THE SANDON-CARNARVON LINE.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 69, 8 June 1878, Page 2

THE SANDON- CARNARVON LINE.

A. public meeting was held at the Town Hall, Foxton,oa Thursday night, for the purpose of discussing the advisability of constructing a railway, under the District Eailways Act, f com Carnarvon to Sandon. The chair was occupied by Mr E. S. Thynne, Chairman of the. County Council. The Hons. Eobei-fc Campbell and William Fox were present m order to give the meeting some information as to the manner m which it was proposed the line should, be constructed. There was a numerous attendance, and" considerable enthusiasm was evinced, each resolution being carried unanimously. The Chajeman said . he had great pleasure m presiding over a meeting called for such an important purpose aa that which they had met to consider. He would ask those present to bestow their earnest attention on the matter, and as it was possible, owing to the peculiar acoustic qualities of the hall, that some of the speakers might not be heard, he would request that the difficulty would be made known, and a hint to that effect, would not be taken amiss, as it was desired that all present should thoroughly understand the scheme. Their hearty 00-operation would be asked, and it was impossible they could bestow that if everything was not clear to them. The meeting had been oalled both by advertisement and poster, . and every explanation would be given upon any point that might not appear clear. He would not delay further, but call upon the Hon. Mr Campbell to address the meeting, as that gentleman was master of the details oE the' proposed scheme of con- . struction. The Hon. Mr Campbell then came forward amidst applause, and said : Mr Chairman and Gentlemen, —I am particularly well pleased to meet here tonight the owners of property contiguous to that m which I hold an interest, inasmuch as it has been said from time to time that I did not intend tacarry out the conditions of the Special Settlement Block m their integrity, and, consequently, my intentions were viewed with a certain amount of suspicion. . Since I have been m the district. I have., used every effort to dispose of the land 'which I, was bound to dispose of, and have always carried out my arrangements m a loyal manner, and not one of the seven thousand acres would be disposed of otherwise. The object for. which the meeting had been convened 'was to lay before it certain plans and statistics, and then to elicit 1 an expression of opinion as to the desirability or otherwise of constructing a line from - Carnarvon to Sandon on the terms which would be submitted to them. Well, gentlemen, if xny of you had seen much of the land m the South Island, and witnessed the vast benefit which accrued to it from the construction of railways, you would have but little doubt as to the desirability of constructing railways m new settlements. I have seen land, which had been bought m 1872 for £2 per acre, sold, a fortnight ago, at £13, being the result of the construction of railways consequent upon the initiation and development of the Public Works policy, enunciated by my friend, the Hon. Mr Fox, whom I. am glad to see here this eveuing,. whom you all know, and whose name is familiar amongst you as household words. During that gentleman's term qE government, a policy was enunciated which sought to benefit— and was successful m the work— the whole community. Xt would be remembered that, from the years 1866 to 1869, Ihe colony was m a, great state, of.deprcs~

sion, but he had the ability to conceive, and the energy and power to carry out, a scheme which resulted m bringing thousands upon thousands to the country, and made it what it was at the present. To my mind your interests have been sadly neglected m the past, and more especially m the matter of railways, la the South Island lines of railway had been formed through land which was far inferior to what could be shown m this district. The news which had just come to hand with regard to the loan sought for m the English market, amply proved that the policy pursued m the expenditure of previous loans had been appreciated at Home ; and so well did our credit stand m the moneymarket, that, although but two and a half millions had been applied for, four times that amount could have been obtained. With regard to the conditions upon which it was proposed to have the railway constructed, I may say it will be m accordance with arrangements by which thirty-three miles were constructed m the South Island, and with which I was associated. The line to which I allude, however, differed from the proposed one, inasmuch as there were more engineering difficulties m the way — expensive levels and large bridges. Here it was estimated the work could be executed at a reduction of something like one thousand a mile, or the whole line for £25,000. Iron was never so cheap as it is at present, sleepers can be obtained here at a very low rate, and labor was not m a disorganised condition. Under the District Railway Act, the line could not be made by a private individual, but should be ia the hands of a Company. The first step would be to have articles oE association, and there should not be less than seven Jof the community on the committee as directors. As soon as tkat was done, there would be no difficulty ; but, m this instance, great delay was obviated, as the land had been already surveyed. In Canterbury, within the last few years, the whole face of the country bad undergone a complete change by the introduction of railways, and a like result would, of course, follow m this district. At