CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS IN THE NORTH ISLAND.

55

A.—No. 17,

that on pumice land forest does not present any of the greater difficulties which make the ordinary clay lands of this country so very objectionable for road lines. A great portion of the Maketu road runs through the forest, and it was not very much more difficult nor costly to make it than on the open, and it is even less liable to get out of order, since the pumice land is perfectly dry, and it is firmer in the forest owing to the greater admixture of soil, and is not liable to be cut up by winds, which is a most material source of injury on open pumice lands. On any of these lines the only considerable river to be crossed is the Waikato, the other streams having hard sandy beds, and being generally shallow may very well be forded ; but patches of forest, containing' totara and rimu, are to be found at moderate distances all along the line by Parikaranga, so that no difficulty can be found in the construction of bridges and culverts where necessary. The question of metalling requires to be considered at length. In this climate, a topping of broken stone or good gravel is indispensably necessary on clay lands to enable a road to carry traffic in all seasons, but on the very permeable pumice land, where not too loose and open, as in the Rangitaiki valley, this is not the case, unless the traffic is very heavy indeed. I would quote as an instance the road from Te Papa to the Gate Pa, on which for the past six years there has been a traffic which may be called heavy, but it is hardly cut up at all, and is in fine order at all seasons. Since the roads I recommend lie in country of this nature, I take for granted that a simple formation ■will be sufficient for almost all the plane surface ; parts no doubt will be found where the lightness of the pumice may be such as to require some finer material for the surface. Swamp is almost unknown in the district, but the small sandy valley crossings, culvert approaches, and the like, will no doubt require to be metalled. There is hardly any good metal suitable for a town road to be found in the whole district, but I have no donbt the rather soft volcanic rocks, of which the hills are generally composed, would be found quite sufficiently durable for a country road, and their use would not be expensive. The most laborious part of ths work would undoubtedly be the cuttings, since the road would often require to ba carried in handlings round hills too stsap to bo ascended in a direct line, but in dry soils of this class such works are not expensive. I intentionally pass by all political questions as beyond my province, but I may notice as an additional advantage of the Parikaranga line, that it passes near the principal centres of Native population in the district—Puhirua, Ohinemutu, Te Tatua, and Oruanui—and wherever circumstances admit branch roads from it to Patetere and Waikato would naturally be carried, and would form an excellent and symmetrical system. I have, &c, Theo. Heale.

No. 119. Copy of a Letter from Mr. Civil Commissioner Clarke to Mr. Cooper. Si ßj Auckland, 26th October, 1869. In obedience to a verbal request made by the Hon. the Defence Minister, I do myself the honor to furnish the following report on the different lines of road from the Bay of Plenty side to Taupo. In giving my opinion as to the best line to be adopted, I have considered the political aspect of the question as well as the natural features of the country. I have kept in view the great advantage whenever practicable (even though it involve additional cost) of taking roads through the centres of native population. Not only would it tend to remove that discontent natural to an impoverished people by giving the natives a ready access to the sea coast for the purposes of trade, and opening up the country to European enterprise ; but it would also lessen the probability of a serious disturbance with the natives from the fact of their accessibility from different points. And, while the native proprietors of land are not only willing but anxious to have roads taken through their country, I respectfully submit that every opportunity should be embraced of forwarding this project. There are four principal lines of road which occur to me, all of which are marked on the accompanying plan— 1. From Te Awa ote atua, commonly called Te Matata, following up the Rangitaiki River by water to Kuianui (Port Alfred), thence inland by way of Te Karamuramu, and so on to Taupo. 2. From Te Awa o te atua up the Tarawera River, through the Tarawera Lake, Rotomahana Lake, and by the eastern side of the Kairoa Range to Taupo. 3. From Maketu to Rotoiti and Rotorua by the western side of Paeroa Range (or diverging from Ohinemutu to either No. 2 or 4) crossing the Waikato River at Orakeikorako to Taupo. 4. From Tauranga through the forest to Rotorua crossing the Waikato at Te Mho o te kiore, through Te Tatua to Taupo. The above are the main lines which occur to me, but there are points where one line could be run into another, perhaps with advantage as indicated on the plan hereunto attached. 1. With respect to the first line as proposed, I would remak that there is a bad bar at the mouth of the river Te Awa ote atua; a steamer drawing only five feet of water may be detained for days without being able to cross. Then, when the river has been entered there are two miles of shallows only passable by boats. The steamer Clyde, only drawing three and a half feet, could not pass these into the deeper water above with the advantage of a slight freshet. Passing these, the river deepens to an average of eight feet as far as Kokohinau, from which place the river is obstructed by snags to within a mile of Fort Alfred. The navigation extends beyond this point for two or three miles, but the high precipitous hills do not present a break through which a practicable road could be formed. From Fort Alfred the road enters a gap in the hills, taking advantage of every valley and leading range to a stream called Otamawahine, when the road becomes perfectly level to Fort Galatea, This road passes through a desert country of pumice formation right to Taupo, with one or two rapid streams, but not a vestige of timber; then it 15