THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 1871.

Grey River Argus, Volume XI, Issue 966, 31 August 1871, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 1871.

To-night a public meeting will bd held in accordance with a letter received from the County Chan man, to ascertain the wishes of the inhabitants as to the most desirable route for a road from Marsden to Greymouth, and as there is a considerable diversity of opinion on the subject, we will endeavor to point out the leading fpat r ™"» ""fi 'f* :J ~ ' " "'" It must be premised that the above road is portiou of the great main trunk line from Greymouth to Ross, and will be Westland's portion of the expenditure under the Public Works and Immigration Act. It has already been decided that the road shall be made as far as Marsden from Hokitika, and the necessary surveys have been made, but having arrived thus far the question arose whether it should I be carried on via the Omotumotu Creek or by the great south road, better known by the name of Tainui street, and here arose the difficulty. It had been settled by the General Government that Dr Knight, the Auditor-General, should visit Westland and report generally upon its wants, aud accordingly he did so, and in his first report to the Hon. Mr Gisborne he says:— "In reference to the instructions requiring me to report, after consultation with the County Chairman, on what expenditure can be authorised on roads in Westland under the 'Public Roads Act, 1870,' I have the honor to report that I suggested to the County Chairman that we should recommend the General Government to take* over the Christchurch road and the trunk road between Stafford Town and Pounamu, to improve these roads, and extend the Stafford road to Grey River on the north, and to Arahura River on the south." Mr Hoos was Chairman at this time, and in his letter to Dr Knight, dated November 14, 1870, he says :— " J*o. 5, if constructed, would materially interfere with a tramway constructed by' private enterprise," and he then recommends that the tramway line should be purchased, and converted into a dray road, and accordingly Dr Knight recommends that the tramway alluded to, which is from the Arahura to Stafford Town, and is not the best paying speculation, should be. purchased, at the same time throwing cold wafer on a line recommended by the County Council, but objected to by the County Chairman. Dr Knight then goes on to say, after alluding to the road from Pounamu (Greenstone) to Marsden:— "This road is urgently required, and should be continued from Marsden to the New River, where the Cock-a-Bulla Creek joins it, and from thence by the Limestone Saddle and the Omotumotu Creek to Greymouth, and thus connect the Waimea and Pounamu districts with the town of Greymouth. A line has been surveyed by Mr Rochfort, and a Committee of the County Council has recommended the Omotumotu route,' as there are no engineering difficulties in the way. Marsden is already connected with Greymouth by private tramways : that of Hamilton aud Co., from Marsden to Paroa, and that of Kilgour, from Paroa to Greymouth. These tramways have considerably reduced the cost of carriage of goods tv the Gold Fields between Greymouth and Marsden. Both of them are protected for ten years, under regulations published in the County Gazette. The entire distance of the proposed line from Marsden to Greymouth is 12 miles ; if the road is made 10 -feet wide, its construction would cost about J9OOO, or, if 14 feet wide, ill,400." He then says, after alluding, to the Coal Pits road and the Maori Gully track :—" A Committee of the Council has recommended that a dray road should be constructed from the boundary of the Borough of Greymouth to the Arnold Junction. This road is niucb needed, but it seems useless to

