ROADS AND BRIDGES.

Bush Advocate, Volume XXII, Issue 66, 19 March 1910, Page 7

ROADS AND BRIDGES.

A BACKBLOCKS TRIP. Last session the Government handed over to local bodies the expenditure of grants hitherto carried out by the Roads Department. This lias caused the Roads Department to be re-organised, and instead of the department's overseer being stationed in Dannevirke and employing men under the "co-operative system, we have the district engineer supervising the work -which is carried out by the counties. For some considerable time the Government has been urged to hand the expenditure of grants over to the local bodies, it being argued that the local knowledge possessed by members of counties and kindred bodies was essential to the economical administration of Government money. For several years the Farmers' Union, backed up by many local bodies, has tried to induce the authorities to adopt this means of administering tiie tremendous sums voted annually for roads and bridges, but former Ministers have turned a deaf ear to these representations. Now, with the changes caused by the retrenchment, the Government is prepared to adopt this method, although it is seemingly going to keep a watchful eye upon its expenditure. The local body, who has been lucky enough to have a grant made to it for any work, has to submit plans, specifications, and no end of data in regard to the work. This has put upon the counties an ei.tra tax in clerical work. When a job is to be put in hand, the local body's engineer has to prepare three plans, one for office use, and two for perusal by the Government engineer. If the work is suitable, it is passed, but if it does not suit the departmental officials, the plans have to be re-submitted. When all is satisfactory, the necessary authority is forwarded, and the money is then spent by the local body. Not even the survey work and such other expenditure necessary is chargeable to the vote, the cost of spending the money having to be borne by the, local body. The re-organisation of the department has placed this district undo the charge of Mr W. Nathan, district engineer at Paliiatua. This gentleman has had a very lengthy experience of back-block roads. It was MiNathan who many years ago, in Taranaki, started the first experiments in regard to metalling roads with burnt papa. This, under Mr Nathan's guidance, was carried to a highly successful issue; in fact, some roads

metallecl then, fifteen or seventeen years ago, have never been patched. This system, as a means of macadamising a roadway, has come, to stay, and since then Mr Nathan has carried out miles of roadmaking with this metal in the Pongaroa and Akitio districts, and with the exception of some of the backblocks of Taranaki, 110 harder district to road could be found in the Dominion than that around Pongaroa and Rakanui. Papa is a kind of soft rock, the foundation of most of the country in the Coast district. The method of burning is the same as for burning bricks. Layers of wood and are alternately placed in a kiln, and when sufficient papa is in the kiln, the wood is ignited, and the process of burning takes place. Generally, the process takes about a month, and then the kiln is "stripped/"' and anything un burnt or inferior is rejected. This means of metalling is costly, and the minimum cost is never less than 6s 6d per yard, and often up to KJs per .yard. When laid 011 the road the papa makes a good binding surface, beautifully smooth, and a pleasure to travel 011 when set. Mr Nathan is making a practice of personally inspecting all places possible where grants are to be ex-

pended. He has been lately touring the district inspecting the works 011 the roads in the Tamaki block and the Maunga road receiving attention. On AVednesday morning a start was made to inspect the roads in the Ngapaeruru and Mangatuna district. The party started out from the Coaching Company's stables, and consisted of Messrs F. G. Cowper, chairman of the Dannevirke County Council; R. B. Ross, M.P. for Paliiatua; \V. Nathan, district road engineer; G. Harris, overseer to the Dannevirke County Council. The first business was

the inspection of the Waitahora road, a piece of this road, from Mr J. Harvey's to the junction at the main road being un metalled. Taking the Ongaha-road, the country traversed through is diversified, and in various states of improvement. Coming nearer to Waitahora, the land changes for the better, and shows 011 every hand signs of careful working and a desire to make the most of good country. The country for the first four or five miles is heavy, with a stiff clay formation, just the class of land to do scrub well. Mingi and ti tree flourish, and in many cases takt's up to £3 per acre to break the land in, and is then only retained in order by. the continual moving of the. plough. Tlx soil seems patchy, but by no means poor. A crop of eowgrass on a section of Mr W. Rose, jun.'s woidd be hard to beat. The AVaitahora county is some of the best of the Mangatoro estate, and the substantial residences erected by the settlers testify to the solidity of the settlement and the good stamp of men who were lucky enough to acquire sections. 'The day the Government acquired portion of the Mangatoro estate was a red-letter day in the history of the district, and it would be yell if several similar red-letter da s follow in quick succession. A nun.her of good turnip crops are. .noticeable in. the district. The stretch of road to be metalled was soon passed over, and

