ROADS FOR BACKBLOCKS

Taranaki Daily News, 29 September 1930, Page 8

ROADS FOR BACKBLOCKS

NGATIMARU RIDING METALLING. . . I DECISIVE AIEETING AT MATAU. “The somewhat involved question of tlie petition and counter-petition for the Ngatimaru riding loans was explained at the jnceting of ratepayers in th» Alatau hall on Friday by the engineer to the Stratford County Council. Air. J. W. Spence, who attended the meeting in company with the chairman of the council, Mr. T. R. Anderson. At a meeting of ratepayers in the Matau hall on May 12, Mr. Spence said, a motion was carried to the effect that tlie Stratford County Council be requested to take steps to raise a loan of £4OOO over the whole riding for metalling roads, the portion of the loan’ required for metalling the road between Kiore and Alatau to be a first call on the loan, the balance of the £4OOO to be devoted to metalling other at siftih times as it .might be deemed expedient to do so, the order of urgency with regard to that work tb be determined Ly the relative amounts collected in rates on the various roads. _ « A considerable number of signatures was obtained on the ratepayers’ consent form at the meeting and others within a few days of the meeting, the result bejng that 32 out of a possible 3S had signed. When these consents came before the Stratford County Council for approval it was ( found that an objection and a counter-petition had been sent in. In explanation it was stated by the riding member (Air. R. Alounsey)- that foil, names which appeared on the second petition were also to be found on the original, the reason supplied being that these four had signed under a mis'apprehensibii.' It was difficult to see where any misapprehension could have arisen, particularly when figures were compared in connection with the original, and the two subsequent proposals. Viewing the position generally there was no doubt that if the Alangaoapa Road metalling scheme was carried out as well as the Alatau Road scheme it should be a benefit to a greater number. From comparative figures it Avould be seen that if two loan areas were created those in the Alatau Loan Area would not suffer to any appreciable extent, whereas the Alangaoapa Road would be metalled from end to end, making approximately J2 miles in the riding. While the Alatau area would lose the ■benefit of the Alangaoapa area’s share of interest and sinking fund it would be relieved of three-quarters of a mile of the road between Kiore and the juncticn of the Alangaoapa and Alatau Roads. In dealing with the Alangaoapa scheme the question was whether the area would be able to stand the special rale which it would be required to carry. Dealing with the petition (No. 2) it was stated that £1250 would require to be raised. That amount had apparently been based on the supposition that a subsidy of £3 for £1 could be obtained. While it could not be definitely stated that that amount would not be available, on good authority it had to be understood that £2 for £1 was all that could be expected. The £3 for £1 subsidy for the Alatau Road was granted under exceptional circumstances and there was no doubt that every effort should be made to take advantage of an offer which was unlikely to come again. ‘•Less work will be undertaken on the highways this season owing to all highways’ subsidies being very seriously curtailed, and under these circumstances the council will be in a position to give the back roads greater attention by utilising lorries, plant and stall" for works proposed to be carried out under loans ain.: subsidies,” Air. Spence said. The r.ietalling in the riding could be satisfactorily carried out under those circvmstances.

A limited amount of money was available for the current year but that would not in any way militate against the carrying on of* the scheme after the end of the financial year (March 31)— fortunately a portion of the year very suitable for road work. It was certainly advisable that matters should be finalised at once; any further delays might mean that the coming season would be lost. ' . . Mr. Spence also explained how much every settler would have to pay under the two proposals. MANGAOAPA SPECIAL LOAN. Mr. B. Mounsey said that the trouble over the proposal for one loan over the ■ whole area arose when settlers on the upper Mangaoapa Road discovered that only 02 chains of their road would be metalled. That meant that those settlers would be paying rates to metal the Kiore-Matau Road when they used only 62 chains of that road and would still have a long length of mud road to traverse to gain access to their sections Those settlers therefore forwarded a protest when the £4OOO loan was advertised and sent in a eountcr-peti-t.vn to metal the Mangaoapa Road from Kiore to the Junction Road near Puraimi, giving the iMatau settlers 6— chains°o’f 'meta! free from Kiore to intersection of the .Mangaoapa and Kiore-Matau Roads. That would leave the section of s>/, miles from the intersection to Matau to be metalled by the Matau settlers. Although that would mean that the Matau ratepayers would have to metal the balance of J.J miles to Matau without the assistance of the Mangaoapa settlers it had to be remembered that the latter would b.e paying a rate of Is Id on the unimproved value as against a charge of only 2|d to the Matau settlers, who would have the use of the first 62 chains of thenroad without any charge. “The council is not trying to push this second proposal on to you but it was no use our coming here without semething concrete to discuss,” said the chairman. If the proposal did not appeal to them, he asked them to give the council some idea of what they needed. , Mr. Mounsey said that the Mangaoapa settlers were decided as far as theft road was concerned and proposed to metal it from Kiore to the Junction Read at Purangi. It remained for the Matau settlers to resolve upon the course, of action they intended to take. “The Matau people can agree to the counter-petition' or object to it and pi i forward a different scheme, or they can take no action, in which ease the .Mangaoapa settlers will go on with their proposal, which will give the Matau settlers 62 chains of metalled road for which they will pay nothing, Mr. Anderson explained. Mr. AV. McCoard moved and Mn If. Larsen seconded that a loan of £oooo be rai.-ed over the Matau area to metal firstly from the Mangaoapa Road to ' Matau. * Mr. Larsen said he supported the mo-

tion on the condition that the balance of the £3OOO after the six miles had been metalled to Matau should be devoted to metalling the by-roads in proportion to t'-» amount of rates taken from them. The motion , was carried unanimously-

JERSEY CATTLE CLUB SALE.

The annual bull sale of the Stratford Jersev Cattle Club will be held at the Stratford A. and P. Association showgrounds on Wednesday. The cattle pavilion recently has been considerably enlarged and seating accommodation erected, making it perhaps one of the most suitable sale rings in the country. Nearly 100 bulls will be sold, including progeny of the best butterfat animals in the Dominion. Comfortable inside accommodation will be found for man and beast, and luncheon will be provided on the grounds. Numbers of outside buyers have notified the club of ,heir intention to be present.