WHATAWHATA. (From our peripatetic correspondent.) (Continued from our last.)

Waikato Times, Volume XIV, Issue 1179, 17 January 1880, Page 3

WHATAWHATA. (From our peripatetic correspondent.) (Continued from our last.)

On the R»g'an country side of tho Waipa, thp cottage of Samuel No-a-ropi reminds the traveller, who re. visifs Wlmtawhata afcer a letiirtliened term of years, that the reaunfc of frieodly unlives is still ver\ respectably represented. Furthei south, the locations of Messis Mcl>ish Cowdery and Anderson are turning the desert into a graden. At Whatawhala, it, was our priviledge to meet John Fer*uso , Esq., an old, identity in Whatawhara a perfect repertory of loral knowledge, and a constant subject of reference <-ri a 1 matters of local .history. Me Ins resided in the place f>r thirty odd years, a« d may well be said to hive earned the distinguished tile of the oldest inhabitant, and to be called the father of Whatawhata. He possesses a fine farm, the fruits of his own energy. from him we learnt the history or Waipa and Raglan road. In i 858, the Provincial Council of Auckland voted £500 for this work, and the Superintendent, Mr Williamson, entrusted the work to three Raglan settlers, M- ssrs Johnson, Moon, and Stewart, who associated with themselves our informant, Mr Ferguson. These commissioners (for Highway Bea r's were not then in existenc. ) determ ned to open up a bridle track between Waite una crossing a- d the Wa'pa, and dd not dream of 3 nip rot ing the toads on their own farms. A living survey was held by Messrs. Ferguson and Stewart. aidrd by a Maori, who had long hunted pigs on these -angos, and a piece «>f road, slightly deviating from the present coach road, was fixed on, preliminary to b ginning operations. In March, 1859, the Suprientendent and bis engineer came unexpectedly to Raglan, and found only Mr Moon of all the commissioners at home, two of the others being absent on matrimonial bnsiness. Mr Ormsby, C.E., scouted the very idea of rough work, and it was ordered that three bridges should be built of sawn timber near ilaglan. The pUns of thete were sent from Auckland, and the c st wasabout half ihe gran', the other half could not be had as " rhe chest was empty," a pulmonary complaint ■which led to Provincial dissolution, or execution some four years ago. Thus, for warn of funds, ended this fiasco. In 1865, under the then "new institution" of Governor Grey, a good deal of work was done by native labor, under tie direction of Major Macs-i egor, R.M., and Mr Todd, C.E. (both now, alas ! no more). Thrse woiks were com. menced at Raglan township, and continued well up the Waitetrnm valley. So far extended the power and mana , or influance, of Wi Nera te Awaitaia, the Raglan chief who was "friendly" to ihe back bone, and worth to Raglan settlers at least half a , regiment of soldiers. I recognised, at Whatawhata, Kera's son, Hone Pirihi, whose thigh joint is still dislocated trom a tree falling on him while at this road work, as he lay asleep 1 in his wh-ire in the Waitetuna vally, about Jane, 1862. William Tami.ana, the kingmaker, wot© over to ask abpat to aoci.

' denr, and express himself appeased as th^rp was no " wia, h of man** in it. Ho, however, wrte strenously to Wai Nera,hiB cousin, and besought him to desist from making the road. "Cease wounding tuy flate," lie graphically expiessed it. No more was then done. Early in 1854, when the prttriots were fugitives from their ancestral and belovjed plains oi Waikato, General Cameron made the Raglan and Waipn road into a very passable bridle iraok. And now, duiing the last twelve months a dray or coach road has beeu opened through to long neglected Raglan, whose -ettiers may well c aim to be thfe roost perse\e r iug ai d enduring of mortals. Some of its earliest di>ttl"rs are still there, and the changes that huve taken place there sioo^ 1854, are more bj lui^ratim than b, dea h.

The new Pure Cash System now being initiated by G. and U. will certainly prove a benefit to the public. Ifc has been a great success in ydney and Melbourne, I and when strictly carried out the customer who buya at ,an establishment where the goods are marked low, to ensure a rapid sale must be a great gainer. ' G-. and C. sell their drapery, millinery, ana clothing at such prices for cash as gives the buyer the ad vantage^ of a shareholder in a cooperativ*Booiety, 'without tbe itek of being called upon to bear portion of the lo&s nhould the year's business prove unsatisfactory. Ga^lick »nd C'ninwell will aim, to retain the coufidence which the public have hitherto shown them, and are determined to give the pure cash system a Hit< trial ; whether they gain or lose the first year. Country buyers on remitting cash with order will be supplied with goods 'at co-operative prices; just the same >as though they made a personal selection. Furnishing goods, such as carpets, floor cloths, bedsteads, bedding-, and general hou.se furriture, the largest- portion of which is turned out at our own factory, will be marked at the lowest remunerative prices, and a discount of five per cent, will be allowed to those who pay at the time of pu. chase. G. & 0. having realised the entire value of their stock during their late cash sale, the present stock i* nkw and vert cheaplt bouoht. An inspection is invited.— -Garlics and Cranwell, City Hall Furnishing Aicade, Qneen-street, uckland.