THE TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1879. THE TERMINUS QUESTION.

Manawatu Herald, 14 January 1879, Page 2

THE TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1879. THE TERMINUS QUESTION.

So very much has been said and written lately upon the Railway route between Wellington and Foxton, that it has become the question of the hour. Iv our last Tuesday's issue, we reported the nature of the reply furnished by the Government to the chairman of the Palmerston meeting, Mr Snelson. That reply was to the effect that '*' Parliament had fixed the route from Waikanae to Foxtan," and therefore " the Government have no option as to the direction in which the line is to be taken." . We holdprecisely the same view, of the action of Parliament, and have repeatedly expressed it in these columns. Drowning men will catch at straws, and in the face of incontrovertible evidence the fairness and truthfulness of the premise upon which the Government decline to change the terminus has been questioned. We accept the challenge which has been given, and assert that the Government have acted legally, and that no other reply was possible under the circumstancea To prove the contrary, Hansard has been ransacked, but to little purpose, the only quotations being one from a speech of Mr Fox's, in which that gentleman oharges Mr^ Maoandrew with being wrapped up inOtago,andbeing ignorant of the geography of the other parts of the Colony, and one from a speech of CbL Whitmore, referring *° *\yfveys. Now, let us faoe this question, and ask, did Parliament fix th? a terminus at Foxton ? We unhesitatingly say it $d, and undertake to prove it, as follows :— On the 27th of August, 1878, Mr Macandrew delivered bis Public Works Statement, in which he said : "We propose to fill up the gaps in the North laLmd system as follows— Wellington to

Foxton via Waikanae 61 mites," [as I part of the main line from Wellington to Auckland] A large paragraph of the Statement is occupied with the railway in question. Mr Macaridrew says, "If the two great centres, Wellington and Auckland, are to bo efficiently connected by railway, this Wellington to Foxton portion must be constructed at some time. . . . The sooner it is done the better it will be for the country." It is perfectly true Mr Macandrew promises- a " further and most thorough uivcstigation as to the beat route to bo adopted," but what route does he refer to ? He shall answer. " The host route from Wellington to Foxton." Now, the appendices Mr Macandrew refers to, show .that three lines had been proposed from Hutt to Waikanae and as he so distinctly and unreservedly speaks of the FoXton terminus, we conclude his promise refers, not to the jilifFofent routes proposed at this end, tut rather to those between Hutt and Waikanae. A strong fight is going on at Wellington even now, as to what shall be the route between Wellington and Waikanae. There was no shirking the question here. Neither Fitzherbert nor Palnierstori are hinted at. The line is over and over again called the WellingtonFoxton lino. We therefore hold that the Public Works Statement boldly and plainly declares that Mr Maeandrew was already convinced Foxton should be the point of contact, because the time was constructed as far south as that, and it was thus the natural point to start the Wellington line from. When the Public Works Statement was published, Mr Knorpp's report on the " Wuikanao - Manawatu .". section was appended. In this report the respective advantages and disadvantages of the Foxton and Palmerston lines were pointed out in what wo consider a fair and * impartial manner. Sir J. T. Stewart, the District Engineer, has been most unjustly and unfairly charged, on the platform and in the Press, with using his position to further his private ends, by sending in a par;izan report. The report in question was Mr Knorpp's, not Mr Stewart'*, and Mr Kuorpp says : — "I have examined the country between the Waikanae and Mana> watu Rivers, with a view to determine a route for a proposed railway." Mr Knorpp's repot t is therefore the result of personal examination. The report itself puts both sides of the question fairly ; in fact, so much so, that at the Palmerston meeting Mr Halcombe undertook to prove from it thai tho Fitzherbert route was superior, and during the past few days it has been stated that the report shows that " tlw balance of advantage is largely in' favor of Palraerston." If these statements are true, why should such grave charges be levelled at Mr Stewart? We aie not aware thai Mr Stewart will benefit so largely by the Foxton route as is iuferred. It is well known he owns a considerable extent of land in both Foxton and Palmerston If he is guilty of the jobbery he is charged with, we would be the first to say he should be expelled from his office as untrustworthy. His character, however, for integrity and manliness are too well known ; though why the whole of Mr Knorpp's report, whether for good or bad, should be fathered upon him, is '• passing strange !" The reference to the Sandon Itaihvay is a perfectly natural one. As a matter of fact, the line would be shortened by 19 miles "if (as Mr Knorpp says) the comparatively easy private railways irom Carnarvon to Sandon, and Sandon to Rangitawa, aro made." The statement is true ; but at that time the reference had but little force. The Sandon line was in embryo in July last, when tho report was written. Now, however, it has developed, and in view of the almost certain fornia<. tion of the line, the saving of 19 miles in wear and tear of rolling stock, and in shortening the distance, becomes a most important element of the whole question. It means the saving of thousands of pounds every year 10 the country, and the saving of time to the multitudes who will travel from Wellington northwards. But toreturu to the " Parliament " question. Mr Knorpp's report, which fully explained both routes, and to which we have referred, was appended to Mr Macandrew's Statement, and was therefore in the hands of hon. members sit the beginning of September. It was about seven weeks later, on the 22nd of October, that the Railways Construction Bill was introduced in* the Lower House. Two days later, it passed the second reading, and five days later again — on the 29th October — the Legislative Council passed the second reading of the Bill. A long discussion took place upon it in each House. In the first schedule of that Act, to which the Royal assent was given on the 2nd of November, at the head of the list of lines authorised to be constructed, stands " Wellington to Foxton by West Coast." It is not Wellington to Manawatu, or Pulmorston, or Fitzherbert. The Government are bound to the Act, and before the route to Palmorston can be decided on, Parliament must expunge those words from the Railways ConBtruotion Act, 1878, and pass an Amendment Act re-defining the ter> minus. But wo are prepared to go further still, and assure our readers that, fa the long and thorough discussion which took place upon this Act, we cannot find one single instance in which tho lino was referred to unde r

