THE MOUNT SOMERB RAILWAY AGAIN.

Manawatu Herald, 16 August 1881, Page 2

THE MOUNT SOMERB RAILWAY AGAIN.

The bitter opposition displayed by Mr E. G. Wright, M.H.B. for Coleridge, and a member of the celebrated Railway Commission, to the West Coast railway scheme, has given us a peculiar interest in himself and his district. From time to time we have directed pnblio atUntion to the Mount Somers railway, extension of which the Railway Commission recommended, nctwithstandirg that it wad the worst-pay-in if line in the colony ; in fact, so. bad was the line in question that for shame's sake it was Absorbed into the other Canterbury lines in the monthly railway returns. There is rather an amusing quarrel going on at present in connection with this line, and as an indication of public feeling as to Mr E • G. Wright's conduct we reprint the following article from the Ashburton Guardian: — Political Railways in our own Neighborhood. For years past much hostile comment has been justly made on the worse than useless " political railways" constructed by successive Ministries at various parts of the colony, in order to secure the support of divers members or large landowners who have " had their own axes to grind." Our attention has todiy been specially called to one «f the most bare-faced schemes for a line of this description, and in our own neighborhood, too, which we have beard of for a long time. The facts of the case are as follows:— The people of the Mount Somers and Alford Forest district, after agitating the question of railway communication to their locality, mainly for the sake of cheapness of transit for the enormous quantities of wheat grown there, were gratified some time back to learn that the line from Tinwald towards the centre of the provincial district of Canterbury, though not caar'ied direct to Mount Somers, as in i the original plan, would nevertheless reaoh them, but by a rather circuitous route. The contraction of the line had bean decided upon, but its course had been altered {in the manner described, partly in | order to avoid the cost of building two . bridges, while it was thought that one would suffice, and parly because the amended, or rather, altered route wonld effect a junction with what was called " the inteiior line" running from Oxford to Temuka, and almost parallel with the main Southern rail way running from Christohuroh to Temuka. It appears now, however, that though " the interior line " referred to has been abandoned, what is called the Mount .., Somers railway is to be carried, not nearer to that spot, but further away from it than had ever been opealy contended for before, and in fact to a point where thero is next to no traffic at all except Avhat comes from two or three stations, of which Mr E. G. Wright's is one. Comment is almost needless. All the traffic of Mount Somers, Alford "''orest, and the Gorge is to be praotically thrown away, and left to teamster* ! to take by the road, because a certain j member of Pa>liaraent possesses property ! in a sort of no man's land among the moan- • tains, tenanted by two or three runbolders. ! An indignation meeting has already been j called to take action on the «übj<>et. It is ■ somewhat unfortunate that it was not ! called beforo, when first the diversion was •' decided upon. G-overaments and O-oveva- \ ment officials nre very mnch averse to alter- ! ing their plans, especially when any work I no matter how little, has already been done lin conneciion with these plans. Still, the i old commercial maxim in regard to mistakes here holds good, •' The first loss is the beet, and it is no use throwing good money ' after bad." If, on the other hand, it is decided that the line which has been altered so much for tae worse is to be . carried to its proposed destination, there is no chance that for many years to oome it will pay even iis working expenses, lo say nothing of returning any surplus as interest on the capital expended. Will ever Mr Wright venture to assert that the line is likely to bo a payable one if carriod so far westward as it will be, and if not altered bank again to something like its original track f _____________