NEWS AND NOTES

Grey River Argus, 27 April 1911, Page 8

NEWS AND NOTES

-< The difficulty of large estates blocking- the way to railway extension has long been evident in regard to the/ northern portion of the South Island Main Trunk line. The matter was mentioned to Mr. R. McKenzie by a Wellington interviewer upon the Minister's return from officially opening 1 a section of the line "between Seddon and W&nd stations. "The work will be vigorously pushed on," said 'Xr McKenzie, "especially 'at the southern end, though there are some, large estates in the way. The question of dealing with this matter at both ends of the construction is a. policy one ,but I hold .the • opinion that unless the railway is pushed on, we shall be pushing- the taxpayer for the large estates by keeping a lot of line unproductive (because it does i not provide through connection. The railway at the northern end has reached its limit, of profitable country. We have, just opened a length of over fourteen miles to Flaxbourne, at a cost of £138;000, and as the land is closely settled as far as that point, [ there will be a large traffic which will- benefit, not only the -new line,.. ■■•■<■. the old section• between Seddon and Picton, 'which, has been opened for some years. Reclamation works are just being completed at Picton; and the Minister for Railways has been invited to go over to formally start work on the new wharf shortly." An invention that, it is claimed, will prove the salvation of the flax industry in New Zealand is now in course of completion. The inventor has succeeded in developing a chemical process for bleaching tlie flax, and he is now engaged in making a machine for stripping the fibre. The advantages of the new system are said ito be many, the principal features being the remarkable quick time in which the flax can be bleached, and the fact that the -^vhole of the natural strength of the fibre is retained. On a fine day the inventor says he is able to dress a leaf ot flax in half an hour. While in the '"'"Ocattf recently he put his solution to the test, and he says the manager of the rope factory declared that the fibre was as s_trorus as manila. • ' In the coursee of a political speech at Wellington last, week Mr. A. L. Herdman, 'M. P., Heck reed that the people of New (Zealand under the present enlightened administratiew. may roughly be divided into three classes: —i(l) Those who have been bought; (2) Those who have been intimidated; (3) those who are free. Some, he said, are bribed by billets, some by a promise of roads and bridges, and some are purchased by legislation.