any other name tluu the Wellington-, Foxton line. It w^eyey even lrintedv that the line should join at any other' point. We say this after, a careful search of Hansai'd ; the dnfe remark that cau be iuterpieted. as indicating thit there was a lival route at all, is .that in the Ministerial Statement from which we have .already quoted. In the debate which took plutte in each branch of the" Legislature, every member who referred to it called it the Wellington - Foxton Railway, on whatever sido he addressed the House. We therefore ask, what else could the Government tdilld do, Under these circnmshinces. but s.ty Parliament had ! fixed the point of contact at Foxton ? We have now shown, we think, that the (jovernmebt woi'a only Carrying out tie spirit bf Parliament as well as the letter of the Jaw, in replying as they have done to the Palmerstou ;ineeting, audit will be;seen tiiat with the report upon the rival routes iv their hands for seven weeks, during which they had ample time to become informed upon the merits of the case, Parliament advisedly sanctioned the Koxton terminus. The same charge was made in Parliament against Sir Macandrew, as to liis Otago proclivities, and in replying to Air Fox's remarks, Mr Ballance thus defended his colleague :-—• A charge has been made against the Minister for Public Works that he lias no care for any part of the Colony except for his < own — a part with which ho has Icon so long j identified. Now I can tell the ilouso that j the lino criticised by tho honorable member ! fir Wahganui— the Hue from Wellington to i 'Foxton— has received more consideration i from the Minister for Public Works than ; any other line in the colony. It is a \tos\- \ tive fact that no pains have been spared to ! obtain thn most correct data regarding t!ie ! acquisition of Hie land on which the con- j slructioii of Die railway depend?, and ' I am convinced that, as soon as tho i land is acquired, the construction of that ! railway will be prosecuted without a I single day's delay. I aslc tho honor- j able gentleman if he thinks the Go- ' eminent would have advanced money in ; payment of the land if they hud not a rea- j sonable prospect that the land would be ao ! quired. The whola of the land is under i negotiation, the whole of it is under Procla- : matiou, and not one single acre of it can his , acquired except by the Government. The ! question is, how soou that land will come into ! our possession. We have noc discussed in the pre* sent article the whole question of the ! advantages or disadvantages of the j respective routes. Wo have confined j ourselves to the question of Parlia- j tnentary authority to the Foxcou terminus, and our leaders can now see that so far from the Government dis« playing "unblushing effrontery," or " «ergiversation," they have taken the only legal course open to them. It h&s been said — «' That there is not a particle of truth in tho statement {i.e., of the Government) can be proven by the pages of Hansard." Why, then, was not the proof given ? Echo answers, why %

