HUTT WAIKANAE RAILWAY.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 36, 13 February 1878, Page 3

HUTT WAIKANAE RAILWAY.

/InSi^^iii'g;'oin- : thij/H l i^*\and''W'ai'k«i nn 6 i « feilway-i-BjiJUU-ih- the- Eegislative' Council' Whitmope- said •— T»Gqfistruct : this to. tiway the- ttjaflj^. .fooia 'the Wairarapa, line, wliich. would not for years pay interest pnitheepst of its. construction, ■would.' be a s&cidat and short-sighted policy. "What -was the traffic expected on, this lyne, • and what were the" lands ?' * Honocable gentlemen were/ quite right iniayuig" that these lands;-would not sell' at ; high- "prices at present, and it was only by looking, a*, those things from a sanguine point of view, that they could 'assume that those lands would bring a high ;price if the jiailway Ircß»e made. How was therailway. to- be dealt with if it did not pay ?;-: L Thatwa« tlig qugstioni which must force itself upon the people of the colony before, king.-: According to the Act of 187"1, .ariji deficiency, that existed between receipts' and expenditure was to beraieed by direct4ai»tioß' upon the district. That was the law. p.^' the land/ now ;• arid, although the rest of. the legisl&tioii had ; ; not been brought i-i^toi i force .declaring' how that taxation was, to be. levied, still that wae the. law of the;iQncl, and one ; dajti ca- another it would do doubt be put into .foEce. Tlien \yhat wouldv happen m a district liie this,: with ' two rji^ways tO; <sftvij? '•:'^ i natheit moderate traffic^?^ The dSst^t;.,wpuldi, ;. be-, eom,plettl.v ruiried, as Tasmania was some time m trying ; to, maintain! the railways. It would be 1 intolerable to other dMtricts, particularly tb~: those producing a" lnrges loarid FuncT, to har^ fcoicontintie payiitvg: for the loss on-'ih& woifting of ', ra^waya m ovther districtsr,; and: the ' end*'would be, as ia : the , :case' &f ' the " Ea«d- Eiind', that the larger numbec ! would refaseJfo- be sacrificed by the .l«jsser, ; and Avouldvantsis* oh; steps being taken which would be for their- own: pr,otection. What the.y : would'do:woald be to sliut up the- railways wHl^jie railvyay; or,: if any lunatic could be fouijji-fot the-pur-pose, lease the%ulwaT. He wouM ? not be- a yarty to thisiprofeeding at all. ; 'The district from- 'Fditon "■' ' : io<-> Wanganui had a railway; 'had'-giv^v-^'Wangantia' a liberal endowment^for a-lmi'bOtfr;" "The- district from- Wellington to Foxton- was not of a character which would carry . a dense population at .any time-. ,;^e'spoKe, lof course, of the lands belonging to>th^C»own; If it, did carry a iplprably large population, and. if the railway .ever 'did- come to, be largely used, it would turn out that the entire traffic m /that direction) would leave Slastcrtom The Hon.' Sir FC DfiMOjr BMit.— Then do not;make.tlie line to Mastwton-. The Hon.. Colonel WsjSEMdBS: would have been prepared to do tlijat ? but at 1 his moment there was a lur{;e,fer(ile'disii:fi.'t.at Maßterton, and- there was.thetraflic tb lihnd, md. for many years it : i S"ouLd be greatly m

adyiince of tiny, line m an easterly direction. And the trunk line from Napier, if it over canio down to Wellington -rand lie did not think it would do so "m liis lifetime— would not bring goods, because it wouhl never pay to seKid gooclsfrom the Euatamwba. Plain down by RFasfoiioW All that would be carried by that line would be passengers, mid the passenger traffic alone likely to come; \rould;.nb¥ nay: 'That ytionXd also be tlie ense with respeefc .-to, the. West Coast lines. Besirles, the Legislat ure bad already done .enongli fop tbo West Const by giving tbeirfa ■■'Tiarboiii* at WangrtniH, "another at Foxton, and a -yoatl through the Gorge into Masterton. .There was no line of rail•waj paying in-tho Nbrtn Bkriclv -tltajt was, paying- 5 percent, over and abbve working, expenses.^ The Na per line, wliioh was abQitl; tbe.besb irithe North Island, did not pay, that./: Tbei'New Plymouth Kne was , ridiculous aa a , SiKincial" spseutotian, and wa3 being canned on now. »t the expense of the jest of the; colony. Tlie. Foxton-Mana-watu line migli) be doing, pretty well, but it never could pay any large amount, because the district i was^ top small. He was'mfortned that th© 'IVlasl erton line promisedi to*-^ ; but it must be- remembered that.it •woxild always" have a heavy 'cTraij upon it m the shnp^ of tha Rimutaki Hill. He set bis face absolutely against any more speeutationaiivrailways m the 'NortH Island until the' main line 3 were completed and showed a iprdspect of payirtg. 'i . ; >+■ <