PUBLIC MEETING.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 427, 14 June 1877, Page 3

PUBLIC MEETING.

Oil Thursday, the 7lh, a very successful ■Hireling WU& held al the Totvn Hull, Naseby. The .ttailwuy Committee submitted Iheir report, and his Worship, who occupied the chair, called upon Major Steward to express his views to the mceiincr.

Major Sticward : When f came up I did not expect J should be cnlled upon to state our case in public meeting assembled. The object of the deputation was to lay before the. Couuty Council and I'ailway Committee the views of t.lio Waitaki County, and to ask for tho co-operation of the public—not'only thepublic sympathies, but tbo assislance of tbe governing bodies o i this side of the range. T have Lad interviews with your County Council and Railway Committee, and, together with my colleague Mr. Smith, have been most courteously received. We were promisod fair play and full consideration, which was all wo asked, because wo knew that what we wanted was also your inte.-est and there could only be one verdict. I wish carefully to say that, cxcont by your courtesy, I have no standi on this platform. On the otbor side of tbo range I am at home. Ou this side I am a stranger in the lund, and am simply your iuvited guest. If you are wil'irig to hoar me, I will say what I have to say in as few words os possible. (Applause.) To commence. Our object is to extend one or other of our railways at Dunt roon or Ngapara, as may ho thought desirable after a proper enquiry. In tho first instance, wo shall, link up with Naseby or as near as we can get. The reason wo havo come over to ask your help is that we honestly and firmly believe it trill benefit you on thii side of the

