E.—l.

44

You will perceive a difference in point of distance between the plan and section. This has arisen from the distance for the plan having been scaled from the sketch map, whereas the section has been plotted from distances taken from tracings on a larger scale, with a view of obtaining greater accuracy between certain points shown thereon. However, I have taken the greatest distance for the line, which is represented by the plan, namely, 161 miles. The coast will certainly afford facilities for the reception of plant and material for the purposes of construction, as sailing vessels can approach within easy distance of the beach for nearly the whole length of the coast line. In conclusion, I beg to remind you that the survey of the main trunk line, with its branch to the "West Coast, together with the several alternative lines, will take a considerable time to perform, and that the success or otherwise of their proper location will, in a great measure, depend upon the amount of time devoted to the purpose. Surveys properly conducted, with a sufficient staff of men, as a rule are not costly undertakings, but in their results they are very often known to be the means of saving large sums of money in the original cost of a line. I would therefore respectfully submit the necessity of an early commencement of this work, so that the plans may be in a forward state of preparation by the time the Government may find themselves in a position to order their construction. Cheviot Hills Route. In obedience to instructions, I also made an examination of the country north from the Amberley Road Station and passing through the Waipara Plains and Cheviot Hills District, which I have shown upon the sketch map by an elongated red dotted line. I have not prepared a section of this line, as the grades are favourable enough to the point marked A upon the sketch map, with the exception of a rather steep incline to reach the high ground at Hawkswood Station, with a corresponding descent to the River Conway. In my examination of this line I found that the course of the dray road to the Cheviot Hills District passed over a rather high range of hills, then through the Motonau Run by the valley of the Greta to the Hurunui River. There are one or two serious objections to following this route for a line of railway. The first is the steep incline that would be required on both sides of the above-mentioned range of hills ; and the second, a more serious one still, namely the crossing of the Greta River. From the peculiar character of the hills in this locality, there is no choice of crossings at this place. You are therefore confined to one spot, that would require a viaduct of not less than from 7to 8 chains in length and 150 feet high, and by following the course of the telegraph line, even worse ground is to be met with, for the line spans a chasm, the length of which cannot be less than 20 chains, and the height 200 feet. By far the best line is the one marked upon the sketch map going in the direction of the Glenmark Station, and passing over a much lower ridge of hills into the valley of the Waikari River, thence by this river to its junction with the Hurunui. Here the line would cross the Hurunui and along its northern bank, until a point is reached where I understand a section of this river has been taken ; thence by the route as shown upon the sketch map through the Cheviot Hills and Hawkswood Runs to the point marked A. From this point, at the end of the dotted line, and following the mail and telegraph line, the hills at once become broken and irregular, and the further you proceed in this direction, the worse they become ; and where the telegraph line leaves the Conway River, the physical aspect of the country presents a series of steep ascents and rugged declivities, until the top of Riley's Hill is reached, whose height is about the same as that of Green Hills, namely 1,450 feet, and not far from the sea, with a rapid descent into the valley of the Kahautara River. A railway line over such a country could not possibly be made without doing so regardless of cost both as to construction and maintenance. A line by the coast is equally impossible, for no surer indication could be afforded than by the fact of the telegraph line having been taken over so rugged a country as it has been. But the telegraph line having been brought as far as the Conway River, there was no alternative but to follow the course it has taken. The hilly nature of the country on both sides of the Conway River, from the point marked A, may easily be inferred from the fact that, whether you take the direction of the coast or proceed up the river until a point near Campbell Creek is reached, there is no other road for either horse or dray, but the bed of the river, and consequently the road is impassable during the heavy rains, and for some considerable time afterwards. When I found this to be the case, I turned my attention to the valley of the Leader River and the country between it and the Gelt. The valley of the Leader is favourable enough for some distance up the river, but the dividing ridge between the two rivers is high and broken, and the valley of the Gelt exceedingly rough ; but were it otherwise, the line could not possibly proceed up the Conway from its junction with the Gelt, as the banks of the river are nearly perpendicular, and forming a series of gorges, with banks ranging from 100 to 500 feet in height, so that it would be impossible to connect the line with the district about Green Hills. It is, therefore, demonstrably certain that the main trunk line can never pass through the Cheviot Hills District; and I must confess that I view it, to a certain extent, as a matter of regret that such is the case, for there is a large tract of country belonging to this run that would, if brought into cultivation, support a numerous population. But it is of no use attempting to fight against nature, and it may with truth be said of the two competing lines, that whilst the one is just practicable, the other is undeniably impracticable. By scaling, from the sketch map, I find the distance of this line, from Amberley Road Station, by way of the red dotted line on the sketch map, and then by following the route of the telegraph line to a point common to both lines, namely, the Hapuka River, to be five miles longer than the line by the Waiau Township and the Whale's Back.