THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY TUESDAY, OCTOBER '13, 1874.

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1930, 13 October 1874, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY TUESDAY, OCTOBER '13, 1874.

The administration of Public Works by the General Government is not always entirely satisfactory. Instances can be pointed out in this and the neighboring districts, which lead to the opinion that had some of the works been placed under local control, much money might have been saved, and the works themselves have been more efficiently carried out. Close to our doors we have the examples of the Brunner Railway and the Marsden road — both of them, so far, being monupublic money. When the Brunner Railway will be completed, is one of those questions which no one can answer, It was designed and laid out beautifully upon paper, but since the work was commenced it has been proved in the most unmistakable manner that the engineer or engineers had paid little or no attention to the peculiar character of the ground in many places, or to the advice given by those who foresaw what has since happened, although they had no professional position. The heavy land slips that have occurred since the contractor commenced work, and especially those that have recently taken place, have necessitated and will necessitate the expenditure of a very large sum of money which mighthave been saved had even ordinary intelligence been brought to bear upon the engineering of the line ; and the result will be that the line will cost about double the estimate, and that its period of completion will be extended for an indefinite period. The Marsden road is another illustration of bad management. From the first week of its being thrown open for traffic the road has been a via dolorosa, and is now Jl but impassable. But the most flagrant instance is afforded by the road between here and Reefton. How in the world the Government allowed the gap between Squaretown and the Junction to remain uncompleted is beyond all comprehension. As a chain is . no stronger than its weakest link, so a road is of no value unless complete and continuous. The main object of the large expenditure upon road works in the Grey Valley was to secure regular and permanent communication between Greymouth and the reefing districts of the Inangahua, but for some inscrutable reason this has been defeated by the neglect to provide a good road for a distance of some seven or eight miles, without which the whole line of communication is almost valueless. It is true that the sum of money allotted to road works on the South- West Gold-fields of Nelson, out of the Middle Island Railway Fund, was more than exhausted in the construction ef the roads as they now exist, but last session an advance of ,£50,000 was made to the Province of Nelson for the purpose of completing them, and especially of constructing roads io establish a thorough system of communication from the Devil's Grip to Greymouth and Westport. How this money is being expended no one appears to know, further than that thanks to the advent of Mr O'Conor as head of the Provincial administration of Nelson, nothing is being done to complete the road between Reefton and Greymouth, whilst it is understood that efforts are being made or are about to be made to expend the money almost entirely on the Buller side of the watershed. The question arises are the. interests of tbe most important portion of the interior to be sacrificed to the partialities of a politician 1 Will the General Government allow its own works to be rendered useless through this action, or will it step in and insist, as it has a right to insist, that the most urgent re- ' quirements shall be first supplied? We believe that if the facts of the case were properly represented to the General Government, steps would at once betaken to complete the road between the Junction

and Squaretown. We know that the Minister of Public Works understood .' that this was to be one of the first works : to be undertaken out of the advance made, and we are certain that a strong and united remonstrance would lead to a remedy being applied. The people of Reefton have already taken the matter up, and at a public meeting have adopted resolutions calling upon the General Government to interfere. They now seek the co-operation of the inhabitants of Greymouth, and we are sure that it will be forthcoming. The following letter was received yesterday by his Worship the Mayor : — " Sir —ln accordonce with a resolution passsd at a meeting of the inhabitants of Reefton, held at the Oddfellows' Hall, on yesterday evening, I have been requested to ask you to use your influence with the General Government in urging them to complete the main line of road between this place and Greymouth by at once calling for tenders for making that portion, of it between the Junction and Squaretown, which at this moment is in an incredibly bad state, and will become worse if the present wet weather continues. The state of this road is a great drawback to the advancement of this place, and must seriously interfere with the interests of Greymouth. The carriage of heavy pieces of machinery could not possibly be undertaken at present. From the manner in which the Provincial Government of Nelson are acting at present with the mauageraent of the roads already made, 1 fear it is hopeless to expect auything from them. I insert here a resolution carried at the meeting last night, a copy of which I was instructed to forward to you—' That the Chairman of this meeting communicate with the Provincial Government to ascertain whether it is intended to carry out in the first instance the road from Nelson to Westport, or whether the connection between Squaretown and the Grey Junction will forthwith be undertaken.' " That resolution is all very well in its way, but I am very much afraid it will be productive of no immediate good; probably it may elicit from the Provincial Government a promise that at some future time (not definitely mentioned) the Government Engineer will be ordered to report upon it. " I have the honor to remain, 41 Yours respectfully, " Patrick Brennan." Mr Brentian is instinctively doubtful of any practical result from an appeal to , the Nelson Provincial Government, and •we quite agree with him that pressure must be brought upon that body through the General Government. The loss that. j is occasioned by the state of the part of the road mentioned cannot be calculated. It means a large increase in the rate of carriage, an absolute impossibility of taking up heavy articles, such as machinery, and enormous inconvenience to the residents of the Reefton district, and all who have business relations with them. We are glad to observe that his Worship the Mayor has convened a public meeting to be held at the Melbourne Hotel this evening.