range. We seek mutual co-operation to veacli the common end in view. Since 1 have been in Naseby, I learn you have to pay £6 per ton carriage ; a tins you could get it at one-sixth of the cost. This alone would give a very largo impetus to all your various interests: Every man -vrill admit that if the choice lay between sixty miles of rail or by the wretched roads he would say let us have the rail by all means. I do not come here to hold up some chimerical thing, to be done iu a century, but I am here with a proposal that will give you thut lailway within three years Or possibly less. We hate asked tbe Municipal Council of Oamani to assist us towards the preliminary expenses, we intend to ask the Wailaki Council, and wo now come to the Maniototo Council for help, and I earnestly hope that it will see its way to help. Suppose we enrry out these preliminary steps — which we can and will carry out, of that there is no question : If we ascertain mile for mile tho line of route, the grades, the natu - e of tbe country, tho length of tho tunnel, the naturo of tbe lock ; the cost of that railway from point to point; when, too, we have a tablo of figu.es, we shall havo accomplished one part of our project. For the other part we want lic'p too. If we could get the money to construct this line wo would v.sk for it. !l, for my part, would do bo, because the line would bo a payable line. It would be tbe means of settling the country, for piomoting tbo very object for which Bucb Colonies as this have been established, by settling the peoplo on tbo soil. I could go with a clear conscience vto Parliament and itsk for this money, but I don't adrise it. 1 tell you Par lianient has not got the money. If tbe cash is not there it cannot be bad. .1 am not coming to ask you to tako a .coarse that will not eventuate in success. Seeing that there is a lot of country m Mp.n'otolo County that will with comtn unic.it ions -yield good returns, you may very fairly go to Parliament aud gay, We iraut to establish a line to tbe set-board. We ask you (fbe Parliament) to set aside land, way 100,000 acres in Writak' and 100,000 in the Maniototo, and if we cun preva'l with Vincent 50,000 acres io that- County, and we also intend making aa application toWaimr>le. We shall, even without Vint-mf- and Waimate, bav«, 1 believe, the security for » sum than would p.'y for the railwav. 1 LeHeTC W:iiluki and Maniototo alone could doit. The fact remain, whatever o,<r views may be, that Provincialism is done away wild and a County organisation is established. Parliament is aux'ous to see these Counties it has created work out the details of tbe administration ot tbe pub'ic woirks of the Colony. VV'e simply ask to be allowed by our machioeiy to increase the value of Colonial securities by two-thirds. We will undertake the organisation of tbe whole thing. When finished it can be handed over to the Government as a Government line, tbe sales or proceeds of the land set apart, going to pay the whole of the '•:>'! way. The whole thing >s toon c : one, I't'om my knowledge of the House and of all '-cpresen; alive bodies, I t'.ink you will succeed. As a whole I believe representative bodies mean quite well. A fair case wil get a Fair hearing. We believe we'have a fair and reasonab'e and th t I'avliament will a nation it. At tbe same tine votes are voles. J.f Maniototo County and Waimate go with us, w: may suppose that Ihci: members wil' go with in. 1 think the whole of our members would look with <"avoi on the ptqjecl, and al*o tbo Canterbury memb -is. Canterbury has timber, and you want it. I believe lite whole of Caulcbury would look with a favorable eve, end there-"oi-e, c.Hinting nosas, yov hove as good a chance of success a* any other 'inc. This is the lowest ground on whicb to puL it, but 1 have heard of tbe •Strathuieri scheme, and it has been said that we Bboutd lose all the Duuediu support. 1 believe the iSiratbt.i'eri line can be done Get it done if you call in heaven's name; When I see an' advantage open am I lo be thrown overboard because Mr. So-a-'d-So B'Va, J see another and would , like you at Naseby lo get it for me. 1 should s~y if you were to act so you would be *eting with the least possible judgment. You kuow iEsop's fable—ilow the do; blood on the plank with tho nu'llon in its ,i>otilh ; how he was tempted with (he shadow; aud how, in attempting to reach the shadow, the mi balance went to the bottom. There is such a thing as having two exceedingly nine stools, and you have a doubt which you will sit upon. I only hope you will not fall to tbe ground. A good deal of fun '■ made by the iVess about the daring project. 1 know now these things are manufactured. Even suppose it was a daring project, wlir, the more credit lo the pluck of tbe people who proposed it. As to mileage we bear it said, If thai railway is made it won't come up lo my door. The same thing was *aid at Oamaru, bul this one thing is certain: is it possible to doohi. which is iiic greatest benefit —a railway two. or three miles away, or one thirty or forty miles. A line certainly might run n« far a* a milo or two below your linglish Church: If it were farther, and your town grows as it apuears likely to, you would soon have your small branch. Now, as to the Port'. A good many people have said lome, You cannot ship anything from Oamaru. One has to go ; from home to hear news.' I shall communicate this fact to the astonished people of Oamaru. These statements do not .violate tho evidence of my senses. It is undoubtedly, true that it was most inconvenient to ship by the surf-boats. A complete change has come since those days. A Boating Company, whose business was paying 100 per cent., have abandoned their boats because there was no fur-; ther trade for them. Most of t he boats are now lying bleaching on the beach. The port of Oamaru can do this. You could put. the whole of the plain under cultivation, and send all your surplus grain away. Waitaki now grows and exports one-third of the grain grown in tbe whole Proviuce. Our consumers are the Jon-grain-growing districts of New Zealand, not the Home country. Vessels of" 300 and 400 tons can load as easily as I could load a barrow o!T this stage/ The nearest way to port mußt mean the lowest cost of carrying. This means the highest margin of profit to the producer. If two railways were existing now the grain would go by that route which could deliver it cheapest. There would be more to pay for sending it eighty, ninety, or a hundred- miles than if it went sixty miles. The grower would say, By one route I can ship iny slutf and save thirty miles of carriage. Every bushel of grain would go the nearest way. i have Baid enough to justify my holding the view that this railway should be constructed to benefit the greatest number. Judge our project; work heartily, as we intend to do 1 ; we mean to get over auy and every'difficulty, pull our hardest one sess-on or two sessions, and do all that men can honestly and fairly do. We will get success, or, t he next best thing, we will deserve it. If at the same time you can get railway communication from another source, yon can do the me thing, go in for it and you have a right to get Parliament to sanction it. I shan't care if there are two or five or live hundred railways—that will satisfy our conditions. I won't blame you ; you would be great fools if you did not. Give yourselves this chance. We are tho first to move with a feasible project.. Will you join with us ns being the initiators ? If you say: No, because we see something else more justifiable, more pleasant to the eye — take caro. [Mr. Steward thon gave a short history of the initiation of this movement.] We have gono so far, and we do not intend to slop now. I believe wo have a good and sensible scheme. Since we havo taken action a hue and cry has been got up. I remember well when, ii.' Palmerston had liked, it could have had railway communication, and of her own free will she threw away what she might

