Work Stopped on the Mountain Road.

Patea Mail, Volume VI, Issue 523, 22 May 1880, Page 2

Work Stopped on the Mountain Road.

MAJOR ATKINSON AND PATEA COUNTY. . There is bad news for Patea County. The Government have refused to remit to the County Council the balance of a sum which the Council was expressly authorised to expend in public works on the Mountain road ; and the surface men who have been keeping the road open during the bad weather have been discharged this week, there being no money in hand to pay wages. Mr Dale, chairman of the Council, sent tho following letter on the Bth to the Minister of Public Works ; I have the honour to inform you that the money allotted to this county, for expenditure on the Mountain Road this side of the Patea river, lias been expended ; and unless the Government place a further sum at our disposal, a few clay-men now employed in cleaning out the water-tails will have to be discharged, as the county funds cannot be used for this work. Please to inform me before the 13th inst., what the intentions of the Government are on this matter. No reply being received, the Chairman telegraphed on the 17th for some answer, and on the 19th there came this telegram : In reply to your telegram of yesterday, your letter of the Bth May, and your application for the £532 10s 2d, the Minister of Public Works desires me to say that he has directed the balance of £-103 4s !)d to be paid to your county on account of the grant for the "Mountain road. But no farther payments will be made on account of this grant until the Government engineer has completed the deviation of the road at Stratford, the cost of which is not yet ascertained, but is estimated at £SOO. This was signed by the Under-Sacretary. The Chairman telegraphed again on the 20th to the Minister thus : In reply to your telegram, re application for farther advance on account of the Mountain road. I cannot understand your action in this matter. £8,507 2s 8d has been allotted to this County, and liabilities are incurred for the full amount. The sum applied for, £532 lOs 2d, is money actually advanced by the Council. Hnd the Government not wished this Council to expend the full amount allotted. due notice should have been given before liabilities had been incurred. I must request that the difference between the amount applied for and that granted be remitted forthwith. I shall in a day or two apply for balance of the £8,507 2s Sd, and trust there will be no delay in forwarding same. The full amount of the allotted, sum having been expended, and you not agreeing to allow farther sum to keep open the Mountain road ; in winter, I have discharged all laborers. I would point out that unless surface men arc employed, the mail service cannot continue during winter between Nonnanby and Stratford.

Thatis the position in which the Government stand towards the County Council. The Chairman has requested the personal offices of Major Atkinson, as the local member, to whom he telegraphed thus : I have telegraphed to the Minister of Public Works re expenditure on Mountain road. Please see that interests of County are attended to. There the story ends for the present. The day labor being suspended, the Mountain road is likely to become impassable in bad places during winter rains. Coaches will be stuck up within the County area ; the mails service will be stopped ; the Council will be blamed as having the roads in charge ; the Government have refused to pay wages, and will not even remit arrears already expended ; and so the whole business is in a wretched muddle. Who is to blame ? The Government authorised a certain sum to be expended —that sum, and no more, has been expended. The Government allotted a certain larger sum to this County for the Mountain road, and £SOO remains now due. It is withheld .at Wellington. The position is this. A large sum has been spent on the Mountain road, all through, and now the Government are letting the road become impassable within this County by withholding the wages of a few day laborers. And this is public policy!