and moreover such a line wd. necessarily leave all the good part of the seventy mile Bush, which according to our theory is to pay for the Railroad - It would also necessitate crossing over Puketoi range to effect a junction with the West Coast Manawatu line - For the life of me I cannot conceive how such a notion could get into anybody's head - I know the country well and have looked over it many a time - The second proposal of a line on the West side of the Puketoi range is much less silly - But a line there would pass through a much more broken and hilly country and would not open anything like as fine a district whilst there is no object in going there. So much for the lines - The next part of the instructions I strongly object to is - that Weber is directed to lay out the line not with a view to its being used for a Railway line but only as a road the words used are "only to a small extent" and as gradients of 1 in 13 are named a very indifferent road too - Now my opinion is that if these instructions are to be acted on it is better to postpone all work in the 70 mile Bush until the Assembly has settled the guestion of the Railway - for to fell a line of road through that forrest for some 35 miles (which is about the distance to the Gorge of Rua Tanewha) and as soon as that was done to arrange for a Railway and have to fell another 35 miles seems to me