SOUTH ISLAND TRUNK LINE

Hokitika Guardian, 1 July 1929, Page 3

SOUTH ISLAND TRUNK LINE

TWO REPORTS/

DISCUSSION IN THE HOUSE,

WELLINGTON, June 28. •• A question regsu'duig the .South island main trunk railway was asked in j/ue H°use of Representatives by Mr Mason (Auckland Suburbs). He desired to know wheuier in ‘view/of public statements made by. Sir Joseph Ward .quoting, the Fay-Raven.' Oommissipn-in support of .the completion of the South isiand line and tho subsequent more detailed Fay-Casey. report, giving a divergent (result, the Prime Minister would cause the detailed-: statements apd arguments o* the second (report to be submitted to the authors of the first report for -their consideration and comment, a / ' .

Sir Joseph Ward,, who made facetions. delay upon the complications oil submitting No. 2 report to the authors of'No. 1 and vice versa, explained that the, Fay-Raven Commission was appointed by the Government’ which pre-. ■ceded the present Government. It was a commission of responsible officers. In tlioir;reportfthey recommended that .the. gap 'between .'W a rd and should be completed. That the only line which they recommended for completion. After the commission returned ’to England the Government previously in office set up a committee, consisting of Mr Fay jun., son of Sir _Sam-Fay, and Mr Casey, a respected offiedr of the Railway Department. Those two gentlemen went out on an exploration tour to report on the railway again,‘“and they said that dud and Raven were "wrong.” Sir Joseph Ward said he could not quite understand members /when: tliey suggested that another commission ought to be appointed to ascertain whether the. Government which preceded the present Government was right in selecting Sir Sam Fay and Sir -Vincent Raven and whether they were right in ap-pointing-a committee-tp report on the line after having accepted the commission’s report. - ,

“So I can’t make it any clearer, not if I were to dwell on it for a month.” added Sir Joseph, amid laughter. He said the present Government had proposed prior to the general election that the South Island main, trunk, line should be completed. * It was made quite clear before- 'the: election that the South Island gap was Rhe type of railway proposed to be! authorised for, completion: ~”The Government mow proposes to ask the'jHousjpr.to Ton firm what the public confirmed; by returning the Government to (the''House,” concluded Sir 'Joseph.-»- ) — *