A SOUTH ISLAND COMMITTEE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 18 July 1925, Page 7

A SOUTH ISLAND COMMITTEE

—■■ ■ OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT 'By Telegraph.—Special to The Mail.) CHRISTCHURCH, Tins Day. In an editorial, to-night’s Star says: Very good news comes from Wellington in t lie announcement that a full meeting of Smith Island members of Parliament has decided to form a committee lor the purpose of securing fair treatment .lor 1 1 :• o South Island in national affairs, lliis is an extension ol the admirable system under which Canterbury members of Parliament have been working for some time past, and it will give an opportunity for much closer co-operation between the Progress League, and similar bodies and local members of Parliament. '1 he two most important works that such a committee will have to consider are, of course, the electrification of Lyttelton tunnel and the completion of tnt- South Island Mailt I runic railway. It so happens that these works have a specific interest for Canterbury, but the whole of the South Island m particular, and the North Island as well, are interested in these works, hut possibly the most immediate question that will claim the attention ol the members of Parliament will be that of road construction. In the early days, the South Island, with an abundance o! road metal, was able to carry out a fairly cheap reading policy, as the shingle was rolled in by the iron wheeled trallic of the day. The North Island, on tiie other hand, was faced with a great shortage of mad metal, but the lirohlcm of road construction there, was tackled seriously at a time when rubbertyred vcnicles were taking charge, and such roads as have been formed are greatly superior to those of the South island, where the old cheap but unsuitable methods have been persisted iii. Therefore, a modern mailing programme is required for the South Is land and the members of l’arhaineiil will he able to do very useful work m launching it. The new conimillee also will have P> watch 'very closely the development of livdrn electrical schemes. No doubt the tendency in centralisation is to oveiinuk local interests in stub matters and the committee will he aide to institute a system of co-operative watching of mutual interests.