STEAM ON THE PLAINS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XI, Issue 694, 2 July 1859, Page 6

STEAM ON THE PLAINS.

To the Editor of the Li/ttelton Times.

Sib, —the speech addressed by his Honor the Superintendent to the company -assembled to celebrate the anniversary of the farmers' Club, was doubtless, meant to convey ■to'the general public of Canterbury the id^as entertained by him on the subject of Railways in this province. It is a cause of great regret to" me, and doubtless to others also, that the calculations entered into by his Honor as to traffic returns were so indistinctly heard by youv reporter as not tohave been recorded. Having watched the rise and progress of most of our' English lines of railway, and studied their traffic returns and the dividends they have paid, I -am at a total loss to conceive how a country, with a population of some 10.000 people of all ages, exporting produce to the extent of £150,000 annually, and importing goods to perhnps double that amount, could support a railway; that population, too* scatte.ed over a wide extent of country.

Let us lay aside for the present the idea of the line from the Kowai to Timaru, and confine ourselves to that through the tunnel, from Lyttelton to Christchurch. We will suppose it executed for the moderate sum of £300,000. Where are we to find tha £60,000 a year to pay the working expenses, imd ten per cent, to the enterprisiug shareholders— no extravagant expectations; 50 per cent, working expenses, and just a simple ten per cent for the shareholders. Where must we look P The wool to be sure. Well, we will say 7000 hales of wool of 300 lbs. each, giving 1,050 tons, at a pound a ton j £1,050. Then we will say 100,000 bushels of graip, at 40 lbs. each, giving 2000 tons, at a pound a ton; £2,000. Well, what then ? We must put it on to the imports, and say 10,000 tons, at a pound; £10,000; roaking£l3,oso Porgoods. Thenthepassengertraffic; why, we must makethe 1,250 people of Lyttelton go every day of the year to Christchurch, and the 1,250 people of Christchurch go every day to Lyttelton, «t a shilling a piece, and then we should mako £45,325; and that, witii a few. extras, will make up tlie 10 per cent dividend, after paying working •expenses. Can any ono seriously entertain the idea of a railway being kept open between Lyttelton "and Christchurch P An ordinary goods engine ■is constructed to carry 000 tons at the rate of 12 miles an hour. Two .journeys a month of such a train would be sufficient to supply Christchurch with more than all the foreign produce it required.

If a man in this country kept an elephant to draw his infants' perambulator, should we hot say he was somewhat overdoing it P

I have supposed our tnnnel through the rock to have beon constructed without difficulty. That may be the case. But a case of "■difficulty in the dark" may be interesting to pome of your readers. When the London and North Western Railway was being constructed, the Kilsby tunnel was let to a contractor for the sum of £99,000; its length was 2,399 yards, and it was to be driven 160 feet below the level, with two large shafts/to admit li;?ht as well as air, of 60 feet in diameter. While the work was in pi'ogrese, a quicksand was discovered, which extended 400 yards into the proposed tunnel, and had escaped +he " trial shafts" of the chief engineer. The contractor, though relieved by the company from his engagement, literally took to bis bed and died of 'the shock. After considerable doubt whether the work should be proceeded with, the celebrated Robert Stephenson undertook it, and with the united efforts of 1,250 men, 200 horses, and 13 steam engines, complete d it in the space of thirty months; the number of bricks used was 36,000,000; tbe engines during eight months pumped out 1,800 gallons of water per minute, night and day. So -much for tunnelling. There may be no quicksands in our bill, but no man can say what there may be. Extravagant expectations and theories opposed to common sense, when carried into practice in private lift', invariably lead to disappointment, and ruin. It is much the same with a community. Let us consider' well this matter, ov we shall perhaps find that we are clogged with a weight that may retard us for years.

Yours, &c.,

COMMON SENSE,

Lyttelton, June 26, 1859,