BAD EOADS AND SHORT .SUPPLIES, 
off. If the car fc men sold the rice or failed to de- 
liver it, they would take no action against the con- 
tractor, hut hold me responsible/’ Well, this was de« 
cided - nough, so the carts were unloaded at Atabage, 
and the cartmen paid their full fare. So bad w. re the 
roads at that time, tha,t it was once reported of a 
Pusseliawa planter that his hat was seen lying on the 
top of a mud hole, but that the reporter of this cir- 
cumstance was too much occupied with attending to 
his own personal safety, to have time to examine 
whether toe planter had sunk down into the hole, and 
left his hat floating on the top of the mud, or if 
his hat had merely blown off, and he found it unsafe 
to attempt to pick it up a_aim* 
At last, horsemen, and even foot passengers aban- 
doned the road altogether, and made tracks on the ad- 
joining patana grounds. 
The r ad was inipas-ahle even for a light carriage, 
and those who attempted it had to lead their car- 
riage and come out and walk. I never knew how 
things were d!o"edto get into this state. Whether 
from \raut of money, or labour, or want of orders, 
something wrong with the “ red tape. ”t Certainly, 
they had to pay “ thi- piper ” in getting the road put 
into proper repair, for, it is with roads as with many 
other things — A stitch in time saves nine.” It fre- 
quently happened, that one planter was quite out of 
rice ; his neighbour, whose ca,rts had just arrived, had 
plenty. Th n the order of the day was, a note was 
sent to the latter, requesting, as a temporary loan, a 
certain amount of rice, sure to be returned by “ this 
day week,” for our carts are “ due in three days.” 
The request being generally acceded to, coolies are 
sent to the store of the obliging neighbour, some miles 
off. This involves, at least, one d'y, or haif-a-day’s 
work ; immed ate starvation is staved off ; but in a 
few days the borrov\ed rice is done, our carts liave not 
arrived, and we are again in want. Much to our con- 
Bternation a note arrives from the friendly neighbour, 
reminding us of the promise to pay,” stating that his 
* Our correspondent ought not to have forgotten th© 
story of men with long poles being sent in advance of 
«arts and carriages to sound the holes, anything more 
than three feet deep being deemed dangerous ! — Ed, 
t It was quite understood that Sir George Anderson 
had received instructions to put the finances of the 
Colony in a safe condition. He acted strictly on his 
orders, and the result was his own unpopularity and 
the popular ity of Sir H. Ward, who found a large ba- 
lance avail'*.ble, of which he made a good use by 
spending liberally on roads and bridges. —E d. 