first the change was not so manifest, but it increased year by' year, until, m most instances, it had doubled and quadrupled land m value. People very often put the question, "Will railways pay?" and yet I believe they never dream of asking whether roads pay. I have been over a good deal of this district, and I find that there is a very large amount of road made and. metalled, yet with the exception oE the toll demanded at the Rangitikei Bridge, no impost has been levied, and still the roads are said to pay for their formation. Now after all is said and done, what is a railway? It is only a level road with two pieces of iron laid along it. From what I have seen, of the road to Sandon, upon which there is no shingle — by the time sufficient stuff has been carted to do the work, the metal which was laid down i n the first instance will be worn out. As regards your land — instead of importing a considerable quanity of oats — ' and I am glad to hear you can grow sufficient wheat to support yourself — you will be able to export a large amount to other parts. Since I have been m the district, I have taken a good look at your stock, and I can conscientiously say that I have never seen anything to equal to what I saw at Mr Fox's. There is an old saying- to the effect, " that half the breeding goes down the mou'ih," and certainly' I think you must have put the breeding down the mouths of your stock. If I undertake the line, I oan assure you that every effort will be made to have the line constructed efficiently, and economically. lam not well up m the topography of the County, bub certainly to my Diiad that ihe round aboubway of ihe present line should be adopted as the main, seems the very height of absu^d'Ly. It is my fi-*m impression that the line which we have met here to discuss will, if made, eventually be a part, and parcel oE the main line, as at Foxton, and no where else must the Waikauae line tap. If, gentleman, there is any point upon which informai ion may be desired, I shall be happy ■ o answer any questions. I trust it will not be supposed that I have been actuated by selfish or interested motives, for I can assume the meeting, that if I had studied my individual interests alooe, they would lead me towards the Oroua River. Howeve«\ I do not take a narrow-minded view of the-matter, and as -I am quite willing to allow myself to be taxed, I hope those whom the line will eventually benefit will act m a similar spirit. If you say the line is to be oon-sii-ueied, it will be carried out without delay ; if you do not, then I will have fco subside, but I think I will be able to exist under any circumstances. I would like to see the line constructed, and • Hist that you will not refuse to accept what must prove to be a boon to the future. A Voice. Would Mr Campbell kindly give the meeting some information vriih regard to what was expected from settlers? Mr Campbell: I will just slate how the thirty-three miles of line to which I referred as having been constructed at Oamaru, were carried out. In the first place the amount was taken up by seven shareholders, as the company could not be formed with a lesser number — an arrangement was then made with the Bank of New Zealand to negotiate the loan, and as it was a rough country it required £120,000. If it were necessary, I have no fear but a loan could be raised easily m London, as the Colony could now go confidently before the British Public. The General Government had been borrowing money to construct main lines, and I believe there would be no difficulty m raising this money, although I have yet made no financial arrangement. The settlers were asked to contribute a small proportion, and it was advisable ,tbat they should do so m order to inspire confidence m the scheme m those from whom the loan would be sought. Mr Gower. said he had been asked to move the first resolution, seeking for the approval of certain views which; would be placed before the meeting. A similar resolution had been moved and carried unanimously, at Sandon last evening, and certainly if there were two plaoes m the Colony whoe interests were identical, it was Sandon and Foxtoa. He would read the re-

solution, which, was to the following effect : — " That this meeting approves of the proposal of: the Hon. Robert Campbell, to float a company for making tho line of railway from Foxton to Sandon, and to provide the needful guarantees m terms of the Act." That resolution was carried without a single dissentient at andon. Foxton , has had a kind of spasmodic growth— a Hercules sunken m his infancy, with great frame, and broad shoulders, yet the great man stood still m his growth. When it saw the tramway change into a railway, it gave a stretch, and more houses went up, and' people had something to do, where they had nothing before. It could not be denied, however, that another stoppage had talcenplace, and it now wanted another stimulus — not one that should set it going for a time until another stand-still took place, but such as would make it keep its place m the race oE progress. lEit could but get such a stimulus, there was nothing to prevent it becoming one oE the mosf flourishing places m the Colony, as it evidently was intended by nature. In the matter of absentees Foxton was singularly unfortunate, but the present proposal would furnish a remedy for the evil, as they would have to shell out, as the law would make them bear ane^ual burden with the industrious settlers of the place. It-was more than possible that there would be found some who would disagree wifh the remark he was about to make, but still lie would, boldly assert that