attempt to make it on the banks of .the Grey, as the first flood tftight carry portions of it away. The line proposed is laid down in the map. Some time since a movement was made to form a company to work the coat mines and construct a railway or tramway to Greymouth ; but up to the present time no definite arrangements have been entered into, owing, I believe, to the- question of annexation to Nelson having interfered. This vexed question having been shelved for the present, has led to proposals being again made to the County authorities for a right to work the coal fields, and to construct a way from the pits to Greymouth." Meanwhile a new King had ascended the the County throne, and accordingly Mr Lahman recommends, in a letter to the Hon. Mr Gisborne, dated February 13, 1871 :<— " That in case the whole of this main road (from Greymoiith to Ross) could not be made at once, the road from Hohonu to Marsden, and from Hokitika to Ross, should be made first, which would complete the communication between Greymouth and. Ross, via Hokitika, as there is a private tramway from Marsden to Greymouth, and from Arahura to Stafford, and would also open up new country, and would, to a great extent, facilitate permanent settlement." , The result of this was the visit of Dr Hector and Mr Blackett to the West Coast, who recommended as follows by , telegram to Mr Gisborue :— " Hokitika, 7th June, 3871. — Roads. — After conference, we recommend trunk road as follows : — Greymouth by Omotumotu, Marsden,' Nemona, Hohonu, Goldsborough, Stafford, Hokitika, Kanieri, to Rosa, by ; inland line, with junction line from four miles north of Goldsborough to Christchurch road, at fifteenth mile of above. Following portions require survey at • once, to obtain estimates : — Marsden to Hohonu, 6 miles ; junction with Christchurch road, 6 miles ; Stafford to A rahura Bridge, 3£ miles ; section of Ross road, 14 miles." This is the whole of the information furnished by the last Parliamentary paper to hand ; but when it was decided that, this road should be made by way of the Omotumotu Creek, there was nothing settled about the railway from the Coal Pits. It was believed at the time that it would come down at the north' side of the Grey River, but it is now settled that it shall come down on the south side, and the question arises whether we shall have a road and a railway running side by side for some distance, or have a road entering one portion of the town, and a railway the other. We have already, shown by Dr Knight!s report that a road alongside the banks of the Grey is liable at any time to be washed away, while at the same time the gradients from Marsden to the Omotumotu, via the 1 Limestone, must be rather awkward. The subject of tramways must now be looked at, and if we read , the various Act rightly, it .was never intended, that a private tramway should interfere with a publio road. But there is something very remarkable about this tramway view of the case. Mr Hoos recommends that the Government should purchase the unprofitable Stafford Town tramway, but nothing is said about the Marsden or Greymouth tramways, or of the advisability of con - slructing a road that would interfere with these profitable undertakings. Nor can it ever be supposed' that a district shall bej ' blocked up ; that a mononoiv of miles o years without anything being done to open it up or make roads, simply because it would interfere in some way or another with ; a tramway. This, certainly, was never intended by any Government. It is contended that the road via Omotumotu would be the greatest benefit to the mining •ommunity ; that it would decrease the cost of conveyance, and give miners an advantage in communicating with various parts of the country. Bnt then it is questionable, even if the road on the banks of the Grey River was constructed, that it could compete with the railway in the conveyance of goods, &c. The trucks would have to leave Greymouth comparatively empty, and therefore could afford to carry goods up to the Coal Pits at very low rates, and it might reasonably be presumed few miners, travelling to or coming from the Arnold District, would care to avail themselves of the road while they could reach their destination by rail at a small outlay. The two terminuses at the same end of the town would only bsnefit that portion, while if the road was diverted, it would promote settlement and benefit both the east and west ends. The road from Marsden to the Limestone and Welshman's will be the same whether it is carried on to Omotumotu Creek or the great south road, but in one case, when made, t will cost little or nothing for maintenf nee ; in the other, from the i r ery nature of he country, it will prove a constant source I of outlay. Should it be decided that the road be made via Omotumotu Creek, the town will of a necessity ask for a district road by way of Tainui street and Saw? yer'a Creek to join the main road in that direction. Much can ■be said pn both sides of this vexed question, and on fuller re-consideration of the matter, despite the instructions of the Government to survey the road via the Omotumoto Valley, the County Chairman has been induced to seek the advice of those most interested in the undertaking, namely the residents in Greymouth. It must not be forgotten that the whole country between the Grey and the Greenstone is more or less auriferous, and it is best to make a road as direct as possible which would benefit property, promote settlement, and open up new country, and make a road through a district that would unquestionably divert any traffic which now passes through Greymouth from Hokitika, Greenstone, the New River, the South Beach to the Grey Valley Diggings, and send it direct via the Omotumotu Creek.