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Hokitika Guardian, 21 June 1921, Page 2

The annual mooting of the Westland Progress League takes place to-night, and the occasion suggests a reminder to the public- men of the town and district to attend in force and assist to put the “p” into progress. The local League has been in existence now for a year, and has held its meetings regularly. It has been striving to forge matters ahead, but times are difficult, and at the moment are more stringent than ever. That, however, is all the more reason for healthy co-operation on the part of the» public to help push the district ahead. It is only bv asking and urging that an advance can be made these times when all parts of th e Dohiinion are calling out for works of varying magnitude. Westland is a costly territory to open up because of its forest clad and broken country, intersected by rivers, but its value to New Zealand in the past from its mineral dejiosits has been enormous. It has repaid and will go on repaying the national expenditure to open up and settle the country. It has pastoral prospects of great promise, and this will be a permanent asset growing in value as the ground is tilled and brought more and more into profit. When ther Otira tunnel is an accomplished fact, it will pay the Dominion to link up with the arterial lines all the possible feeders, and none in the years to come will be more useful and valuable than the southern extension of the railway to tap the forests and richer pasture lands of Westland. The fieomplishment of all this rests in the nain with the people themselves. It •an come only by organised agitation uid the Progress League will be an tdmirable lever to That end. The local League is linked already with the Canterbury parent stem, and from that source will derive much influential aid. rhis association should be cultivated to die fullest extent. It is a fortunate, •ircumstance that Westland has so useul an alliance, and the local people will >o missing a rare opportunity indeed 1 f they do not make the most of the 1 Yiendly overtures from Canterbury, 1 ind in unity with that influential 1 oree make endeavour to advance tin* 1 nterests of Westland to the fullest ex- * sent. ' 1 Mention of the Otira tunnel, and-the irospects ol the West Coast arising him the rapid means of transit and ] .ransport to be afforded by the East md West Coast r ailway, we have better ( lews this week regarding the definite } •ompletion of the work. In August .918, when the last shot in the bottom j leading of th c tunnel was fired by Sir ( 'Villiam Fraser, then Minister of Public f iVorks, the cheering statement was nnide by him that the line would be in iperation in two years’ time! But \ rben that period was drawing to a ( lose, and the prophetic utterance was 1 loomed to failure, Mr Fnrkert, lEn- f [ineer-in-Chief, ventured to prophesy : hat the line would finished on June ( Oth of this year. That date lias pass- f d, and The tunnel is not out of hand f ot. There is still a vast amount of i o rk to lie done within the tunnel, l 'lie headings arc now complete, and i he work is perhaps more straight for- i •arcl, and at best it appears the Public i fork's Department will be ready for f lie electrification work when th t , Eng- | sli contractors arrive with their plant 1 nd material to complete the through e ork. On the part of the English Com- h any there is news that their portion •' being hastened ahead at Home de)ite the labor troubles there. It seems Pry unfortunate indeed that Sir W. raser, though so often urged in the K . ? ars gone by, should have delayed the f; tting of the electrical supply contrast n r so long. The country will have to t.v dearly for this remissness seeing _ n] at the capital cost of the works is ?ating its head off” in interest targes because tlie line is not in a 81 ir way to earn revenue. One satis- a ctory compensation at the present ige is that there will not be any lack of sea transport from 'Tlie Old Country B bring out the material and plant to fe mplete and operate,,the line. This lu

railway work accomplished means so much to Westland in particular that the district should not allow the works to drag on a day longer than is necessary, and constant pressure should be kept up on the authorities to see the line in operation at the very earliest date possible. There should be the request to Canterbury to join Westland in asking for ih e definite opening of the line at som© reasonable date within next year and that date should be kept.