THE WEST COAST.

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 352, 8 March 1861, Page 2

THE WEST COAST.

The following account has been given in to the Superintendent by Mr. Maling, of the Survey Office, who was sent by the Provincial Government to report on the practicability of forming a road to the Grey River on the WesD Coa^t, by way of the Clarence River:— To his Honor the Superintendent, Nelson. Sir— l have the honor to furnish you wttli ftre«

port of the country between the River Clarence and the head of tho Grey. After reaching' the Clarence, I tried a pass about nine miles below Inke Tennyson, leading westward, and fallowed the stream to its source in a low saddle about five miles up ; but, owing to tho difference in the levels of the Wai-au-ua and Clarence rivers, I found the descent to the stream running into the Wai-au-ua too steep to take ou? pack horse down; we were therefore obliged to" return, and follow down the Clarence till we came to the pass by. which Messrs. M'Rae and Bui sill reached the Wai-au-ua last year. We found it rather swampy in places for the first five miles, but after that the valley became more contracted, and towards the Wai-au-ua, it was a perfect, gorge, which rendered travelling extremely difficult. •On taking a ;'ood look at the country, I saw that it would be useless to attempt to take our horse any further, so Mr. Wright returned with it to Tarndale, whilst Stewart, Winter, and myself, after dividing our loads, aud seeing that there was no possibility offinding a road down the Wai-au-ua, followed up that river to its junction with the Henry, and thence by our old road, to the grass flat reached by Mr. Lewis and myself last year. We were detained here for two days by heavy rain, which made the river too high for us to cross; but as the river fell on the third day, we started down the Boyle, crossing, or rather wading down it nearly tlie whole way (five miles and a-half), on account of the thick growth of wild-irishmen, Spaniards, and spear-grass, which grow on either bank, entirely preventing or making any progress. At the j unction of the Boyle and Lewis vsp found Mr. Hapdyside, who informed me that these two rivers, instead of running into the Grey, as had always been supposed, form the river Hope, which runs into the "Wai-au-ua about seven miles above Hanmer plain. This I soon found to be the case, for, on following down the river for about three miles, to the junction of a large stream called the Doubtful, flowing from the westward, and having ascended a low hill, 1 could see the course of the Wai-au-ua for several miles, running almost eastward. Owing to the thick fog which remained in the Doubtful'valley for several days, I was unable to follow it up, but I feel almost certain that there will eventually, be found a pass into the valley of the Ahaura. As my main object was to endeavour to find a road to the Grey, I determined to follow up the Wai-au-ua, in the hope offinding some break through the great mountain range which might lead to the Grey. After ascending the Wai-au-ua for about four miles, we came to a large stream, and as it looked open, and in the right direction, we followed it up to its source—about nine miles, when we were brought up by a great range of mountains, the lowest part of which was about 2000 feet high. As it was the only place where it was possible to ascend, we set to and clambered up the best way we could; about half-way up the hill consisted of a mass of loose shingle, which made it almost dangerous to attempt it; but as this wa9 the only place where we could get a view of the country, we renewed our efforts, and at last reached the summit. The view which we obtained from the top of this hill was well worth all our trouble in reaching it. At the foot of the Hill was a lake (hitherto unknown) from which the Grey takes its rise. Its length is about four miles, and width about threequarters of a mile; from the color of the water it must be of great depth. A very high range rises on the western side of the lake, on the other side of which I could distinguish the pass through which Mr. James Mackay's track runs; and to tire south-west it was not difficult to follow the winding course of the Grey valley, and further south could be seen the mountain ranges which hound the valley of the Ahaura. As I have now tried every pass likely to lead to the Grey, I am satisfied that there is no possibility of making a road to that river, to strike Mr. Mackay's track, north of the Ahaura. From the general features of the country, I believe that the route discovered by Mr. James Mackay will be the best, as it i 3 so much lower than any that can be found by the Wai-au-ua. If it is the intention of the Government to make a road to the Grey, it would be advisable to send some person down Mr. Mackay's track, who should carefully go over the road to see if there were any means of shortening it, as I see in Mr. Mackay's report that lie believes there are many places, by which, if any person had time to explore them, the road might'be:considerably shortened by taking it over some low hills, instead"of following round the river. A-road may eventually be discovered from Hanmer plain to the West Coast by way of the Doubtful, aud thence down the Ahaura; but as so little is known of the latter valley, I cannot give the slightest idea what a road would cost. There is uot much difficulty with regard to the Doubtful, for even in its present state horses have been taken to that river. I' ll&YC &C. Nelson, February 2.8. C.' MALING.

" Guardians op the Night."—William May and Joseph Bradcock, extra night constables for' the care of the Gunpowder Depot, were reprimanded by the Resident Magistrate yesterday, for having been found asleep at their post, while invested with this important charge, than which in the present uncertain time nothing can require more care and watchfulness.

Reversing Things.—The following extract from the Lyttelton Tikes will show that while many are advising the introduction of this stock, Mr. George Rich is about to export from New Zealand 38 merino sheep to Rambouillet for the fctjuiperor"Napoleon:—"ln addition to the valuable cargo which forms the Mermaid's freight this year, particulars of which are fully given elsewhere, we observe that there have been shipped 38 of Mr. George Rich's first class merino sheep, consisting of 28 rams and 10 ewes. Some of these are,intended for the breeding establishment of the Emperor Napoleon at Rambouillet,' according to the arrangement concluded with Baron Daurier by Mr. Rich on his visit there in 1859. The remainder are for the improvement of Mr. Rich's own establishment in England. As tho sheep are under the care of persons thoroughly conversant with their management on a voyage, there is every reason to believe that they will arrive safely at their destination, and obtain for Mr. Rich, who has himself gone home, the recompense he merits in the full appreciation of.the admirable qualities of his New Zealand bred flock by those who are well able to form an opinion."