THE DISTRICT RAILWAYS BILL.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 7, Issue 400, 14 October 1884, Page 5

THE DISTRICT RAILWAYS BILL.

Mr.,Hatcb;'.M.E[;B. for Invereargill, spoke as foilo^B during the discussion in the Representative Chamber on the District; Railways Bill :—-In the opening pF; this debate the Treasurer thought;.. i| proper to; make a clean iresLst/m he called it, : of his position ; and I'tMnkifc just as well for honorable '"members who happen to come from line country where these lines are to make a clean breasjb,.o£ it; and say they come ' from those districts. I happen to be" one of those members who pome from very close to the Wai- j mea line, and therefore 1 . take considerable interest in this matter. The honorable member for Wakanui hit upon th^cbrrecfc'stete'of matters when he told ihe -House that the Govern. merit, in connection , with tHe deferred payment .settlers in various places, had sold "ill' these r people land adjoining these lines, ..and that private owners also to©k advantage of these lines to sell a/cerlainsj>ortion. o£ their estates. It appears that the Grovernment, in passing this .District Railway Bill in the first instanc , was considerably to blarbe in passing a Bill which ak lowid persons corning to the country to presume that the lines would pay at all. ; They distinctly showed them by legislation as an enterprise for good investment, that these lines would undoubtedly be able to bear such charges, enabling them to piy an amount equal to 7 per cent on the r cost of construction," T?hey were so sure the transac" tion would b^ a paying one that they went so, far as to guarantee a portion of the interest themselves, knowing at the' 1 same" 'time that the country "wouid be Benefited by ' the transaction. This ',hypptnesis ; has failed to be realised, and, the. person* — the ratepayerS- I—in1 — in this unfortunate position coniif.ibthid House and ask for what the^ippnsider,; they aire entitled to — relicf id .' There i are several . rea&b^s why tbey are entitled to relief, and there is one^hich 'does seem not to be taken up by : the House at;''the present rime. THp position is just this,: VVe are asking* the # pebple to come and assist in aettling'the ' country j ' : and to give a certain .amount of freight to those lines •which help to feed the trunk lines of railway. While asking them" to settle on the deferred payment or othe^ land, we at the isame time put them in this position, that, having purchased landj and finding- a burden Which they . n^vbr anticipated' put upon them, their seci|rii;y^&s '.fe'i*' as land is concerned, is bo utterly worthless that they cannot obtain the necessary funds for carrying on agfciultural pursuits. I say, under these , circumstances, it is not altogether as the honorable member for tHe 'Taieri says it is^; merely ©matter of 'expediency^ because, if we go back j to the whole legislation of the country, W)mt 1s, f iVibitfj ''policy 'and expediency ? The expediency is to put these men an such a position that they can obtain food and clothing and keep their families going in a respectable manner, and to assist generally in the[prosperity of fche country at large. I understand we are here representing a British ■coianrunity. A British community when they find others in utter distress — which, in a large mea« sure/ is here exposed— they immediate] y rush forward and say, "We will have no oppression." What does this matter amount to? That the five hundred thousand]) of us have to do ! what' the honorable member for ' Oainaru asked us to do to-day — to subscribe and assist the unfortunate people ruined in a wreck not far off. "W© are asked ,to take the whole country and advance about Ll a piece with a view of putting' these people right, and it does not beem to me such a large matter to do at all. The honorable member for Oamaru does not beievein thatposifcion ofthings,but I do do. Thehon. member for Port Chalmers does not appear to like this measure, but jbei remembers undoubtedly that it was a ' Tery large portion, not exac fcly of his constituency, but of. those people who Lie thinks form the whole and sole portion of New Zealand— that is the capital of Otago — who pressed the making of this* the Waimea line, on the Grovernment. There is no doubt, he says, that some»opposition was made to the making of this Waimea line. The Dunedin people got this line made, as they intended to divert the whole the trade from its natural channel, the Bluff. In this they may have teen slightly mistaken, , and the only vay is to sugar-coat this pill as niueh as; possible, and the honorable member for ?ort Chalmers will swallow it better. . I think it is only fair that the honorable gentleman should assist the ■whole community, seeing that his district pressed the matter and got the line built. There are four other lines mentioned, and honorable members ■will doubtless speak with regard to those that run through the districts ; they come from. The Waicnea line connects with Lake Wakatipu, and tourists come there from all parts of the world, it anything has assisted of late years in bringing Kew Zealand prominently before the whole world, perhaps ifc is the Wakatipu Lakes. They are spoken of everywhere, and all tourists make that one of the first points they try to get to. and the easier they get there and the shorter the time it takes are certainly matters worth considering. I congratulate the honorable member for Timaru and other honorable members on thinking that this will be the means of stopping the building of these private lines, and thai I think, is one of the main features of the Bill. There are a larger number of districts which con- • sider that they are also entitled to railway communication, and if this House once says that they will have no more of them I think it will be a great assistance to the whole community. We shall know what we have to expect in future. There will be nc ' more Bills for private lines brought in, and the 'Act spoken of here, and thai spoken of by tho honorable member for Waitotara, will be repealed. When this Bill goes into Committee anything which may seem too favorable tc the shareholders will also be altered

The. loss of the interest they thought they would get is some consideration for their getting the thing squared up. I shall listen carefully to the arguments brought forward m support of this Bill, and shall give my hearty support to it, taking every care that the country will be judiciously and fairly treated at the hands of the Committee when the Bill goes there.