The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. THURSDAY, JAN. 14, 1892.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3042, 14 January 1892, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

THURSDAY, JAN. 14, 1892.

K.-iu.-il ;.ml i;::.T't mince to all men, Of wlMlsm-vi -. m;i'.c or persuasion, religious or

A tjUKSTioN of considerable importance to local bodies was brought to the notice of the Cambridge j Borough Council at their meeting, on Tuesday last. The clerk of the Waipa County Council wrote pointin" out that under certain sections of" the Public Works Act, other local bodies besides the Waipa County and Cambridge. Borough Councils could be made contributing bodies towards the maintenance of the Waikato Bridge at Cambridge. The motion tabled by Or. Anderson at a late meeting of the, Waipa County Council: "To make the cost of all bridges irrespective of locality a first charge upon the county funds" has led, no doubt, to this discussion. We are not at all surprised to see such a motion brought forward—indeed, it 36ems to be the only way out of the difficulty. The position in which the main bri'lges may be said to stand towards the progress of the whole county is such that, in a sense, they cannot be localised. Their construction and maintenance are of as vital importance to one riding, or to one portion of a county, as to another. Like the broken link in a chain a damarred bridge impedes the traffic of districts'far removed from the particular riding in which it is situated. In this respect therefore a

bridge upon any of the main roads is ill reality a county work. The principle underlying Cr. Anderson's proposal has already been practically admitted by the Waipa County Council inasmuch as in the various riding accounts, the expenditure incurred for the construction of bridges, has always _ been kept separate, thus indicating that the Council regarded the construction of bridges as being of a different nature to ordinary road works. But supposing Cr. Anderson had not brought forward his proposal _at present, something of the kind would have had to be done soon, in respect to the large bridges which span the Waipa and Waikato rivers. The expenses, or rather the proportion of them which fall to the share of the Waipa Council, have hitherto been charged to the riding in which the bridge was situated. The injustice, we might almost say the absurdity, of this is mnnifest. Take, for example, a large bridge such as the one at Whatawhata over which the traffic of an immense area, extending to the West Coast, passes, and in the proper maintenance of which the Newcastle Riding has, perhaps, the least interest all, yet upon this riding the _ Waipa County's share, of what will be a steadily-increasing expenditure, falls. These large bridges have been expensive works, and will in the near

future, require a considerable sum annually to keep them in proper repair. To add that amount to the debit of one riding is simply to load that riding with a still heavier burden of debt. Or. Anderson's proposal is really one of necessity, and the present position of one or two ridings in respect to bridge indebtedness is becoming so serious as to establish a strong argument in favour of its adoption; and the action of the Waipa County Council will, no doubt, induce other local bodies similarly situated to look carefully into all the hearings of the question raised, and so arrange that the cost and maintenance of main road bridges shall be more fairly apportioned in the future.