THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 1873.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1571, 18 August 1873, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 1873.

It has been so much the practice of in- [ habitants of Nelson to paint. in rose color the character of the:country between that [ city ;^nd;-the; once proposed: terminus of | €he 'Cobden, that it cannp.fc-be'jniatterj of surprise that their • feelihgs r underwent a convulsion, if their j opinions. <dicl not .undergo conversion, on i the publication of Mr ; Calcutt's report. I That report decidedly damages the paint, ; though it is ito be hoped; it will not damn 1 the project. -, Mr (Jalcutt was, with pro? I priety of selection as a , judge of th> ' superficial features of 4 a' country, though not; of; its , other : equally important re - sources, chosen to go forth and to spy out the richness or nakedness of the land, and he returned with a budget of facts and figures approximately correct, but with no bunches of grapes. He is, there- ;! fore, charged with being as bad as the bad " men who went up with Caleb to Canaan, and who " brought an evil report of the land which they had searched, saying — ' The land through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof.' " He could not : describe, and he has not described, the laud he visited a3 flowing with milk and honey, but he has ventured to tell a truth ; which is unpalatable to Nelson author!-, ties, but which is at the same time a recommendation of the proposed railway —that it is a country abounding in "execrable roads." The difference between. the romantic view of the country | entertained by some, and the plain prac- ; tical view of it taken by Mr Calcutt is, in other respects, as vast as the difference between ithe land of Palestine as seen in ancient > times -by the pioneers of the Israelitish emigrants from Egypt and as seen in modern times by Mr Mark Twain. We are all, or many of. us, aware .of the flights of fancy indulged in by the Nelson Inland' Communication Committee, who saw ihe 'c6uhtry from tho summit of a Mount Pisgah. This is how Mr Calcutt summarises what he saw of it on the spot i-i— „.:.-'. ''Taking the piece of country as a whole, end viewing it from a pastoral and . agricultural point, of view, it is not, in my opinion, adapted foylh/a permanent settlement and support of a large number of people. That in some future time, iwh/sn rapid and cheap communication is opened up, its timber will produce, once for allj a considerable revenue, I have no doubt, but that the land [generally will be.; tilled within the present or next generation's noi probable. • There are so many millions of pcres in the Colony of so, much better lan d yet for sale, "as to' effectively prohibit any practical person from attempting what is next to an impossibility. That -the country is also very rich in minerals, j. ' : think ad mits of: no, doubt, and, 1 'judging from f ( iHe many observations ; wiade to me by {hes'jpeople! livina in the districts, ifc'is in its" riiinerils thatcha |nic wealth of this country* lies." iJffiiS question, however, formed no- part' of my- duty' (nor do I : > assume^atiy practical knowledge thereon)^ >. Venture to:give the-gi^t of' my'opmib'ti.anfll observation for yfhatit'i's wortn¥ Ui Eel6wTapj>^ of my approximate value of the bash a#d

open land in its present state, and under present circumstances as to roads, &g. : — Say 150,000 acres forest, (after deducting the 6000 sold or leased), with the timber now growing thereon, at 15s £100,000 Say 22,341 acres open (after deducting 5409 acres sold, or leased), at 20s ... 22,341 Say 30,000 acres light soil and shingle, at 10s ... ... ... 15,000 £137,341 Supposing a railway to be in existence and running through the country, I should say that about two-thirds of the forest land wouid be increased in value threefold. The value of the open land T do not, for reasons before-mentioned, consider would be materially altered, except, perhaps, in the vicinity of Ahaura." While accepting Mr Calcutt's description as correct, and indeed knowing it to be so (without accepting his figures as' accurate), we cannot, however, with fairness accept it as sufficient reason for the indefinite postponement of the projected railway, or for the entire abandonment of the idea. While believing that there are other railways more urgent, it cannot be denied that the extension of the railway system through this country is ultimately inevitable, and there was righteousness in a deputation of members waiting upon the Premier, as they did, to dispute Mr Calcutt's figures as far as they could, and to .urge the construction ef the line: Their | further object was to secure authority for its j construction during the present session of Parliament, but their achievement of that purpose, so far as present evidence goes, is exceedingly problematical. According to the Independent's account of the depu- 1 tation's interview with the Premier, " the remarks made by the Premier show that j the Government fully recognises the im- j portance of connecting Nelson with the i main railway system of the Middle Island ; and there is no reason to doubt that as soon as the Government are satisfied, first of all, as to the best line of route, and, second, as to the real value of the country — they will propose to Parliament to go on with the line. The Premier desired it to be understood that the Government had no idea, whatever of refusing to construct the line. They were anxious to see it constructed, but, in the absence of that information which could only be obtained by the course which he ; had indicated in his Financial Statement, he held out no promise to take any : further action in the matter during this session." "