THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1878.

Grey River Argus, Volume XXI, Issue 3188, 2 November 1878, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1878.

As to the extreme desirability of opening up a road to the reefs at Langdon's and the Black Ball there cannot be any differ-, ence of opinion, If the results of recent discoveries and trials, so far ascertained, are reliable and trustworthy — which there is no reason to doubt — it may be reasonably assumed that there lies at the very < doors of Grey mouth a vast field for profitable enterprise, which only requires the means of access to enable it to be worked. At present, unfortunately, these not only do not exist but will prove a very costly undertaking. Considering the impoverished condition of the County treaBury it is idle to expect that the County Council can possibly do what is necessary for several months to come. Thanks to the happy-go-lucky policy pursued by that body they not only have no reserve funds, buc what is worse they have no credit. So long as their banking account remains in its present state, and whilst contractors and other creditors remain unpaid, the Council will find it is quite impossible to raise money for a work which is urgently required, and which there is every probability would be productive of great results to the County. These facts were mutually admitted on

Thursday by the deputation and the County Chairman, and it is no wonder that aa a dernier ressort the idea was adopted that probably the Government would come to the rescue in this instance, by either lending the money to the Council or undertaking the work itself. There was some mention made by the Chairman that probably some portion of a sum of money plac9d on the Estimates for works on the West Coast gold-fields might be applied to this purpose, but we are quite satisfied that any such sum only represents the unexpended portions of last year's vote, which, however, has been, so to speak, already expended, inasmuch that contracts involving the whole have been entered into. Aid from this source therefore we do not think possible. The other alternative— that the Government should lend the County Council the five or six thousand pounds necessary, or construct the road itself— .are, we are afraid, equally improbable, except upon terms which, in ommon justice to its creditors, the County Council could not agree to. We doubt if, under present circumstances, the Government would be prepared to advance the money on loan +0 the Council for several reasons. First, they would require the authority of Parliament, which under any case cannot now be obtained this session ; second, that to grant aid iv this particular case would be to open the door to hundreds of ayplicatibns of a similar character ; and, third, if the Government did advance the money, it would only do so on the security of the County subsidies and land fund, every farthing of which is required to discharge existing obligations. It appears to us that the most that can be done is to, if possible, open up a pack track to the reefs from the river, up which route machinery can be taken from the greater part of the distance by boat. For the rest the development of the reefs must depend upon private enterprise, and the difficulties in this respect are not nearly so great as had to be overcome in the early days of Reefton. If confidence is felt in the value of the recent discoveries, it should not be difficult, by associated enterprise, to provide the means of testing them. To wait just now for the aid of the Government is, we fear, to wait for an indefinite period.