ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. MONDAY, MAY 13, 1912. OPAWA BRIDGES.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVI, Issue 115, 13 May 1912, Page 4

ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. MONDAY, MAY 13, 1912. OPAWA BRIDGES.

~ *— No excuse need be ofEered by the! local bodies of Marlborough for the j which, they havo decided to j make to the Government for pound- j for-pound subsidies to enable them to erect two traffic bridges over the Opawa River—the one at the noith- j eru end of Grove Road, on the Blen-heim-Picton route, und the other at Rwiwicktown, over which will pass tho large voiunu? of traffic which makes its way to the Pelorus district and Nelson..' The urgent necessity for both these'"projects is-well known to the great majority of the people in this district;-.and, what is better still so far as "the local authorities aro concerned, the Minister for Public Works has lately viewed,the sites of both the proposed structures, has crossed tb.'.} Opawa at Renwicktown by coach, and has expressed himself favorably to both works. The local bodies are prepared to defray- half the cost of erecting these bridges—a fact which should, carry no little weight with tlio Cabinet when tiie proposals come to be discussed by that body; for it has often been stated that the Liberal Government will more readily assist those- who are willing to help themselves than those who desire the State to find the whole of the money needed for the prosecution of any particular public work, i Wo are not unmindful of the fact that! there are other districts besides Marl- i borough which" have been and are taking adyajntdge ■of the presence of Ministers in their midst to urge upon them the necessity for granting assistance towards various works, some of which may be -just as urgent as.the bridging-of the Opawa; but it must lie remeriibared—and. we hope will b© taken intr; account by the .Govern-, •nent whet- the rival claims of the various .districts come under the notice of the Cabiriet--that in the past this' Province ..has ''■ not bad its fair share of public' expenditure, and, ,as was, admitted By' tlie Hoff. Mr Mac-' dpnald ; ;\in ' Blenheim,: last week, that , tliere are large areas of country in Marlbbifough from which no fates are collected,, and that on-this . account the district should receive more coiifsideration .thait pthpr, portions of tho Dominion 'wheife^ settlement1 is fairly uniform aijid the local bodies collect rates /from,;''an,-, evenly-distributed .community..-...■'lf,''.however,- it be found impossible , for'the Government to assist both bridging projects this year, it lias been agyecd by the local bodies which met in boiifereuce on Saturday that "tliq Grb'Ve;;,, Road bridge .shall bake precederipe.* With this decisiori wo. are; iri. entire agreement. There is but one way of getting from. Blenh'im.to Picton by road!, and thiit way at present.'lie? over the antiquated and dangerous railway bridge; on the other hand, when the rivers are un.crossable at Rehwiclvtown it is still possible tc> journey to the Pelorus—« by crossing the,railway bridge.; Therek,re the bridgoi that is to supersede ihe railway bridge for ordinaiy traffic has, we consider, rightly been given 'first place." Ifeiis pleasitfg to see the local-governing authorities working in concert as they have shown themselves to be doing in the matter of these bridges, /.subordinating their own particular . demands, to those of the district as a whole! The suggestion to endeavor, to allocate the cost of ■the- work's without the expense and delay of a Ccnimissibn is a worthy ' onej and otivi which we hope it may | be possible to: carry out. As we have ] said..-we do nst think, that Marlborough is 'asking••too-, rniioh in placing its request for both bridge projects before the' Government; and we trust that provision'-for boih may. bo found on this year's; Estimates.. x