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Lyttelton Times, Volume IV, Issue 187, 9 August 1854, Page 2

this work or to discuss the extent of the improvement it would effect in the naviga- * tion, because from its very nature, it requires the combined exertions of a larger body of - men than could at present be obtained^ in ■ the Settlement, whilst at the same time it is not of sufficient importance to be worth the ~ notice of the English contractor, and therefore, although I would strongly recommend "the opening of the navigation so soon as an - increased supply of labor enables the work to be undertaken at a moderate cost; it * must necessarily be postponed for the present. 8. The improvement of the navigation being therefore necessarily postponed for want of sufficient labor and the requisite mechanical appliances, we come next to " the plan of laying down a railway from Christchurch to the foot of the Port hills, ' and connecting it temporarily with Lyttelton by inclines worked by stationary power. 9. There are several very serious objections to this plan. 10. As the inclines would be of no use after the completion of the railway, and the * money spent upon their construction would be sunk without producing any permanent " benefit, the adoption of this plan must de- " pend in a great measure upon the cost of the work. Without expressing any opinion of the merits of the plan in an engineering point of view, I would simply observe that my *■■ own experience of similar works in the colliery districts would lead me to estimate the 'cost of the two inclines with the plant and ' machinery requisite for working them efficiently at about Sixteen Thousand Pounds, [£16,000] a sum far too large to be sunk *" on a temporary work. 11. Independently of the question of '" estimate, it appears to me that inclines "worked by stationary power are not suited * to the circumstances of a young colony. The snapping of a rope, the breaking of " a sheave, or the slightest carelessness on ~the part of the breaksmen, might not only cause the destruction of life and property to an incalculable extent, but from the difficulty of repairing the damage, might put "an entire stop to the traffic for months together. 12. There is a third consideration which appears to me of more importance than * either of the two just mentioned; viz., that "it involves the abandonment of the Gollan's Bay line. The advantages to the Settlement of dbiiig away altogether with therisk and "expense of lighterage, and the delay thereby - "occasioned to the shipping is so great, that I think it ought not to be lightly set aside. I cannot concur in the opinion of His -Honor the Superintendent that the best way * of communicating with the deep water in Gollan's Bay would be by a continuation of ; the Cookson's Valley line through Lyttelton and along the coast, because although ; this route is shorter than that by Sumner, and although it is practicable to make a Tiigh level line from Gollan's Bay to the east side of Lyttelton, I consider that to carry the railway'across Lyttelton and along : the north shore of the harbour at the lower level requisite for connexion with the proposed terminus at the old Custom House, would be impossible except at such a cost : as completely forbids the contemplation of 'such a work. 13. It needs no argument to prove that ;; the making of the Gollan's Bay line would inflict a serious blow to the trade of Lyttelton, and cause a great depreciation in the value of the property in that town, whilst ■ on the other hand the Cookson's valley line ■ on account of the great length of the tunnel required, would in all probability cost an * equal amount of money with the Gollan'sßay -line, without'effecting any improvement in «the communication with the shipping.