The Waikato Times "OMNE SOLUM FORTI PATRIA." SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1572.

Waikato Times, Volume II, Issue 98, 14 December 1872, Page 2

The Waikato Times "OMNE SOLUM FORTI PATRIA." SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1572.

"Wγ. arn repeatedly asked why (h<, , road between Xgiuuawahia and Alexandra is not completed—a question to which we are unable to reply. This is a Government nmiu road, yet. since the troops left the dist riot no money till hut year lies boei expended upon it; for the hint three or four years it lias, in e.iUM.'qronet- , , been inipassable. There appears to | have been a muddle over the matter; the Colonial j Govrr.iment has built two bri-.lges on the we-t s;de of tlie river, over wnieh on an average about one p-rson passes weekly. The nmney s> e.venued wimld have bi o> sufliuieir t> make the road passable on the f-ast si :e, and had this work b 'fn completed it would carry a onisiderable traffic. It is true th :t there is a highway 111 the river, bu'. it must be rem mbertd .hat in the winter there is only one Hteauior week:y» and in the summer, from wunt of water, there is no direct crmimnnication for from two to three nionibs. The cosiseqnenee is that all gootls liavo to be landed at, Putiiey. on the Waikato river, and carted thence to their destination. The want of a road from jN'garuawahia to Alexandra is utt incalculable loss to tho settlers in the settlements of Alexandra, Kihikihi, Te Awamutu, Rangiawhia, Urakau, and surrounding- country; iu addition, settlement on the tine land on the Wai pa is put a stop to. Many intending settlers have looked at it, «nd invariably like the land, but are deterred from Hfttliug because there is no road by which they can j;et their produce to market, or the necessaries i>l jiiu lo their homestetids. From a strategical poait of view, this road should have been completed years ul;o. I Wβ do uot autioipafe any further disturbance, «ind Imvo only made this remark as illustrating , the Imiigliiu* of our Govercuent. The lload Boai'ds have done what thev could with the small amount of rates (the settlers being f«w from the cause we pointed out above), supplemented by the pittance doled out to them iu the ebape of grants. The Constabulary, iu place of Laving been employed to form the portions of the I'oad that for vehicles are quite impassable, have been employed for the greater proportion of their time in imj. roving the part of the road that, was at tiny rate pas.-abie. Towards the end of the season thty were detailed to make the approaches to the Ohote bridge, but from cho season being"too lar mlvaneed they were obliged to be recalled, "the coufcequenee is that the bndge, built at considerable Cud, might just as well never have been constructed. We are uoi aware on whom the blame for this palpable mismanagement should rest, but that there lius been a muddle on somebody's part is an incontrovertible fact. We urge tjii-s matter on the atteu-

tioii of the Government; fit'st, because the settlers are at great inconvenience and loss; second, because u hirge quantity of land is kept unoccupied; third, because the advance of the whole district as regards population and wealth is retarded. These surely are sufficient reasons for Government action.