The Chronicle VEVIN. THURSDAY, JANUARY 25. 1917. RAILWAY EXTENSION IN NEW ZEALAND.

Levin Daily Chronicle, 25 January 1917, Page 2

The Chronicle VEVIN. THURSDAY, JANUARY 25. 1917. RAILWAY EXTENSION IN NEW ZEALAND.

A groat many miles of railroad will have to bo laid down in form of feeder linos to the main lines before the tit-ate railway system of Now Zealand will approach the point of true suf-IL-iency. And until that point is reached, the productive capacity of those islands cannot be fully ascertained; the surety of reliable ways of transport always has falsified the ostima'ios of productivity based upon knowledge purely theoretical. S'o. far, there has been but a comparative ecrntching of Now Zealand's far-inland land areas, and little more than this can ho attempted with likelihood of p i !it until such time as the tap lines from the main trunk arrive. Shortage of money for internal development will delay lengthy extensions of tills kind for ninn.v years to come, hut there is reason for a I'eehne oj : ;atiKfa etion in the know!edge that the Government is making progress with the extension work already authorised by Parliament. From our eont ntpurary the Raetihi CaJl wo learn that the branch line in the Raetihi district is being persevered with to a notmhle degree. "The appearance of the 1-aHnst train in the station yard at Rnetihi should dispel the last remnants of scepticism (says The Call). T1 ic work has been pushed ahead to good purpose late'y. ahout sixty men being employed. The levels for the spacio is stati.on vart* are being finished by one gang, and plate-layers are now advancing the track into the yard. 'Hie goods traffic yard will cress a swamp which still requires much filling, but the access road to the station lies ;aere(?s flat ground. There has heen considerable enquiry from shopkeepers on the subject of goorls lianl-a.ee bv rail to Raetihi. and if we can judge by the Public Works Department's preparedness to deliver street metal, the commencement of goods carriage should not bo far off."

BOROUGH .AND COUNTY POPULATION. Varying returns -have been issued during the last five years regarding Levin's population. Some of tlieise. being of a sanguine characteristic, overestimated the increase, and when the census returns came out a month or so hack they created an impression that the borough population had decreased.

Tho fact is not so; realign there liae been a small increase during the fivo years. The Government Gazette for 18th -January gives the figures as follow :— Levin Borough, Census 1911, population 1(330. Females predominate in tho borough: the respective figures 'being I'enudes SGI, males 70i). The total population of the county (TJtorowhomia) is «« under:—Males ifS-12, females 3]CO; total population, (>9 12. These figures represent an increase of (322 souls sinco 1911.