C—l.

Kawhia-Waipa. —At 1\ miles along the above road northwards from the Kawhia Township this line branches off to the eastward to head, the arms of the harbour. Mr. Hursthouse reports that up to date (since March) he has completed 4 miles of 15ft. road, with the aid of Constabulary and Maoris, and has graded in addition some 9 miles ready for construction. Near Hikurangi, on the Waipa side, another party of Constabulary is at work making a long grade of 1 in 16, to avoid that terrible hill leading from the open country into the forest on the old Maori track. In consequence of instructions received, the width of formation will be reduced in future to 6ft. in the solid. The road will pass over some high country, Tirohanga-Kawhia being about 1,350ft. above the sea, but excellent grades have been found everywhere. The following roads under the Hon. the Minister of Lands' votes have not been touched this year : Tolago to Arakihi, Wairoa to Otau, Te Maire to Kahuru, Whaingaroa to Kahuru, Waerenga through Whangamarino, Whangape to Victoria Valley; but it would be advantageous to commence some of them during the ensuing season, in order to open lands for settlement. The above is a brief statement of the works carried out by the department in this province during the past year, epitomized from the very full reports furnished by the officers in charge, whose remarks on the cost per mile of construction, survey, and supervision by the various systems of contracts, piece-work, or day-labour in force are very instructive and will prove of permanent value. Appended hereto is a table showing these work, in a form similar to that supplied last year, from which it will be seen that we have completed 112 miles of roads in all. S. Peecy Smith, Assistant Surveyor-General.

Schedule of Road-works to open Crown Lands before Sale completed within the Provincial District of Auckland during the Period from 1st July, 1883, to 30th June, 1884.

TABANAKI. I have the honour to forward a report on roads to open up Crown lands north of Waitara. The expenditure on the twenty miles of new road, which is an extension of the main road from Pukearuhe to Mokau, has been £859 6s. 6d. Of this, £222 10s. has been paid to natives on piecework, £472 10s. to contractors for bush-felling, and £164 6s. 6d. to Constabulary working parties. Before these works were commenced the travelling to' Mokau was attended with great danger to life, as the track lay principally along the sea-beach, with precipitous cliffs, at high water the sea dashing up against them. Points run out to sea, around which, even at lowest spring-tides, the traveller had to swim his horse, excepting in very rare instances. The first thing done to remedy the evil was to cut a zigzag horse-track up the face of the cliffs at the place known as the " Eope Ladder," which is here 160ft. in height; the streaks are from 2 to 3 chains, and the grade lin 5 ; the width varies from 2ft. 6in. to 4ft. This has proved a great service, as horses not loaded can be got up, and~the most dangerous points avoided. From t]je top of the cliff to Kawau, a distance of eight miles, the *pad,has been cleared a chain wide, and a good 6ft. horse-track made the whole distance. From this place at about half-tide there is a good beach to Mokau. Besides this, some ten miles of road has been felled by Constabulary working parties and contractors. From Pukearuhe to Tamurenui, near the zigzag, a road-line has been taken inland, to avoid the beach, which, below the cliffs, is generally a mass of large boulders. This goes through a saddle in

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Name of Road. Bridleroad. Cartroad. Graded in Addition. Bridges not included in Roads. Remarks. Homestead blocks, Mangonui Wairua to Helena Bay Whangarei-Taheke Purua-Mangakahia Maunganui Bluff-Kaihu ... Victoria-Okaihau ... Helensville-Kaipatiki Tauranga-Matata ... Ormond-Waiapu ... Tuparoa Branch Gisborne-Wairoa ... Ormond-Opotiki ... Taupo-Murimotu ... Euakituri Block Kohukohu-Eakautapu Maungakaramea-Tangiteroria Kenana-Eangiuru ... Aotea-Kawhia Kawhia-Waipa Miles. 2'25 4-5 0-25 Miles. Miles. Peet. Works still in progress. Completed. Works still progressing. Completed. 2-50 0-75 11-25 0-50 " 4-0 17-25 169 3-50 3Delayed. Completed. 30-3-25 4-4-5 Delayed. Completed. Works still in progress. ii-8 34-5 13-7 3- " if Delayed. Completed. 2-25 4-5 6-75 4-5-5 1-25 9Work still progressing. // // // n n . if Totals 54-3 69-5 70-95 169