Foxton might and ought to possess the finest harbor, and be itself the most flourishing town on the West Coast. When urging the necessity for some energy with a gentleman of the town he had been met with the reply that there was no necessity for it, and Wellington was instanced as a place whose claims' were, recognised at the proper time, a,nd the m formation given that Foxton would have its turn some day. Well, he did not believe m either such a doctrine or policy. He would like to know, when thai) day was to come, and more than that, he should like it to be m his" own time. There was no disguising^ the fact that Foxton was at a stand still, while all the inland towns were on the move and marching along with progress to prosperity, and the cause was found m the apathy oE its residents. Take toe town oE Bulls for instance, and see the inducements it held out to settlers. Why, iE only a hairdresser visited the place they would seize him, build him a shop, buy him a. pole, and even supply him .with customers. He regretted, very much to have to confess that -that spirit did not prevail m Foxton, Bulls was a place were a few years ago there was very little trade, and on a recent visit he saw a chemist's shop which would do credit to Wellington. I£ they found a man wibh energy they backed him up, because they knew that whatever benefits an individual member of a community contributes m a measure to the general good. o£ all. Afc.Sandon last evening; every man was determined to have a railway. They said we ace not able to do the whole oL : the work ourselves, we are sure oE the intervening country, and iE Foxton will only do its part, the railway is an. accomplished fact. Sandon felt somewhat like a caged lion which should find an exit somewhere.- The people of that place swarm from the Hutt-periadicallyv and every child seems actuated with a^desi re. to forge ahead. They would never put up with roads ; at first they were satisfied with a horse tramway, but since they had seen the Hon. Mr Campbell they were determined to have a railway oc die. But infants cannot do the work of strong men, and Sandon only an infant settlement. Thoy want access to the port, and to compel e with, other places successfully the most ( direct transit is a necessity. This year vlie Sandon people might possiblyTbe considered riot to lvave done much, bub what they have done is an earnest oE what they can and will do, i£ it be possible, and the only way to keep pace m the struggle of co&petition with the world is to obtain a cheap and expeditious transit for their produce. The district last year grew 20,000 bushels of \ wheat, and it is patent that if the very small, portion oE the Sandon district under ' cultivation can grow that amount , that with the vast area of land available the yield w mid be something enormous, as every farmer would raise green crop, cereal crop, and a grain crop, the smallest exports would amount to 60,000 bushels a year, and ,30,000 bushels at threepence a bushel is £250, a sum easily saved m the, transit of wheat by railway. (According to\ a statement made by Sir Julius Voge],the avera gecrop m Australiawas not-higher than sixteen bushels, m the -States of America it was not so high, and m the British Colonies it averaged from seven up to sixteen bushels per acre; while the average! at Home was not higher than twenty-seven or twenty-eight, showing that New Zealand producers I can compete favorably with the world, j The.average yield m Sandon was thirty - one bushels, and, so favored by nature was that district, that- the subsoil produced wheat oE the very best quality. If the Chairman were to ask the meeting now to hold up their hands if they approved oE Mr Campbell constructing the lino on his own account, he (the speaker) had little doubt the resolution would be carried, unanimously. There would be no pricking oE conscience, or a t\rinorft at the pocket. They would like to have theline,but there isagreatdifference as to the way they would like to get it, and the wayjin which they can get it. There is little or no chance of the Government making branch lines for years to come. ; Then it Fortune throws us over, turn ou the jade, take the matter into our own hands, put' our hand into our pockets, and carry out the project ourselves. He would not refer to minute particulars of the scheme, but would leave that task to Mr Fox, who was well versed m the legal technicalities of the District Railways Act. They .are asked to guarantee an interest not.exceeding five per oent, on the gross amount, and although it had been computed that the line could be constructed efficiently for £25,030, it was deemed advisable to add another £5000 to that amount for contingencies, so that the sum total would reach £30,000. The question then was, how was that £15,000 to be raised? If it were raised as a money rate on. Saudon, that being a. small cQiajnuiutiy, . tt» would press

