THE MIDLAND RAILWAY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1278, 2 July 1886, Page 3

THE MIDLAND RAILWAY.

Wellington. Jaly 1

Mr Blair, Assistant Bngineer-m duel, has sent In a voluminous report on the Midland Railway, dated April 7di, in which ha forms a more favorable opm-.m of the feasibility » nd prospects of the work than his former report on the same snbiect He stales that he devoted seven weeks to the work, and has seen every part of the island htely to col tribute directly or indirectly to the support of the l ! ne. He estimates the length from the east to Brunner ton at 95 miie.i, and the cost £1,505,000 ; and the Nelson eection, 154 miles, and the coast £1,330,000. A minute description of tho character and re sources of the country through which the line passes isgiven, and Mr Biair estimates that 10,550 square miles will be served by the new line In this, howeve-, he includes thebranch Torbouao to Blenheim, 67 m les, at a cost of i‘375.000, which he «»ys n easy of construction, The latest surveys have shown that a grade of one in 50 can be sustained without the necessity of snob heavy inclines as it was at first supposed would be necesaaiy at Arthur’s Pass. The curves have been gr ally modified. Tvlr B'.air now boos reaton to alter his first opinion mat the railway would barely pay working expenses He thinks it will yield £12.1,000 a year, but he omnot say how much will b e profit, as it Is difficult to calculate working expenses. Doder ordinary circum* tanoea this would give about 2| per cent oB the cost of the line. He h also altered his opinion as to the effect of tho development or the har ors of |t ie West Coast on the railway, and urges that the more ihe harbours are developed the mote trade and population will flow In to produce paying traffic for the railways. He c noludes a report of twentysix pages as follows : lahall now briefly summarise the princif A conclusions prrlved at(1) the route t lopted for the East and West Ooa t and Nelson P il way is tho best available, and it fits in with the future railway system of the colony ; (2) the a’lgnmont and levels of the railway are equal to those on the Middle Island Main Line. The engineer Ing difficulties rre confined to the Dressing of the main iange and the tUrges of the iWdmakarirl and Buller ; (3) after being elmost stationary for a long time, the population of the West Coast baa begun to increase through the development of the co*l industries ; (4) there is a considerable extent of arable land on the West Const, but the principal resources of tho country are timber and minerals. Most of the good land is covered with dense forest, so it cannot be settled rapidly ; (5) the forests are of great extent and value, and well situated as regards a market for the timber ; (6) the West Coast contains a great variety of minerals, but gold and coal are the only ones PS yet found in any quantity and worked; (7) alluvial gold diggings will last for many years, but there is no prospect of a new field; qntu+z mining *■> a permanent industry, capable of considerable extension ; (8) the c al fields on the West Const ate of ve.y great extent and yield first class coal, end the coal mining industry is capable of enormous expansion. The East and lAesfc Corit Bailway will probably yield a revenue of £120,C00, but the nett, return cannot be estimated.