THE Inangahua Times, PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY FRIDAY, AUGUST 20,1880.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, 20 August 1880, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times, PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 1880.

Jt was mentioned fey the Minister of Public in his recently delivered Statement that amongst the works to be proceeded with during the present year was the completion of the main Jine of road between Nelson and lUefton, so as to render it ;avi»ilable for coach traffic. This work .is no doubt meant a* a solatium to [the Nelson people for the banishment of their long pberished "West Coast Ba|way scheme. AndO'f taken full advantj&ge of, there \a]\ tie doubt that each a means of pommunieation will proye of immense benefit, not o^ly \q % northern city, but also to this portion of the West Coast. It is just possible also that in ponnection with this work that our County Council may be able to find a happy and immediate release from their present maintenance contractor difficulty- As the Qovernment have ranked the road right through m a Colonial one, and committed themKiWßta l li§ res|;Qngibi]lly of majn-

taining it, why not ask them to take | over the whole of the existing con* , tracts, including those letfor construe? tion in the Hampden Riding. The ; whole of the contracts have, we believe, been let upon specifications and conditions which are a counterpart of ; those in nse by the General Govern" menfc, and as they, in most cases, include a provision for widening, and on account of the long term for which the maintenance was contracted for, bave been undertaken at a much lower rate than would be the case if relet at the present time, there is strong rereon-to suppose that, if the position were properly explained, the Government would release the County from its present; difficult position. It is the more necessary that some effort of this kind should be made to shake off the burden, because the ' Council has praotically failed in its efforts to compromise with the con* tractors. The offer of a substantial sum as compensation was made to the contractors as a condition of relin« <prisbment, but this the contractors, regarding themselves as masters of the situation, have rejected. Under these circumstances, seeing the generally slovenly manner in which the whole of the maintenance contracts have been carried on from the outset, the Council should make a determined stand against any effort at black* mailing Better far to hand over the proposed compensation money to the Government, with the contracts, than to submit to extortion of any kind. Although there is perhaps sot one chain of the main road within this County which is up to the strict letter and spirit of the maintenance contracts, at the expense of much diligent watching on the part of the Council officer, the road has now been brought throughout up to a passable state of repair, and it would be a fatal error botb for the people here, as well as the Government, to suffer a discontinuance of the maintenance. There is also another important reason why attention should be given to this mats ter by the local body. Immediately that coach traffic is made possible be* tween Reefton and Nelson, an effort will no doubt be made to get a twice or thrice a week mail service between the two places. Strong reasons could be advanced in snpport of such a service.? It would take in the postal contracts at prevent running between Fox-hill and Hampden, between that place and Lyell, and thence to Inanganua Junction and Reefton. The cost of these services together would go a consider*able way towards the expense of a through contract. More th§js> this, however, the whole* oftbe mails for the northern portion of the West Coast could be forwarded by this line, thus dispensing with the necessity of for* warding mails by ship- board. In ad* lition to this, much of the passenger tame to and from the West Coast, which now pasaes by sea, would no loubt flow this way, as with all the rivers on the route bridged, communication with the West Coast would then be independent of floods and bad bars. We think iben it would be well for the Council to consider the wis* iom of abandoning any further effort to compromise with the contractors, and instead place themselves in communication with the Government, and Nelson members, in an effort to hurry jn the taking over of the road.