The Dunstan Times CLYDE FRIDAY. APRIL 11 1884.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1154, 11 April 1884, Page 2

The Dunstan Times

CLYDE FRIDAY. APRIL 11 1884.

Beneath the rule of men entirely Jus* The pen I* ralfhtltc that the eword.

The i»port ol the County Engineer on the Wnikaia Bush trackis.a very valuable document. It emanates Irotn a rel able authority such as th° Gov.rnment can hardly ventuT • to treat with carelessness or neglect such as has Issen shown to a!) previous remouptences on the subj.c’. The ground has now bo n carefully gone over and examined by a e impotent professions I engineer, who surely must.be tnoie s'de to render a, coc ect estimate tlian was furnished by Mr Gordin. T e frightful bogs wuioh, as seen by tha> gent e nan fbr ugh a foot of snow., were of supposed uiifHh-.mable depth, turn out. under Mr' Macoe irok’s more careful a d trustworthy inspi o tion to be only shallow, swamps ol , f-om twelve to eighteen,-inches in I depth, with a took,bottom. The spur by which the track is connected with Ihe main road does not present the formidable obstae'es which Mr Gor» Don beheld in his imagination. Mr ■I acgeorge reports that is only about fivo . miles in ,- length and most •• tohrabl.y good graft* can be obtained toiiti very UttU ittndiiurfi. lii many plac*‘s,” ho says, it will only be nece-sary to clear off the spear grass, snow glass, etc., in order that a good bullock track may be made ” He>e is ♦be difference in value between the two conflicti-g reports. Mr Gordon wants to make provision for a coa"b road; the County Engineer, better Roquiiinted with ,the needs of the dis'rict, and , tie kind of traffic to be provided for, lays out a bullock track. And as a crowning confusion to the Government officer, bis assertion that the difficulties in making a road are insuperable, are confuted bv the simple fact, ieported by Mr Mac oeoroe, that even in the present co i dition of the track, bullock teams have carted heavy crushing machinery up > he Shingle Creek spur to the Alpim reef at the top of the. Old Man llange. and at. least one team has been .town to the Bush and brought up a load of timber to the same reef; This' should he enough to satisfy the authorities of the practicability of the track. And ; now that the County Council ha off.-red to undertake all the respoosibi ity of constructing it, provided the £2OOO voted for . the purpose is handed over to it; hj Wins' impos-Me for the Minislet to refuse bis Consent Ihe benefit «>f obtaioi g access i.6 the Waiknia Bush can hj idly be overestimated. We need not remind oik read rs of the stimulus which a feidy supply of timber would give to the gold-mining industry- The pro-pect-ing now , going on in the Old Man Kange would be immensely benefitte 1. Moreover, the settlers, who require timberior fencing «nd idler purposes would immediately feel the value of the boon which ’ cheaper and more eisily procured timber won'd prove to be. Every class in the common twould reap a gain, directly or "indirectly. The value of the timber in tins bush is very great' It consists principally of red birch—one of the in st usetul wo ds that bur foies'* supply. Mr Gordon set down the men at-ight square inies. We felt convinced at’the time of reading his report that he had made an underestimate. The County Engineer puts it at from 40 ..to 60 square miles, of which -from' -15. .to--20f;aquacft mdes would ba rendered available' bv this road.” Here then there is t valuable

State property, which in being gradually destroyed by fire every vear. Taking the lowest estimate given by the Engineer—*o square miles—as the total area, this is equal to upwards of 26,000 acr sof fores. Putting the value of the timber down at no more than £IOO per acre, which is a low estimate, we hat e in tnis bush pu lie property of the value of two and alialf mil ions. Of this one-half would be opened up by the roiH ; for want of which, timber worth £1,2 0,000 is going to waste, because the Government will not expend a paltry sum of £‘2ooo. This is taking care of the public estate with a vengeance 1