VISIT OF THE HON. THE NATIVE MINISTER TO WAIKATO.

Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1366, 2 April 1881, Page 2

VISIT OF THE HON. THE NATIVE MINISTER TO WAIKATO.

The Hon. William Rollsston, Minister for Native affairs, and Lands, arrived at Hamilton by the mid-day train ou Thursday, accompanied by Major Mair. Ho was met at the junction by the Mayor of Hamilton (Mr J. Knox) and Mr F. A. Whitaker M.H.R. and driven to Gwynue's Hotel where he partook of luncheon. The Mayor having intimated to the Hon. gentleman that a deputation from the Borough Council desired to interview him upon matters affecting the welfare of the town, he courteously offered to meet them at the Council Chambers. At 3 o'clock the Mayor Crs. Vialou and Peat ani a number of prominent burgesses assembled at the .Borough offices and shortly alter> ■wards Mr Rolleston arrived accompanied by Mr Whitaker. The Mayor said the first matter, to which they would draw the Minister's attention was the great disadvantage under which they labored on account of the toll on the Hamilton Traffic Bridge. The Borough was liable for BOrae £7000 borrowed on account of the bridge, and they were not in a position to meet such a liability. The toll also interfered very materially with the trade of the district, the bridge formed part of the main road from Raglan to Napier and he thought it most unfare that the whole respon ibility should rest upon the Borough. He thought they had a right to ask the Government to relieve them of the liability, because he believed it was the only borough in New Zealand which had to tax itself for a bridge of this kind. The Government had only given them £3000 while the structure including the approaches cost nearly £11,000. Mr Rolleston .* Do the tolls pay the interest ? The Mayor : Yes, and more, but they act very mjurioubly upon the district as a whole. Mr Rolleston: The bridge, I understand, is solely in the hands of the Borough ? The Mayor : Yes. Mr Rolleston : And has the Borough the power to lower the tolls, provided they are able to pay the interest ? The Mayor : I believe so. (Jr. Vialou : no I think not, because it mutt be remembered that we are bound to pay a certain amount towards a sinking fund. The Mayor: The tolls will pay the interest and sinking fund, but that leaves out of oonsderatiou the question of repairing. It must alao be remembered that when the railway bridge is opened it will take away .at least one-fourth of thejrecaipts on the traffic bridge. Cr. Vialou : I hope the Government will not think of making the railway bridge free so long as the toll remains on the traffic bridge. The Mayor : The loss to the traffic bridge will not be in passenger traffic, but in the goods which will on the completion of the railway bridge be carried by rail instead of being conveyed by draya across the river. Mr Rolleston :What is your proposal ? how is the Government to interfere with the tolls? The Mayor : We would simply ask the Government to release us from the liability of the loan borrowed from the Trust Commissioners. Cr. Vialou : This being a public highway it i 3 an injustice to keep up the bridge tolls, and besides it is very injurious to us in the way of business. I know of no other bridge which has such a toll, the effect of which is that people outside go to other places instead of coming to Hamilton ; It deters the country people from coming here. Mr Rolleston : 1 myself look upon tolls as a relic of a barbarous age, but the question is, how are you going to remove them ? yours is not an isolated case. The Wanganui bridge alao has a very heavy toll. The Mayor: There are the Whatawhata, Te Rore, Cambridge bridges all built by the Government and all free, and there is the Narrow's Bridge, not wholly built by the Government, it is true, also free. The last is repeatedly used for driving cattle in preference to ours solely on account of the toll. The Town Clerk at the request of the Minister gave some information regarding the cost of maintenance, &c. Mr R jlleston : You could not expect me to give you an answer on this subject, but lam very glad to know all about it. It is a question which stands on the same footing as a number of others; it is a question for Parliament, because the money necessary to relieve you can only be obtained by a vote. The money has been borrowed from the Trust fund and a distinct vote is necessary. I will however take care to bring the matter before the Government. The road to the Railway Junction. The Mayor then referred to the Station road. He said some time ago the Government closed the branch line to Hamilton and the whole of the traffic now came over the road between the junction and the town which was partly in the Borough and fartly in the Hamilton Highway District, t would be impossible to keep it in repair with the funds at the disposal of the Borough. They had already spent a considerable sum of money upon it. j Mr Rolleston asked what length the road was. The Mayor explained that it was about a mile and a half losg, two - third being in the Borough. In the piesent state of the finances of the Borough it would be impossible to do anything to the road before the winter set in. A little over £100 was all that was required. Mr Rolleston : I understand you have not made any representation to the Government upon this matter. A letter should be sent to the Public Works Department. You infer that the Government is saving money at the expense of the local funds. It would be impossible for me to give an opinion on questions outside my department, but I will lay the matter before the Ministers. The Mayor said nothing could be done to the road without assistance from the Government, and considering that the Government were making the road from the Te Awamutu station to the township, it was only fair that the same should be done ia regard to Hamilton. He said the Council would follow Mr Rolleaton'a sug- | geation, and make an application to the | proper department. Screwing up and Fainting the Traffic Bridge. The Mayor then referred to the matter of screwing up and painting the bridge poiuting out that the work would require to be carried out under the supervision of a competent authority. Mr Rolleston asked if there was a Government Engineer at present in Hamilton. The Mayor replied in the negative. Mr Rolleston said the maintenance of the bridge devolved solely upon the Council. The Mayor pointed out that the Government had, given £160 towards the work, which had to be carried out in accordance with their specifications. Mr Rolleston asked if the County Councils could not be induced to bear some of the expense connected with the bridge. The Mayor said Captain Steele, chair* man of the Waikato Council, was present, and would perhaps answer that, question, Cant.' Steele did not think the Counties iroulcl care to contribute ; they had quite

