behind Raupaki, and descending into the Plains near the Rev. Mr. Willock’s.

2nd. A line staked out in 1849 by the Surveyors of the Canterbury Association, commencing near the Hospital in Lyttelton—contouring the hills to the North of the town—passing over the present Bridle Path summit, and descending to the Plains by the second spur, west of the Bridle-path valley.

3rd. The Bridle Path.

4th. The line of the Sumner road as at present laid out.

6. After carefully considering the respective merits of these several plans, we have decided on rejecting the first three. They all present, in common, one great objection, which is that the summit to be crossed would be no less than 1090 feet in height: but, in addition to this, the difficult nature of the ground to be traversed on the south face of the hills in the two former cases, and the steepness of the gradient (1 in 5) in the case of the latter, would render them altogether so objectionable, that we could not recommend such an outlay of money upon them as would be necessary for the construction of a proper dray road.

The Bridle Path, however, is and must continue to be so great a convenience both to horsemen and foot passengers, as well as to persons driving stock between the Port and the Plains, that we beg to recommend the expenditure of a sum of £500 in widening, metalling, and improving it generally in the most difficult and dangerous parts of the road.

7. The Sumner road, as at present laid out, has alone, under this head, in any degree met with our approval. We are of opinion, that though it undoubtedly would, in many places, be very difficult of construction, and the cost of maintenance afterwards might be considerable, yet the fact that it crosses the hills at an elevation 440 feet lower than either of the other proposed lines, that its gradients are easy, and that a considerable portion of the work has already been completed, renders it the best line of the kind which could be selected. The estimated cost is £31,778, and the time required for its completion two years. (See Appendix, A.)

8. The third mode of communication which we have examined, viz., a road through the hills by means of a tunnel, may be regarded as a modification of the second line; it may therefore be convenient to lay before your Honor the result of our examination of this proposal, and then proceed to compare its advantages with those offered by the Sumner road.

9. We found that there were only two lines worthy of consideration.

The 1st, winding up the spurs at the back of Lyttelton to a tunnel 600 yards in length, at the head of the gully descending into Dampier’s bay, at an elevation of 520 feet above the sea, and descending the western slope of the bridle-path valley to the Plains. The second, following the line of the Sumner Road to Polhill’s Bay, thence contouring the hills at an easy gradient to a tunnel 200 feet below the summit of Evan’s Pass and 350 yards in length, opening into the Sumner valley and descending its western slopes at a gradient of 1 in 17, until it reaches the level about the Rev. Mr. Cotterill’s section, and thence running along the level below the hills until it again joins the Sumner Road.

10. A comparison between these two lines led us to reject the former. Its only recommendation would be that it is somewhat shorter than the other; but this advantage would be more than counterbalanced by the greater length of the tunnel, and the unsatisfactory nature of the ground which the approach to the tunnel would necessarily traverse. With regard to the latter, all that may be said of the Sumner Road as to those portions between Lyttelton and Polhill’s Bay on the one side of the hills, and the Heathcote Ferry and Sumner valley on the other, would apply equally to it. But it will be observed that the alteration of the Sumner road line so as to bring a road through a tunnel 200 feet below the summit of Evan’s pass will remove all the main difficulties of the old line. Instead of running round the face of the rocks above Gollan’s Bay towards Lyttelton, nearly a mile of most expensive and difficult work will be avoided by passing completely below these rocks: the labour of draught will be materially lessened by reducing the height to be surmounted, and, generally speaking, over the whole length of this portion of the line, the work would be most satisfactory, both as to stability and probable cost of maintenance.

11. A report equally favourable may be made of the road on the Sumner side of the hills.

The main feature of this proposal, viz., the tunnel, may, at first sight, appear the most objectionable part of the whole plan. We find, however, on examining into its details, that supposing the work to be carried on, by three shifts of men, during the whole twenty-four hours, seven months would be sufficient for its completion. Its length would not cause any great inconvenience to passengers from want of light in the interior, and we have every reason to believe that no serious difficulties would be encountered in the course of its construction.

13. The whole line of road, were an adequate supply of labour at command, might be opened for carts within eighteen months.