Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1880. THE WEST COAST RAILWAY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue 6, 21 September 1880, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1880. THE WEST COAST RAILWAY.

I 4 . The people of Porirua and Johnsonville have been in public meeting agitating for the construction of the West Coast railway, but their efforts i will of course end in smoke. The j Government has in the most unmistakeable manner set its fnce against tho work, and Parliament flatly res fused to adopt the Government's suggestion, to make over the work already completed to any corupuny willing to construcc the line to Porirua. In view of these difficulties, is the agitation of the Johusonville settlers likely to lead to any tangible result ? We think not. Tho premises they laid down in their first resolution, " That it is very material to the interest of the Colony in general and this district in particular that the West Coast Railway should be proceeded with,'* is one which no one but a member of the Kail way Comrnissi<>n or Mujoi Atkinson would bo likely to deny. Still, there is the absolute ceriainty th<t unless connection with Foxton is attained, the railway lino from Wellington along the West Coast would prove a gigantic failure. Whatever may bo our wishes and hopps as to the ultimato construction of tho line, we should be amongst the first to brand as political jobbery any scheme which proposed simply to lay the rails as far as Porirua ; for the reason that between Wellington and Porirua there would be hardly sufficient traffic to provide grease for the train wheels. The country between Wellington and Porirua is of a most broken character, and very sparsely populated. The quality of the soil is for the greater part indifferent, and if by being cut up it could be made to carry a largely increased population that course "would have been adopted long ago. At Porirua itself there is no land, but a pretty little harbour, and the place might certainly be made a popular watering {place, though against this idea is the fact tb at at Wellington poople can take a walk to the baths and enjoy as well a "dip in the briny" there as they could at Porirua, — perhaps even more so. To ascertain the population of the district, we have looked over the census of 1878, and after crediting the line with every dozen inhabitants that can be given — even including the Horokiwi Valley and Pahautanui — the total population of Porirua, Johnsonville, and on every road between Wellington and Paikakariki is only 1579 ! Can any business man suppose that number of people, mostly struggling settlers, could furnish sufficient traffic to keep a railway line going ? We are not forgetting the promiscuous traffic that would flow out from Wellington, but that is of an uncertain character, as Porirua Ferry is not of itself the most inviting place for a holiday run, and we fanjy one or two trips there would be sufficient for most people. The question to bo answered is. whether the ordinary traffic between Porirua and Wellington would be sufficient to support a line of railway, and it is for the promoters to prove their case by showing that (he population, productions, and trade of the district would be sufficient, or would be increased to a sufficient extent, to feed the line at lea it up to the average returns. Mr Jzard, ono of the speakers at the Jonnsonville meeting, admitted the line would not pay. He said: — " There was one other point to con-

aider, namely, whether or not the work could be carried out by private entei prise; this he considered was perfectly hopeless. Too much capi»al would be required, which woul 1 have to be borrowed at a comparatively high rate of interest, and thus the investment would not be a profitable one for mauy years to come. The only resource was to press upon the Government to proceed with the work out of the public revenues." That was pJain speaking, certainly ; but one cannot restrain a smile at the ingenuousness of a gentleman who in one breath admits that in private hands "the investment would not be a profitable one for many years to come," and in the next urges the Government to construct the work out of the public funds ! One of the speakers at the meeting — Mr James Wallace -did inform the settlers that steps had actually been taken to form a company fc» construct the railway line, and obtain the necessary legislation on the subject, " but which action had been without avail." Just so. Ihe Wellington people are clamorous, but wise. They know whether the Porirua lin3 will pay, or not, and discreetly button their breechespockets when their pi*otestations are put to the test, Mr Wallace stated " The only gleam of hope left was to construct the line under the District Railways Act. This, of course, would involve taxation on the district to the extent of ,£SOOO a year, as a guarantee would have to be given to secure 5 per cent, on the cost of construction, which wsis estimated at £100,000 in addition to what had already b&en spent.'' This " gleam of hopo" is very faint, as the double guarantee will effectually prevent a loan being floated to construct the railway. About £40,000 has been already spent on the line, and taking Mr Wallace's estimate of £100,000 to complete it, we should have £140,000 spent to afford railway communication to 1579 souls, which is out jf all proportion. A good deal has been said of the probability of trade being developed between the West Coast and Porirua, if the latter were connected by rail with Welling, ion, but no one who considers the nature of the Porirua Harbour, it? exposure to westerly gales, the light draught of vessels that would have to bo employed, and the general surroundings would think twice of ihe matter. Thesavingof 5 hours' steaming round Terawiti would not COtllpen3ato for the trouble and expense of delivering at the railway sta'ion, hauling to Poriruo, and shipping there. Upon the face of it the idea is absurd, and as to the passenger traffic, there is not nor will for many years be sufficient to employ a line of steamers from Porirua to either Foxton or Wanganui ; in fact, people generally go " the whole hog or none " in the matter of sea travelling, aud those who would be likely to take steamer from Porirua to Foxton would probably prefer beginning their journey at Welliugton itself. Looking at ths whole quostion, we repeat what we have frequently written, that the Wellington people are shortsighted in their avariciousness. They want everything, and in this railway matter they get nothing. If they would join with. Manawatu in urging the Government to spend any money available u.t this end of the line, whore there is Crown land to be opened up, and where an immediate return could be obtained if the land were judiciously settled, they would do themselves permanent good, and take a good step towards securing the West Coast railway. The true policy is to make the best paying sections of the line first. When these are completed, the others will follow in due course. To make thej Porirua section a terminus say for several years would be a farce, and a most expensive one for the country, as the line would run nowhere. The country between Manawatu and Paikakariki, on the other hand, is of so fertile a character that when thrown open for settlement it is certain to attract a large and prosperous population.