From various parts of the Colony, wo learn that there is a great scarcity of agricultural laborers. No doubt at this season of tho year, tho labor market U tested to the utmost, bnt, despite Iho vast number of immigrants that haie been imported into the country, there seems to be an absolute dearth of labour at present. Almost ewy paper we take up contains some notice to that effect. At Oiinmru, a runholdcr offered 355. per week and found to wool washers, «evon and a-lmlf hours a day, wnges to be givon wet or dry, and was tumble to obtain the necessary hands. Air Taylor, a Warden of the Wellington High wayi Boar J, recoi.tly stated that during his experience in that part of the Colony, extending over a period of 89 yeare, labourers were never bo scarce as they are at tho present time. The two instances given illustrate tho prevailing statp of thinga. Although it is unsatisfactory to find labor scarce, it indicates in a marked manner the progress being made in tho Colony. The dearth is brought about through the rapid absorption of labour by the opening up of new lands. Numerous indash-ios have also sprung up in tUo large centres of population, requiring labor; whilst the public works being carried on throughout the Colony by General Government, the various Municipal Corporations, and the Oounties,all necessitate the employment of largo bodies of workmen. But no doubt the real cause is the large amount of aettlement which is going on throughout the length and breadth of the Colony, especially in the North Island. Since the foundation of the Colony the North Island has been handicapped by the native difficulty, but under the regime of the late Sir Donald McLean that difficulty received its death blow. The inauguration of the Public Works policy took place nbouc the same period, and the North Island received a spurt in the race of progress, and it is now steadily but surely catching up to its hitherto more-favored competitor. It is essential, however, that a constant stream of immigration should be diverted to our shores. A scarcity of labour will retard the progress of settlement. Although thousands of agricultural laborers have arrived each year for several successive years, the demand i» greater than ever. This fact augura well for the condition of the laborers in tho Colony. Many of those who arrived in the Colony as assisted immigrants a few yea. 8 ago, are now on land selections of their own, in some coses on deferred payments. This class of small settlers are the bone and sinew of the Country. As they multiply, new centres of population will spring up, and districts be opened for settlement. During the last session the Hon. Mr Macandrew made some pertinent remarks upon this question. He said : — " It hud seemed to him an unavoidable flaw in the Public Works policy of the past that it did not secure agricultural settlement, but as the lines proposed were to be taken through agricultural land the Government were goiug to make provis : ou against this evil in future, by offering for sale blooks of agricultural land on the lines for purposes of small farms and townships. In fact they proposed- to follow the example of America, and try and get men to take up this land in blooks of 50 to 100 acres, or less. He believed- the smaller quantity would bo sufficient for laboring men to start on. Their policy was a means to an end, and that end was the settlement of a stout yeomanry on the land." " Tue settlement of a yeomajry on the land" will promote the welfare of the Colony in the highest degree. Th« immigrants to the Colony should have ihis held out before them aa the goal of their.ambitum ; not only so, but the same

or even greater facilities to tnko up land, should bo. offered /to the thousands of young men now dragging out un existence in ,the large townaj bitt Who' on suburban farms would make prosperous and independent sot* tiers.