enough to do to carry put the*' frdrkrf"* within their own boundaries. He. moreover did not look upon the bridge but* either a Borough or a County concern as as a public one. The public had a claim upon the Government to make the bridge free. He referred to the other bridges m the district whioh were free, while the one which was upon the main road to Taupo, the Thames and other places had a toll on it. The Minister promised to see to the matter.

The Domain Lauds. - The Mayor said *hat when the Town Belt was handed over to the Domain Board, some twenty acres were withheld, the reason given being that it might be required for railway purposes- Now that it had been decided that the land would not be wanted for such a purpose, he thought it should be handed over to the Board. Mr Rolleston said it such were the case, that the land was not now required for railway purposes, he would see that it was handed over to the Domain Board. The new Hamilton- Whatawhata Road. The Mayor said he had only one other matter to bring under the notice of the Minister, namely, the road to Whatawhata and its continuation to Raglan. Perhaps the member for the district, Mr Whitaker would give some particulars on this subject. Mr Whitaker said the road in question, between Hamilton and Whatawhata was a portion of the main line of road from Raglan to the Thames. In 1879 the Government gave a grant of £600 for the formation across the swamp. There would not be time for the Minister to go and see it, but he [thought the hon. gentleman might take his guarantee for it that the money had been faithfully and judiciously expended, under the supervision of the Hamilton Highway Board. It would require about £350 to complete the swamp portion and then the Raglan Road which was now carried over the Waipa at Whatawhata or a Government bridge would be connected with the road going from Hamilton 40 miles to the Aroha, where it was joined by the road now being made by the Thames County Ouonty. The greater portien of these roads had been made by the local bodies, butit was impossible that they could do more. The portion of the road now refrrred to, waa six miles in length. The money already spent would be of no use until some £350 had been applied to complete the work. He had telegraphed to the Public Works Department on thia subject. The entire road could be completed for £600, but for the present it would be sufficient if the swamp portion were rendered practicable. He would remark that Raglan had now been settled 20 years and the only money spent in the district, was to open the road between that place and Whatawhata. Mr Rolleston said he had taken notes on the subject, and would bring the matter before his colleagues. The New Railway Bridge. The Mayor said a desire had been expressed by many of the residents that the new railway bridge should be made available for foot traffic. Only a small outlay would be necessary. Mr Rolleston asked if there was a toll for foot passengers on the present bridge ? The Mayor said there was. Wo doubt the opening of the railway bridge for foot passengers would be a loss to the Borough revenue, but he trusted soon to see the toll done away with, and then there would be no difficulty in the way. Mr Rolleston having suggested that application should be made to the Public Works Department on this subject, the Mayor thanked the hon. gentleman for the attention and courtesy he had accorded them, and the interview terminated. The Hon. Mr Rolleston, accompanied by Mr F. A. Whitaker, M.H.R., Major Mair, and Mr L. Cussen (District Surveyor), left Hamilton for Cambridge, en route for the Lake country, shortly after 4 o'clock. At Cambridge the Native Minister was not waited upon by any deputations. Mr Rolleston proceeded South yesterday morning.