PROPOSED TRAMWAY TO THE COAL PITS.

Grey River Argus, Volume X, Issue 774, 3 January 1871, Page 2

PROPOSED TRAMWAY TO THE COAL PITS.

A public meeting called for Saturday evening at the Volunteer Hall, was held in t,he large dining-room of Johnston's Melbourne Hotel, for the pnrpose of considering a proposal for the construction of a tramway and ,pack^trjick from GreJN mouth t6 ' the Coat Pits. E. Wickes, Esq., Mayor, was called upon to preside. His Worship said, that he had called the meeting in obedience to a requisition received by him from a number of the most influential men in town. He intended that it should be held in the Volunteer Hall, but for reasons, which would be explained by Mr Wylde, they were compelled to assemble where they were.

Mr J. Wylde said that as many pre-=i sent were not acquainted with the facts of thjg|case he had better make an explanation. The meeting was called by requisition, to be held in the Volunteer Hall, for the purpose of considering a proposal made on behalf of a number of working men who were anxious to form a road up the Grey Valley on the south side, as far as the Coal Pits. When he was asked to initiate the movement, ho asked the manager of the Volunteer Hall for the use of the building to hold the meeting, and was informed that it was at their service. When the public began to arrive at the hall they were surprised to find a man stationed there, who demanded payment of two guineas before the meeting could be held there. He believed that for the last two years the public had never been charged one farthing for the ] use of the hall for public purposes ; and he considered that a gross insult had tha 1 night been cast upon the community at large. He was given to understand that the hall was not private property, although it had nominally passed into the hands of a certain gentleman, whose desire it appeared to be that they should be debarred from the use of it that evening. He would mention, however, that whenever Mr Johnston heard of the difficulty, he, with that public spirit with which he was always actuated, paid the two guineas ; but he, for one would be no party to use the hall after the manner in which they had been treated. He moved " that this meeting do now adjourn to some evening next week, to be fixed by advertisement.", But he would take the opportunity of stating what the object of the meeting was. It was proposed to construct a tram-road up the south side of the Grey River. The Government had no funds to do it, and the residents could not afford to wait

until they had. It was well known that in the vicinity where it - was proposed to carry this road, there were miles and miles of rich auriferous ■ country/ir which would be opened up if* there, were only ready means of communication^; but which would not pay at present from the enormous price to be paid for the" carriage of "tucker." This would be'jonly one of a seriea^of roads; it would be. the main lme from which ""branch roads and tracks would run to ogen up tha country. If works of thiafemture were not carried out the district mnsjk g° to the wall, it had been^jjarefully estimated that the cost of mating a tratrrway and horset&nd cattle track to the point indicated would be L6OOO, and it would join with the roid already made ft) the Arnold. That amount would not be required in cash, for working men had came forward and offered to do the work and take out two-thirds of their wages in scrip, for they believed • that the line would prove veiy remunerative.- It was only necessary that L2OOO . should be raised in cash, and he believed that the diggings and up r country storekeepers would be only too happy to raise that amount for such a purpose. He then moved the adjournment. -» Mr E. Anchor reconded the motion. 0 Mr J. Johnston made ah explanation with regard to the Volunteer Hall, which had lately passed out of his hands into those of Mr Perkins. He had promised the use of that hall for that meeting while fche^uegotiations were in progress, and in orde&to keep faith with the public, he had given his cheque for the amount demanded that night. He then spoke strongly against any adjournment, and condemned the Government for so long neglecting to form this road.

The adjournment was negatived, and the business proceeded with.

Mr E. Ancher then moved— "That it is necessary to the continued prosperity of the Grey Valley and adjacent districts, and the town of Greymouth, that means of communication should at once be opened on the south side^of the ri^r Grey, as far as the Arnold." He thought it had become quite evident to the residents that unless they did something for themselves they must soon expect slack times of it, as the Government seemed determined to neglect {hem. (Hear, hejgr.) He believed the scheme which had been explained by Mr Wylde could 3 be easily carried out.

