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part of the road has not benefited the adjacent land at all, as it is precipitous and steep. This I thinkl is true, but no evidence was given to show that the reconstruction of the road had increased values in an} other district, save and except perhaps to a slight extent at Kaiwarra. The fact also remains that it was the legal duty of the Makara County to keep the road in proper order for traffic, and that as the result of the statute has been to relieve the county of its full burden, it ought in equity to the other bodies bear its fair share of the same, and this share cannot be determined by the quota only of traffic in respect to which its people derive benefit. In this respect Makara, and Onslow are on a different footing from the rest of the districts. The approximate cost of constructing the 266 chains of the road in Makara County is somewhat over £60,000, and the share of this sum properly chargeable to Makara in any ordinary case would be the cost of a road reasonably sufficient for its own traffic. What that cost would be is now almost impossible to estimate. The county would probably say that the old road was good enough for its traffic. The fact is that Parliament has ordered that a new road should be made, and that Makara should contribute thereto; and, this being so, and judging by its use of the new road as disclosed by the tallies of traffic, and taking all other equities into consideration, and after allowing a fair reduction for the abattoir traffic, I am of opinion that Makara ought justly to bear 12 per cent, of the cost. Johnsonville Town Board. The use of the road for the purposes of Johnsonville as shown by the taffies of traffic is as under :— Result No. 1 ... ... .. .. 2-84 per cent. Result No. 2 .. .. .. .. 2-25 „ Result No. 3 .. .. .. .. 4-92 „ The first two results relate to a comparative use of the whole road ; the last one for the most part refers to a partial use of the road-—viz., from Ngahauranga to Wellington. If the 4-92 per cent, is reduced to a comparative use of the whole road, it gives the result of about 2-03 per cent, for the whole road. It is clear from the other evidence that Johnsonville does not use the road very largely, and that the reconstruction of the road has not benefited the town appreciably. It was proved that the tally of traffic was slightly incorrect in so far as Johnsonville is concerned, and, taking all these and other facts into consideration, and allowing for expansion when the Ngahauranga Gorge Road is improved, and comparing it with the Upper Hutt Town Board, I am of opinion that if it paid 2 per cent, of the cost it would be fair. Miramar. Very little traffic from this district uses the road, and it is manifest from its geographical position that the road never can be of much advantage to Miramar. The traffic in which Miramar is interested was— Result No. I .. .. .. .. 0-13 per cent. Result No. 2 .. • .. .. .. 0-27 Result No. 3 .. .. .. .. 0-17 This would only support an apportionment of, say, 0-20 per cent., or say, in round numbers, \ per cent. ; and this I consider is the limit of its interest. Upper Hutt Town Board. The evidence in this case did not prove any great use of the road by or for the purposes -of the Board. The results of the tallies of the traffic are— Result No. 1 .. .. .. .. 1-48 per cent. Result No. 2 .. .. .. .. 1-50 Result No. 3 .. .. .. .. 0-32 From these results it appears that very few of the vehicles using the road are owned in the Upper Hutt, but it is clear that its use for heavy traffic is equal to 1| per cent, of the whole. It is true that some slight errors were made in the tallies which would reduce this somewhat; and, this being so, the facts, in my opinion, prove that it ought to pay \\ per cent, of the cost.