THE Bay of Plenty times.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume IV, Issue 351, 19 January 1876, Page 2

THE Bay of Plenty times.

"THE SPIRIT OF THE TIMES SHALL TEACH ME SPEED." KING JOHN, ACT IV.

"Wednesday, January 19, 1876

The maintenance of roads in ' thp Bay of Plenty District is becoming a very formidable question. A great part of the summer has passed, and even as Aye write a warning is sounding in our ears of a winter- to come; and yet what has been done ? In August or September last, the Government

decidod to maintain existing ;roadsiby the "labour 'of' tile Armed; Constabulary in the Bay, of Plenty -District; (since that time v?e have refrained with unparalleled, patience from criticising either the action of the Government or the non-action of the Force/but now we consider it time to speak but. To begin with the road between Opotiki and Ormond. "We find on enquiry that out of a Force of some seventy men stationed in the Opotiki District, fourteen have been spared to proceed with the works on that road under the command of a Sub-Inspector and two non-commissioned officers. Making a most liberal allowance for the requirements of the postal service, for officers' servants, for staff sergeants, and every other requirement of the most exigent red tapeist, we cannot but think that the drones very largely predominate. It has been almost logically demonstrated to us that it would take fourteen men of the English navvy type three years to complete the road as designed ; we, therefore, can scarcely even hope to live to see the' completion of the work by the Armed Constables. .On the same road-line, the contractors for blasting rock has been kept idle since September last, and by the terms of his contract, we are given to understand, that he has a fair case for substantial damages against the Government, which, . if true, we trust he will proceed with. We may mention that this road was commenced in 1872 by the Messrs Simpson; the distance between Opotiki and Ormond is between 80 and 90 miles, and a sum of between three and four' thousand pounds has been already expended.on the works ; notwithstanding which large outlay, a gentleman some few weeks ago was within' an ace of losing his life from the absence of any description of a road ! But this is not an exceptional case. A detachment of the same gallant force as in the former instance is employed on the Tauranga and Katikati Road : this detachment consists of one full private and one wheelbarrow,* immediately. . commanded by a first-class sergeant who resides on the spot, and commanded from Tauranga by an' lnspector and sevoral other officers, commissioned and non-commissioned. In common with almost every one who has had an opportunity of judging, we cannot but recognise the very great services that have been performed by the Armed Constabulary when required in active warfare : we will concede that there is.no £ finer body of men in the world : their physique is bound to be perfect, or they would not be enlisted ; their urbanity is proverbial ; they are all 3 r oung, and therefore energetic, and each individual is an athlete ; and yet while panting for action, and one shilling extra a day, they are the Blaves of the Instructor of Musketry. If, as we are led to believe, there is no further fear of a war with the natives, why not drop playing at soldiering, and employ these valuable men on public works ? But let us do it with a will ; no half measures will answer. They are sufficiently trained for any warfare in, New Zealand ; let us for a time abandon the rifLe and bayonet, and train our men in the use of the pick and the shovel ; let us neither play at soldiers nor at navvies. Our soldiers would be no less soldiers after a few months real hard work if, unfortunately, they 'were required again to take the field — a most unlikely contingency indesd. Under the present conditions Engineers in charge. of districts must be completely at the mercy of officers commanding districts for the labour they require ; and we know well . instances where many hundreds of pounds have been lost simply because Engineers could not get constables placed immediately on road repairs, owing to orderly room red-tapeism. In order to maintain the popularity of the Force, all officers should endeavour to work en accord, with the District Engineers, and they should be especially careful in future only to enlist men who have not an aversion to manual labor ; and above all, remember that they are not officers of a standing army, x>riviloged to idleness in times of peace. "We do not blame the Inspector commanding the Opotiki District for the absurdly small gang placed at the . disposal of the Public Works Department for works on the Opotiki and Ormond Road, but rather the rigime which necessitates the perpetration of the absurdity. Inspector Goring, than whom the Armed' Constabulary Force does not number within its ranks a better officer, . of course receives his instructions from Wellington, and has to show in his returns a certain amount' of musketry instruction. But musketry instruction simply means hundreds of "pounds of unnecessary expenditure to the Public Works Department in loss of time and in other waj^s, besides which, as before-

*[j?ince the abnve was in type we learn, (hat' nine men havegono on to this work — in faofc went y.esterday. morning.-r— Ed.]^

remarked, for all - purposes *of New Zealand fighting, . the men. are quite efficient enough, and the:- sooner this; musketry instruction is doaej away with the better. We earnestly: draw the attention of the Defence Office* to this matter, and trust that we shall not again feel compelled to advert to similar causes of hindrance to public works. The District Engineers throughout the North Island are crying aloud for laboiir ; and 'they must have it — aye, and have it shorn of orderly room red tape. .