Mr W. H. Harrison seconded the motion. He thought no explanation from him, because it must commend itself to every man who was aware of its necessity. The want of snch a means of.com municationmas very much felt. Efforts had been made by their members in the County Council, and sums had* been placed on the estimates of the Canterbury Provincial Council and the Westland County Council for this road, but nothing had yet been done. He believed it would only be deceiving the public to hold out &ny hope of the road being made by the Government within a Reasonable time, and therefore the people must get it done by some means. The proximity of the Coal-mine was a sufficient reason why the tramway should be made ; and he -had good reason for saying that a better place conld not be found in the colony than the coal gorge for erect«g one, of the wire tramways used in ucklano. across the river, by which means, even supposing that the mine on the south side was not worked, all the coal from the Brunner mine could be* easily brought to town at a cheap rate. There would also bo a very large traffic of goods up the. river, which must prove very profitable to any cgmpany. * The motion was carried unanimously.

Mr J. W YiDE said that as they had already affirmed the necessity for having a road made, it was for them to enquire how it was possible to get the road made. It was useless for them. to__depend upon the Government do^ng it for a lorg time to come, and even supposing they haa the meaus, they could not expect thi.t a free road up the river would be made. Every road in Westland had a toll-gate on it, and if this»road were made, no doubt the Government would levy tolls on it for maintenance. Since the Government could not make the road, it was for them to see if they could not help themselves. (Hear, hear.) He then repeated the^rWaufitions he had made at an earlier- ..„'-.: . ih.~~7-~~ Li *»«— .as to the manner it; : . -which ;h < i.i.m was pi-^. v-; a to be m'ftw, which >v as simply to iovm a limited H\biUty,-Xtf'n>p-my "with . .nominal capital of- "^OOO, only L2OJSO of which was to be ■■ < l ; fl ' romuiridtii' to bn taken out by tht> king men in .strip ; the shares to be Li each. Ho moved'-^---"That for the purpose of "carrying out the last resolution, it is desirable that a Limited Liability Company should be formed for making and working a Tramway and Horse track from Greyinmtth to tne Coal Gorge, the said Company to be called the Grey Valley Tramway Company." Under those terms they would get the services of the best men in the country, for only good men could accept them. He had carefully ascertained the cost and traffic, and he believed the tramway must realise 100 per cent on the outlay. But they asked no monopoly ; the Government when it was- prepared could lay off a main road alongside of the line- (Hear, hear.) He had already laid off the line, whicli had been cleared of bush, and was ready for laying down the rails, which could very easily be done. The only difficulty would be between town and the Omotomoto Creek, where the country was loose and inclined to alip, but that could b 3 overcome. He was rather afraid that the coal traffic would be too much for them without the introduction of foreign capital, but there was no reason why, after a time, the tramway should not be connected with a railway. (Applause.)

Mr J. A. Whall seconded the motion. He was glad that- the shares had been fixed at so small an amount, so that any person could invest in them. The company would have this advantage— it would have a return freight for its waggons. There was a very large tract of auriferous country lying between the proposed line of tramway and the Brunner Lake, that had never been worked because of the difficulty and cost of taking provisions to it. He would mention that the formation of the piece of road from the Stillwater to the Arnold had lessened the price of provisions Ll7 per ton ; and what was wanted now was the connecting link between the Stillwater and town. He believed the scheme would be a great benefit to the miners and the community generally, and also a paying speculation to the shareholders. Mr J. Duffy, miner, Maori Gully, said

he took an interest in this movemfns«S cause the .tramway*. would- confer grJM bene6ts upon the miners. ,Ho woiija therefore move — "That application sho>il« be made to the County Council, on Vkhall of the company, for protectut lot tha tramway and pack tracks" »" ;-% M $Mr J. MaSrikJolljjl seconded the motion^ wjiich was put anil carried unanimously. I In tfeplv^to Mr llarrisoh^ Mr Wylbm said it was trul the line in question wjfl laid out for tbe f c^n'p*any.that work the coal mine, and jvas reserved" Km road aim railway ; but it was open for an j company toJake up. "•* #. p . - t~W Messrs ' Wham, and Cooper coitoto! r^ted this statement.' . *$ * t? : 'I . The following committee was theritpl pointed to carry out the objects'of^J meeting : — " Messrs Wicfi^s, JohnsliSffl Duffy, Naughton^ Wylde, Coajef, ness, Harrison, Maclean J GirdwoodJ Brown, Masters, Levy,, Alabaster ah(fl Mont||mery, with power to add to theia number. *'»■ The usual compliment having be^rl paid to the chair the meeting thefeterutil nated. :Sm