9

C.—4,

Track, Mokihinui Quartz Reefs to Specimen Creek, Nelson. —A horse-track, having 4-feet metalled roadway, constructed with grades suitable for dray-traffic, and forms a portion of the road between Mokihinui and the Lyell. The road was constructed under the supervision of the Buller County Council, who have expended on the work up to the present time £891 13s. 3d. Road, Wilberforce Reefs, Canterbury. —A road on the Canterbury side of the range to open up the Wilberforce quartz reefs; for which £2,000 were authorized. Of this amount £1,718 7s. 7d. have been paid. Road, Cedar Creek, Nelson. —A dray-road from the Hokitika-Ross Road to the quartz reefs at Cedar Creek. The road has been surveyed for the whole of the distance, and four miles of it is in course of construction. The contracts let amount to £2,414 16s. 3d., and the remaining four miles to complete the road is estimated to cost about £2,850. This work is being carried on under the supervision of the Westland County Council, which has authority to undertake work to the value of £3,000. Of this amount £442 14s. have been paid. The sections now under construction, with supervision and cost of survey, will absorb the whole of the money authorized; but the road will have to be carried on to Cedar Creek before the portion under construction can be utilized. A good horse-track would be sufficient from the end of present contracts to Cedar Creek, and when the prospects of the reefs warranted the extra expenditure it could be afterwards widened into a dray-road. Tracks, Collingwood to Motueka and Karamea, Nelson. —These are tracks which are urgently required, this part of the country being destitute of roads and tracks, and yet, from its formation, it is likely to be rich in mineral resources. Surveys have been made, and a portion of the work is under construction. The amount expended up to the present time is £248 19s. 7d. Road, Owen Valley Reefs, Nelson. —A survey for a dray-road is now being made from the Buller Valley to the Owen reefs; but until that is completed an estimate of the distance and cost cannot be given. The money expended up to the present time has been £47 7s. 6d. Road, Waikaia Bush, Southland. —This is improving the present road through Waikaia Bush, which is about twelve miles in length. The work is being carried on under the supervision of the Southland County Council. The sum of £1,000 have been authorized for the work, of which £241 15s. sd. have been expended. Track, Aorere Valley to Karamea, Nelson. —This is a road which the Collingwood County Council has undertaken to supervise. There has been £1,000 authorized to be expended on the construction of a road; and of this amount £250 have been paid. Opening up Mokau River, Taranaki.- —This work consisted in snagging the Mokau River, for the purpose of enabling suitable barges to get up to convey to market the coal that has lately been discovered here. The work has been carried on under the supervision of the Public Works Department, and has cost up to the present time £440 16s. 9d. Road to Criffel Diggings, Otago. —The Lake County Council has been authorized to undertake the construction of a road to Mount Criffel Diggings to the extent of £1,000; but none of this amount has yet been paid. Track, Wangapeka to Karamea, Nelson. —A survey of a road from Wangapeka to Karamea is now being made by the Waimea County Council, which has undertaken the supervision of the work. The amount authorized is £1,500. WATER-RACES. Waim,ea Water-race, Westland. —This really forms portion of the Waimea-Kumara Waterrace; but, as the Waimea portion was undertaken previous to the Kumara Goldfield being discovered, to work the ground in the vicinity of Fox's, Goldsborough, and Stafford, it may be of interest to show the result of the working of each water-race separately before taking the whole of the works under one head. On the upper portion of this Waimea Water-race there is upwards of one mile of fluming, having a maximum height of about 40ft. This portion has been constructed for nearly twelve years, and is beginning to show signs of decay, especially in the legs of the trestles, a number of which have been taken out and replaced with new ones, as also some of the stringers; but these renewals can be made from time to time without interfering with the working of the race, or without increasing to a great extent the cost of maintenance, as the men that have to be steadily employed in the ordinary course of maintenance can do a large portion of this work while attending to their other duties. There are also several other small flumes on the line of race which have been partially replaced; and the manager has been instructed to always have a supply of sawn and other timber on hand, so that in the event of any accident or breakage occurring it can be repaired without much delay. The superstructure of all the bridges and flumes will yet last for a considerable time so long as the understrueture is kept in proper repair; and from what I have seen on going over this work on my recent visit, the manager is exercising due care to have all necessary repairs executed with strict economy. The following table will show the results of the working of this portion of the race during the past financial year : — 2—C. 4.