The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday Afternoons. TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 192l. THE CLAIMS OF WALLER’S ROAD.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 612, 1 March 1921, Page 4

The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday Afternoons.

TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 1921. THE CLAIMS OF WALLER’S ROAD.

A settler residing at Waller's Road, Puni, has drawn our attention to the apparent lack of attention to that road by the Franklin County Council. It seems that though there is a great deal of useful road metal available in the vicinity, nothing has been done to put this road in even ordinary repair. Our correspondent states that several attempts have been made to induce the Council to do something to this road, hut all were ineffectual. Winter is not far off, and reading that can be cl ;ssed as such is absolutely necessary to settlers, including those along the Waller's road. But there is another aspect of the question which our corcorrespondent draws attention to in ct novation with this Waller's road. This road will be one of the most importanr in tin* district in the near future. The Public Works Depa.rt-

merit is at present continuing it through to Waiuku, and upon its completion this road will be part of the main arterial, way from Waiuku to the Pukekohe railway station, shortening the distance between the two towns by about four miles. Now, we contend that this fact alone warrants the County Council givingprompt attention to the state of this highway, and having thus publicly called attention to this matter, it is hoped that something will -be done immediately to relieve the situation in which the settlers on Waller’s road are placed. If it is a fact that metal is available right in the vicinity, then it seems inexplicable that the Council has not made use of it., We presume that the Waller’s road settlers have the compulsory privilege of paying )rates, and it seems only a fair proposition to suppose that they expect something in return, in the shape of decent roads. The Council has put forward the labour difficulty as one reason f.or non-compliance with the request for attention to this road, but logically that argument means that no road work could be done at all, and as Waller’s road bids fair to becoming a main highway between two towns,, labour could be diverted to bring it into a reasonable condition of repair. Like all local bodies, the Franklin County Council probably has great difficulty in carrying out its road works. While we admit that, we still assert that the persistence with which the claims of Waller’s toad have been put forth, warrant some immediate attention on the part of the County Council. ,

“We nothing extenuate, nor aught set down in malice.”