RIMUTAKA DEVIATION

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 60, 4 December 1920, Page 11

RIMUTAKA DEVIATION

WAINUI ROUTE A"SD ELECTRIC , POWER.

Sir-Now that Mr. J. C. Cooper has returned, and is talking common sense in the matter of the Z"' ply for AVairarapa. I hope that ho ni.a the members of the lower ..-oaul w.ll sunnort the railway deviation. Ma the Wainui-o-mata. and not (ontinue -;lrDaniel's blunder, m .avouung the ra hourinikau or old coach road route*. I believe it is the intention of the Government to extend' the pesent lme up the Hutt Valley, and then branch enst and west to Peatherston and the West' C>»ast (Waikanae up the Aka arawa/ Of course, that will bo J«olutely fatal to Waimrapn, as wo shall still havo u shockingly had rail service to the nort ovv the Bimutaka, in plate ct the snlendid'service via Waimn. t>v tunnelling through the hill. Sir ' v fmm almost as much tunnel woiK from Woodvillo to Ashhurst tt.rough .the Mannwatu Gorge, as would he required via the Wainui chief tunnel, so tunnelling should be no difficulty. The tunnell'ng there will be found an utterly different proposition to the .five miles n(- (he Otira Gorge, as it will be through very much tho same class ot count, v as in our present nm.»_ tunnel. A fresh survey, which Mt Jlnssev promises, will surely overcome Mt. J. P. Luke's objection to the airM ' l 1, " e : % account of fancied injury to the Wn.ii'ii. tleseryoiT. I can abjure Lulco llmt I am not out to injure Wellingtons water supply, oa T think my writings have shown for tho .0 years now desirous T have been of improving ano vastly increasing it. What is wanted Dow is tho two Wellington Ghnmbera ot Commerce and all the Wairarapa local bodies to Insist upon ft lev«l lino to the port, as a eino qua non for Wellingtons i'uturo progroJfl. ilr Luko must Tint take up tlin same attitude as Mr. Daniels. Wc must havn 09 level a lino as possible Jnto And oiuof the port. Wo shall never got it via t]ie Aiataraw» and Waikanae, ns I am Monned thai t>* twelve* XbUtt M pMv

posed deviation is as rough, if not rougher, than the present Bimutnkn service. Wellington must tunuol out, not travel over. tho hills. That is exactly what Chrislcliurch wisely determined upon in ISGfI, in Hie Lyttolton tunnel, and has never regretted it. Surely Wellington and Wairarapa. will now follow Chriatchurcli's wise lead, an<i abandon tho orawling over tho IriJls policy altogether. Our deviation will shortly havo to ba electrified, nnd asi level a line ns possible consequently obtained, in order to do the express journey to Masterton from lown in one hour and a half economically. We shall have plenty of hydro-electric power lrom Mangahao and .Waikaremoana directly. The Wairarapa Electric Power Boara should realise Mr. Parry's excellent plan of big power services, in place of a number of little ones that the lion, Mr. Coates now quite condemns. Now that' Mr. J. C. Cooper realises the tpifttako that has been mado, I hope the Power P-wd will ever;- Fiipnnrt to the Wainui deviation, for should the matter be -left entirely '-to the experts," as Mr. Daniels and his prey town supporters mistakenly wish, good-byo for ever to our getting a quick and easy rail service to the port. We shall still go crawl ng over the hills, .a thing Christchurch absolutely condemned cO years ago. I Jiopo the Masterton Chamber oi : Commerce will insist that some business men and sheep-farmere shonld be appointed by the whole district to join with the experts in settling tho rente. Let all the local bodies nominate a small committee, of which I am ready to form one.—l am, etc..

COLEMAN. PHILLIPS, Carterton, November 30, 1920.