• Foxtox Hauiioii Board. — In accordance wi*h Bection 52 of the Harbors Act, 1878, the Foxton Harbor Board will hold a meeting to-morrow (Wednesday), at tile Local Board office, to elect a Chairman for the ensuing year. There are seven members of the Board, three of whom are to be nominated by the Governor, two to be elected by the Town Board of Foxton, the Chairmen of the Lodal Boaifd and County Council being ex officio members, and thus mal-ing up the number. The old Board continues in ofiicD until the second Monday iv February, " when (we quot.o thu Act) an election shall be held for such of the said members ns by or Under the Act are declared or required to be elective members of such Boards." The "elecive members" are those who " become members of a Harbor Board, either by election of the ratepayers or by the appointment of a local governing body." &c. It will therefore be seen that it is the duty of the Foxton Local Board to bold a meeting on the lOlh of February, to elect two members to the Harbor Board. The members to be elected hold office foi c two years, when a fresh election takes place. A meeting of the Foxton Local Board was called for yesterday, to elect the two members required by tho Act, but Upon it being pointed out that the election would be illegal, the meeting lapsed. The Regatta. — The various crews appear lo havo settled down to steady practice, and considerable interest is being displayed in tho different events. We understand one of the Wanganui (,'luba has signified its ! intention of competing. Mr Eotheram, | general manager of the railway, has courj teously signified his intention of acceding j to the wishes of the committee in the , matter of the train service. The arrangej ments proposed are that a train should ■ leave Hulcombo in time to rencb | Foxton about 10 a.m., returning from ! tho latter pla-je at 6 p.m. Return j tickets will bo issued at single fares, • and as it is proposed to wind up the j day with a concert nnd ball Me Rotheram I is willing to allow the return ticliets to be j available for the following 1 dsy (Jan. 23). j Upon the whole a very pleasant day is an- | ticipated. I Natuuai.isk».— Letters of naturalisation j have been issued to Joint nn and Friedrieh j Bottcher, of I'oxtou. j Assessment Couiit. — It. Ward, Esq., I R.M., has been appointed a Judge of the ! Assessment Court, under the Hating Act, | 1876, for the Manawatu and Otaki High- | way Districts. Accident. — Au accident occurred at the City of Auckland a few days ago, which is | tliua described by a correspondent :— Au j iron tank laden with 17 cwt of biscuiis was j Jjein;? lowered, and some of tho tackle givj ing way it swung over, and crushed the I upper part of the arm of the man engaged I between it and the ship. Captain Rails, who witnessed tho accident, predicted nothing short of loss of limb. The iran — who was a muscular native— escaped, however, with comminuted fracture and a severe shock to the system* He was attended by Dr Hewson, under whose care ho is progressing favorably. Local Board.— We wish to explain that no notice was sent to us of Saturday's Board meeting, and we are therefore unable to give any more than an outline of the proceedings. It is customary to inform the Press by circular of the date and hour of meeting, and aa this has not been done, we take the liberty of giving a hint. In the recent meeting, an important question avose, tlie discussion upon which should have been reported. HionwAYs Boakd.— A meeting of tho Highways Board was held on Friday last. Present — Messrs Dalrjmple (Chairmiu), McPherson, McKenzie, Farmer, Bruce, tind McEwen. Messrs Keeling and Hoe were appointed valuers to tho Board, at a salary of £75. It was resolved to publish twice in tho two county papers, the names of all defaulting ratepayers, previous to summoning them for amounts due by them. Several small matters of no general interest were considered by the Board. Feildixg Hall.— A prospectus of the Feilding Hall haa been forwarded to us. Tho necessity for a suitable building in which to hold public gatherings, hus been long felt at that rising township, and wo congratulate the residents on the prospect of soon having "a hall suitable to the future requirements of Feilding." EiiMATAsoi Block. — Mr -W. Alsdorf , yesterday began the surrey of the Himatangi Block. The Douglas Station. — Mr H. S. Palmerson ia to survey the 0,000 acres of land shortly to be put into the market by the proprietors of the Oroua Downs Station. We understand the price is Gd per acre. Choual Society.— Wo ite requested to remind members of the above seoiety of the practice to be held to-morrow evening, when a full attendance is desired. " " Resignation—Wo understand Mr Frank Smith, who is well-known throughout the district as a traffic clerk upon the railway, has resigned, and intends to reside at Feilding, where he has received an offer of a far more lucrative appointment. Mr Smith has gained the esteem of all who have come in contact with him by the uniform courtesy he has at all times displayed in the discharge of his duties, and his many friends will wish him success in his new sphere. The Weathek. — The recent sultry weather appears to have been taken advantage of for clearinsr purposes by the outsettlers, and bush fires have been burning throughout the whole district. Wo hear that at Palmerston it was raging near the burying ground. Anolicax CuiracK. — His Lordship Bishop Hadfield conducted Divine Service at Sandou on Sunday. We understand the Bishop intends to visit this, part of the district shortly. The Rev. Jas. Me William, of Otaki, conducted Divine Service at Palmeraton on Sunday, and yesterday afternoon administered the Sacrament ofßaptism at Foxton, several children being baptised. New Papeb.— We have reeeeived the first number of the Port Lyttetton Herald. The proprietor, Mr ltiley, has our be9t wishes in his new venture. EstoiHßEu.— The Waipawa County Council are advertising for an Engineer at £500 per annum. Thb Recekt Tendbbb.— lt is very important that persons should be careful to fulfil the advertised conditions upon which tenders will be received. For eomo time past, the Looal Board Engineer, Mr Moinet has invited tenders for formation of footpaths upon the Avenue. The condition was laid down that tenders were to be accompanied by a cheque for £10, marked good for 14 daya upon some Bank. Three tenders were received, and though a cheque accompanied each, only one was* marked good for 14 days ; Uia pries bain* fair, tlu» Board accepted it. The Board had made

