The Clutha Leader.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 28, 21 January 1875, Page 4

The Clutha Leader.

A b ranch line of ; tailway td River is a sug^stion ' which haslbeen l W again revived. I'tie matter was hrhnfrhrM be-fore the Provincial Counbil / : tiy "tielM district member, Mri M'Neii; ftst^es- ! |H sion when a' motion was passed affirmltefM the desirability of a .pr«SdinaWsurveylH b ! in * B* d *- . Pf bourse that" mean's Wc'S very little, 'still,; tHere : is'fio* f rfefson J&HfflM » h msZs}s: a preilmiriarf &Jtty9 ff ? #i^'|^Vas"it; we : re,JW lf Mn?a« «6titt&.- s 'l b d '^ctifeve' tfii^^m^dMil'Bl step will have to be taken by the difl-IH

trict itself. Left to its own free will, it is very plain the Government has no intention ot moving 1 in the matter, and in this respect we cannot but contrast itscnndtict withtho hot-haste Tnanifefctpd b/ it some few months since in the matter of the Hiverton branch lines. The plea set up on behalf of these works was the Long-wood Ranpre bush, but that plea sinks into insignificance whpn compared with the extensive bush territory which would become properly utilized by the establishment of a line to CRtlin's River. We do not desire to underrate the Riverton bush lands, but, situated as they are. at the very extremity to which settlement in the Province has extended, no one can doubt for an instant but that the Catlin's River bush is, and must continue to be for a very lon^ time to oome, by far the most accessible of the two. It is quite true that there is not only a harbor at Catlin's, but also at other points along the coast contiguous to the bush in question These harbors, however, are far from bein» suitable or convenient for shipping- purposes. The mouth of the river at Catlin's is blocked up by a sunken rock which has already proved to be a fruitful source of shipping casualty. To clean out this channel a very considerable expenditure will be required, and that expenditure will have, sooner or later tj be incurred, unless the traffic hu otherwise provided for — tho only adequate provision being a line of railway such as is proposed. This of itself is a strong argument in favor of the work bfing undertaken by Government, or at all events such concessions being made as would warrant the thing being taken in hand otherwise. Similar objections exi.st to the other harbors by which this bush is tapped. Tautnku can only be approached by crafts of small burden, during certain states of the weather, and the very fact that saw milling as a pursuit had to be abandoned at Waikawa, proves that the outlet in that direction is far from being a good one. It may be argued that the proposed line would merely tap the bush at one particular spot, but when we take into account the facilities which bush contry presents for constructing tramways that argument bpcomes of no avail whatpver as an objection. Once establish the line of communication and the timber trade is of sufficient importance to make its way right into the very heart of the bush. The.se are, so to speak, a few of the collateral reasons which exist for the proposed work. Cogent as they may seem, what may be designated as the principal and by far the most pressing reason, is the timber supply — a shortness in which is already beginning to exercise a material effect upon the progress of public works and operations generally. This deficiency, it would appear, the adjoining colonies are not in a position to remedy. A Northern contemporary to hand by the last mail publishes the following : — " Sawn " timber appears to be as senrep in " Ta>mania as it is in New Zealand " A telegram in another column informs "us that the General Government had " failed to procure the timber for the " new Government buildings from Tas- " mania, and has found it necessary to " fall back on local contractors. The " Government can hardly be blamed for " the attempt to procure Tasmanian "timber. The principal reason for " sending there appears to be that the " Governmenc expected to get it at a " cheaper rate than that at which the 11 local contractors were willing to de- " liver it. Were the totara forests of u rhe colony opened up by railways u being constructed to their vicinity we " would probablv never have heard " anything of the Tasmanian timber/ "which had been sent for principally " from motives of economy." With facts like these before us, it must be conceeded that ihe utalizaticn of our available bush is a point of pressing importance. To import timber when we Lavp a timber reserve of our own for development is as unwise as it is highly impolitic.