EGMONT ROAD BOARD.

Taranaki Herald, Volume L, Issue 12244, 29 April 1903, Page 3

EGMONT ROAD BOARD.

To tbe Editor. Ste,— ln your Ihsoic «i April 22 appears a "few words" oooutoying; aoariy a oolumn pf your valuable wm headfid "Squandering itf BaCcss and Public Mo»oy" signed by Chas, W, KlUpt, Tho Board has no cognm&nee oi Cbas. W. KJliot as a ratepiayw>—hl.i namo not appear ing as auoh on the roJI-^tb^ only perpon of that eswprmme being n lftdy, Yet Chan, W. ElHoi proaumoa to take thin Board to tftdk for "wokleaaly, H not wi fully" wa,»t» ins the rates and Government gnibsidy. Th© first thought of thin Board was to treat theso wittul miffstatementa with the (jontomtpt which hot& they and their writer dea©rv«. Chas. W. Elliot oalliTit rubbish which ha» been prut on the roftd. It may soothe his troubled breast to be informed that what he calls rubbisih has been approved by the CovornTnent Roa<l "Encrineer, TVfr Murray. Rimilnr "riibbi^h" from the Rame pit of which Chas. W. Elliot disapprovefi was xispc! Io years ayo on tl'e KpTnout "Roatl, and is still fjood with all the heafvy traffic on it to and fi'om the factorIpb, so it cannAt be ?r> very bad, but then Chas. W. E. is a born eng-ineer as u-ell a« bnsli I?f\v'or. and t,he C,r>v^rr\rnont Knpineor rani hr>ld n candle to him. j*s to wh?yfc h« mnintnins. or hi #t « 1 ndvjfo to 't^o C'dv^-nmnnt what to , do. ar.d hi<= liwi>l mfiors on how ! *Mnff c should bo dono. may bp loft to himsnlf a«* boinrr of no ininrrt-A wiint'evor to any onp ol<*o. Wlipn tho loan jwnfl first mootf/l Thap, W, NWni wpH

_ i strongly against the proposal, but by some mwntal leyeitlomam veered round to the other extreme. "\\h©n the loan was curbed Chas. \V. E.. although a non-raiepa\ or, 'maxle himself \ery oiticious in his unsolicited solicitude for the welfare of tho Eg— mont Road rate'paj'^rs, but the cloven hoof soon developetl, for directly afterwards he <got together some of the ratepayers at a meeting and stated his obtect in doing so \vas to consider as to how the balance of the general road rates accruing to this part of the road district — £60 — should be dealt with, and claimed that £50 of thi=; sum should be Spent on that particular rood (Dorset "Road), on which he exists, while a soim of over £30 was actually being spent on that same road on an almost impassable part of it, and which Chas. W. E. uses as much as anyone in tho fjlace and the Board comes in for the ire of Chas. W. E. because it cannot see its way to "reofclessly if not wilfully squander" £50 for his Almost solo benefit to the evolution of other parts. Ohas. W. Elliot states that his pelition to have this £50 sp>ont a? he wished was signed by a maioritv of ratepayers on the Egmont RoaVl. The numihor which actually sione/1 was 8. and those who did not sign were In. So much for Chas. W. E.s maioritv. He states that he was deliberately insulted by the eWk when presenting ■the petition. Cha<?. TV. E.s idea<* of insults mnst be on 'a par with his "majority." The clerk" singly point«rl oui to him that he was not a ratepayer, and that names of other non-ratepayers nripeare'd on the petition. Chas! W. E. became abusive and the rlei'lc reqiifterl him to leave. Lastly, Chas. W. F.iliot says a contract has been let on the Mutton Traclc near a member' 1 * hoiise and that the road iq n. blind one.^ Perhaps if 1^ road is not so blind as Cha^. W. E., srefn,tr that it nivesi acpocsc; \.n property of the rateable value of Co.o^T. while Dorset "Ron'd has onTy a rateable valuation of £?>. 125, Ihus s,howing £2,450 in favour of the Mind r^d It i« to he hoped ♦hat this BTCpTanatton nil? <;oTare the perturbed annl r>f r h*x W. E. A'poiorriminj? for fheso "few lines".- — T am, ' OF THE SQUANDYIIERS.