"IN FULL SYMPATHY."

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 817, 14 May 1910, Page 3

"IN FULL SYMPATHY."

NEW STATIONPREMIER AND THE LOCAL .BODIES. QUESTION OF, COST. . / ] One of the largest deputations which has waited upon the Prime Minister (Sir. Joseph Ward) for a considerable time urged upon him yesterday the necessity for the erection of a new general railway station for Wellington. It consisted of the : Mayor and councillors of the city of • Wellington, the Mayors of the suburbs,. and loading members of all othor local bodies in, the district. After a variety of arguments had been advanced in support of the erection of a new station, the Prime Minister, it will bo seen, indicated' that he was in full sympathy with the wishes of the deputation.

■ Mr. Wilford, M.P., Mayor of Wellington, said that the object of the deputation was to bring before the Government a resolution passed on the subject by the City Council, and acquiesced in by the other local bodies. It waa to the effect that the time had Brihed when a general railway station" adequate to the' requirements of the city and suburbs should be erected in a suitable locality. The reason why so many local bodies were represented was to show the general unanimity which existed on the subject. Wellington was certainly, behind the other cities so far as an adequate railway station was concerned. The necessity far an up-to-date station was greater now that the Government had taken over the ,Manawatu line. He was aware that the Government had a big scheme in connection with the matter: The question of site waa one for the Government and its engineers. It was felt, however, that the local bodies should be allowed to make representations on the subject.

Useful, Not Ornate, Building Desired. He plight point out that the deputation did not desire an ornate but a useful building. It was hoped, however, that'the structure would not be. built in wood. .In conclusion, Mr. Wilford said that the Harbour Board had agreed to do all in its power to assist towards getting a quicker ferry service. / : Councillor Devine, who moved the resolution at the City Council, said that m the past great inconvenience had been experienced in Wellington in regard to railway facilities. He might mention that Wellington had not been hysterical or. hustling in regard, to its demands on the Government for utilities in the past..-, But it must now be admitted that the time had arrived for a centrally-situated and effioient railway, station for'the city.' ' " Mr. Tewsloy, president of the Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that better'railway facilities were 1 of even greater importance than anything con;nected with the oversea mail .services. •It was to be hoped that something would be done to cope with the present railway requirements, and the prospective requirements for, say, the next '25 years. ■ ' '

■ .Mr. Fletcher, chairman of the Wellington Harbour' Board, emphasised the necessity for additional railway accom'modation.and facilities. . » . .. .

Mr. Seaton, on; behalf of the Shopkeepers'' Association, remarked that if 'an up-to-date station were erected here, it would bo almost fully revenuc-produc-' ing as a result of the letting of refreshment rooms, etc.' Mr. Harkness, Mayor of Onslow, I stated that Mr. Hall-Jones had promised • that as soon'as tho Manawatu lino was ; acquired a new general Btation would ; bo gone on with. . ■'•.-•■

Sir Joseph: Would: be considered. \ Mr.; Harkness , also pointed out the inconvenience to railway passengers for tho- south through being put down at Thorndon.

Other speakers were: Mr. Bull, presi-' dent'of the Industrial Association: Mr. M'Ewan, Mayor of Petone; Mr, Baldwin, acting-Mayor of Lower Hutt; Mr. Brodio, Mayor of Miramar; Mr, Dasent, Mayor of Karori; ,Mr. J. ' P. 'Luke,' M.P., for the: suburbs; and Mr. W. :Allan, member'of the Wellington Education Board. ... .',',■..■

