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Black Ball Diggings. —Tins is a horse-track from the one leading up from Brunnerton, on the north side of the Grey Eiver, to the Black Ball Diggings, where there is a considerable mining population. ,>The estimated cost of the work is £800, and of this amount a subsidy was authorised to the extent of £400, of which £240 has been paid. Baird's Terrace to Irishman's. —A horse-track from Dunganville, via Baird's Terrace, to Lake Brunner, and also one from Irishman's to Lake Brunner, were constructed some years ago, and a track is now being constructed to join Baird's Terrace track with the one coming from Irishman's, for the purpose of opening up the country. The estimated cost of the work is £250, and of this amount a subsidy of £125 was authorised, of which £76 has been paid. Collingwood County. Anatoki Diggings. —A horse-track was constructed some time ago from the Takaka Valley towards Anatoki Diggings, and it is now proposed to extend this track. The estimated cost of the work is £160, and of this amount a subsidy of £80 has been authorised. Taieei County. Nenthome Diggings. —This is a dray-road to connect the mines at Nenthorne with the main road coming from Palmerston. The estimated cost of the work is £600, and of this amount a subsidy has been authorised to the extent of £300. Lake County. Morven Ferry Road. —This is for widening and constructing the road on the south side of the Kawarau Eiver, from the suspension bridge above Gibbstown to the old Morven Ferry, for the purpose of getting coal conveyed to the dredges that are being constructed to work the bed and banks of the Kawarau Eiver at this point. The cost of the work has been £289, of which a subsidy of £144 10s. has been paid. EOADS WHOLLY CONSTBUCTED BY MINES DEPAETMENT. Thames-Coromandel Boad. —The sections of this road where the money has been expended are from Tapu to Waikawau in the Thames County, and from Waikawau to Mainaia in the Coromandel County. There is a dray-road now constructed from the Thames to Waikawau, and from this point to Coromandel there is a good bridle-track constructed (with the exception of two small portions), about 6ft. in width, laid out with good dray-road grades. The total expenditure on this road up to the end of March last from direct grants amounted to £1,025 2s. 6d., and the liabilities on works in progress amount to £744 17s. 6d. Karangahake through Gorge. —This is a deviation of a portion of the main road from Paeroa to Tauranga. At present the road goes over a high hill, and is very costly to maintain during the winter months,- as the ground is of a soft clayey nature and there is no metal in the vicinity; besides, the road is constructed with very steep grades, and becomes almost impassable in winter. A road is now being constructed through the gorge of the Ohinemuri Eiver, which, when completed, will be almost level. The expenditure on this work up to the end of March last was £503 3s. Id., and the liabilities on the works in progress amount to £494 16s. lid. Aorere Valley to Mokihinui, —This is portion of a main road running along the west coast of the Middle Island from Collingwood to Jackson's Bay. This road is completed from Collingwood to the Gouland Downs on the north end, and from Mokihinui to Haast Eiver on the south end. There is also about twenty-five miles constructed between Mokihinui and the Gouland Downs. Very little of this portion can be utilised until the bridge now in course of construction across the Mokihinui Eiver is completed. Contracts for ten miles of this road, leading from the Gouland Downs towards Karamea, have recently been let for the sum of £1,492 45.; and when these are completed there will still remain about thirty-four miles to be constructed to complete the whole of the road along the coast-line. The total expenditure on this work between Mokihinui and Aorero Valley has been £20,048 19s. Bd., and the liabilities on works in progress amount to £4,905 4s. Grey Valley to Teremakau. —This is the continuation of the road leading from Nelson Creek to Bell Hill. The road on the Teremakau end has been constructed for several years to the Crooked Eiver; but a portion in the centre still remained to be constructed (which has recently been completed) before through-communication could be established. There is also a suspension bridge for foot-traffic being constructed across the Crooked Eiver. The cost of making the connection between these two roads was estimated at £900, out of which £633 6s. has been paid. Jackson's Bay to Cascade River. —There is a bridle-track constructed from the Cascade Eiver to the Duncan Eiver, and there is also a road from Jackson's Bay to the Jackson Eiver ; but there is about ten miles of road to be constructed to connect the Cascade Eiver with the road up the valley of the Jackson Eiver. A survey of this road was undertaken last year under Mr. Mueller, the Chief Surveyor of the district, who was authorised to have the timber felled along the line,'and £138 16s. 6d. has been expended on this work. Arthur's Point to Skipper's.— This is for the completion of the portion of the road from the saddle between the Shotover and Arrow Flat to the bluff near Stapleton's Beach, on the Shotover Eiver. This completes the dray-road from Queenstown to opposite Londonderry Terrace, near Skipper's Point. The portion of the road lately completed is along a steep, rocky sidling for'about two miles, on a gradient of 1 in 10; but some of the bends on this portion of the road are still too sharp for wheel-traffic. The .expenditure on this road up to the end of March last amounted to £11,167 4s. Id., and the liabilities on that date were £380 10s. IMPROVING ROADS AND TRACKS, CO*LLINGWOOD, TAKAKA TO MOTUEKA. This includes a number of roads and tracks which were completed in former years. The only work done last year was clearing the slips from the dray-road between Upper Takaka and Eiwaka,

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