ROAD AND BRIDGE MAINTENANCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11949, 25 April 1902, Page 5

ROAD AND BRIDGE MAINTENANCE.

[by telegraph".press association.] TiiiARTT, Thursday. Mr. W. S. Short, under the Governor's Commission, is now holding an inquiry into the claims made by the Levels County Council, under section 8 of the Public Works Act, 1900, against the Geraldine, Mackenzie, and Waiinate Counties for contributions towards the cost of upkeep of the Levels roads used by the ratepayers of those counties. Claims are for shares ranging from one-eighth to three-quarters of the cost of putting the road in good order, and the totals are:—Mackenzie £170, Geraldine, £386, and Waiinate £1026. The Levels engineer stated that the amounts were made up before the late floods, and should ».e larger now. The evidence in the Geraldine and Mackenzie cases, which overlap, has occupied three days, 36 witnesses being examined. Evidence as to the amount of outside traffic through Levels was very conflicting, and except for tallies at Horowhenua bridge, generally rough estimates were given, The traffic chicrly complained of in these cases was the wool waggons and travelling sheep. Mr. Rolleston, counsel for Mackenzie County, intimated that he will argue that the wool traffic is excluded, as provided for 'by section 138 of the Act of 1894; that sheep traffic is not included in the definitions of traffic; that the claims of one-eighth and one-sixth are not evidence of "large" use of the roads, for which the Act provides. Counsel for Geraldine adopts these objections, and adds that the claims should have been made against Timaru and Temuka Boroughs, and the several road boards in Geraldine County, as these bodies, and not the County Council, are responsible for the roads. Counsel will argue the law points to-morrow. The case against Waimate is set down for next Thursday. This is a double commission, the second dealing with a. claim that Wairnate's share in the maintenance of two bridges over the boundary river, Pareora. be increased from half to two-thirds. In the meantime the Commissioner inspects the various roads.