THE KAWHIA RAILWAY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 478, 29 June 1912, Page 3

THE KAWHIA RAILWAY.

To the Editor,

Sir, —Kindly allow me a little space in your widely read columns to shed a little light upon the Kawhia railway function. Being a stranger amongst them it will interest all my southern neighbours, who expect nothing, and get all they expect from the present Kawhia citizens. I speak with a certain amount of knowledge on the genaral district, concerned with the railway, and with a good deal of amusement on the action of the various delegates. They were decidedly strong upon being thought good sports; but it is poor spurt tu train seriously for the sprint and then get everyone except yourself to back you for the mile; or, to stand and say you are against a special route's advocacy. Yet all the delegates except the southern ones had the poor little line side-tracked by a coal outcrop, or some other essential to their own back some had glorious visions of grefiri pastures as they flew across the sand dunes of Taupo to Napier. However, the

sports were very indulgent; they would listen to anything—except the truth. But do not let the Te Kuiti people be deluded by the notion of good sport. He is the best man who speaks the facts as he knows them. There are two essentials to be considered in the construction of any line, viz., to givn access to a good port for our farthest back settlers, and putting the line through good country that will carry sufficient settlers to make it a national asset, and a paying proposition. Now, examine the routes advocated by implication; and--loca-tion of coal outcrops, etc., which means that the furthest back settler on the route has only twelve DMles.or so. to get to a good harbour, or tht; Main Trunk line. Shortnes of route is the stock argument, and that damns itself because it is the man who ia far away, and ha 3 to cart great distances, that we want to place in the same en viable position as the man close to the. harbour. The people north of Otorohanga will never use Kawhia harbour, south of that they probably will. The man, say, at Te Awamutu would be an idiot to use Kawhia while he can get to Auckland in reason, and a line coming in from the north will only take produce away from Kawhia, and help congest the Main Trunk line. The route that might be well advocated by the Te Kuiti people, and is strongly embraced by the majority south of the harbour, is a line running from deep water on the south of the harbour, and continued to th2 Taranaki line with a junction from abouc Pio Pio into Te Kuiti or thereabout. It is well settled good country, of a large area, and must be linked to a harbour for export purposes. To Kuiti could live cheaper by importing via Kawhia, and for strategical purposes it must be linked to the main artery. This line would drain country eighty miles long and fifty broad; it would level up exports, and cheapen imports; cheapen living for our struggling settlers away from all ports. It would make the harbour what nature intended it to be -- a great benefit to the Dominion, one! a national asset of the first importance. Next time you send delegates send them along to the south side from Pio Pio, and let them see the country for themselve. They will then see truth, and oft quoted at the function. "To thine own self be true, then it must follow as night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man," -I am, etc., JUSTICE.