HIGHWAYS AND DERATING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20901, 17 June 1931, Page 12

HIGHWAYS AND DERATING.

Sir,—ln his final letter on this subject Mr. J. A. S. Mackay changes his ground and his tone. Upon the latter I congratulate him most sincerely. He refers to some letters that he has received. Curiously enough, I also have received a number of letters —several from total strangers —commending my attitude on this question. Let us hope that- the Postmaster-General will be pleased with this by-product of our discussion. The figures quoted by Mr. J. A. S. Mackay are germane to neither my illustration nor my argument. When it is all boiled down Mr. J. A. S. Mackay's case appears to be:' (1) That because the Reform Party was responsible for the Main Highways Act that therefore the Act is of necessity beyond criticism; (2) that the Main Highways Act has produced a reduction in the rates levied by the counties. To both these foregoing propositions I register my dissent. To debate the former would be useless and in regard to the latter the personal experiences of the ratepayers would be sufficient commentary even without such illustrations as the following:—Counties rate revenue, 1922-23.(page 624, Official Year Book, 1925 edition), £1,639,493; counties rate revenue. 1928-29 (page 652. Official Year Book, 1931 edition), £2,016,878. In concluding his letter Mr. .T. A. S. Mackay states that he does not know me personally, and it may well be that therein is to be found the explanation of the whole of this correspondence. H. M. Rushworth.