several comments were made as to the small amount of traffic passing over the road, the opinion being expressed that the AVaitahora road possessed many advantages over -the Weber-road, particularly in regard to stock traffic. On every side there was grass in abundance, in many cases it being rank almost to the point of waste. Every sheepman recognises that it is not a good thing to let tiie grass get away, as it has done this year. A good deal of the weakness in the lambs is due in a great measure to the rankness of the grass and its consequent effect upon the ewes. Cattle generally are looking splendidly, and the tremendous output of fat sheep from the Coast district this year should be supplemented by a good quantity of fat cattle. THE AVAITAHORA grant is of £IOO, and will assist in a great measure the linking up of a good system of roading. After the main road is reached, one is impressed with the general greenness of the country. "Greenliills," one of the farms near the junction, is well named, and shows evidence of careful farming. Mr. Mackenzie, the owner of the property mentioned, has lately gone in for Southdowns of a very good class, and his fat lambs in the future should top the market. After the party had reached the main road, Toi Flat was made the next stopping place,' the engineers of the party making a critical examination of three bridges, two of which were lately erected by the Government. The Mangapuaka road, which extends from Te Uri to the Weber road, all in the Dannevirke county, come out on to tiie Weber road at Toi Flat, and the Mangapuaka road was the one which occupied the attention of the engineer. A grant of £SOO FOR BRIDGES has been made to give access to two settlers on the road, Messrs A. Herbert and P. M'Crea. This portion of the road is in a very bad state, Mr M'Crea suffering especially. Farmers as a rule are a long-suffering people, but Mr M'Crea has genuine reasons to kick, but he has awaited the Government's pleasure, and it is to be hoped he will lie rewarded for his patience. The cause of the trouble is want of bridges. From the junction. of the main road the Mangapuaka road has not been metalled, and is only a summer road. Temporary bridges have been built, but these, of course, have not stood the test of time and some have rotted and another was burnt, while still another and the biggest of all was destroyed by fire. Five bridges in all are needed and as they are situated 011, a horse shoe loop, the ends of .which are within a couple of chains of each other, the problem to be solved was if it was best to makG one big bridge across the ends of the loop or a number of small ones. By making the cross bridge the number would lie reduced to two—one in front of MiHerbert's to replace the bridge destroyed by fire and the cross bridge. The difficulty for the latter course to be carried out is that a good site is not available, although one may be had by making a slight deviation. The engineer and Air Harris went thoroughly into the question and tramped up and down stream with untiring perseverance to locate a suitable site, and no doubt out of their joint deliberations something will be evolved which will be eminently satisfactory to Messrs M'Crea and Herbert. The latter gentleman is only interested in the first bridge, as it gives him a dray road access to'his farm. The visitors were entertained at lunch by Mr Herbert. The next place of interest was the Mangamaire road, which turns off at Mr Hodgson's residence, near the 17-mile peg. This road leads on to the Mangapuaka road, the part that is known in County Council parlance as Centre Mangapuaka road. This gives the settlers of Mangatuna access to Dannevirke —-such as it is. The Mangatuna land is fine sheep country. It would be hard to find better bush sheep country than at Mangatuna. The trouble from the roading point of view is that eternal enemy of true settlement—native land. Between the main road and the settled land there is a block of native land, and through that block there is the accompanying stretch of unmetalled road. By raising special loans the settlers have done the lion's share of the metalling and the County Council has done a good share, but in common with all other native lands no rates are payable, and 110 roads are the result. This is a decided penalty to the settlers, and they should use their very utmost endeavors to bare it removed. Nothing tends to the aggregation of hind so much as impassable roads. Settlers become discouraged and look round for a chance to realise, often at a loss. Some longer-headed individual perhaps with a cheerier nature or more patience snaps up 'the land, and instead of moderate sized sheep farms of from 300 to 1000 acres, areas are to be found almost three times the extent of the latter. Most of those who have studied the history of New Zealand's land tenures will agree that after tiie deferred- payment system comes the O.R.P. tenure. This is the tenure that this land has been disposed of on. but bad roads may frustrate the idea of settlement in this locality. The county has lately had a good quantity of papa spread 011 the road near Air M. Franklin's homestead and near the school, which by the way has the somewhat small number of twelve or thirteen children on the roll, and this will go a long way in helping the making of a good road, but of course there is the road through the native reserve left. One thing noticeable through the native land was the prevalence of nox-

ions weeds. The California 11 thistle growing would make a noxious weed inspector's heart bleed. All through these districts this pest is noticeably prevalent, and although owners do their best to keep it in check by mowing, it is a most difficult matter to deal with. The light friable nature of the soil is suitable for the spreading the weed by the way of roots. (To be continued in Monday's issue.)