CORRESPONDENCE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LI, Issue 9101, 25 May 1906, Page 5

CORRESPONDENCE.

v ! THE LOADING PROBLEM.

l' f „ . ' .(To'tßie Eifitor.) , Sir,'— The quiescent manner in whi ; the -loan proposals of the County' Couti) l^ve.. been^receiyed by the ratepayers' ,tba^ Okaiawa.. r and r TSaweia, ridings 1 of '^©e Hawera County must be'very'grat*■fyWg^tpthelQoouiicil,- as; up; to thW'presept no ..opposition has,,, been; ma&fested* 'to .them. *. ..This indiffeaieittoe probably ajri^e* r from -one -of three causes..! 'First, the .ratepayers may have such,.\oopfidenoS' jm the Council as 'to, be satisfied* taat undiei the- ciFcurakanc«s>a«iif proposals cannot , .-upon. ,{3e*ipjndly,,the rktev t payers may, '.and probably do,'^ treat the matter. as f one, not wortih bothering about. .Thirdly, they may ,feel satisfied tnat-tlw , proposed lofuns YfUl be killed' "at* the'bal- , Upt b.oj>tes,- -Whatever the .cause' may .',be 3 : j,t is, t^think, a, pity_ that, moie Interest j& 'not taken iri : the matter,,a»it f seem's torn* that a proposal, ;jto v ,sg^d £13,00^, fe'ome that should not be adopted, in' the''' off-hand manner advocaibe,d./by? a,,- majority of the Council at their lasV meeting, especially 'as'^the' matter has^beeh ff^run%tipoai ;;r us as a Bulrpri«e> •' I ; venture^to f^j*e»t thafifot one ratepayer lii'a fiuiaired s hfld.^ahy'Jidea' J idea a^soheme w^dM^n^eVn^litieh, ! arid; tc? eocp&it^u^'toli : pleidge^<yur t propertSe* for re^yiiiejrt'of't^ ]oen ; i6 taldßgrathfei 'fcooi'-mboh 'ifof^gJa^ed^ae'^hy^^the 'ridings in* queetioii 1 should' be <Mled upon * to"' 1 eipead' £13^000"^ upon ''twd^Toada 1 ' that are^not! uSed IJ 'muohT ! bjr •th©'m«jorl£y' :> o£ v th)e ratepayers- whto -will few to 4 pay '"the interest ;i on the'loan/'Sa's phase of the; 'question • that {apparently^ 1 re^ved-'very 7 little consideration.-- For' -many 1 yearo past *fch€ state' of ?the> ; Eltham-Kapbnga';jnoadf ban <been '"diilabed''Uponi/' f in ; season; out ol •sJea^on/'aiid%e wer^-tbld .tiiai it -wa» quite 'tfui l of 'the'-questaiofl 1 , to' i keep,tl I «'* :N]fiO ad' i* repair/ out of 'the* raites*; but- no* 1 feJr'fibmie ire^son r <vjp"oth'er^the v€huo'-ie oilaiiged, 'end th^ Main South- Toad^hasW Questionable 'distioctioh of .being-tbe worst'oroad in,' thi •countyi •^JiPossMyf £ i^'"m&^ tie,*' 'but th< ■same Btaitiemente^thiat)- are -maSdie about it : weir© 'tsed 'ata>ut''thV.El&ain «ted}' Witt this differeaioe,;-that n«pTp^dsaFWaS'mad( iioieaddle ithb- Elthain '• and 'rid ings: with 'a debt '<2--fii3/G00 "for-^^ew road, and surely iftlve'Eftnaniroad tanb* kept 1 up ovrtof f'the-rates a*^pWent thie> Maw Soidtih->bad' ought to bY in the same position.' "•• Tba* the' present' County CoumdlloWs are aotuated, by the best initen. i tswMis <wQVfe frteely tfdmir%(l oh aUi&nds j,buitHhat -the? course^'tEef^ 5t 4iSking' i ns't( adopt is 'the best or tihe 5 o^y "one 1 " open* t< I my iß'quite another matter.' : Cr I wh'o->"tiepresentai-^thJe J Htham' ? l itidiing' ifi" re i ported ito J haVe^ saidthat what stoipk' hin wias-tb>'fact f t;hat neither ,tlie'J&te^yers'no] the Council' had' }; asfi:ed'for fbe'loanj' anc also that it. would be a. bqge inietake U throw v ont the loan 1 , as the workwould b« ih s the- dnteresf;of 'tHe lf peope a<i »"wl»l^ That is; exactly * wbfere th 6 shoe is goiii( to^pinon. The whole cpuiity is' going t< benefit- ü by the' ©tpenclituTe J andi two ridings haVe td l p^ay v tae' r cost. " Ore Blair and. HastLe, the Waimate representatives, both spoke on the subject. , The former told us that if we adopted the scheme we should s&ve^money^but.ihe* neglected to' toff us how. : The Jatter;' Councillor did tell us .how it could' be, done, 'confess' that for<m-yself I can't see througb his. aiith.metic. .Councillor,, Has tie's remarks as reported are as -follows :: "It would- itaike 2d~,in the £ to.vkeep the Toads 'in *e(pa4r, tihe.iate being struct over ithe vwhole riding, whereas. if tthey carried ths'-lojui' l^d would be sufficient, and ' tho ' other £d could be Bpent.,'oii,-th» -Bide-TOads. 1 ' ' I 'am afraid Councillor Bastae will'haTe'Bome difficulty to show how.-we cuw- eteike' a l^d, expend, l^d, and still iavie^tb expend ; his reasoning' savours somewhat of the miraculous loaves - and ' fishes. ' I should like to touch' on other poinfa such as the •Opunake .railwayi toll gates, contributions from adjoining local bodies) 'the need ior such an apparently costly extravagant work, the' ufdldiyiof having perfect sroads that end in quagmires as soon as they reach our boundaries, and a host of other subjects, all bearing on the. same thing, but I am afraid I have already trespassed too much on your space.— l am, etc;, W. GOODLAND. Norajanby.