VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
VIEWS ON CURRENT TOPICS EGMONT LOANS CONVERSION. ’ REPLY TO MR. A. J. LILLEY. (To the Editor.) Sir,—ln to-day’s issue of the Daily x News Mr. Lilley has a letter wherein he '• , states that I am unfair in my statements and attitude. Unfortunately Mr. Lilley appears to be unversed in the- actual facts in regard to road construction, both adjacent to the Main South Road and in the back country. I do not desire to enter into an acrimonious discussion, but will briefly place the actual truth and figures before your readers and ratepayers. Mr. Lilley states that whereas they constructed their back area roads all out of “special loans,” we have done so by unemployed labour. (What a smile of irony some .old settlers resident here must smile.) I know, of only 11 miles of road in the south riding which has not been originally metalled out of loan expenditure. Even the Eltham Road, now a main highway, carried a loan which covered land far beyond' those sections adjoining it. The road on which my homestead is ■ situated was an original swamp. The thirds and settlers’ labours barely raised it above water, but a loan (per Waimate Road Board) made it a thoroughfare. So . it was with most others.
The loans are now mostly all repaid < as we live in an earlier settled district than the greater portion of the brick country of the other ridings. Our proximity to an old settled and progressive district put>, an unimproved fictitious value on our land far in excess of any values in the other ridings. This in itself constitutes a rateable burden more than equivalent to any special rate. ' Regarding roads constructed by the unemployed, here are the true facts: Four years ago or more great dissatisfaction existed within the Egmont County in regard to riding representation, relevant to both ratepayers and valuations. Oeo, which had three councillors, was entitled by these valuations to two and a-half councillors; Opua, with three, was entitled to barely two on the new valuation; whilst Rahotu, entitled to three, had two, and Newall, with one, was entitled to one and a-half. A committee was set up to go exhaustively into the whole matter ' and bring down ri report. I was a member of that committee. We decided to hold the matter iir abeyance until the new-valuations were to hand. After going over the matter carefully it was decided to make three ridings (the original num- ? ber) giving as far as practicable even valuations and ratepayers to each. This extended the then Oeo riding boundary north-west as far as the Waiau River (just south of Opunake town) from the sea to the Forest Reserve. .
In taking over this area the riding became saddled with possibly the most, backward area in the whole country—an area partly undeveloped as it was the home of a large sawmill. However, prior to the adjustment the area was awakening. Already Government grants had been spent upon the primitive roads, and later an unemployed camp was erected at dhe junction of the Kaweora and •Wiremu Roads. These men certainly did much useful work, forming and metalling about eight miles of roads; There < is still ’ much urgent work needing at-' tention, but that is another matter. In alb this work riot more than'three miles was . situated, in the old, Oeo- riding. Now we come to Mr. Lilley’s statement that all back area roads in the other ridings were'constructed- out of “special loans.” ’ When the Kaweora camp was '! erected so also was a. like camp erepted on the Upper Arawhata Road, in the central riding. Men. operated from this caipp. for ’about 18 months. During that time they formed and - metalled three miles of the Upper Ihaia-Road, formed' arid - partially metalled .two miles iof 'the Upper Arawhata Road, and although the camp is disbanded, ’there are two’ or three gangs working on the upper reaches of this road to-day. Nor-is this all. For mbriths past the whole unemployed available .men have been cbricentrated upon that area of the Wiremu Road between the Ngariki and Kahui (about two and a-half miles) metalling the same. Let us review free Government grants in Egmorit County during the last few years, and see what ridings received them. I will take from 1923 to 1932. Space will not permit me to itemise details, but I have all at my finger-ends. During these ten years the now central riding received £5891 9s 2d per the ; county treasurer, and over this by straight-out Public Works Department ■ expenditure, of which we have no record, but which expenditure constructed four large bridges, innumerable large culverts, put through mighty cuttings, filled in great valleys in the construction of the V7iremu Road from the Kahui to the/ Ihaia, also formed a mile of the upper Opua Road. I should say not one penny short-of £lO,OOO was used up in this work. The northern riding during the period under review received £4486 by way of grants,’ whilst the now southern riding received but £672 8s Bd. Howler, byway of Public Works Department work at least £lOOO was spent on tlje Kaweora, and another £2OOO upon the Wiremu Road between and including the Taungatara and Waiau bridges. -Not more than £looo—possibly not so much—whs spent by this means in the old Oeo riding. " ; Now let us review the whole matter. The central riding has had equal unemployed benefits, besides between £l5OO and £16,000 in Government grants and expenditure direct; on top of this Mr. Lilley’s own riding has received £4OOO to £5OOO in grants, and earlier than the period under review much Public Works Department work. The southern riding received but £672 8s 8d in grants, and not more than £4OOO in Public Works Department expenditure, and practically most of this in the portion of the cold. Opua riding taken over by the Oeo rid? ing. On the facts we have had the least in free grants, we already contribute in proportion to our productive value most largely to the county fun', and to crown all, because an opportunity exists to do So we are to be saddled with ah extra burden which nullifies our benefit which we .should derive from the working of - the Act.—l am, etc., J. S. TOSLAND. Pihama, April 16. THE MAORIS AT MOTUROA. (To the Editor). Sir, —On Monday evening it was my pleasure to listen to a very delightful concert given by the Moturoa Maori concert party' from 2YB, also a most interesting talk on-the Maori landing’in. New Zealand many hundreds of years ago at Moturoa, long before there were any white men in New, Zealand at all.' Now we have the Harbour Board, claiming through the law courts, trying to deprive the Maori of that which to my mind is theirs by right, without offering them anything in return in the shape of another site on which to make their homes. Where is the justice of it all?— I am, etc., FAIR PLAY. New Plymouth, April 17.
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Taranaki Daily News, 18 April 1935, Page 7
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1,170VOICE OF THE PEOPLE Taranaki Daily News, 18 April 1935, Page 7
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