H.—4o.

The following table shows the expenditure under the various headings for the four years ended 31st March, 1937 :—

The principal points emerging from the figures for the years ended 31st March, 1936, have been commented upon in previous annual reports. The figures for 1936-37, as compared with those of the previous year, are commented on below : — Maintenance. (a) Main Highways. —Expenditure on this item during 1936-37 has decreased by £318,000. The moneys expended by the Main Highways Board on maintenance and by way of grants on maintenance decreased by £315,000. This has been largely due to the large increase in construction, improvement, and renewals of main highways. (b) Other Roads. —This item shows a decrease of £60,000. Grants made by the Main Highways Board decreased by £130,000, whilst grants made by the Public Works Department increased by £10,000. County and road district expenditure shows an increase of £60,000. (c) TJrban Roads. —Here an increase of £18,000 is shown due to an increase in expenditure by boroughs and town districts. Construction. (a) Main Highways. —Expenditure under this head has increased by £998,000. The increase in Main Highways Board and public-works expenditure totalled £1,079,000, whilst county expenditure has declined by £81,000. (b) Other Roads. —An increase of £340,000 is shown under this heading. Moneys expended by the Public Works Department increased by £446,000, whilst moneys expended by counties decreased by £106,000. Total Road Bill. The following table, showing the percentages of the total expenditure spent on maintenance, construction, and interest and loan charges, is of interest: —

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Ill I 1933-34. I 1934-35. 1935-36. 1936-37. Mmnfpnnnpp £ £ £ £ Main highways .. .. .. .. 954,656 1,501,539 1,632,453 1,314,694 Urban roads and streets .. .. .. 397,371 392,032 406,775 424,201 Other roads .. .. .. .. 718,943 955,994 1,098,366 1,038 204 Total .. .. .. .. 2,070,970 2,849,565 3,137,594 2,777,099 Construction — Main highways .. .. .. .. 286,709 428,072 624,943 1,622,982 Urban roads and streets .. .. .. 1,104,047 944,235 903,918 938,692 Other roads .. 1,240,920 1,172,529 1,102,730 1,443,185 Total .. .. .. .. 2,631,676 2,544,836 2,631,591 4,004,859 Interest and sinking-fund charges — Main highways .. .. .. .. 632,846 612,129 605,403 605,925 Urban roads and streets. .. .. .. 585,900 554,400 580,979 573,423 Other roads .. .. .. .. 1,136,070 1,136,515 1,122,408 1,047,394 Total .. .. .. .. 2,354,816 2,303,044 2,308,790 2,226,742 Total annual road bill — Main highways .. .. .. .. 1,874,211 2,541,740 2,862,799 3,543,601 Urban roads and streets .. .. .. 2,087,318 1,890,667 1,891,672 1,936,316 Other roads .. .. .. .. 3,095,933 3,265,038 3,323,504 3,528,783 Total .. .. .. .. 7,057,462 7,697,445 8,077,975 9,008,700

Maintenance. Construction. Loan Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. 1933-34 .. .. .. .. 29-3 37-3 33-4 1934-35 .. .. .. .. 37-0 33-1 29-9 1935-36 .. .. .. .. 38-8 32-6 28-6 1936-37 .. .. .. .. 30-8 44-5 24-7