EAST AND WEST COAST RAILWAY.

Kumara Times, Issue 2906, 20 February 1886, Page 2

EAST AND WEST COAST RAILWAY.

A meeting 0 f the Committee of the Canterbury East and West Coast Railway league was held at Christchurch on the 15th inst., at which a letter was read from the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, inquiring as to the objects and prospects of the Lea que; and, in reply, the following concise resume was telegraphed : "In reply to the telegiam from the Chairman of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce to you, I would point, out to yon that the League h is »n immense mass of reports upon the line and its resources, which we are now trying to reduce into a pamphlet; but it will probably be sufficient for your purpose to telegraph that "The cost of the line, estimated by the Government engineer, is £2,750,000; length of liue via Arthur's Pass. Bmunerton, Reef ton to Belgrove (Nelson) is 263 miles. " The Crown land opened up by rail wilt he—agricultural, 964,000 acres; open pastoral, 211,000 acres; timber, 1,185,000 acres; mineral (ascertained), 135,500 acres, but moch more not ascertained ; mountainous, mostly covered with bush, 1,430,000 acres; total, 3,928,500 acres. " The latest and most reliable evidence as to the probable results of the working is the report of Messrs Russell, Wilson, and Bell, Parliamentary Commissioners in 1883, who were supposed to be adverse to the line at first, and who report it will pay working expenses at first, aud double its traffic aud pay interest in full in ten years. Mr Maxwell, General Manager of Railways, notes upon the report, that taking the. Commissioners' estimate of: traffic as correct, the expenditure would be £165,000, and the reserve £240,000 per annum.

"The Colonial Treasurer in 1883 estimated it will at least pay 1 per cent, over working expenses. The estimate of the railway guarantors shows that after deducting 60 per cent, for wot king expenses, the railway will pay 2f per cent, on its cost, exclusive of receipts for sale of land, ami the land receipts should ultimately extinguish the capital, and leave us the railway free, a result no other lines in the colony are likely to achieve. "The League say the country cannot he profitably worked so long as it is cut off from the rest of the colony by the Southern Alps; that miners' wages at 50s and 60s, in consequence of the high rate of cartage of flour, &c., about .£8 per ton, in addition to 30s coastal freight, prevents any great progress being made in gold miuing, although Westland has produced £22,500,000 in gold, being one-half the total exports of the colony, and is now producing £500,000 per annum; that the coal and timber traffic would alone pay the working expenses; that the. increase of traffic on the Springfield and Christchurch line forty-four miles, and the increase of Customs from the increased mining population, would repay the colony any loss of interest during the infancy of the line.

i " Without the railway, a large landed 1 estate producing already some hundreds 1 of thousands sterling in gold and coal, must remain almost unsettled; but with a railway it will become one of the richest districts in the colony, and carry a dense population. Dr. Hector and Professor Ulrica state that goldmining is bat in its infancy." As to the pamphlet in preparation, Mr Acton Adams stated that every pains were being taken to include all p-ssible information in its compilation, so that when finished it would contain all that was necessary. The expense would probably he about £IOO. It was resolved to push on the completion of the pamphlet, if possible, before the end of the present month. A vote of thanks was passed to Mr Hallenstein for what he had done for the League, who, in acknowledging the compliment, made a lengthy reply, from which we extract the following from the Press report:—"l believe n°o new work that we can undertake, will fur. thor the advancement of New Zealand more than a railway that shall pierce the mountains and traverse the valleys of the rich provinces of Canterbury, Nelson and Westland, making them richer still by amalgamating their various resources. No clear-headed statesman who looks at the maps of New Zealand, and who at the same time makes himself, acquainted with the distinctive capabilities of each district—[ will instance only the whrat of Cmterbuiy, the hops "and fruit of I Nelson, the gold, the coal, and the \ limber of tin; West Coast—l say no J c!ear-head('d man who studies these j things can doubt that th-? modern road j which »hall connect thccO now isolated.

districts within a few hours of each other is a colonial work—a work that ought not to be delayed, as it will increase onr population and lessen our taxes. Gentlemen of the League, I can only wish you God speed in the work you have undertaken. It is not for me to direct you bow to achieve that object. I believe it was Napoleon the Great who said, " Man can do anything he wills." If you feel that this work ought to be undertaken, you need only to say it shiill be undertaken, and it will be done. The East and West Coast Railway can stand on its own merits; and, while the districts immediately interested should send to Parliament men pledged to support only such a Government as will endeavour to carry it out, no coercive means should be used to attain that object. Men, such as the members of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce have got despondent, and attribute the somewhat low stale of affairs to the borrowing and Public Works policy, iguoring that the true cause is principally the unprecedented low price of all our natural products and the want of a population here to consume these products to a far greater extent than we are uow doing, which will only bt? remedied by immigration aud by the employment of our people in the manufacture of all such goods for which nature has specially fitted us. The factories of Canterbury will keep busy the coal mines of Grey month and Westport, as also the sawmills of Hokitika and district; and again, tbe products of Canterbury and Nelson will «o to cheapen the cost of living on the Coast. Men, after the work of harvesting is done, can, within a few hours, Iv-take themselves to the golden regions of tbe West Coast, where, either in the mine or sawmill, they can find a new field for their labour. With Mr Mat son I can say that New Zealand has been my home for the best part of my life ; my children are all born here, and I should be sorry to advocate the entering upon a great undertaking had I the least doubt upon its proving a burden to the country. I am never over sanguine, but I believe, and I have had twentyfive years' practical experience in the colonies, that the East and West Coast railway will be one of the most beneficial colonial works ever undertaken, and I can only say to you again that you must will that u shall be undertaken."