RAGLAN.

Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1365, 31 March 1881, Page 2

RAGLAN.

Considerable time has elapsed since your readers heard from Raglan. We hare been so quiet, that I suspect some have wondered whether we still exist. Let me comfort them with the assurance that we hare not become defunct ; we have only been somewhat somnolent. Yet not all. Some have been up and doing ; new enterprises have been commenced; new discoveries made ; some have come ; others have, gone; wme have been born; none have died ; for all which, we have cause to be thankful. You have heard, doubtless.of the wonderful waterfalls discovered here. They are not quite equal to Niagara,, yet they are worth seeing. The depth of the fall is 230 feet. If we could just carry the. Waikito fiTej.orerj-wftjtfigUttlawit vio with oar

American cousiuo. What ire should lose itt water, we should gain iv depth of fall.

It may loot be generally known, that Raglan abounds in excellent limestone. Such, however, is the fact; Limestone wrhioh,, to bo.rrow from .a foreign vooabu-. laty, is verj get-at-able. Recently, a party dng out a large quantity of this stone, to send to Auckland for the Masonic Hall foundations The steamship " Lalla Rook ' went to the Waitetuna Heads, where she got sufficiently close to shore to ship the slabs of atone with ' very little difficulty. It is to be hoped that this branch of trade will be developed. Connoisseurs pronounce the stone to be of first class quality. To those who are fond of sport, Raglan should prove a powerful attraction. The kuaka, alias snipe, abounds here. It is now in season ; the birds are in splendid condition, and make a pleasant dish. Not long ago, I counted nearly twenty flocks, comprising several thousands of birds, flying down the harbour. One need not be a crack shot to return home with fifty or a hundred birds. The road from Waikato to Raglan is in good order, and the Whatawhata bridge is completed ; so there is nothing to prevent Waikato sportsman from thinning the ranks of these really fine birds. School affairs here are somewhat unsettled. Mr Pegler, the teacher, leaves the nchooi in a month. He has erected a house ou the slopes of Karioi, and intends to cultivate land instead of youthful minds. We all wish him success. In the meantime, we are wondering who will succeed him as teacher. Religiously, the people are progressing. The services held in the various places are well attended. The people also mauifest a desire to help the resident minister, which is both creditable to them, and gratifying to him. Before I close, let me say a word about the mountain road between Whatawhata and Raglan. At present, it is all that can be desired. But how long it will remain so is doubtful. It is badly drained. In wet weather, instead of the water running down the proper channels, it runs across tha road, and over the embankment. Thia, as you may expect, washes away tho earth, causing landslips, which narrow the road itself. Then landslips occur from above the road. The earth is allowed to remain, and the running water, diverted from its course, runs over the embankment just opposite to the fallen earth, making the road very narrow. A little outlay of money now, would save a greater at some future time. I feel convinced that were the Minister of Public Works to see thiß road, he would acknowledge the importance of spending pennies now, to save pounds by-and-bye. More anon. — (Correspondent.) March 28.