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The completion of the felling and bridle-road formation of the Okoke Eoad, and of the roads branching from it. The construction of bridges over the Waitara Eiver at Purangi, and the Matou and Hitoki Streams Junction Eoad, east of Purangi. The felling and bridle-road formation of the Junction Eoad from the Confiscation Boundary to Ohura Eoad. The felling and bridle-road formation of Bawhitiroa Eoad, from Moeawatea Stream to Anderson Eoad. The cutting about eight miles of main and about eighteen miles of circuit drains on the Ngaire Swamps. The completion of dray-road formation, Anderson Eoad. The felling and bridle-road formation of roads in the Autawa, Huiroa, Mangaere, Oxford, Milsom, Lepperton, Eltham, Gatton, Terrace End, Boss, Kaitangiwhenua, Whenuakura, Moeawatea, Moanatairi, and other special settlements upon which loadings have been granted. The felling and formation of service-roads in improved-farm settlement lands. John Strauchon, Chief Surveyor.

North Island Central Eoads. Boads under Maintenance. —These amount to a total length of 445 miles, and include the Eotorua, Tauranga-Napier via Taupo, Taupo-Tokaanu, Tokaanu-Ohingaiti (to Waihohonu) Eoto-rua-Waiotapu, Waiotapu-Galatea, Maketu-Botorua, Alexandra-Kawhia, and Waitomo Caves Eoads, and parts of the Taumarunui-Ohakune and Ongaruhe-Stratford Eoads. By far the greater lengths is in the Eotorua and Taupo districts. None of the roads are metalled. The total cost of the maintenance for the year is £4,487, which gives an average of £10 Is. Bd. per mile. The roads have been kept in good order, numerous culverts have been repaired or renewed, and three-new bridges, one 85ft. and the other two each 56ft. long, have been erected where the original bridges were decayed beyond repairing. The cost of these bridges was £785, which amount is included in the cost of maintenance above stated. It will not be long before many more of the bridges will have to be renewed, as they are fast decaying, and will not be repairable for much longer. Of bridle-road a total length of eighty-one miles has been maintained, thirty miles of which has been much improved by the erection of two bridges, each 36ft. long, and wide enough for draytraffic, with proper approaches; several culverts have also been made, with the necessary embankments. The cost of the maintenance and improvements has been £1 18s. per mile, or of the maintenance alone, about 15s. per mile. In construction of new roads, the principal work has been on the Stratford-Ongaruhe, on which, during the year, three contracts for construction, each one mile long, that were in hand at last yearly report have been finished. Eleven other contracts, covering a length of twelve miles, have been let, of which five, covering five miles, have been completed ; the remaining six are well forward towards completion. When these are completed the road will be made to twenty-eight miles from the junction with the Taumarunui Eoad, excepting the bridges in the last twelve miies. They were not included with the clearing and earthwork contracts, as they require skilled labour and special knowledge, and I find it better to construct them, when possible, under separate contracts. Timber is being sawn and delivered on the sites for some of them by co-operative workmen. On the Taumarunui-Ohakune Eoad, one mile and three-quarter's of cart-road has been made, and a further length of one mile and a half is in hand. The timber for two small bridges is being sawn and delivered, and the erection of them will be put in hand as soon as the timber is ready. All these works are north of the junction with the Stratford-Ongaruhe Eoad, the object being to complete the cart-road connection between that road and the railway when the latter is completed to the Porootarao tunnel. Te Kuiti-Awakino Boad. —A contract, for building a bridge across the Awakino Eiver was let last September, and subsequently the erection of a bridge across the Manganui Biver was added to the contract. These bridges ought to have been completed about the end of last February, but, owing to great difficulties met with in procuring the right kind of hardwood timber, and in getting all the materials to the sites of the bridges, delays have occurred which have so far prevented the completion of the contract. Several small contracts for forming parts of this road have been completed, and five others, covering a length of five miles, have just been let for felling the bush 1 chain wide, and making a bridle-road to the proper grades for the dray-road. A length of fifteen miles at the northern end has been made into a rough, ungraded cart-track, at a cost of £100, along which wagons drawn by ten bullocks, and carrying upwards of a ton weight, can be taken in the summer time. Whenever possible, the works on all the roads have been done on the co-operative-contract principle, which works very well. Engineering road surveys have been made as follows : Stratford-Ongaruhe, 2 miles 3 chains ; Te Kuiti-Awakino, 5 miles 3 chains ; Waiotapu-Taupo, 6 miles ; and Botorua-Te Teko, 4 miles 20 chains, I would again respectfully urge the completion without delay of the Stratford-Ongaruhe and Te Kuiti-Awakino Boads ; both of them would develop large areas of good country, and form direct connections between the Auckland and Taranaki Districts. During the past year the works and surveys have not penetrated any new country to note or describe. C. W. Hursthouse, Eoad Surveyor. 7—C. 1.