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devastated ; nearly all the best land being washed away or covered with silt, channels scoured out, and drift-wood and other rubbish piled up on various parts of the property ; fences were swept away or buried; their houses and other buildings were flooded, silted up or damaged, and the farms were rendered useless until re-sown and set in order. The owners are said to have sustained further heavy losses in having most of their stock drowned. The Messrs. Gockrane Brothers, immediately adjacent, state that they suffered considerably owing to some of their best land having been undermined and washed away. The floods covered the whole river-flats on both sides of the river about Porewa Junction, the frontages to York Farm and the Westoe Estate, and the Native lands opposite the Onepuhi Bridge. The railway-bridge at Kakariki is reported to have acted as a dam, the waters on the upper side, it is alleged, being 9 ft. higher than on the lower, thereby saving Mr. Venables's residence, on the lower side of the embankment, from total destruction. The house was surrounded by the flood-waters and the occupants rescued by boat. The loss in cattle and sheep is said to have been very heavy. Between the latter place and Bull's the properties of Mrs. Willis, and the Messrs. Tarand, Kilgour, and Hammond, where they abutted upon the river, were flooded and the whole of their lower flats silted over. Some of them are reported to have lost heavily in stock. The lower flat at Bull's was inundated, all buildings being surrounded by water. The fences were totally destroyed or injured, and all the inhabitants had to flee to the higher lands (some having to be rescued in boats), and were accommodated in the public hall and schoolroom by kind neighbours. On the subsidence of the floods the whole of these lands presented a scene of desolation, being covered with silt and drift-wood, houses were rendered uninhabitable, and a sense of insecurity created as to the safety of the locality for residence. Below Bull's, all the river-flats were flooded, also long lengths of the main road and a great extent of paddocks and plantations which were believed to be quite above flood-level. Properties so affected are the Parawanui Native Reserve lands, those of Messrs. Donald Eraser, McKenzie, Daniel, McKelvie, Scott, Burne, McDonell, and Mesdames Anion and McDonell, all suffering to a greater or less extent in loss of stock, destruction of fences, gardens, plantations, silting of lands, &c. Some of the settlers were confined to their houses, and had to seek refuge on piled-up furniture or on roofs, and in one case in a boat, until the floods abated or they were rescued. Mrs. Anion, near the mouth of the river, in particular was a grievous sufferer, and is reported to have lost half of a fine flock of sheep, and to have had about 400 acres of land silted over, all the occupants of the house having to take refuge on piled-up furniture from Friday night till Sunday morning, with hardly a particle to eat. We could not hear that any extraordinary damage occurred in the Turakina Valley, but the settlers in the upper portions of the Turakina, Wangaehu, Oroua, Eangitikei, and Pohangina are reported to have suffered from the flooding of their lands, portions of which were washed away, scoured out, or silted over. In the upper part of the Porewa, Hunterville suffered from the accumulation of flood-waters. The flood was reported to have been the greatest ever experienced, and that the houses in some of the lower portions of the township had to be deserted. Reliable reports show that the Wangaehu rose to an unprecedented height, and continued in high flood from the Friday to the Sunday. All the Natives at the Wangaehu Pa and settlements in the Rakautawa Block suffered severely. They are reported to have lost everything in the shape of potato and other crops, sheep, and pigs. Their fences were wrecked, their plantations buried in silt, and the water rose until it entered their whares and buildings in the old pa, filling the same with silt. The consequence was the Natives were left to face the winter under adverse circumstances. Messrs. Lethbridge, Craig, and Fletcher are reported to have suffered somewhat in stock. J. W. A. Mabchant, Chief Surveyor.

Captain Tubneb's Repobt. Alfredton-Weber Road, Weber End. Along the whole length of this road one mass of slips have descended, the extent of which I estimate at 10,000 cubic yards. Some of the low-lying portions of the road were completely under water, and at the portion now under contract for widening the water was within 12 in. of formationlevel. The river washed the surface clean to the papa, in some places washing away the papa also, leaving the road barely 7 ft. wide. Estimated extent of damage, £290. Waihi Bridge. This bridge was under water for four hours or more, the structure forming a dam or barricade for the floating timber, extending fully a chain in length above the bridge. The immense pressure was resisted, however, although the bridge was considerably shaken. Beyond the shifting of several diagonals, which were replaced, the bridge is intact. The approaches were scoured out, and have been filled in again. To make this bridge safe from such another flood it will be necessary to raise the truss 8 ft. higher, which can be done by means of hydraulic jacks, and the addition of two land spans, one of 40 ft. on the northern side and one of 16 ft. on the southern side. The groin will also require to be changed slightly. The probable cost of all these alterations will be about £350. The recent flood being phenomenal, it might be a question as to whether the suggested alterations should be made or whether the risk of another such flood should be run. Table Stream Bridge. The water rose to within 2 ft. of the booms, and the quantity of timber which passed under the bridge was enormous. Although the structure has sustained but little damage, it would greatly