The Globe. TUESDAY, JULY 20, 1875.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 344, 20 July 1875, Page 2

The Globe. TUESDAY, JULY 20, 1875.

Two deputations, one representing those who wish to retain the Passenger Station at, or very near to, its present site, and the other putting forth the views of those who wish the site at the foot of Colombo street to be chosen for the much required buildings, waited on his Honour the Superintendent lately. Of course both deputations received the usual answer, viz., “ that “ the subject should be thoroughly con- “ sidered.” His Honour, when addressing the second deputation, made some very sensible remarks as to the value of these petitions, expressing his opinion that the actual number of signatures attached to any such document, was not a safe or reliable index as to the course it would be right to adopt. Any one who has watched the way in which petitions of all kinds are frequently hawked about Christchurch, and signatures obtained, in many cases from persons who have not the faintest idea of the contents of the paper they are signing, must agree with his Honour as to the impossibility of such documents as these having any weight with the Executive of the day. His Honour left Christchurch yesterday for "Wellington, to attend the session of the General Assembly, and we trust that, before leaving, he had some definite understanding with his Executive as to the course that is to be pursued with regard to the Railway Station site. The President of the Executive was also a passenger to the North. In the absence of these two gentlemen, we feel quite sure that our readers will agree with us, this important question should be allowed to remain as it stands at present. The Canterbury public have put up with the inconvenience of the present site for so long, that a few months more of it will not entail much hardship on them; while those who wish the present site to be the chosen spot for the new buildings cannot but be willing to acquiesce in an arrangement that appears in their favour. Whether or no the Colombo street or any other site be finally selected, we trust, with his Honour, that the Government will have the very best professional advice. We utterly deny that the Provincial Secretary and the Secretary for Public Works can by any possibility know as well as an engineer where it would be most advantageous to erect the railway station. These gentlemen may be the most upright men in the world, but it is impossible that their minds should not, to a certain degree, be biassed by considerations political and otherwise. An engineer can not be influenced to the same extent by these considerations, more especially if the subject be referred, with the necessary data, to an English engineer of high standing. Such a man would look at the whole question from a purely professional point of view, and this, we contend, the two gentlemen we have mentioned could not do. From the general tone of His Honour’s remarks to the deputation yesterday, we may deduce the fact that he, at least, perceives the inconvenience of the present site. The two last paragraphs of his answer to the deputation appear to point to this. In the one he states bis opinion that “ the public of Christchurch would not “ tolerate long the Northern traffic “ coming three miles round the city, “ instead of direct into it.” And in the other he assures the deputation that “ the question would be con- “ sidered irrespective of any interest “of speculators,” If the opinion be, as we think it is, correct; and the assurance, as we hope it will be, carried out firmly, the days of the present passenger station are numbered.