D.—l

An analysis of the expenditure by the Board and by local authorities on actual maintenance, as distinct from interest on loans and other overhead charges, is shown in the tabulation below. The tabulation has been subdivided to show the expenditure on the primary and secondary systems :—

An examination of the contributions of local authorities towards the cost of maintenance of main highways shows that there have been very large reductions in the past two years. For the year 1930-31 the local authorities found about £58,000 less than for the year 1929-30. In 1931-32 the contribution of the local authorities was further reduced by £102,271, making a total reduction in two years of over £160,000 in spite of the fact that the mileage of highways has been slightly increased in the meantime. The total contribution by local authorities towards the cost of the maintenance of the primary highways for the year under review is £162,232, as compared with £235,688 for 1930-31. In the case of the secondary highways the contribution was £53,336, compared with the sum of £82,151 for the previous year. The contribution of the local authorities to the complete highway system was therefore reduced from £317,839 to £215,568. In 1930-31 the cost of maintenance of all highways was shared between the Board and the local authorities in the ratio of 73-3 per cent, to 26-7 per cent. In 1931-32 the percentages were 79-8 and 20-2 respectively. The change was brought about by the increase in the Board's standard maintenance subsidy from £2 for £1 to £3 for £1 from the Ist April, 1931. The following tabulation shows the amount which has been provided by the Board and the local authorities for expenditure on both construction and maintenance of main highways during the eight years the Board has been in operation :—

The figures in the above tabulation exclude indirect charges such as supervision, interest, &c., but include the cost of earthquake restoration. An analysis of the actual expenditure on maintenance by the Board in each Island, as compared with the number of motor-vehicles in each Island, at the 31st March of each year since the inception of the main-highways scheme gives the following results, expressed in percentages of the Dominion totals :—

8*

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I i r> 4. Percentage RnarH , a ! Local j P ® r l e^ e Local" Pnntrihntinn Authorities' Total. n , s . Authorities' ! Contribution. ! Contribut . on : Contribution Contributjon to TotaL to Total. (1) Primary system — | £ £ i £ North Island .. .. 424,502 104,585! 529,087 80-23 19-77 South Island .. .. 246,667 57,647; 304,314 81-05 18-95 . 671,169 162,232 j 833,401 80-53 19-47 (2) Secondary system — North Island .. .. 104,892 31,907 136,799 76-68 23-32 South Island .. .. 73,673 21,429 j 95,102 77-47 22-53 178,565 53,336 231,901 77-00 23-00 (3) Complete system— North Island .. .. 529,394 136,492 665,886 79-50 20-50 South Island .. .. 320,340 79,076 399,416 80-20 19-80 849,734 215,568 1,065,302 79-76 20-24 I

1924-25. 1925-26. 1926-27. 1927-28. 1928-29. 1929-30. 1930-31. I 1931-32. I ££££££££ Maintenance by Board .. 123,675 279,404 438,762 523,581 756,3991,049,249 872,577 849,734 Maintenance by local authorities 110,001 185,015 276,349 269,065 284,526 375,849 317,839 215,568 Construction by Board.. .. 222,422 421,880 540,362 449,904 936,1481,007,957 667,902 361,969 Construction by local authorities 80,000 142,761 255,860 262,538 214,155 203,148 150,984 94,973 Totals .. .. 536,098 1,029,060' 1,511,333 1,505,088 2,191,228 2,636,203 2,009,302 1,522,244 . ; I l I i

' 1924-25. 1925-26. 1928-27. 1927-28. j 1928-29. 1929-30. 1930-31. 1931-32. North Island— Maintenance expenditure .. .. 64-49 65-27 64-86 67-51 66-13 62-30 59-23 62-31 Motor-vehicles .. .. .. 60-90 61-41 61-86 62-19 63-08 63-63 63-84 63-77 South Island— Maintenance expenditure .. .. 35-51 34-73 35-14 32-49 33-87 37-70 40-77 37-69 Motor-vehicles .. .. .. 39-10 38 '59 38-14 37-81 36-92 36-37 36-16 36-23