THE INANGAHUA ROAD.

Westport Times, Volume IV, Issue 734, 8 November 1870, Page 2

THE INANGAHUA ROAD.

The " Grey Valley Times " is strong in its advocacy of "the formation of a road to the Murray Creek from that end, and winds up rather quaintly in the following article on tho subject. It says : —" It now appears that notwithstanding all the efforts of the Westport people, backed up by the engineering acumen of Mr Dobson, to the contrary, that a large proportion of the traffic to the Murray Creek Goldfields must of necessity continue to pass through the Grey Valley, and that if the business people of Greymouth and the Valley will only pull together in the matter of a subscription, for the purpose of placing the upper track in decent repair, at least two-thirds of the traffic to the reefs could be secured to this district before the close of the ensuiug summer. We have it on good authority that from £BOO to £IOOO judiciously expended would amply suffice to construct a permanent highway from the Little Grey Junction to the Saddle, which, when completed, would bring tho inhabitants of the Inangahua within about 55 miles of Greymouth and 35 miles of the Ahaura, the distance from the reefs to Westport beiug something like 70 miles. The great peculiarities of the two routes are, that the residents of Westport are dependent almoafc entirely upon two rapid and dangerous rivers—the Inangahua and Bullcr—as a means of communication with the people of the Saddle. It is well known that boiib these rivers are at certain seasons of the year impassable for weeks together, and that even under the most favorable circumstances navigation is carried on with great difficulty and risk, which at once precludes the thought of their ever being used°oxtensively as a means of communication. The idea of a dray-road from Westport to Murray's Creek is too Utopian to entertain for a moment. One salient advantage which the Upper Grey Valley offersis its agriculture and its pasturage. Our Westport neighbors will perhaps scarcely credit the fact that horse-feed is sold at the Little Grey Junction nearly twenty per cent, less than it can be purchased on the wharf at Westport. As the road will be used principally by packers, this is no mean advantage which this district possesses over its neighbor, and should the people on this side only exercise a reasonable amount of vigilance and display a little energy, there is no doubt that our commercial relations with Murray's Creek district will be satisfactorily maintained. It appears that a very enthusiastic meeting recently held at Westport, for the purpose of urging upon the Government the necessity of opening up the Inangahua country, one of the principal arguments used in favor of the Buller Valley route being adopted was, that this Province would then get the sole benefit derivable from the imposition of customs duties upon goods consumed at Murray Creek; whereas if the goods were landed at Greymouth, the Province would only get half the duties levied. This is, no doubt, a very specious argument; but, should the Grey Valley people bestir themselves, as wo have reason to believe they will, and take such steps as will at once command tho Murray Creek trade, there is no reason why the Westport people should not agitate for a corresponding reduction in the customs staff, or urgo the abolition of Westport altogether as a port of entry."