THE MEANS TO PROGRESS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16410, 2 January 1919, Page 7

THE MEANS TO PROGRESS.

; TO TOT EDITOR 0* "THE PRESS."- , i Sir, —Having created an unsuccessful > canal with an entrance specially de- \ signed to pile up steamers on the \ south spit, your correspondent proceeds , to hypothesise on the probable journey i up to tho terminus. It is diverting, ■ certainly, but has nothing to do with 1 the question of "double handling" at t Lyttelton, and the cause of the migra- ; tion from here to Wellington on tho part of so many outside firms. Subverting his diflicultios, and exaggerat- ! ing mine will not get us any nearer tho ; truth. lam prepared to own that in- ! stead of cartage to Heathcote or wherever tho new port may be, costing only i a "fraction" of the present charge from . Lyttelton, as it is now, or through a , tunnel road, it would probably bo about | one-third or such cost. The amount , has been adduced in pamphlets by j Mossrs Joshua Little and C. Allison. That tunnel road, however, in order to i get completely over the double handling , difficulty, and, approximately, equal Heathcote for convenience, would have : to accommodate all conceivable traffic, including traction trains with wool from all parts of the country. A lovely congestion, indeed, and then they work till all the wharves were altered and enlarged to make room for roadways and the necessary goods sheds that would bo required to take the place of the existing sheds in Christchurch. And after all was done there arises the inevitable comparison between a system that adds nothing to the attractions of Cliristchurch in a sense, with an industrial watenvay with unlimited land on each side for the creation of all those industries which at present find what they want at Auckland and Wellington. Apparently, "Thin Wedge" has abandoned this sort of a tunnel, however, as ho is now pinning his faith on duplication and electricity, leaving tho main bugbear where it is at present. No new values whatevor are created by these improvements, whereas the Canal will get an endowment from over 1000 acres of reclaimed Estuary. Apparently, our local waterway will bo unique in its difficulties of navigation, but the reasons given are not convincing. We do not hear of difficulties in the Coode Canal or up the Yarra in Melbourne. As for tho captain, there is no reason why he should be over-anxious, for the simple reason that- a pilot would have charge, and our port, if needs be, could take entire responsibility from outside the moles till such time as skippers obtained exemption, which a very few trips would enablo them to obtain. It is on rocord that several of them have expressed a view practically endorsing this. "Thin Wedge" will see their statements in the reports of the engineers. The Canal Commissioners selected Buckley's Corner as tho terminus, a distance of two miles from the G.P.0., not three, as your correspondent states. The cxtensivo railway diversions would be an item, of course, but the general Government would have to undertake thom, and, after all, Canterbury is owed something from the Government in return for its fifty years' monopoly of the Port railway. Tho Canal wfll cost money, but, according to very general opinion, it will make tho .district. The suggestion that it should bo abandoned on account of the opposition from the rest of Now Zealand does not seem to fit in anywhere. It is not according to tho history of development. Opposition is the prelude to every reform on ' earth. 3>iroct communication is so important, that a harbour formed by the two moles without any canal at aJI would bo handier than Lyttelton, and, if an adoquate area were enclosed, would holp to save the situation in caso of unforeseen diflicultios arising to delay the construction of the Canal. Such a harbour need bo no further tiTan 5.V miles from the G.P.0., and accessible by motor carriago in twelve to fifteen minutes. Such a possibility, remote though it is, should make the forming of an outer harbour a "sine qua non," with berthage for two steamers. It is easy to create comic pictures of Canal difficulties, but it is impossible for anyone looking on that Estuary to deny the possibilities and advantages of direct so,a access in some shape or form, and this for the present, I take it, is all that Canal advocates claim, that tho principle of the reform be officially recognised sound, and worth going into again. Whatever doubts thore may be regarding the exact distance which will senn.rate tho citv warehouse from the ship in its new fjTfcb. we have at least ono incontrovertible fact, and that is that the Lyttelton wharves are soven mile* off, with access barred to tile nrivate carrier. I think "Thin Wedge's" theory on land values wilT not stand analysis. Demand has as much to do with it as supply. The supnlv in al! those small towns in the North "Hand is ample, but the continued demand forces ni> tho price. The demand is caused by faith in the future. It is well to bo on the ground floor for a time, no doubt, hut if there is no demnnd. tho man in possession just naturally stays on the rrround floor, and stagnates there, and so ifc will be with Christchurch if we do not develop our estate and attract fresh blood and capital.—Yours, etc.. CHAS. D. MATSON.