"STRATFORD EVENING POST" THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 1928. THE MOUNTAIN ROAD.

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 24, 23 August 1928, Page 4

"STRATFORD EVENING POST" THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 1928. THE MOUNTAIN ROAD.

THE Stratford County Council on Saturday last made a grant of £OS to the East Committee of the Egnionb Park Board and expressed the hope that the Stratford Borough Council will ''do likewise. Probably ! this suggestion will not fall upon deaf ears, for in the past members of the Borough Council have been sympathetically inclined towards the efforts being made for the development of the East side of the Mountain. The Government has been asked to honour its promise and reinstate the grant for metalling the road,, and the Minister of Public Works gave the deputation who had waited upon him on the subject, a sympathetic hearing. No official announcement has been issued on the matter of the Government's intentions;, but fnom reports which are going about it would seem there is a good chance of something being done. However we must possess our souls im patience and. await the Estimates. Surely the Government will make some provision, in fact Ave cannot, see how they can well do otherwise when all phwises fc>f the position are taken into consideration,. The metalling of this itoad must be put in hand next summer. Too much time has been wasted already and the East Committee have been battling alone against almost overwhelming (odds ,but have managed by dint of hard struggles to improve thp resort until it is now in a very satisfactory state,, except for the road- The Government's policy is to Help those who help themselves —a very wise policy it is —and there is no body in Taranaki, or for tliat matter in New Zealand, who have helped themselves in face of great difficulties, more than .the East Committee. If the road is put in order there is no doubt that the number of visitors to the Mountain House will be astoundingly large. As a matter of fact a number would be there now if the thoroughfare were dependable, as Mr. Haldane. the caretaker, has received numerous {ini quires from people desirous of spending holidays there, but has had to advilse them to delay their visits. Despite that, several have actually made the trip and were loud in their praises of what this side of Egmout had to offer, and the enjoyable time that could be spent there even at this time of the year. Just now when unemployment is prevalent and the necessity arises for work to he found for men, the time is most opportue for the operations on the road to be put in hand. The trouble in regard to the development ot the Stratford House and its surroundings is that though individually the public are almost unanimous on the point that Stratford's greatest asset lies there, and that it should be developed to the greatest possible etstent without delay, no united action has been taken. At present there is a. strong determination on the part of the people that the necessary 'improvements must 1)0 carried out as soon as possible, and therefore a public meeting of town and country representatives 'should be called for the purpose of f taking collective action to assist the Fa«t Committee in their splendid efforts Tin* o-e.s-oru, thus been the Cinderella- of Taranaki for far too Inn* and the time for the recognition of its claims is long overdue.