CORRESPONDENCE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 14015, 21 September 1909, Page 4

CORRESPONDENCE.

We are not responsible for the opinions expressed by correspondent*. Toe writer's name, aa a u» good faith, must be enclosed ia tb* letter ROAD WORKS. (To the Editor.) Sir. — Your article on road works appearing in the Budget of August 28 came as a surprise, not only to myself, but to a great many of the settlers in this district, inasmuch that you should advocate so strongly to revert to the old order of things. Why, after fitteen or sixteen years' trial and pronounced a failure, should they revert to the old system? After all the money that has been spent and the people still crying out for roads does not seem as if the money has been spent to the best advantage. How was the money spent burning papa on Mount Messenger last summer. As far as the road benefited it would have done as much good if it had been dumped over the New Plymouth breakwater. There was £1000 voted for this road last October. They decided to burn papa, and metal parts of Mount Messenger.' They put men on day labour at one shilling per hour. None of these men had ever seen papa burnt. They were ; allowed to work there for about four' months without any supervision. How much papa was burnt? How much road was metalled by these ten or twelve men in the four months they 1 burnt, or partly burnt, for most of it was only 6moked ? About 150 yards, and laid down about nine or ten chains from nine inches to three inches thick. They started putting it down nine inches deep, but discovered they had not enough metal to do the piece they had formed, so they put the balance down three inches deep, and then it wouldn't reach, and they had to finish it with facings. I had occasion to travel over this road three or four times a week while this work was going on, and what I am stating here are facts. I happened to be travelling over this road when they commenced carting this smoked papa out and laying it on the road. There were nine men ami one horse and cart engaged at this work. Six ot these men were attend ing to the cart at the tip and two men at the kiln to load the cart. You would hardly think it possible that six men could get round a cart load of metal to spread it, but nevertheless they were there. It took them four days to do one chain length. What is the result of this four months' work? Mud and holes. This is a part of the difficulty that the mails are carried through to Tonga porn tu. They burnt this last papa at the far end of the metal that waß put down two years ago and destroyed the greater part of it carting the firewood and this latter rubbish over it. I have asked the men why they burnt the papa at the far end instead of at the lower end and save all tlie extra carting. Their idea was that it would not cost enough of money, it would have been, too cheap, and that I did not understand the way the Government do things; and I think I do not. There were 200 yards burnt on the Tongaporutu side of the hill done by contract at seven shillings per yard. Two men did this in four weeks with wet weather in between. It was well burnt. The difference was two men burnt 200 yards in four weeks by contract, where it took ten men four months to half burn 150 yards by day work. If this is money spent to the best of advantage I fail to see it. Mr. Hogg, when at Whangamomona, thought that burnt papa nine inches deep at £1000 a mile us too expensive; what would he think of smoked papa three inches deep at perhaps £3000 a mile, and disappear before the winter was over. -11111188 were something similar on the Okau Road. There. was £1800 voted for this road. There were four sections let, four men to each section, co-operative system. When No. 1 section was finished it was discovered that two feet six inches had to be taken off the grade in one place. The men were pat on by the day to do this work. Why could it not have been finished in the first instance and all this extra money saved P Or perhaps it was like the mountain job, didn't cost enough. No. 2 section was done part co-operative, part day work, there was an approach to a bridge at one end a filling, three chains long six inches to three feet deep; there were six or seven men on this job and two wheelbarrows. There was a man to each barrow, one man spreading. I suppose the other men were doing something.' One man spreading to two wheelbarrows is about equal to six men spreading to one dray. I have heard this filling cost £47. This bridge had to be altered when it was erected, it was three feet too high, it had to be eat down that much after these co-operative sections were finished. There were twelve or fourteen men working on them by the day for six .weeks at one shilling per hour. They were allowed to work ten hours a day, each man to keep hit own time. Some of these men informed me they loet no time with wet weather. If it was too wet to work the time was put down nil the same. If road work is carried on in all other parts as it is done in this district they will be crying out for roads until the c.nd of time, and then there will be nd road*. If the Government had had ten shillings' worth of work done for every pound they have spent on roada since the old-sys-tem came into vogue there would be very few roads required to-day. If the public works officials have nofc the special knowledge required for road work as you say let them make u« railways. A railway will suit our purpose just as well. Now. sir, I trust voti will nublish this letter in full then the public may judge for themselves if the money has been spent to the best advantage. — I am, etc., \ A. M. BOWER, Okau. September 8, 1909., [Our correspondent is astray in hie "facts." Parliament voted £1000 last sossipn for the maintenance of the Mokau-Uruti Road. Of this sum £€61 7s 2d has been spent, and for this 18 J miles of dray road has been maintained, 500 cubic yards of papa has Ijcen burned (300 on the south side of Mount _ Mtflsenger and 200 on the north i side), ana 24 feet of mp.njer concrete pipes hay* been «•<*•.' ?<»f *h« 1 onganoruUt-Mangaroa (pr Qkau) road £1800 was voted ftnd £1760 ]4q Id spent, The wprk done includes.:— 2 ntilos 39 chains -qridoned to dray road, 14 chains sanded, 53 chains ditching,. 720 ft of culverts, a 50ft bridge lowered 65 chains bridle track - cleared and formed, and 2 miles 39 chains of dray toad and 16 miles 34 chains of bridle track maintained. If these results are analysed it «'ill be found that upon the #hole fair value was obtained for tho money spent. However, a critic who. calls 300 yards of b^ut papa "about 150 yards'! tn\\»\ pxpuct to have !'is whole criticism *erv liberally discounted.— Id. T.H. and g-3 ACCOUNT A.NCX(To the Editor.-) Si«yr-J k*Y?. read your subteader on this subject, and entirely agree with your remarks. Last week's Mercantile Gazette publishes a report of tbe annual meeting of the Incorporated Institute of Accountants of New Zealand, from which it will be seen that prior of the application of the new Society of Accountants Act there were in the dominion about 3QQ members, including students, and allowing for a similar membership of the New Zealand Accountants' ami Auditors' Association, say 600 qualified and partly qualified accountants. To-day there are about 2100, an increase of 1600. What are we to suppose has prevented these 1600 worthy gentlemen from qualifying? Either ineptitude or laziness I What would any profession — for instance, our solicitors— Bay, if by aot of Parliament 1500 or so solicitors were suddenly- turned loose on the business world? Surely oiip profession calls for aa earefal selection as the other ¥ — t am, etc., DISGUSTED.