NOTES BY A TRAVELLER.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1270, 19 August 1880, Page 2

NO T ES BY A TRAVELLER.

Any one who rides, or walks, or drives from Himiltorww Ngnruawahia toHuntle}', will readily admit that a " Surface, nuu" is ba-liy required along that way. Ou it a.c water-holes " as thick as leaves in Y.illanibrosa," marring considerably the wayfarer's bpeed, and splashing him, did ho attempt haste, with no unsparing hand. Thes-o water-holes keep floating over in rainy weather, and, in the absence of drain »ge, have to become dry only through the tedious operation of soakage and evaporation. Be it borne in mind that, in various places, the whole road is c >vered with water. Evidently a " surfaceman" 13 an urgent necessity here, and I signal is the good ho might effect to the road ii question. The untimely cud of poor Barker, a general favourite, has uvoked much symp 1 thy every whole. The exact manner of the sad occunence, which eventuated in his drowning, remains yet a mystery, in the endeavour to solve which many opinions are vontuieJ and much speculation is rife. Connor himself, according to report is quite unable to give .1 dear and definite account as to how the canoe retaining dry in it the two parcels, escaped upscttmg, whilst, as admitted by all, both himself and his lost companion were, somehow or other, tumbled into the river. Nobody imputes malice to the survivor. He showed great anguish of mind when, announcing the melauckoly event to the inmates of the neighbouring house, and the confusion which at first seized his mind has not yet cleared away. So that his accounts are incoherent and his ideas vague. This young man is a stranger from Auckland, and has no connection with either of the families of the same name residing at Ngaruawahia. No traces of the lemains of the defunct have yet been fouud, and hence an uneasy feeling everywhere prevails. What a pity the Taupiri quay is left idle, whilst our thoroughfares are so sadly in need of good metal ! Indefinite is the supply of it there, and it is so extremely easy of approach that one marvels whyroad boards do not sometime begin to uae it. Te Awamutu folks have proof of Avhat a thorough road it will make, and it were well did they substitute Taupiri metal for the "slough of despond "approaching their township Costly no doxibt a heavy coating of this metal would be, but the first cost would be the only one for years to come. Some two or three miles of road formed of this metal near Taupiri, bore without a break or rut all the heavy traffic including Carter's four-horse coach, urtil the railway was opened to Ngaruawahia. Almost unprecedented in quarries is here the facility of getting it out and of shooting it into the railway trucks many feet beneath. Economy and utility alike recommend this metal to the townships and road boards adjacent to the railway. It is satisfactory to find so much work progressing at Woodlands, near Hokunui. A large area of splendid land is just prepared for the plough, and many new outoffices have recently been erected at this station. Timber is also being prepared for the erection of a two-storied residence for Mr Reynolds, the energetic and i>opularmanager of the Piako Swamp Com, pany's vast estate. Tne road from Hamilton to Woodlands, some 10 miles, is ons

of the best in the Waikato, haying constantly on it a first class surfaceman, Mr. John Davis. The country in the vioinity of Woodlands and Hokunui is becoming very papular with intending settlers, and a great deal of land in that quarter is changing hands at satisfactory prices. If the quality of the land as yet unoccupied be oven remotely equal to that at Hokunui, than which there is no better in the Waikato, settlers -will not regret the choice they are making. Bush and water and soil together recommend Hokunui as a desirable place to settle in. Hamilton and Taupiri are equi-distant from Hokunui.