THE CENTRAL TRUNK RAILWAY.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 196, 29 November 1872, Page 6

THE CENTRAL TRUNK RAILWAY.

A correspondent sends us the following .—-' It is too frequently {he case that questions having an important bearing on the general welfare of all portions of the Province, or Colony, are made repellent of universal s ipporr, by their advocates dealing with them from a purely local point of view. To a certain extent this has been the case with the various schemes for opening up the central districts of O.'ago by railway communications. The selfishness of the Dunstanites has clashed with the greater selfishness of the inhabitants ofTuapeka; and, in the confusion of rival interests, the real merits of the question are liable to be ignored altogether. As the conclusion arrived at will have an important bearing on the future prospects of this district, I propose to examine the pleadings on both sides in an impartial manner. The affair appears to me to lie in a nutshell: as the advocates of the Taapcka route only contemplate for the present aline between Tokomaiiiro and Lawrence, while the scheme known as the " Central Trunk " starts with the avowed intention of connecting the central Goldfields, and, indeed, cannot find any suit-I able terminus nearer than Clyde. In the i memorial praying for the construction of i the latter line, particular stress is laidi upon the desirability of completing the j railway system of tiie Province by con-1 fleeting the central and northern trunk j lines by a line via Nasebj-, and it is this • contingency which makes the question ' one of considerable importance io the residents of Mount Ida. I believe our member (Mr. Mervyn) is so thoroughly convinced of the importance of the proposed Central Trunk Line, that he used his utmost influence, while in Wellington, to push it forward, with what success remains to be seen. In acting thus Mr. Mervyn has, I believe, shown himself to have at heart the best interests of the constituency he so worthily represents, and has added another to the many instances where he has advocated and urged the powerful claims Mount Ida hnsupon the -Government for assistance and en- j couragement. I trust the public of the district will not-be wanting with vheir support, and, with the three principal districts interested united in a solid phalanx, thei-e is little fear of the result. -The formation of the Central Trunk Line is, in good sooth, worth agitating for, as it would unquestionably render " the ]S raseby junction " one of the most important inland towns in the Province. Further, it would place us in direct communication ■with the agricultural and timber-produc-ing districts of the South, and thereby both ebf-apen *he cost of living and render large tracts of auriferous country available, which the present enormous price of timber prevents being profitably •worked. I have, I think, said enough to induce my readers to make further enquiries for themselves, and thereby arrive at definite conclusions. If my prophetic spirit is worth anything, such consideraton will in rvitably le id to Mount Ida allying herse'.f with the Tuns!an in an or--ganised agitation, having as an object tie immediate construction of the " Grand Central Trunk Railway "