1 Jury, 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 31 
that we have bad roads under such circumstances? I think not. More- 
over, these people are the very people who make the most noise about the 
terrible state of the roads. It has been suggested that residents along by-roads 
might combine and repair their own roads, and so assist the boards. Except in 
very extreme cases, I cannot agree with these suggestions. These people are 
paying for their roads to be attended to, and to expect people to pay for work 
being done, and then leave them to do the work themselves, seems to me to be 
unreasonable. Farmers, as a rule, have more than enough work to attend to 
their own particular business without road-repairing, and the boards, having 
trained men and proper appliances, are in a position to do the work much 
better, quicker, and cheaper. It is a very common practice amongst people 
suffering from bad roads to lay all the blame on either the members of the 
board or the superintendent, when, as a matter of fact, the bulk of it lies at 
their own door. 
This idea of reduced rates and valuations appears to me to be penny 
wise and pound foolish. If the money is not provided for keeping the roads 
in good repair, it will need to be provided in larger sums to meet the extra 
cost of horseflesh, harness, and vehicles; and in proportion with the bad state of 
the road so will the extra cost of wear and tear be. In my opinion it would 
be far cheaper for all country residents to pay on a fair valuation sufficient 
rates to put and maintain all roads in real good order. We should have a 
high rate fixed at first, which would enable our boards to have all the roads put 
in first-class order, commencing where the most traffic is, and bringing all the 
work along as quickly as the means would allow. As soon as a certain length of 
road is in order—say, ten, fifteen, twenty miles, or whatever may be thought 
suitable—we would let the maintenance of it by tender for a term of years, giving 
preference wherever possible to a resident of the locality who travels the road, 
and will thus have a personal interest as well as a monetary one in keeping the 
road in good condition. 
It appears to me that by following these lines we would, in the course of 
a comparatively short period, have only the maintenance of our roads to attend 
to and pay for, instead of as at present making a road, then leaving it until it 
is impassable, and then make it over again. It would also save a lot of waste 
energy, and most likely save the use of a lot of profanity. A large amount of 
trouble on our roads is caused by allowing the drains to choke up and over- 
flow; by this system of maintenance the contractor would, for lis own interest, 
see that all drains were kept open, and the water confined to its proper course. 
As soon as any part of a road began to show signs of wear, it would be attended 
to on the principle that a stitch in time saves nine. It may be said that the 
contractors would not take sufficient interest in the work to follow it so closely. 
I think they would, if only to save themselves work; but should they neglect 
it, the people would soon complain, and it would then be the duty of the 
board to see that the work was done. At present complaints are very often 
in vain, as the whole available strength of the board is employed elsewhere, 
and probably at some worse place or places; the result being that the place 
gets from bad to worse, and when a party is sent to do the work they have 
four or five times as much work to do as there was when the complaint was 
first made. A lot of good might often be done by the board’s superintendent 
seeking information from residents along the different roads, as these people 
might often note circumstances which if known to that gentleman might save 
a lot of labour and expense to the board. These persons being always on the 
spot have opportunities for seeing things which it is impossible for the superin- 
tendent to see. There is just one other matter I would like to mention. The 
roads within the jurisdiction of our municipal and borough councils,. where 
they approach the boundaries, are, I think, in a more deplorable state than 
our divisional roads. One of the most popular ways of holiday-making by our 
townspeople is by taking a run out into the country, and, in my opinion, it 
would be far better for the community in general if both town and country 