On the 11th- ultimo it was : our painful duty to announce the occurrence of most disastrous floods throughout the Bay of Plenty, the effects of which were more particularly felt in the neighbourhood of Opotiki, where bridges <£&., other public works were destroyed, and where settlers had, in some instances, to leave their houses. On a recent visit to Ojjotiki, we greatly admired the substantial nature of the bridge across the Waioeka Kiver, ,and i the smaller bridge over what is generally known as Wilson's Ford. Since oar visit, one of these indispenssable structures has been bodily carried away, and the other very seriously injured, by the recent floods. The bridge over "Wilson's Ford has been displaced and carried some distance down the stream, but we understand is not materially damaged, while the big bridge, commonly known as the "Waioeka ■ Bridge, is simply impassable for traffic, the "Western abutment having been completely carried away. "We would draw th.c attention of the Government to the necessity of repairing these bridges as soon as possible ; they are works of inconceivable public importance, and the cost of making good the damages would not be heavy. All who have resided in the Bay ofPlenty for any length of time, will remember vividly the heartrending deaths by drowning which have occurred in the Waioeka and the other rivers in the environs of Opotiki, and the tombstones in the old Opotiki cemetery most mournfully testify to the imperative necessity that existed for the erection of bridges across the most dangerous fords. Many a rising youth, the pride of his parents and of the settlement, has been cut off in his prime, engulfed in the treacherous waters of the Opotiki rivers, and thus lost to the Colony. After years of hope, and after persistent representations to theGovernment, the. Opotiki settlers at last succeeded in obtaining : that .justice which the Government . should have long before rendered them, and the bridges were substantially built. By reason of the injury done to these bridges, farming operations, which are very actively prosecuted in the Oxiotiki district, are hindered, transit of produce is impeded,' and! . hence perseverance — by the power of which, in the words of the immortal iJohnson, " Great works are performed"— is in danger of being damped. No where in the Bay of Plenty, and we might almost venture to assert, nowhere in the North Island, have hindrances to settlement been combatted, as they have been by the settlers of Opotiki : through good report and ' evil report, during the whole time of disquiet and uncertainty, accompanied by. constant guerrilla skirmishes which, but a few short, years ago were their lot, the settlers of Opotiki have stuck to their holdings, and the fruit of their perseverance is now being reaped in the magnificent land cultivated by them in the Otara and Waioeka Gorgeg. The hour of trial has clearly demonstrated that, when the settlers of Opotiki " take the humour of a thing once— they are like the tailor's needle— V^ they go through it." They do not, and never have, looked to Government expenditure to carry them through their difficulties : they have manfully, and with the true spirit of the pilgrim, fathers, put their, shoulders- to the wheel, and have emerged from comparative poverty to comparative affluence. The fact of the establishment.in their midst of a branch of the Bank of New Zealand, is a : sufficient' proof ' of the thrjtft of the settlers, . and will doubtless x in itself add ; materially to their ultimate prosperity. Taking all this into consideration, and Knowing; well how completely -the township of Opotiki is- cut off from the outside world by reason of its inaccessibility,. ,except by crossing rivers, the Government will be acting unfairly towards * the industrious settlers of that district if it defers making the necessary repairs to the bridges in question. We trust that such will not be the case. The District Engineer (Captain Turner) has lately been suffering from severe indisposition, and has, in consequence, been;- unable to 'personally visit' Opotiki- to ascertain ' tKe : extent of the damage '■■ caused by the recent floods and reportofficially thereon to the Minister for • Public Works.. We • can but hope > that this fact' has solely been . the - cause •■ of the bridges having ■ beeni

suffered, for so many weeks to remain unattended to, ancl tiiat ; as soon as Captain Turner is in. apposition to do so, lie will proceed. tb i Opotiki to insti- j tute the necessary steps^ for their reerection..