FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 1907. THE OHURA ROAD.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13424, 15 March 1907, Page 4

FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 1907. THE OHURA ROAD.

lii view not only of the great importance of the question to ji considerable body of settlers, but also of the principle involved, we need scarcely offer any excuse for returning' so soon to tho matter of the Ohura Itoatk. On Thursday i we published a -very full report of a special meeting of the Stratford ! County Council:, held to consider the suggestion — assuming that it was only a suggestion — by the Hon. W. Hall- Jones that the Government would hand the road over to the Council to look after. A-t that meeting there was a disposition on, the part of some of the j members of the Council to credit { the Government with having really done all it had been able to do for the unxortunate settlers concerned; and to find fault with the Mayor of Stratford for having ventured to call a public meeting | to protest against the failure to metal the road ,m6re rapidly. It seemed, indeed., i as ; if th,e Councillors had take,n. i a > lar 1 m at the hint about handing;>over the. road to 'them and were anxious to concili-, ate the Minister. For ourselves, we cannot conceive how the Govern-, ment are entitled to credit for having placed settlers forty miles back in the bush eleven or twelve years ago and in the intervening years to have metalled only about a half of the road, although it has spent upon it in one way or another something like £120,000. If, however, our judgment is a little harsh it may be that it is influenced to some extent by the knowledge we have of the dreadful hardships some of the settlers have ! had to undergo. Mr. McCutchan told of strong men who had gone into that country and died there because of the* hardships, and he charged the Public Works Department with a certain responsibility because of its failure to metal the road. The case was mentioned, too, of a settler's wife giving birth to a child on the roadside as she was being carried on a litter to a place where she could receive proper attention. Had the road been metalled that would not have happened, nor would many other distressing incidents have occurred. Had the road been metalled numbers of hard-working deserving settlers would not have been compelled to abandon their holdings after struggling vainly for years to make homes for themselves. It is small wonder, then, that those charged with the responsibility o$ metalling the road arc blamed for their failure. But, say the Chairman oi ; the Council and the other- apologists for the Government, the Ministers have dove their best with tho means provided. If so, it is a very poolbest; nor can they shift their re-

sponsibility on to other shoulders. Practically the same Government which placed the settlers beyond the Mangaere saddle eleven or twelve years ago has had control ever since, and we repeat, it is discreditable that after all these years nearly half the road is still unmetalled. Parliament has voted everything the Minister has asked for, and probably would have voted much more if the circumstances had been explained. It would be discreditable if the settlers had not had to pay for a road wh,ich they have not got; under the circumstances of loading detailed by Mr. McCutchan, and considering the handsome profit the colony is making out of the lands served by the road, discreditable is really a mild term to apply. The trouble is that tl*e whole system of public works is wrong. Instead of the Ohura Road — and it is typical of many others — being completed when the land was opened for settlement it has been simply played with. Large expenditure has been annually incurred in patching and temporary expedients to endeavour to keep the road open for traffic. Thus it is that the total expenditure has been sufficient to have | made and metalled the road throughout. It is much the same with railway works, the Mount Egmont line serving as an illustr:\ticyi. Some £30,000 has been spent on this work, and now operations are practically at a standstill ; machinery is lying here and tliere along the- line and some new cottages,' finished months ago, are .still unoccupied.' The line is, in fact, ." eating its head off," for want of finishing, just as the huge expenditure on the Ohura Hoad is giving poor results because the raad is not completed. However, we did not start out with the object of writing a dissertation on the way public works are carried out, hilt rather to support the (Stratforc] County Council in its protest against the Ohura Hoad being vested in it before beinjg metalled. . Such a course would be a new' departure ; on the pai't of the Government, and unless at the same time the Council, was endowed with a share of the rents derived from lairids serveil by the road it could, inobt possibly undertake the work- of metalling the road or keeping it open for traffic. Already the settlers in that district have borrowed a very large sum of money to metal their byeroads, and they cannot carry a greater burden. It is the du.ty of the Government to metal the road, and it would be a wise economy to do it at once and then hand" it over to the Council, thus saving the, large annual expenditure on maintenance. With ' respect to the action taken by the County Counoil we are pleased that the first

portion of the Chairman^s motion was not passed. For many years all parties have joined from time to time in protesting against the neglect of- the; Ghovernnient towafrds the road, and to have passed such a motion would have been tantamount to an admission by the ratepayers' representatives that there are no grounds of complaint against the Government, who would then have a good answer to return to future representations. We at any rate are not prepared to depart from our repeatedly expressed opinion that the settlers in the Ohura have a legitimate grievance against the )Gfoveri\nient , which disposed of its, lands to them on the understand-* ing that reasonable access, would be given. Nor yet can we admit that the money which Parliament has- freely voted to the road has been well spent. As for stopping the Stratford-Ongarue railway works, that would be absurd just now, because the work so far done will be of comparatively little value until the line reaches the main road again at Huiakama. That point reached, the Whanganioniona will derive a real benefit from the line, and the roading problem will also be greatly helped.

Masterton sports were postponed owiiig to tho wet weather on Thursday.

A large number of excursionist* !<>ft town' this morning by the special train for Eltham, tho occasion being tl o annual outing in connection with i?ic Con tral Schools* ■ .

The Supreme Court Judges are going at high pressure to keep pace with the work. Mr Justico Cooper left Wellington on Thursday, for Christchurch, where he has business in connection with the slaughtermen's strike. He ■» to return to Wellington on Saturday, and leave by special train for New Plymouth to preside »t the Supreme Court' sessions hero on Monday.

