Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY. NOV. 5, 1891. The Central Railway

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 5 November 1891, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY. NOV. 5, 1891. The Central Railway

+ — Though the Government have agreed to spend a portion of what money there is to spend on the main lino between Marton and Auckland, at the two ends, the Auckland people are dissatisfied. A main line is nob to their liking, for their trade they prefer the tortuous line that at present exists up to Waitara,' and would like to connect the Auckland , lino near that point. It would then he a question of days to make a journey between the two towns. The mileage would however be so ■' great that little traffic, either of passengers or goods, could be secured. There seems no reason in this. The loan for construction of this line was " earmarked " and was only granted on the House feeling assured that no alteration could be made, there having been a good many fights before the matter was, as supposed, finally settled. The appreciated weakness of the Ministry has tempted the Auckland people to make one more attempt te divert the course ot th« line, but at pwsonft we are

pleased to note that the Government are firm.

The easiest plan for Wellington to make sure of the construction of the through line, and to put the directness beyond all question, is for thorn to take up the "work of putting a railway between Levin and Greatford, a line across the big loup which the Manawatu and Government railways make to Palmerston. A glance at any map of the railway system of the North Island would show that the construction would secure a dead straight line from Auckland to Wellington, and between Wellington and Greatford an hour's time would be saved. The construction could easily be done by a company with a nominal capital, as the whole route has been surveyed and levelled, and its cost would not exceed £100,000. The money could easily be obtained on debentures, as it is evident that the line would secure a traffic over it to an amount equal to the average over the Government lines, which is some £640 a mile. There would be not only a very large through traffic, but there would also bo a paying local traffic. The Company would not require to do more than construct the line, as either the Government or the Manawatu Company would gladly rent it, either straight out, or on a percentage of profits. Either way the constructors should easily obtain five per cent upon their outlay. We commend this suggestion to the business men of Wellington, feeling sure that if they but looked into the proposal they would speedily move to secure its being executed.