OPUNAKE RAILWAY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 956, 25 October 1910, Page 6

OPUNAKE RAILWAY.

DEPUTATION TO THE PRIME >/ MINISTER. ■ ■■ -..'■. NO DEFINITE PROMISE. i A deputation consisting of twelve sotitlers from Opunake and adjasont > disIfcricts waited upon, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Works':yesterday. The deputation was introduced by Mr. &ine, H.P. .■"/:: ,',"■'. .; ■ /■-'. Mr. W. C. Dudley (chairman of tho - Opnnake Town Board) said he was almost tired : of. coming down to ask for this railway. The line was an absolute necessity. The county was densely populated, and.produced more stuff than any -county:"of. a similar size...He' was.satisified'-; a railway' would ' pay," handsomely.' The roads were very expensive to keep up because there was little, metal, and what there was was of poor quality. The -people thought the Government,, were doing, a great injustice to the'county in Hot -going on with the line. They had ibeen asking for bread and they had got a stone, but, he felt sure they would be /going-back with a good'.bit'of cake. ■•■• Mr; G.' ,W. Rogers spoko of the output from' the factories, which was largely /increasing. As tho, land rose in value , lit. lad to have more manure to cause in--'creased fertility and, make'it pay. : -•: . ■ Mr.'-'J. Young (Parihaka Road Board) «aid tho cost of getting goods' delivered Ifrom New Plymouth or Eltham.to Opu-' ■ :nake under, present conditions was almost .' [prohibitive. "., Mr.jG. G. Harcourt (Auroa) spoke of ' fthe increase from the.factories in his dis- - [trick > Their roads had. gone a good deal 'to' : pieces this season in consequence-of ithe- heavy traffic,: and the- county would ■ have -to go in 'for an increased loan;; They-had been down to Wellington be-.' fore_ asking for.something, but they had received nothing. -This time,they wanted something definite. ,' ■■:; , ~-.•-. Sir Joseph-Ward (emphatically)':' Well,' -you. won't,;get -it, nor. will any other deputation, before :tha -Public Works Statement is brought down;, There -is no •use your-talkihg !L in that' strain -to the /.Government./ . ,;Mr.,W. Sivadling referred to the bad /condition in'which/t'hqir .{roads' we're. ■They wanted to 'get';manure-ihv and they. Wanted ! to get it in as cheaply as pos- . Bible. The matter of the route should bo ' left'to ;;the Government. .They would be very glad to welcome'tho Prime Min-'. .- ister in. tho; district 1 and Mr. M-'Eenzie .as well; They had not a Mlenzio in ./the district, now: they had; all.' left. (Laughter.)v'Tho: Ijfe was too" strenuous .for them.'(Laughter.) . ; .Mr. T. J.'Quinn (chairman Of the Eltham County Council) ; said' an/.ondeavour had ■: to get up - a .training scheme, but it had failed. The roads were very bad. and they'" would,- have 'to put their ; traffic on rails. The district had already borrowed largely for roads and the rates were., very heavy. The position" was; getting very, acute. . ~The' Prime- Minister, in replying, said 'that he could give the .deputation no definite promise.' The Government: had' to; deal'with the whole .question-,of irail- - way within tho total amount ■ available, ■and until the Public Works Estimates were brought down there .could: be. no , definite reply. '".The "; whole'.country. was ■asking-for railways' at' the present.- time' : and a"., great many ofvthem. for.,necessary; -railways,-but railway construction had to be controlled by circumstances that were not so ■ flexible: as the deputation imagined. ;The Government .could hot comply .with _all the demands for" railways un|less _it/were' prepared 'to raise" : soveral ;millions a year beyond the capacity of ithe wountry., They ' knew, the .district was a igood: one.and they: were.anxious theset'Wers should have railway'facilities; Not [long ago, however, some-of their people thad told;the Government;a harbour was, what they wanted. '(Mr.'