heavily upon the shoulders of a few, wherein if all who were vitally interested, were to co-coperate with Sandon, the tax would be considerably lightened. It was for this reason that Foxton had been asked to join m, and m considering the question it must be borne m mind that the more a place like Sandon could produce, the less the guarantors would have to pay. Another thin& tobe remembered was , that as the Government granted two per cent, of the interest on the loan, the profits arising from the working 'of the line would be added' thereto, so that there was a possibilty of there being no rate at; all to pay. Another point not to, be lost sight ofi *was tho special settlement alluded to by the Hon. Mr Campbell. The very smell of the proposed railway had caused sections to be sought after, and taken up within the past fewr weeks. It must be recollected that m the special settlement, it was proposed to settle seventy married couples, and m speaking of those to be.lpcated, theyr should not be reckoned as Frencfo families. It was pretty generalljr knqwn that the British public as % rule were blessed with large families, and it was only reasonable to expect that every one of the seventy •■ would have from three to thirteen children. The picture of that settlement was by no means a fanciful one ; the thirteen children might certainly be a little stretched, but once started, what might • it not be m a few years. When, a stream- begins, it generally keeps running, and nodoubtotherproperty holders would follow Mr Campbell's example, and cut up the land into smallholdings. It effected him m two ways— it affected him as a private citizen of ]?oxfcon, and it also affected him as the representative of MrLarkworthy. That gentleman had repeatedly t asked him way he did not ; breakup the ground, and lay it down m grass, but he was forced to reply, that m the present state of the roads it would be impossible to get the produce away on terms which would enable them to compete with any hope of success. With the opening of the railway anew impetus would be given to all industries — the market gardener would increase his trade, the storekeeper would feel the beneficial effect, and each one would be influenced with a desire to do something more than he had done before. In his own mind, he had not the shadow of doubt of the railway paying, and that was why he asked them to support the resolution* Mr Loudon said it afforded hint great pleasure m seconding the x resolu~ tion. It was four years since he had the pleasure m joining issue with tbj» people of Sandon for the formation of a railway. It was then a very doubtful project, but he was pleased to be able to say it had now assumed another phase, and a very dtfferenb one. The matter had been, gone into so minutely by Mr Gower-, that he had but little to add. -He considered, however, that the . subject had a direct bearing on, Foxton. -They were told that the project ivoud involvean expenditure of £25,000, and the disbursement of so large an amount wa» an item of considerable importance— it meant labor to the laborer, custom to the- storekeeper, the farmer to sellhis sheep, and the speculator to sell his land. It meant increased exports, and instead of asking that Foxton should be madea port of entry, that it would become sofrom necessity; it meant an influx of: population, a develbpflient of resources^; and an increase of wealth. ]NFo onecould plead indifference to such a'prospect. It had been explained by both. Mr Campbell and Mr Gbwer. that, m? addition to the ppr-centage granted by the Government, it was more than' posi sible that, by the freight oE produce ». sufficient profit would accrue to- pay theinterest, so that there was realLya...pro^ bability oE actually possessing the line.; without the guarantee bein<* touched" npon at all. Mr Gower had told then* nhdut the spirit by which the' "men ofv Sandon were actuated; well, he-gave-them credit for it, but he felt convinced., that those at Foxton We re, not one whit; behind them m the matter of enthusiasm. Reference had been made to theinterest Mr Fox had taken m thembvement, and he cordially; agreed with, ik. He (the speaker) had often had occasion to visit YVYUiugton m the interest of matters pertaining to Fpxton v and' he should then bear witness to thier kindly and J valuable assistance- x which, hie had always received from the Hon.. Mr .Fox. He regretted exceedinglythat the member for the County was not there that evening, but he would not say one word against that gentleman . He believed the line would tapone of the best districts on the West. Coast, and not only send , produce, into* the market, : but wool and- other commodities, and give Foxton a position she-; never had before. If she- neglected this chance, it was -more than possible-, she would never get sub h a one again. Redid not quite beliere m th&eqmty of a few carrying oub a work whjea. would bea benefit to all < 'and hethought it foolish that some shouldpay all, so that others should escape fcee^. By carrying out the work an actual risain the value of land would take places and the opponents of the movement would, consequently, reapa like advantage with -those "who burdened them--selves to support it, and, therefore,, where practicable, a rate should be imposed. He had very great pleasure m •seconding the resolution. ' The Hon.. Mr Fox then came forward and said he had been asked to support, the resolution, and he did so witbpleasure.. He was also pleased to see such-a number assembled m that fine hall, the building: of which argued that they possessed strong- faith m the future of' Foxton. Ife may be asked why he shoulcrtake such an interest m the construction of theSandon line, and he would give them his reason by relating an aneodote. A certain Yankee had boasted that he had assisted at the Lynching of a man, andthat there were 500 altogether with a hold oE the ' rope. " How, could that be," asked his friend; "if there werethat number, they surely- did not want, your assistance F' "Oh, but," replied the Yankee. " I took an interest m the affair." Well, that was exactly tho case with him. He took an interest m tlie project, and that was why he was there fchat night. His friend, Mrlioudpn, had kindly given him credit for bftvinsT sshown an interest m tlifr:cc>unty. Wollif he. ha<J. he (the sjeaker); cduld