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THE ROADING PROBLEM.

(To the. Editor.} Sir,— The ratepayers of Waimate have been asked to merge and amalgamate with Jflawera, Okaiawa and Mangatoki ridings and form a new plan of ridings, and the p}an sketched out has been called an ideal plan. Now if it were shown in that plan that the rate to be collected within the ridings would be sufficient, along with the Government subsidy, to keep all main roads in good repair and the by-roads in passable repair, it would be coming along to, the ideal, I myself hold. But Hawera and Okaiawa ratepayers would never agree to that plan.. To do so would be simply to give the whole case away, because it would be found that after working for a few years Waimate was getting help from the other districts instead of tbb other districts getting help from Waimate, the object aimed at. Daring the last seven years Hawera riding has raised 6£d in rates, Okaiawa riding 7d, Mangatoki 7^d, and Waimate 8d and one-twentieth of a penny ; and I -cannot see how these conflicting interests are to be leconciled. As soon as merging. on the above plan took place the fight over the rate question would commence. - Hawera having more help from tine railway, gets on with the smallest rate. Waimate getting no help from the railway, and having a larger internal tmaffic, heeds a larger rate. Hawera. and Okaiawa would * never come up to the Waimate level, and tot Wadmate>' to be forced to do with a lower rate than now, arid part of that rate to be spent on roads outside ' the riding, would mean ruin to Waimate roads. It seems there is another movement afoot now to form a new county with Eltham for its centre) and I ' would like to warn settlers, in the. northern subdivision of Waimate riding to be careful what they do over this maty ' ter. They are now getting £70 ayes* from Central and Southern WaunawTbecause of excessive traffic over their roads from Egmont County, and .they will lose \ that if they join this new - combination.. How will they like it if, after tbsy hay© agreed to subsidise a road leading fifteen miles away to a railway station, in a year or two they find they have railway stations at their doors? Better -wait a little and see what comes out of ttie railway business. When the railway goes ttaragK the district it wilf put many -things rigfab that now seem wrong. A few months ago the Executive of the Taranaki Farmers' Union adopted a v reading policy, and one of the principles advocated in that policy was that the main roads should be maintained by the General Government. Now what is that but equal rating or equal paying, which is all the same thing. But none of your correspondents believe in that principle. They believe in line good old-fashioned principle that he who uses the Toads should pay for the roads. That is their one and only argument in this controversy. And the one end only ob» ject they have in view is to compel the Waimate ratepayers to hand over part of tiheir rates. We have never heard yet that Egmont County ratepayers have been asked for payment for use of roads, and it would be interesting to know if Egmont County residents have been called on at any time for payment for use of roads leading to New Plymouth. Something has been said and a good deal more hinted at about management and administration in the correspondence now going on, but it has been shown that Waimate administration has been cheaper than county ad< . ministration. Now, I would not push' that argument so far as to say that the cheapest administration is always the best' administration, but' it is at least one point in Waimate's favor. Thanking you in anticipation. — I am, etc., WALTER BLAIR, . Otakeho, July 7th.

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/HNS19060710.2.29.1

Bibliographic details

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LI, Issue 9138, 10 July 1906, Page 5

Word Count
655

THE ROADING PROBLEM. Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LI, Issue 9138, 10 July 1906, Page 5

THE ROADING PROBLEM. Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LI, Issue 9138, 10 July 1906, Page 5