a condition which. was not adhered to,, and the tenders were thrown out, bein^infbrmal. Upon hearing that tho difference between th<* two was £59, we made careful enc|uiry into the matter, in the interests of tho ratepayers. It appears that the lowest tender ■•vas reported by the Engineer as being below the amount for which the work could be performed. Mr Moinet also ieported that ho considered .Mr Cook's tender Was a fair fl.nd reasonable one } and ha received the work. The fact that Messrs Bowe and Co. tendered so close to the accepted one, also seems to imply that a fuir price hasbeon accepted for the work. At the same time, we, considar that if Mr Blake's tender had been sent in in proper form, it should have been accepted. The Board have nothing to do with how., much profit or loss a man makes upon his contract. Their duty is to get the public works carried out as cheaply as possible. Contractors .■Oioiil.l learn the lesson that a strict^ ob-ser* vance of lUO advertised conditions of tendeiing is absolutely necessary. When a governing body makes a condition, it is bound in honor to adhere to it, unless due notice is first given. Highway Tbndbus. — We notice that the Highways Hoard have detenniuod that specifications for works in the Kiwitea district shall he on view at Messrs Loudon and Hay bittle's store, Peilding; and for Sandon at Mr Oakley's. As sire pointed out recently, this is the proper course to adopt, instead of having specifications on view at Foxton and Palmerston only for all works required. We hope tho County Council wili imitate the Hoard's action. Reclaimed Land. — Bef erring to our subleader in last issue, as to the Wellington Reclaimed Land being a provincial asset, we notice that the Hutt County Council holds the samo opinion, and claims as its share one-twentieth of the proceeds of the sale. They have submitted the question to the opinion of Mr Travers, and his opinion is to be imported at the meeting to be held to-day. The Council also considers that they aie entitled to a twentieth of the amount realised by tho sale of the Courthouse, and it is expected that Mr Travers' opinion will apply to all property which formerly belonged to tLe 1 rovincial Government before the Abolition of Provinces Act came into operation. A Dbadiy Station. — Mayfair has heard a good story (which it says has the advantage of bdiri,£ truej, in connection with an appointment recently gazetted. A young gentleman who had received a special murk of his Sovereign's favor by being appointed to represent her Majesty in one of the most insalubrious stations on the West Coast of Africa, culled in at tho Colon! il Office to muke inquiries as to what might be tho retiring allowance pertaining to the post. The obliging clerk, after a prolonged search through a series of documents, looked up at the hopeful young man, and blandly said, " I do not find, sir, a single instance of a retiring allowance having been paid to gentlemen who have gone out to this particular station." It is generally admitted by everybody who has visited Jacobs' Athemcum Bazaar, that it is the only phop in Wellington that contains a good and complete assortment of Fancy Ooods and Jewellery suitable for Presents, Birthday Gifts, or Wedding Presents. Parties requiring any of the above articles will save themselves a lot of trouble by calling and inspecting the immenso assortment, which is 100 gigantic to particu* larise by advertisement.— [Advt.J