STATE HIGHWAY COSTS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19338, 31 May 1937, Page 11

STATE HIGHWAY COSTS

POSITION OF OLD LOANS NO RELIEF POSSIBLE YET MINISTER SYMPATHETIC! A definite refusal (o consider taking oyer county) loan burdens on State highways at present was given by the -Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R, Semple. in reply to a request, from the Cook County Council's deputation on Saturday evening. However, the deputation came away with tlic hope that at some time in the future consideration might be given to this aspect, for the Minister was sympathetic, and said that his refusal then did not mean that he would never give [relief in that respect. -Anything done, in that direction necessarily would take time.

• The Minister said that the saving to the local bodies Ivy the State taking miles of road (-quailed £200,000 a year.

"You'ask me." he added, "to fake over the debt- liabilities on the State highways. 1 eahhot do that for you unless I do it all over the Dominion. 'ln my opinion lire, counties should not have been called upon to pay a copper towards those roads which are now .Slate highways. They are a national asset like the railways, and State highways should have been constructed on the ■same basis. "Political Blunder" "It was a colossal blunder," he con-sidered,-"to ask local bodies to construct them. The Government .should have taken them over 20 or 30 years ago. and the money raised by the counties to build them should have gone on the back country roads to gel the settlers out of the mud. We are trying to patch nip the mistakes of the past. Mr. E. IT. Baker, a county councillor, said the council was never given the opportunity to spend the money as suggested by Mr. Semple. "I am telling you," the Minister retorted, "that it was a political blunder, and the counties never should have been called upon to pay for the construction of the State highways." ; Tho present Government took the arterial roads over as soon as it could. He would not say that he would never give them relief from the State highway loan indebtedness, but anything in that direction necessarily would take some time. Maximum Relief "Unless something is done," he said, "the farmers who are in the mud will remain in the mud, and this will reduce the volume of production. This detrimentally affects the uTiole nation. It is a blunder that I am not responsible for, and as soon as. 1 could £ gave the maximum relief."

: Mr. Semple said he was fought, on tho question of declaring State highways. Mr. A. K. .lull, ox-m'esidenf. of th 6 Counties' Association, went to Mr. jSemple's office leading a deputation, and spoke for an hour and a half, saying that tho policy was one of Bolshevism. "But since then," Mr. Semple went lon, "I have been thanked by county .officials for doing tho job. 1 do not know whether Mr; -hill war, authorised 'to speak for the counties ; T do not think lie was. We. are trying to relieve the 'counties from the plight they are in jbeeause they were saddled with a burden ]that they should never have been forced to carry.' Do you agree with that?" t Mr. G. V. Smith: Yes, we agree.