Reply by- Slr : Joseph Ward. The. Prime Minister (in reply) said that he was quite in accord .with the deputation .as ■to the .necessity. for a, new station. lie trusted) however, that in the future if anybody condemned'him for providing a suitable struqture they would'have something to say in his defence. (Laughter.) His experience had'been that -when reasonable requirements had been met at a'place, it was, not long before even,those who benefited 'began to say that they had been overprovided for.; that the Government should •. not have borrowed, money for the purpose; and, in addition, that an ornate building was not necessary. He knew that some of the members of the deputation had in their mind the Dunedin railway station. Well, he would like to make it clear that that station cost only £49,000. The ornateness about it consisted of the fact that it had a" big verandah which'was made at the ' Dunedin railway workshops! Yet there were some people who-' bad' had plenty of experience, but had shut .their eyes to the beauties of the verandah and gone away under the. impression that the ornateness had really amounted to profligacy.. The citizens would be surprised'to find how much it would cost to'puttho Wellington yard right without taking into account a station at all. In the case of Dunedin, thecost of altering the yard and duplicating portion of a suburban lino were invariably included in the. cost-of the station by some people. l .As regards Wellington, the estimate for carrying out what was required without any excessive expenditure ran into between £300,000 and £400,000. He did not know whether other people than those whose business brought'them'closely in : touch with the matter could realise the improvements which would be necessary in connection with the yards'. : It in-, volved the making of a number of railWay tracks in the yards to ah .extent that if they were put end to end they would run into a number of miles. He knew .of no one living who could carry out such extensive works without the' expenditure of a large sum of money.

Further Details of tho Scheme, In the plan, before him, which, was, not so extended as had been originally contemplated, the lowest estimate of! the railway officials to do what was required during the next' few years without carrying the schemo to its full completion was £215,000, without a new railway station to meet tho requirements of tho place. It was impossible ■to begin to build the station until tho requirements entailed by tho duplication works in regard to'the Hutt- ljno. were known. As he had' said before, ; the whole schemo would run into up to : £400,000, which would includo' a station' of reasonable dimensions without any: extravagant features. The great bulk' of tho amount involved .would undoubtedly be. required for railway facilities, including goods-shed accommodation and all necessary auxiliaries for carrying on; tho business of a great railway emporium such as Wellington. In-other centres, it' had to ,be roraombered, largo- .amounts -would also require to be expended within tho next few years. Tho Government fully realised that in connection with a railway .impinging on a sen-nori it was, necessary to have railway facilities pro-; vided to .enable tho inn-easing trafficto ho handled 'night and day. Whore in New Zcalandoonipnratively fow hundreds were being spent, as 'many milh'fOTß wore expended' at Home without

better facilities.' Their representations that day were valuable from the point of view of getting a healthy public opinion on the wholo matter. As to the exact timo when the Department would be ablp to commence the improvements it. was impossible for him to .tell. The Government itself. did not know the exact site of the proposed station or what would be tho extent or tie form of the alterations. . The present station he had always recognised to be a poor one, but those who remembered the old Dunedin station would agree that it was the worst in the Dominion. He might with Mr. Wilford call the Wellington station a "shedifice," but the old Dunedin station was a "cow-shed." (Laughter.) Regarding the location of the station it wonld be considered as to whether the local bodies should be consulted.' Local Bodies and the Station Site. He could foresee a great many difficulties if the local bodies were to have a say in the matter. The people best calculated to put it in the proper place were those who had no concern with local public bodies. He did not say that the local bodies did not know as much as they did, but if it were left to half a dozen representatives of local bodies the matter would never be settled. (Laughter.) They would all remember tho Government's.experience in connection with the North Island Main Trunk line. The people squabbled among themselves as to the route and then blamed the Government for the resultant delay afterwards. On that point he_ might say that,a great, deal of publicity would from time to time be given on the subject and local bodies would have an opportunity to make representations as;to their, views.

' Mr. Wilford: That is all they want. Sir Joseph: Thare will be no difficulty about thai.

In conclusion Sir Joseph repeated that be was in accord, with the deputation as to the necessity for a new station. The development of traffic required it. In regard to the ferry service be hoped that the Harbour Board would at the proper time afford the necessary facilities which would be necessary. What was wanted was a specific ferry wharf and then the transfer of the passengers from, the station to the wharf could be effected. Provision of this nature had been made at Lyttelton and it would be a good thing if it were done at Wellington. Tho Government was anxious to do all it could, but it required the co-operation of the Harbour Board. It was hoped that tho board would prove to be a good Christian in the matter and not ask the Government to pay for what it'did in the matter. (Laughter.) "I think," 'added Sir Joseph, "that within the next few months we should be able to arrive at a decision as to how faT we can go." <