THE HIGHWAY'S ACT.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3292, 1 September 1871, Page 3

THE HIGH WAY'S ACT.

♦ TO XHK EDITOE OF THE INDEPENDENT. Sir,- -I observe in jour paper brief report: of meetings that have been held for the pur purpose of discussing the merits of the High ways Act passed by the Provincial Council Referring more particularly to the meeting held at the Hutt, I propose briefly to endea your to set those parties right who are, with out looking properly into the merits of th< net, trying to poison tho minds of the sotllen against this truly comprehensive and jus . measure. But before I refer to the act I wil inform the public of a fact that may not b< generally known, viz., for years past a lurg< portion of the Hutt settlers, particularly thos< ivho have properties fronting themniD road or both sides, have not paid "anything toward: the making or repairing of roads, because tlioj have not been in any proclaimed road district they have therefore enjoyed the benefit of r good main road without contributing one shil ling towards the making and repairing tlu same. It is therefore a very reasonable thine to suppose that this class of settlers will mm their voices against a just measure which wil call upon them equally with their fellowsettlers to pay a share towards the making and maintaining of roads. The same observe tions will equally apply to a very large bodj of the settlers in all parts of the province who are at the present timo deriving similar advantages from tho roads already made, and being made, without contributing any portion of tiie expense. Will any impai* tial judge of the working of tho present District Highways Act say that great injustice v not being daily inflicted upon numberless helpless individuals, who are continually called upon to pay most exorbitant acreage rates to make roads (in many instances not near x.he taxed land) in the "proclaimed districts, 11 under the present act ; and will any one who knows anything of the state of tho province deny that there are a large number of valuable properties not included in any "district board" receiving the benefit of tho roads now being made— without contributing their share of the burdens imposed. Then, again, under the present system, how does the acreage valuation work ? Is there any justice in it? No ; the contrary. A proprietor of some eaj 500 acres of land, more or less, or even IOC acres, pays Bay Is per acre, and his land it situated some distance from the main line— the proprietor close to the main line pays the came — perhaps ho is carrying on some lucrative business — he may have one or two acres with an " hotel" upon it— and he pays Is pei acre, the same rate that his back neighbour a few miles off docs! Is this just? How, thon, does the Highways Act passed in the last session of the Provincial Council remedy the evils spoken of? It repeals tho District Highways Act, and divides the province into eight highways districts, to be divided intd wards, and provides for the election of wardens, and the valuation of every inch of the province, so that the burden of making roads shall not be, as it hns been, imposed upon the " willing horse." It is high time that this was done ; there are too many properties essaping the just claims that will be imposed upon them when the present Highways Act is in full working order. It would appear that the promoters of the meetings that are called fc condemn the action of the Provincial Council are composed of two classes, viz, those whe hitherto have escaped any road tax, and oi those who ignorantly irangino that the Highways Act is what they term a "tax upon improvements," i.o , the. valuation v. an acreage rate. In answer to these objections, it may be stated in the first instance that under the new act all must pay. Secondly, from the facts previously stated, it must be clear that the valuation is more just than tho acreage tax, — I am, &c, Ageicola.