- R. M'Kanzie: Sear;: hear.) Well/-they'-: had legislated ifor a harbour,; but before anything prac-. tical had been done they came along and asked for a railway. ; What, ho asked, was Mocking/ the, harbour? ' A member of the deputation: The area 8s too small; it is worthless; .-■- .-' /'.i /'.Sir Joseph Ward: 'Toil mean that was! /done by;the House, of course.: <-. ;.,,.,, , The member of tho deputation: I-mean ■you.gentlemen down here."• ' Sir Joseph ;Ward: I ■ don't know about that. ; Mr. Dive wanted-the whole coun-'-try.:; K'V' ■'..'-•.'," ■ Mr.\Dive: I was not here at all,, sir, It would have been all right if I had been here.■■, Sir Joseph' Ward replied that they had asked .for'ithe (.arbour, and whatever the case, nothing comparatively had// been done.,:,- As an alternative, however;' tho -.Government would review the whole mat- ' 4er, could not tell whether "it •would be possible to authorise a railway in that district-at the'present time. .;■■' A member of .the deputation said .the settlers 1 were quite willing to rat9;th'em- - selves for the railway.'■'.-' ~', ■.'<■ . ;.:Sir, Joseph' Ward said a great many. : other people were willing .to do likewise, ■ but the Government could not agreo.,.to. .that. .In practice, it was no -.good.';'' -'If" they weTO to agree, to!such applibatibns, they would have: to borrow four or five millions :a. year. : , .', ' '...:;'A member .of the deputation: - Why ; jiot, if thelines- are, reproductive? .'.'.■..'".:.: Sir Joseph -Ward said that' was not : all" .of it-'Other, things had to be considered, and the country could only borrow up to", ascertain limit.' ': ,;; ......... •:. ,';'A;deputatioh.ist: ..This is not a new laolway,. it is s an. exceptional case; : Sir. Joseph Ward: Everyone thinks his 3s an exceptional: case..; He. added;that lhad the country adopted the policy of imaking one railway: at a time and 'finishing it they could do the work much 4nore cheaply. ■• ~,.--. A.deputationist: ?Wiy not do it?.,.,.■■_-, ■ Sir Joseph Ward/replied l that.otherdisftricts required' to.'be considered. •■• •Mr.,' Dudley:. We will.- borrow- /.the' jmoney for this- and'hand it.to you. • ;Sir Joseph ...,' said .the'• Government would /borrow r the ' money much easier (than : the / settlers.. ■- - They . could, get . money' without ( difficulty, but .that was (not the: trouble. -If the settlers borrowed lit;and:handed it to the Government,' it .(would not alter the position. The Gov'wrnment, as' the custodians, of the whole icountry,.; had/to .see'.,that .'they l .did : : not '."■ Sorrow., more.'- than-a 'certain amount. '~ A ■deputationist,remarked : that . Mr. iHaJI-Jbnes had promised'that when the ■i iMain:'Tr'unk.line finished' this: lino [would-be gone' on with.' ' Sir Joseph Ward said no Government, neither 'the one of /which Mr. Hall-Jones -was a member, nor the present one, could tbe bound : by such a .'promise. • The mat-, iter would have to be considered by Cabinet, and no Minister would bind his 'colleagues.' ;If'. they, had/a commitment /from the Government,' with the 1 decision »f Cabinet, then it would: go on. Offers 'rto rate'fpr th'e railway, or an alternative iproposal that. the settlers should Taise ithe money and, hand' it to the Governpjient, were not feasible. had ito carry the liability just the same. The Hon. R.M'Kenzie'said he proposed rto visit ■ Taranaki as soon" as he could. [It had to be remembered that .£IOO,OOO was spent on the Stratford-Ongarue railway last year, and that line had to bo " carried 'to Whangamomona. Until- that point was reached he did not think any new railways would be started in Taranaki; Indeed, he. was doubtful whether any now railways could be started/in' ■New ' this 'year. The railway's already in hand had to be. pushed on towards completion. The Government could not borrow three or four millions per year. If they did, the Opposition .ifould say they were Tuininp; the country. Mr. Dudley: They say that now, sir. • Mr. M'Kenzie: I know; but that is one reason why we cannot borrow any more money than we are doing..' .