Manamatu Herald. FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 1881.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue 59, 25 March 1881, Page 2

Manamatu Herald. FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 1881.

A FEW FACTS RE THE WEST COAST RAILWAY. ♦ To prevent misapprehension, it should beknownthat the Government engineers (and the company propose to follow their line) did not propose to take the West Coast railway into Palmerston at all. The two points of junction determined on by them were —at Foxton, and at a point between Longburn and Karere, four and a-half miles the Foxton side of Palmerston, and 25 miles from the point of divergence. The actual distance from Wellington to Palmerston would therefore be —to Horowhenua, 56 miles ; to Longburn, 25 miles ; to Palmerstou, 4_ miles; total, 85£ miles, against 67 into Foxton A few facts as to the land to be opened up for settlement by the respective lines will be of interest to our readers. We know, of course, it is fashionable with unthinking and unscrupulous persons to talk vaguely of the line to Foxton passing through sand, simply because they see nothing but sand in travelling along the beach. Such was the evidence of the surveyor Frasi before the Bailway Commission. In one sentence he asserted the land was valueless, in the next he admitted he had travelled only along the beach. When these statements are brought face to face with the experience of men who know the country, and have been over it, they melt away, and it is actually found that not only will the line into Foxton be the shortest and consequently the cheapest, hut that it will be besc adapted to open the country for settlement. The lines to both Palmerston and Foxton are common until the Wereroa clearing, situated If miles east of Horowhenua lake, is reached. Here the point of divergence is fixed. The Foxton line runs off in a northwest direction 11 miles into Foxton, the Palmerston one continues in almost a due northerly directiou for about 20 miles, and then takes a turn westerly, crosses the Manawatu river near the Mangaone stream, and joins the present line. Now, it is admitted by all authorities that a railway may be fairly held to tap the country within wven miles of the line. Applying this test to the Fo_tou line, we find that the pick of the couutry on the Palmerston route available for settlement lies between the point of divergence and the Kereru clearing, which is only five miles north of the line into Foxton. After passing the Kereru clearing the country becomes somewhat broken until the block known as Te Maire is reached. The good land in this block comprises from three to five thousand acres. It is about ten miles from the point of divergence, and consequently is three miles beyond the reach of the Foxton line, and yet, strange as it may appear, it is only eight miles from Foxton. A road exists from Foxton to Moutoa, and terminates at the Maori kainga Poutou, on the west "bank of the Manawatu river. Te Maire clearing and block are on the east side, and a road If miles long from the east bank of the Manawatu would tap this block : in other words, the railway into Foxton would run through the heart of the splendid country between Horowhenua Lake and Kereru clearing, whilst the formation of If miles of road would afford Te Maire block good road communication with Foxton also. This Maire block is the only good land between the Kereru clearing and the Tokomaru stream. After passing Te Maire, the line runs through poor country, until a point six miles south of Palmerston is reached. It is evident the only land that can be opened by it is that between tbe Manawatu river and the Tararua range. Now let any unprejudiced person take up a map of the country, and scale off the distance between the river and the ranges, and he will see that the extent of country is comparatively limited, even if it were all good. ; but unfortunately it is not good, for, as is well known, the vast Makurerua swamp extends] from the Tokomaru river right up to the township of Fitzherbert, and together with the bush swamps and patches of open swamp between Kereru clearing and the Tokomaru river, covers an area twelve miles long and of varying width between the line and the river, the railway skirting the swamps all tbt W»7« Oft tb« Wirt side of the

line for twelve mile- lie these vast, bottomless, unreclaimable swamps, and on the east side, within two miles of the line, is the first range of the Tararua mouutaius, the highest peaks on tlie range mentioned being from 1200 to _000 feet high, whist tho centre of the poak in each case is not >uore thau two miles from the line, iiut there is another unfortunate feature of this country, and that is Mia* during the heavy flood in March of last year, large portions of the land vxat of the railway line were underwater, in fact, the whole of the country west of the railway from Kereru clearing to the Tokomaru river— a distance of twelve miles— was flooded at that time, the only exceptions being the spurs through which the railway cuttings would be made, which fact materially reduces the area of good land still available for settlement. We freely admit that the last six miles towards Palmerston passes through excellent country, capable of carrying a large population, in fact, equal to any along the whole line ; but, as already pointed out, tho railway would not pass through this land, as it turns off to Longburn, although doubtless the slice of country referred to would be tapped by roads leading from the railway. The" conclusion of the whole matter is this. A road from Palmerston or a brunch railway from that place six miles long would effectually open the good country at Palmerston end ; whilst the country between the point of divergence and Te Maire clearing will inevitably be joined to Foxton in spite of a dozen railways to Palmerston ; firstly, because Foxton is a port, and secondly, because it is nearest. In fact, if the railway were taken to Palmerston, the inland road now being constructed between Otaki and Foxton would still tap all this country south and east of Foxton and bring the business here. As already stated, between this country, which naturally belongs to Foxton, and the Fit-herbert district, which undoubtedly belongs to Palmerston, there is comparatively speaking no land fit for settlement. There are two ways by which the statements we have made in this article may be tested. Firstly, the engineers who laid off the line from Horowhenua to Foxton and Palmerston for the Government — Messsrs Armstrong and Hill— are both out of the Civil Service now, through the retrenchment mania, and consequently, we presume, would be able to give the public the benefit of their knowledge of the country along the respective lines. A second plan would be for the towns of Foxton and Palmerston to send out two persons each capable of forming an opinion, to traverse the lines of railway, following the survey pegs, and report as to the quality of country passed through, a reporter from a paper in each township accompanying the party. We would be quite willing to abide by the verdict of such a jury. The statements contained in this article, both as regards tho point of junction at Longburn and the quality of the land between Horowhenua Lake and Palmerston, will doubtless be very disappointing to many residents of that town. Still, they must not blame us for the facts. We havo sifted the whole matter to the best ol our abUity, and are arguing upon firm conviction.