THE GREAT SOUTH ROAD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20113, 26 November 1928, Page 12

THE GREAT SOUTH ROAD.

Sir, —I read the letter by the vicar of Huntly in Saturday's Herald, and T would like to ask whether our clerical friend from Huntly has the slightest idea of what the maintenance of a road on the extremity of a county, o.s is the Ngaruawahia-Hamilton Road to the Waipa County, means to a county council. It is all very well for the A.A.A. and other institutions and persons to pass adverse comment on the ways and means of maintaining a road. But let them put forward a feasible scheme for the surfacing or maintenance of the NgaruawahinHamilton Road, whereby the touring public (and not the county ratepayers) contribute a fair proportion of the cost, and then I am suro imorovements would be made. Motorists should not quote the petrol tax so freely, as the poor old county ratepayer has still to put his hand in his pocket and contribute to main highways already proved by reliable traffic tallies to be almost entirely used by through tourists. We must admit that any prosperity that comes to the country must come through farm industry, and this can be best promoted by building roads where they are of true benefit to the farmer in taking in his supplies and carting out the farm produce, and not by taxing the farmer for funds to build speedways for tourists travelling the country. Moral: Should the users pay for maintenance and construction of highways 1 They should, but they do not yet do so. Road Engineer.