WEST COAST RAILWAY

Manawatu Standard, Volume IV, Issue 279, 22 October 1884, Page 2

WEST COAST RAILWAY

The Nortncrn Section. [By our Special Reporter.] CONTINUED.] Tlie 'Wlieiciua clearing appears to bo fully 10 miles inland from the sea, and there is still a Urge amount of flat bush inland towards the ranges. The rail way j nab here haa another four miles ot straight almost level run. Seymour's coutract now ends, aud we euier upon that of Messrs Wilkie Bros.' which is a much larger one, aud extends over 16 miles of line. Most of the bush on this contract is felled, or. will be very soon, and the formation lias been commenced in several places. After leaving: the clearing, which I do with considerable reluctance, I again plunge into thu denne bush, which, tor a mile or so in quite flat The line has then some rather difficult country to contend with, but the best t ridges and spurs are made use of to raise it up, as it has to cross a saddle which, lies about two miles north of the clearing, which it docs with scarce perceptible grades as before. The Moarcity of water is noticeable in this part of the country, there being scarcely uuy creeks for a distance of seven miles. The line next passes close by the Koitane clearing, a smaller one than the last, hue which has been sown down, in cocksfoot grass. The way in which English grasaec will take in this laift! is' amply shewn by a glance at the luxuriant growth of that which has been sown here. At a point 19f miles from Longburn we again find more earthwork*, and the same are found at intervals all the way to Shannon . Township. After crossing the saddle, just alluded to, the Hue has to drop a distance of 200'ieet in about 2\ miles, and when this lower 1 level is reached, we find ourselves in very swampy country indeed. This is not to be wondered at, considering that it lies at a level of only 10 feet above the sea. The swam, h indicate that we are n«saring the Manawatu River,, as the country all about'thd vicinity of that, river is very low and wet indeed. During the late flood the surface water seems to have com* pletely covered the swamp grass and flax, and some engineering tact has to be displayed in order to take the iron-horse dry -footed over such a track. The engineers of the Company are, however, quite equal to the occasion, and the line towers above it all, hig-ii and dry, in a manner that is quite pleasing to look at. The Hue next follows" the course of the Kopouturoa Creek, until it reaches an opening in the bush known as Buckland's Clearing. • This is at present the scene of a great deal of bustle, and an engine is already running on the line, and is busily engaged araoiigsfc the earthworks. There is a junction here too, with a side line that runs about half-a-mile to the bank of the Manawatn River where the Company have built a first-class wharf. Steamers such am the Ly Mel ton and Tui come up as far as this to unload, and bring up. all the rails and ironwork right on to the spot where they are required. The ranges are distinctly visible hero, but must be at least 10 miles further in* land from the line, and the latter caunot be much less than another 12 wiles from the coast. The laud in this locality is extremely swampy and will require much drainage to pnfc it in a fit state for settle, ment. However, the quality of swamp land is so well known that there in every reason to believe that the whole of it will be drained and cultivated at some future date. Another very beautiful landscape view presents itself from Buekland's clear* ing. The snow-capped tops ot the Tararua Ranges raise their lofty crests to the eastward, sil most .reaching the clouds themselves, and vieing with them as to who shall o'ertop the other, the lower hush covered hills lying more modestly at their feet. And now comes the point which has created a bone of contention between the Wellington-ManMwatn Railway Company and the Foxton people. There are two routes that could be adopted from Buckland'a' clearing 1 to I Longburn. The first would cross the Manawatu river at once, and thence, by traversing two miles of a triangle go along by the town of' Fox' ton, and back again towards Palmerston, opening up no country except a lot of desert sandhills ; the other route, would run along inland, avoid making a huge viaduct over, the Manawatu at its broadest part, and open up a vast quantity of very rich, flat bush land. The Company have very wisely chosen the lather route, and have thus conferred a henefit on the travelling public a<? well as upon those farmers who will ultim.itly be settled on their land. One cannot blame the Foxton people for endeavouring to bring the I'ne their own way, for there can be no doubt that Foxton will sink into the most complete insignificance, now that this grand Una of rail way is coing to leave her out in the cold. Had the line been constructed by the Government, it would pei bans have done their duty to nee that Foxton was not ignored, since there has been a large expenditure of money on the wharf, and it would be only right for a representative Government to see that all its dependencies receive their due share of favor. Bnt with a private Company the case is altogether different. They have nothing to do but look after the interests of shareholder*, and this, I maintain, the servants of the Company are doing. The line then leaves Buckland'sclearing, and, instead of winding about in order to take in Foxton on its line of route, strikes opt in a beeline almost for the Loogr^urn junction, near Palmerston. After traversing another piece of level straight, and then a small aimostimpercentib!© curve, we find ourselves on the sito of the future settlement of " Shannon." Tim Shannon township and settlement consist of 126 acres of flat bui»h land, in a xqnarft block, the bush on which has been felled this season, and is now lying on the ground ready for burning. It is the intention, I believe, of the Company to subdivide this area into town and suburban sections, the central portion being wholly t acres, and the rest varying in size from one to ten acre*. The whole piece is admirably watered by creeks and rivutafcs, and is in every way suitable to the purpose to which it is intended to be put. The sea-

beach is here at a distance of some 15 miles* whilst the ranges seem to stand back fully another six miles inland again. This will give an indra -■ - of the immense amount of flat countiy that the railway will tap, and people may judge ior themselves whether th6 Company's Engineers have acted wisely in choosing the route they have done. The ground of the Shannon township ia singularly high and dry, and healthy, which is a great and a sudden contrast to that, of the country which lies around it on all sides, which is chiefly of a low, wet,, swampy description, although the 'whole of it is capable of being drained. In the distance there is another (pretty view of tke white tops of the Tararua Ranges, which adds greatly to the beauty of this future village settlement. (To be Continued.)