THE RIVAL ROUTES TO THE HEAO BLOCK.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XIV, Issue 3804, 27 July 1880, Page 2

THE RIVAL ROUTES TO THE HEAO BLOCK.

♦ TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — As my name has been frequently, mentioned in connection with a former visit of the Chief Surveyor to the Heao Block, and considerable misunderstanding seems to have arisen with regard to the facts of the, case, will you allow me to explain what really took place upon the occasion in question. The Chief Surveyor arrived in Wanganui in January last with the intention of searching for available lines of road to two saparate blocks of land which the Government proposed to hand over to the County Council, with a sum of money to be devoted to the formation of roads thereto. At that jtime no permanent County Engineer had been appointed, and I was engaged to proceed with Mr Marchant to aid him in his sgarpb, i" company with the County Chairman. We* first visited the Tokamaru Block, in the Kai Iwi district, and afterwards the Heao Block, on the Wangaehu river. On this occasion we went by way of No. 2 Line. It was then proposed to show Mr Marchant another and more direct route, via No. 3 Line, and he was enabled to see the whole of We proposed, line., and. ngt merely the best portion, as. has been asserted, I must here mention, in justioe to Mr Sommerville, that he appeared to me to, refrain purposely from calling undue attention to the advantages of this route, being personally interested in the locality. It was now proposed to inspect a third route, via the Makirikiri Valley, but the Chief Surveyor thought this unnecessary, as he had been over the road recently, and was therefore in a position to know as much of the advantages of that route as of the other two. The distance from the Wan* ganui Town Bridge to a point upon the Wangaehu river, which all the three routes

would probably pass, viz., the point where the Makirikiri track strikes that river, is as follows :— rVia No. 2 Line, 19£ miles ; via the Makirikiri Valley, 184 miles ; and via No. 3 Line, 16| miles, as nearly as can be ascertained fijom existing maps. As the ,Chief Surveyor will shortly be in Wanganui, an opportunity will arise to refer to him for an account of the circumstances. I will only add that neither Mr Sommerville nor anyone else isSaware of, my intention to send you this letter. -^JUwh, &c, . i . - ~ Roland Garrett. JMyiffi, 1880.