time in India, Oylon. Burma, Federated Malf.T States. Java. China, JapaiL and Australia, and the authorities i(f all theee countries are very much anVe to the importance of a pood road system in developing new territory, to serve not in competition with but as feeders to existing railway systems. The action of the Emperor of Japan in pivinfr 2.000,000 yen towards a fund for the improvement of the roads in Tokyo is typical of the interest being taken in this question. It will be a matter of pride to Aucklandere to know that in their city I have seen more ferroconcrete roadway than in all the other cities I had visited in the countries mentioned put together. This form of roadway, though involving a very high first cost, is undoubtedly the cheapest in the long run. as we have demonstrated at our own works, and the progressive spirit which ha-s led to its adoption in the city should have it? effect ultimately on the outer roads whose condition suffers owing to the absence of suitable roadmaking material."

Sir Raymond strongly approves of the Government's scheme for the construction and maintenance of main roads, tbe underlying principle of which is to make 'it somebody's job to look after the national highways. It is not intended, ho understood, to interfere with local control of main roads, but to secure greater uniformity in the matter of maintenance +han is possible under present conditions by the election by the local bodies in certain iireas to be defined by a commission, whose principal duty would be to control the portion of main roads within its area. No motorist could reasonably object to a tax towards augmenting any grant Parliament might vote for this purpose, as any pronounced improvement in road conditions must result in reduced running costs. It is interesting to note that Messrs. Dennis Bros.. Ltd.. supplied 7000 of their lorries to the military authorities, and they are the only firm permitted by the" Home Government to manufacture ftee engines throughout the war. The London fire brigade has 168 Dennis fire engines, and there are over 50 in ■*"■• traluia. Sir Raymond Dennis will sail by the s.s. Ruahine for the Panama, whence he will visit the Ponth American States, and return to London by way of Kew York. THAT HERB IN RUSMA. The secret of Rusma-s success in never failing to permanently destroy all superfluous hair, lies In a powerful herb tbatlt contains. Although this herb Is so deadly to hair roots. It Is absolutely harmless to the most delicate skin. Use Rnsma now and be freed from superfluous hair for ail time. "Rnsina" Is painless, leaves no scars never fnils. Write, enclosing stamped addressed envelope for reply.—Mrs Hullen, 3a, Courtenay Place, 'Wellington. —(Ad.i