(To the Editor.)

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 188, 14 September 1871, Page 6

(To the Editor.)

Sttj, — I offer no apology in trespassing on your valuable space, on a subject that deeply interests the welfare of the province, viz., our roads. I need scarcely- tell you that good roads are the making of any country. Many of our public roads are a disgrace to any civilised country. I had the pleasure of reading lately in your paper a very good letter as to the state of the Dunstan road. I may here state that if we had not been favoured with an un usual by fine winter, this road would have been quite impassable. Lfit mo instance what your humble servant was an eve witness to a fortnight ago, only on that small portion of the road from the Beaumont to Evans Flat. If there can be any comparison made in any particular portion of this road, I should say it is almost as bad as bad can be. On coming over the saddle, I first met one of the Beaumont drays stuck hard and fast ; but as it wa3 near its desti-nation,-the drayman sent for extra cattle. At the bottom of the hill was Cobb ard Co.'s -Royal Mail Coach, which, had broken down with the bad roads a day or two previous. Ou looking inside, I found it "full of Chinamen. John seemed to be quite at home, having converted th« mail coach into a Chinese cimo. Within two miles of Evan-? Flat was a bullock team, drawn by six staunch bullocks, as the driver termed them ; the dray was sunk in a rut up to the bushes of the wheels, with only an ordinary load ; and all the thrashing and " come hither" seemed. to be of no avail to extricate it from its position. If the country is to be -shut up through bad roads, what is to become of our towns, and where is the trade for our railways ? Much as I glory in seeing the steam horse, we must not lose sight of our roads. I trust that at least a sma.ll portion of the two hundred thousand to be expended annually will be devoted to this purpose, and that the state of our public roads may be represented in its true colours through the champion for the neople, viz.. a free press, until something is done to repair their present condition. It is really pitiful to see the thrashings poor animals are subjected to in order to get thsm along, and the imprecations uttered against the Government by those who have to work their way along those roads, is enough to bring down a judgment on the province. The only contented man that I had a conversation with on this subject was Mr. Rae of the Junction Hotel. He gfcatgs fcbat oppqsjfcg his. hpuse it js leyel

as a boiling green, and ha trusts to see the good old English game of cricket played there shortly ; but I am afraid, Mr. Editor, it will be rather a muddy one. The present state of our roads is dangerous to life and property. On Wednesday, very much to my surprise, the mail coach mado its appearance at rather a late hour at the Tuapeka creek (or I should rather say river, as it assumed # moro the appearance of a river than a creek, after the continuous rain we have had for two days and nights). I expected to see the mail carried on horseback, but had no expectation of seeing a coach ; but the coachman's motto eeoms to be " Perseverance ! " Well, we had the coachman shouting out for pilot Hopkins of the Thistle Hotel, to give him the bearings of the river, which was done, and Hughy set sail for the opposite side, the two passengers coming over the footbridge — one of the gentlemen without a hat, which he had left in the Beaumont creek ; but the sequel will follow — they both looked as if they had had a good bath. I must say, unless the horses had been of the right metal and thoroughly staunch, they must have been floated down the river, as the water was gushing in at the windows. On further conversation with the passengers, one of the gentlemen told me he was so thankful that his wife and child did not accompany him, as was proposed in starting from the Dunstan. It appears in crossing the Beaumont creek some three or four feet of the approach had got washed away ; the coachman was not aware of this, and the water running high at the time, nothing could be seen, and the coach came down with a sudden bound, which launched both gentlemen head foremost into the river, the current carrying them some distance; but as both were swimmers, they struck out for land, which they soon reached ; but in a bitter cold night a bath of this kind is anything but comfortable. No blame could be atfriahcd to the coachman. On the driver reaching the opposite side, he found his passengers were gone, and on looking behind he could see two heads in the river making for land, so he concluded they must have been either washed out or thrown out. The passengers were equally alarmed, on reaching land, for the safety of the coachman. The gentleman who was minus the hafc told me that he had been a seafaring man for seven years, but this was the first occasion on which he had to swim with his clothes on to save his life. So ended an accident which might have been attended with serious consequences, had not both gentleman boon good swimmers. I may here add that discretionary power ought to be left to the coachman, especially an old servant, to leave the coach behind in such weather. The. travelling public maybe too eager and the company over willing to convey I passengers to their destination at tLe risk of life and property. There are ruts in this road two or' thres feet deep. bullock teams are not able to drag along, what may we expect of our spring carts and fancy carnages? — Yours, &c, A Subsceibeb. Evans Flat, 4th September.