RAILWAY TO ROSS.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 30 May 1901, Page 4

RAILWAY TO ROSS.

A public meeting convened by the Mayor was held in the Town Hull lust nlght.j

The Mayor who occupied the chair, explained the object of the meeting and said that it would be beneficial to the whole of the West Coast, particularly to port of Greymouth as all timber would have to bo shipped at Greymouth. It would open up a splendid timber and mining country, and the line would in time go to Otago. If a private Company had had the Grcy-Hokitilca line they would have extended it to Ross ere now. The speaker said that if private enterprise made a line pay he thought Government would treble the revenue, as the Government encouraged settlement. Mr Grimmond, Mayor of Boss, briefly thanked the Mayor for convening the meeting. The proposed extension would not only benefit the Coast, but the whole of the colony. He l.kencd it to the Jackson’s line, and said that the county the proposed lino would pass through would be similar so far as timber was concerned, and highly auriferous. The demand for timber in the colony greatly exceeded the supply. As an instance he quoted the balloting for the Waitara block of land. There wore 153 applicants for this block of 5000 acres. It was all bush land, and sawmills would bo erected, hut the difficulty was to get it to market. As for the mineral resources the Deep ' Levels at Boss— though worked for more than twenty years —were far from being worked out. The port of Greymouth would be materially benefited because that would be where the products would bo taken for shipment. Hokitika harbor was practically closed, and then the only other one was Jacksons Bay. He contended that the railway would pay better than any other on the West Coast, and the Hokitika line revenue would treble itself. There is only one road from Hokitika to Boss, and the last flood “ stuck up ” the coach. The possibilities of the country were agriculture, pastoral and mining: and they only needed development. The harvest was there; it only needed reaping. He urged that all West Coasters should agitate and support the proposed extension, even further than Boss as the country was such a good one. He thought that the country between the Hokitika and Mikonui rivers was second to none on

the West Coast. Mi- Bruce stated that he could not say much more than Mr Grimmond. Between Eimu and Brown’s (Half-way House) there is a bush country and highly auriferous, containing 13,000 acres, between Half-way House and Totara River 14,000 acres ; T.otara and Mikonui Rivers 5,000 acres and Mikonui to Wanganui River 73.000. These figures made a total of 105,00) acres, all of which excluding the terraces is thickly covered with bush and most of the country auriferous. He further stated thaf 37 special claims hadbeengranted in that district. It was the desire of all residents to see the “ iron horse make its way to Ross. As showing an instance of coach v railway travelling, he said while coming up that morning the downward Ross coach had one person in it, while the carriage they came up in had some nine persons in it. Ho desired to gee the line constructed as quickly as possible, and to continue to agitate for the extension until their efforts wore crowned with success. Mr McCarthy moved that “in the opinion of this meeting it is to the interest of the whole of Westland that the southern railway should bo pushed on without any further delay, as it would develops the timber and mining industry and also facilitate the settlement of the land south of Hokitika, and this meeting is unanimously of the opinion that it would be a highly payable investment for the-colony.” Mr Lord seconded the resolution and said that he know the country well and thought that the line would bo a groat benefit to the Coast. Mr Matheson also favoured the resolution, which was carried unanimously. Mr Lord moved and Mr Warnss seconded that “That the foregoing resolution bo telegraphed to the Hon the Premier and the Hon. the Minister for Railways ; and that the Members for the district bo asked to urge the construction of the.railway from their places in Parliament. Carried unanimously, The Chairman said that the residents would gladly sign the petition to Parliament which was being circulated in Ross. Mr Grimmond moved and Mr Bruce seconded a motion of thanks to the Mayor for the courtesy extended to them. Carried unanimously.