have had. Now they open their eyes and have a public meeting and appoint a deputation, and yet, as I told them when passing through Palmerston, we are here before them. I think Palmerston will get a fourteen-mile branch up the Shag Yalley. With reg rl to tho cry of the ' Daily Times,' it is evidently selfish. They say, Do not let Oamaru do it"; if you do, good-byo to the commercial supremacy of Dunedin. Who tho dickens caves about the commercial supremacy of Dunedin ? Why should there be this good-bye ? They admit the whole case, They are afraid of it. Tbo difference of mileage will take the produce to the nearest porfe. If it were not so, the commercial supremacy of Dunedin would be quite safe. Wo did not come to Otago for Dunedin. Let Oamaru, Moeraki, and Dunedin each stand on its own bottom, (Great and continued applause.) Mr. N svvjiAßca proposed the following resolution, which was seconded by Mr, ii. Gokdon— That this meeting, a'tc-.' LaTinr herud the proposals and views of the Oamaru. llailway Deputation, considers thai ibis disirict should co-operate with the Oamaru Coniriiatee for the, -.purpose of forwarding U'c sch ius o' bringing a tin? Ji.'ough the 2lara--whenua Pass, and request lUe County Council «bat (•hey should Join with ihe Waitaki Council in defraying the cost- of a prelimlnn. y survey, and in an application to l'nrlianicnL for authority to construct the line ; an area of i 00,000 acres of land i."o be set aside in each County, the proceeds of wkicli by sale or lease to forni a railway fuad.

M>*. A. Rooland, County Chairman, being called upon, said : Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen—l have to t hank you for the reception you have given me on this my fist appearance in public. Although I have assisted in Bouie small degree in public social meetings, I am unaccustomed to address a public mee - ing. ) am placed at the more disadvantage affccr_ the very able address of Mr. Steward, who is a vete-an in politics, while 1 am only a novice; th's is positively my first appearance in public upon any stage, I am requested to give my views on a most important waiter. The subject has cou»e suddenly upon me. My duties to-day have prevented me from givi'ia »ny thoughts fully io it. Last night, in the absence of four of the Councillors, we decided to postpone our decision for a fortnight. This, in a meiasnre, ties my tongue. 1" will only say th ; s : No one in this room i 3 more anxious than 3 a>n that railway communication should be. opened, no one move prepaved to do his utmost to b. ibg it about when the iime and opportunity arrive. I would urge upon this meeting tbe necessity of taking careful and earnest thought. This is an epoch in the history ol' our young County. The future has to be considered, and not ouly the immediate advantage. So far as I can see, the County Council has a wider sphere than mere Municipal interests. It should look with wider eyes to the benefit of ihc country and the County. Oor past has j all centred round to Dunedin. We a\e asked ! to give support to what to a certain extent j would make Oamaru our commercial town. Tbe Oamaru line is no doubt shorter. A I large amount out of our produce would have to go to Dunedin.- If this should be the case after all, the distance between here and Dunedin will be increased by seventy miles. The distance between here and Dunedin by Outram wouid be increased by sixty miles, j so that in constructing the Oamaru line we would lose ten. miles. This resolution e:r- ' presses a hope that the County Council may vote a sum of money towards tho expenses | of a Hying survey; The probable expenditure is put at £SOO. The Government have appointed Iheir Chief Engineer to make a report upon the two lines. Of course we have one survey from Palmerston. Mr. Blair -will give a full report to the Government. That report wili be ready before Parliament meets. No doubt if we consider the weight of the matter it would dp well to pause before we. plunge into any formidable expense. Parliament will sit for four or five months. Suppose such data was given to us to j ndue- us to support with all our m'ght the Sti';vtlitaieri line, the Counties of Strath-, taieri and Maniototo would work together. The extra length would not probably delay the line if the Slrathtaieri line were adopted. Mr. Chei GUTOH: Could„not both th:;se I Counties start upon that course as well as j the other ?

Mr. Rollahd : I am anxious to Bee a railway, but 1 am convinced proper time should be allowed. 1 have heard since I came to this town .that delays are dangerous. There are times when delay means safety. When we have statements of thi3 kind, mere bare statements, it would be well to pause before we adopt any hasty resolut ion on the matter. 1 heartily admire the pluck and zeal and energy of the Oamaru people. We cannot forget the courage they have shown. Mr. E. C. Smith (Dnntroon): Gentlemen With your permission I wish to remark that your County Chairman has told you that Mr. Blair has to make a survey, and during the time these surveys will be completed the session will be over. In this matter what I recommend is that the particulars for one survey be got. I would earnestly press upon you the.urgency of this matter. Mr. !>K Lautour supported the resolution, which was carried.

Mr. Bowlatt proposed the second resolu tion— . ... -

That the Unilway Committee of Xa=cby remain in nflicc for ihc purpose of i-arrying out iho spirit of the resolution passed this evening. , . ..

This was also agreed to. Mr. Glenn proposed . a vote of thanks to the Oamaru deputation, which was enthusiastically carried. j ■ The proceedings throughout' were characterised by unusual heartiness and enthusiasm^

•Some pleasing and well-received compli meats .to. the chair terminated the m.eeting.