32 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. {1 Juny, 1898. 
would abolish this niggardly system of doling out their rates in a sort of half- 
protesting fashion, and very often only under compulsion, and enable their 
respective bodies to place all the streets and roads in such a state that it would 
bea perfect pleasure to travel over them, and I feel confident that the cost 
would not be near so much as the cost of wear and tear and the loss of time 
and temper. 
Mr. E. ByrHeway (Gympie) stated that the Divisional Boards Act made 
provision for the maintenance of roads, and Mr. Whiteley’s paper appeared to 
reflect somewhat on the members of the various local authorities. When there 
was sufficient population and property, there would be no difficulty in attending 
to the roads in a district. Everyone deplored the inferiority of many of their 
roads, but, as property increased, the remedy would find itself. He believed 
there was provision in the Act to prevent the under-valuation of properties. 
The question of roads was a very large one, but he did not see what they could 
do in the matter. There were grants to local authorities, and, as these were all 
that could be afforded at the present time, he thought they would have to make 
the best of them. The money available should be spent in the most intelligent 
way. Country roads were a difficult matter to local authorities, and the only 
way that he could see to get out of it was by increasing the rates. ‘T'o do this, 
power would have to be obtained from the Government, and then the rating 
might become oppressive. In fact, he was glad power was withheld from the 
local authorities to increase their rates beyond a certain limit. 
Mr. F. W. Peek (Loganholme) said Mr. Hudson, in his paper on “ The 
Disabilities of Farmers,” had confined himself chiefly to the monetary difficulty, 
and in doing so had advocated a system of cheap rates of interest. In this the 
Government were to beasked to consider a scheme by which farmers could 
recelve money at low rates. This was a matter that had been discussed ali over 
the country, and there was not a debating svciety that had not taken it up. 
Personally, he (Mr. Peek) had come to the conclusion that cheap money would 
be a bad thing for the colony at large. Wherever cheap money is, products 
have to fall. It should be their aim, on the contrary, to establish higher values. 
Generally speaking, those who are wanting cheap money are those who have 
great disabilities and encumbrances. Those who had money wanted money to 
be dear: they wanted to get as much interest as they could. No doubta great 
deal of money had been spent in opening up roads, and divisional boards had 
been placed under great obligations in borrowing money at high rates of interest 
with which to maintain them. Much was to be said about the construction of 
roads in districts with special natural features, such as hills, and in which it 
was questionable whether a better system than the present roads could not be 
employed. A light tramway, for instance, in some districts would, all things 
considered, cost less than a road and be much more satisfactory. Such a 
system would doubtless be advantageous in districts like the Blackall Range. 
About Walloon the country was very level, and farmers got blocked from 
bringing their produce to market after heavy rains, and an improvement in the 
system of highways in such districts was badly wanted. Bridges were an 
enormous item in divisional board expenditure. In his own division a flood or 
a fresh was sometimes sufficient to cause enough damage to bridges to swallow 
up acouple of years’ rates. A. little more assistance by the central Govern- 
ane in the way of endowment for bridges would be of the greatest assistance 
to boards. ‘ 
Mr. P. Hacenpacn (Warwick) considered divisional boards laboured 
under a great many disabilities in the matter of roads, and he thought the 
Conference should adopt some resolution asking the Government to assist 
boards in cases where they had to spend large sums on roads and bridges. Last 
year in his division they had three floods, and damage was done to nearly all the 
bridges in each division, the board having to spend over £150 on one particular 
structure. Such maintenance was a serious drain on the resources of a board, 
and he thought the Government ought to render more assistance than they did 
to local bodies so situated. Rates might be increased, but among ratepayers 
