THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1874.

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1931, 14 October 1874, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1874.

It is to be hoped that the public meeting of last night upon the condition of the Reefton road will have some effec'j. The resolutions set forth the case in a very mild maDner, for- no language could be too strong in stigmatising the culpable neglect somewhere of the necessities and convenience of the inhabitants of the Reefton district and those with whom they have dealings, If something be not done speedily to construct that portion of the main road between Squaretown and the Junction, Reefton will be absolutely cut off from the outside world. Already the carriers have raised the rate of freight by 6d per cent., and it is now a serious question with them whether to increase their charges to an an almost prohibitory sum, or to knock off from the road altogether. Only light loads can be carried at all, and the. conveyance of machinery is out of the question. Had there been any honest disposition to further the interests of 4hi«> the moah imporlanb disiriob oi bhe Nelson gold-fields, no efforts would have been spared to provide the road that" is absolutely necessary to the maintainanca of traffic communication between Reefton and ttjeymouth. There is no excuse whatever for the criminal neglect manifested : by the Nelson Executive — for it is they; who are responsible, having been placed, in the possession of; funds by Parliament for the purpose. We can quite understand that the proclivities of the Nelson Government are in the direction of the Buller, but it is a question for. the General Government to consider whether they will allow the advance made to the Province to be diverted from one of its most important objects. We have no objection to the construction of roads in the Buller district, nor to the most intimate connection between Reefton and Westport ; but the fact is that at present almost the whole of the. Reefton business is done with Greymouth, and will probably continue so ; and the very first necessity is to afford the utmost facilities for the traffic between the two places. Roads or none OEteefton must draw its supplies, for some timb to come at least, from Greymouth, and the non-completion of the road between Squaretown and the Junction, and the disrepair of the road between Squaretown and Reefton, simply involve a tremendous taxation upon the mining industry of the reefing districts. The extra cost of provisions and materials, the discomforts of short supplies, irregular mail communication, and other inflictions, soon sum up a total which represented by money would make the road over and over again. We hope that the Greymouth and Reef ton people will pull together and exhaust every means to compel attention to this most important requirement, and not rest until they have accomplished their object. We believe that from five to six thousand pounds will be sufficient to make the road, and that it might be completed in a very short time owing to the peculiar facilities of the ground. I Surely this sum is not an unfair proportion to be expended on this side the watershed out of the money granted to the Provincial Government last session. We are sure that if the General Government have any influence in the matter, the representations of the Greymouth and Reefton publis will have their due weight, for it was an understanding that the road under discussion should be one of the first to be undertaken.