During the first two months cf thid year between eleven and twelvo thousand passengers passed over the wharf at Moturoa.

The annual general meeting of the Tarahaki Agricultural Society will be held in the Council Chambers on Thurs-

day, 28th March, at 7.30 p.m.

We understand that enquiries are being made for sections in the Spotswood settlement near the Breakwater, in view of the developments of peijcolenra in the district, and that shortly the sections will bo re : advertiscd. Already several transfers have been effected. At a meeting of the Auckland City Council, a letter was read from Mr Henry Brett, senior proprietor of the Star newspaper, intimating his intention of presenting the citiaens of Auckland with an organ for the new Town Hall about to be erected.

Mr Roy appeared on behalf of the Commissioner of Taxes at the S.M. Court this morning in a charge against Mrs, Margaret Cecelia Callaghan for failing to make a return of land and mortgages. The proceedings were \ taken under the provisions of " The Land and Income Assessment Act I 1900. Defendant admitted by letter the omission and was fined the minimum penalty £2, and £1 8s costs. A circular with this issue announces a great closing -cash furnituro sale at Messrs S. Clark and Co.'s, Devon Street east. The/firrar are under anag*Hi^nenc to vacate the premises at an early date and as everything must be cleared an opportunity now presents itself to those wishing to add to or replenish their home comforts at wholesale cost. To effect a speedy clearance tho stork h:is been marked down to tempting f jrurcs and those contemplating a visit to the storq are advised to call early.

While in Wellington Mr Snm Hill, who is-a Past" Grand- Master of Egmonf Lodge of Oddfellows and a member of tho Committee for the colobration af the jubilee of OddfrJlowship in Toranuk'i. had an interview with the Aciin£Premier, Hon. J. W. Hall- Jones, and invited him, on behalf of tho Committee, to bo present at the ceremony' on 11th April. The acting-Premier* .who is an Oddfellow, made a note of the date and assured Mr Hill he would do- his best to so arrange lii 3 movements that he could attend. -Probably this may fit in with tho official opening of the Post Office-

Owing' to the unfavourable weather prevailing on Thursday morning a meeting of the North Taranaki Caledonian Sports Committee was l^ld at the Masonic Hotelj Wa it a'ra, and it was dcoidod to postpone tho'sporte. TWs action on the part of the Committee so early in the day proved rat'iei UTbfortunate for by noon ther^ was a marked improvement" in the climatic conditions," the rain had ceased and the sun- shorte bTrillre^i^^ T!fe&~ Sv&rti*sair ■ number of visitors for the spor l ? and keen dis&ppoihfcmerft was- felt when ;fcbecame known they had been rut off. The day for holding the -fixture ha? not yet been fixed. « ' • - : i x ■ . < ■■ i The. breakwater trade shows a moderate expansion^ during. January nnl February this year as compared with the v same months last year. The vessel j entered and departed numbered 8^ tiiis year as against 85 last year, but the tonnage, increase^!, from 42,301 to 48,384. The imports totalled 7136 us against 7460 tons, but the exports increased from 2790 tons to 3429 terns', making an aggregate 0f^10, 565 tons as against 10,200 tons. The revenue in January was £1192 'as 'compared with £1017 in January, IPOG. .The February rovenue return is not complete, but 'fc is likely to- show a substantial increase

as compared with last year. ' A public meeting was held in Wellington' on Thursday to elect officers to the newly-formed Prisoners' Aid Society. Among thoso present were + he Hon. J. McGowan, Minister of Justice, and Dr. Me Arthur, S.M. A message of sympathy was read from Mr Justice Cooper, who was unable to attend. Mr McGowan said them should be no sec-.

tarianism in such a movement. Good work was done in' Chriatchurch and Dunedin by Prisoners Aid Societies, which had experienced officers. At Auckland, where an effort was being made to form sxtch a society, he was afraid there . was an clement of sectarianism creeping in, which would jeopardise the success of the movement.

Eight chamois, the gift' of the Emperor of Austria, to the New Zealand Government, arrived by the Turakina on Thursday. "Ttie introduction of the chamois to New Zealand was roally dti«* to Confrriaftder ; I& ; Hitter: von 'Hochnel, who was in New Zealand two years ago in the x\usfrian 1 cruiser Panther. He was much struck wheu in Southern New Zealand with the suitability, of the alps for chamois. Twenty-four chamois were caught in the Tyrol 'after great difficulty, but some of the animals were > old, and therefore unsuitable for shipment, and others again were Ho wild that they died, hastening their death by their violent behaviour in confinement. One" of the'prinoipal races of the year in connection with the New Plymouth < Homing Society and known as the "Derby" was that decided on Thurs, day from Foxton, the distance beinp, 117 miles. A silver cup is awarded the winner to be held for twelve months. The successful competitor last year was Mr G. A. Corriey. Thirty-five, birds, took part in the' present race represent? ing twelve lofts. Details : W. Boulton's Volume 4hrs 13mintites, velocity 817 yds lft lOins per minute, 1 ; J. Sparks'" Emir, ltimins, velocity 815 yds Oft 9ins, 2; H. Moverley's Stayboy, 4hrs 13$mins, velocity 814 yds Oft Sins, 3; C!. A. Corney's Whakatane, i hrs 14-Jiuins, velocity 813 yds lft lOins 4.. Then Club's, next- race is the' Oaks from Foxton for lien birds only.