ROAD MAINTENANCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2511, 30 April 1902, Page 12

ROAD MAINTENANCE.

TIMARU, April 24. Mr W. S. Short, under a Governor's commission, is now holding an inquiry into claims made by the Leveh County Council under section 8 of the Public Works Act 0 gainst tho Goraldine. Mackenzie, end Waimate Counties for contributions towards the cost and upkeep of the Levels roads used by ratepayers of those counties. The claims are for shares ranj^ng from onceighth to three-fourths of the cost of putting- the roads into g-ootl order, and the totals are: Mackenzie. £170; Geraldine, £386; Waimate, £1025. The Levels County engineer stated that the amounts were made up before the late floods, and should be 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 the Levels was very conflicting, and, except for tallies at Arowhenua bridge, generally rough estimates. The traffic chiefly complained of in these cases was wool waggons and travelling sheep. Mr Rolleston, counsel for Mackenzie County, intimated that he will argue that wool traffic is excluded as provided for by section 138 of the act of 1894, and that !.heep traffic is not included in the definitions of traffic : that claims of one-eighth and one-sixth are not evidence of a "large" ( use of the roads, for which the act provides. Counsel for" Geraldine County 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, a3 these bodies and not the County Council are responsible for tho roads. Counsel will argue the law points to-morroir. The case against Waimate is set down for next Thursday. This is a double commission, the second dealing with a claim that Waimafce's share of the maintenance of two bridges over the ' boundary river (Pareora) be increased from j one-half to two-third«. In the meantime the commissiner inspects the various roads.