CORRESPONDENCE.

Waikato Times, Volume V, Issue 272, 7 February 1874, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

£\Ve do not necessarily endorse the optmons expressed by our correspondent*.]

The 'bllowing letter hu been addreMedt to his Honor the, SupHruitenuent : — ,

I (To the Editor of the Waikato Times) w _ 5Tc SLomA, Ngaruavridiiti, i „ J«nuarv jr. 187-t. Si*,— The JN*>tfp«*fcle District Board have requited me to addreai you on ttie subject of the road between N^arua* wahia and Alexandra. That it )» impossible for the Bonrds of the two districts, 'Viz-: Mangapiko and Newcastle, through which the road' runs, to makp it in a [ £ 'pw manner, ii a,fact patent to every ono jsrlio has; .giyen* it thu Si'igliWst conkideration, whilst the absolute necessity for itv construction is »-quafJy obvious. Settlement' in 'the parts of these, districts through which the ' road runs has "been for «qm?' years retarded — I might almost say prevented— -through the absence of any road by which accesr can vbe had 'to the' land, or by which, if the land were occupied, supplies could be obtained or the produce of the farms* conveyed to market. The Waipa river, though available during a great part of the year for those settlers who livo within • short distance of its dourse, is not navigable during the summer months, and is .at all times comparatively useless to the inland settlors. . i The, creek* on tho portion of the road which lies in the Newcastle district have been bridged with, temporary bridges — for none of them can be called pormiuiant works — and a portion of the road was formed by the Armed Constabulary, but tbo remaining portion, running as it doc* over a Bucoeasion of hills, and requiring many cuttings And embankraents, cannot possibly bo made by the District Board. I am of opinion, and liave also been informed by the Government District Engineer, thai, the road as laid out over these lulls is about the most injudicious 1 line that could have been selected, and that a much easier and le»s expensive one could be formed. But. this would entail a»f exponditnre for surveying and obtaining the necessary land for the new road, and the necessary Government authorisation of the same, which this Board cannot incur, nnd which appears to them should, as well as tbe construction of the road, be undertaken by the Government, General or Provincial. This road is not only the direct line of communication between Ngaruawahia and Alexandra, but ia &lao, a* far as Woata Wuata, the mail road to Raglan. i Great dissatisfaction and inconvenience have also been ' caused by the disjonl,is nance of the mail between Ngaruawahia and Alexandra via Whata Whata, and this Board trusts that yon will us? your influence with the chief postmaster at Auckland to have this mail re-eitablished. The Newcastle District Board confidently hopes that your honor will, taking intD consideration tbe great importance of thi» road as a mean* of mad communication and | setHemeni, and also as ft defensive mpasuro, either c&uio the ! same to be made from Provinciul funds, or, if you are of | opinion that it should movu properly be considered a General j Govornnjent "work, impress upon tVw Miuister for Public | Works the great desirability of its being at once undertaken by him. I have the honor to bo, sir, ,Your obedient servant, Thomas Wilson, Chairman NewcaitleJDiitrict Board. His Honbr The Supeiidtendent, Auckland.

Referring to the increasing importance, in the home country, of New Zealand, a wrr.ter.in tho Nelson Examiner sayo : — "1 was looking over fcijo adveitis.ng columns of the London Times, of the 24 h October, and I there saw a lilt of ships at present eugagpd, or nbonfc shortly to be engaged in the Now Zealand trade. And how many do you bupposo there were? You might ajiswqr with a cortain amount of surprise at your own rashnem, ' Five and twenty, but you would bo far under the mark, aiul 1 su«oect I should haro (o tell you several tiuie« to gutra again be lore you srrired^nt '{he actual number, which wua finy-fonr. Nor are they small insignificant bouU, lor tuo iwnuagb lau^s from 791, the lowest to 2500, the highest, Not bod this for England's voiujgett colony^ which, when the last oen>ns was taken, did not ijnrriber more, than » quarter of a million of souls. Of 'the vessels named lix are now building fbr the Otago trade cippoially. They ».a to. be 12<XMon>. e-»oh, ■sod will be n imed ■;i'c«poptively the Auckland, Canterbury, Wellington, Neleor, Uunediri, and luVercarpill. Not* Zr»ii)nnd. tnmt be somewhat bpt(flr known ab home than it wa» aaew years ago, when such aiifefcii isadvertisod in our Lon^ou'nownpapers ii required | fo/ j^f 2 trade with tho homo country."