The Levin Railway.

Manawatu Herald, 1 August 1896, Page 2

The Levin Railway.

The history of the persistent attempts to form a loop*line of railway between Greatford and Levin is fresh in the minds of our readers. The fact that English capital was ready to build the railway as well as bridges over the Manawatu and Rangitikei rivers cannot be disputed, yet it is unfortunately the fact the railway is not being; made. All know why this is so, because the Premier, for some reason not yet made public, has chosen to refuse his consent. We should not have referred to this matter had not the Premier chosen to twit a member in the House last week, as to why he did not make a railway he advocated the Government making. The member was Mr Crowther, representing Auckland, and during the Financial debate asked •• How about the Waihi Eailway ?" The Premier suggested if the Government were to come down and make a proposal to make a failway to the goldfield, the member would have said, " There is your self reliant Government asking for £20,000 to make a railway to this goldfield." Mr Crowther replied, " If the Government Will stand out of the way we can get it made," to which the Premier retorted, " I tell the honourable gentleman there is no need to come to the Government at all. The Railways Construction and Land Act of 1881 is there, and if the honourable gentleman wants to make a railway he can make it under that Act. They can go and start it in a very short time." - This is the Liberal system of supporting enterprise the Government will not lay out the money themselves and they interpose all obstacles they can to others doing bo, unless it be a foreign mining syndicate. We do not hope that the promoters of the local line will make another effort, but we have reproduced the report from Hansard so that Mr Crowther may be primed with a further illustration to that he possesses of the trouble it is to get, as he puts it, the Government to " stand out of the way." We would very much like to see them " out of the way," but it rests with Mr Crowther and many others to put them there, at anyrate they have their chance in the division lo be taken on the no-confidence debate.