The Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 1878.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 93, 31 August 1878, Page 2

The Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 1878.

Me. MACANDBB^idelivered his Public Works Statement m the House oii Tuesday night, and although the speech | was an 'exceedingly •lengthy one, and 1 dealt with the Public Ty*prks_policy m a most exhaustive manner, it is not necessary that .we should refer to any portion other than one of vital importance to , this district— the proposed construction of the Hntt-Waikanae line. The first difficulty m the way of the line, according tb the Minister, was |he acquisition oif land from the Natives, [ and with reference to that matter he informed the .House that an area of 180jp00 acres had been under negotiation for. some time. sDhis , we believe to be correct^ and if tfieVsarne i policy be pursued m the future as m the past m dealing with the Maorisv that difficulty lis likely to remain' a long time. •We are inclined toquestion. if the Minister for'Publio Works himself is at all clear as to, the extent or progress of thosp pending-negotiations ;. . and it would have been far more satisfactory had he furnished soine .information; as to the lands purchased 'from the different tribes. In a former issue we gave a detailed statement of the various land? purchased froth the Natives, our inform^ ant being a man than whom, upon such a matter,, there was, no. better authority on the /West T Coast. In a later ■"issues we referred to certain conditions upon which the Natives were willing to, part; with their lands, and which, if accepted; by the. Goyernmenti at/once pbviated afl difficulty; as far" as the acquisition' of land was concerned. Before passing on; from- the Palmerston line to other, matters, Mr Macanohew assured the House that the, .wopk<shquld not bej commenced until therp had 6een a fur 4 ther aiid -more thorough' investigation as'tothe bestroutetb be adopted. Al- 1 though when he^gave utterance to this promise he ' had Mr -Knoepp's report m his p'6BseßsionrHfeceiy,ed;? ; 9n-:the 29th,of July^^ piSesume th> 'SJuyther investigation^ w^so^niot%gbsy^rid that do;eumentj^^ioh'"up; 'to; : ''that'tiDae .had not been; placed before the House/ 'As the opinion .of tKat gentleman has been looked for with pPnsiderable interest we give tlie repprt^niuU as follows! :— I have the h^qnor to 'report that I have" examined, the county between', the Waikanae and Manawatu Rivers* with a vieV to determine. a route for a proposed railway. The atfhexed;, plan - shows', its; approximate course;'/*: 'FoSttpn. is the nearest place where to coimect; it-' with , 'th'e^/.'Patea-^lanawatu railway ; .^To - ute v *ta-'-Fitzherberi|*/and Palmersfon North, has also been examined, and is\ shown, on the » plan.. 1-From the. Waikanae its length would" be about 32 miles to Foxton «whnrf, and 47i miles to Palmerst on station. For 25 miles this line would/ traverse easy country, at fißat at the foot »of,';and then oil the low .undulating terrace" fhich 'stvetchef from near Waikanae to thfe township of Fif zherbert, between the foot of Hhevfirst bw .riihge of theTararua Hills j and .the •;lakes and:9wamps of the sea coast and the Manawatu River; nowhere would, it rise more than 100 feet above sea level, and easy grades and. curves can be obwii h 'light forttiatidn.. The Waikanae, Otaki, and Oliftu are the -principal rivers to- be crosaed-^by -four seven, and three 60-feet spans respectively ; they have .shingle beds, 'with well-defined banks, and carry large quantities of timber m floods .; piles, with heavy shoes, will drive well m all. There are al?o about a dozen smaller streams, which will not entail any ex-

pensive work. With the exception of the few old clearing* shown, the whole country is covered with light bush ; gqo.d totara grows near the sites of the Otaki and Ohau bridges. Gravel 'for ballast occurs between the Waikanae'and Otaki, at the Werowhanga clearing, and at the Wereroa clearing behind Horowhenua Lake. Afc the 22nd mile the line branches off towards Foxton, and enters, at the 25th mile, the swamps of the Manawatu, .-whence heavy -works . of embankment and bridging will be required to get 'over the flooded country and the MantfwAttt Rire?, for which large spans on cylinders," with a swing-, bridge for navigation, will have to be pro.videcL The river, protection and reclarna'tion will have to be continued from the wharf to the ferry. ..>. From the 23rd mile the route to Palmerston continues on the terrace, which becomes rather more broken, especially between the 26th and 38th miles, over the Koputeroa, Te Maire, and Tokomaru streams, which may be erased by 40 feet spans, until at the 42nd mile it reaches the east comet qf Ktzherbert clearing, and then turns through the Kairanga Native Reserves, over the Kohuterawa stream (40-feet span) to the Manawatu River, which it crosses about 2£ miles below the road bridge," and thence to Palmerston station. Nowhere on the Palmerston route would the line rise higher than about 200 feet above sea level, and easy grades and curves can be obtained without much work. On the last portion the earthwork will be heavier, and the bridging* lighter, than on ! the first .25 miles. The crossing of the Manawatu and the flooded country on this line will be less expensive, as 80-feet spans j will be sufficient, and .navigation will not -have to be specially provided for. An approximate estimate shows that the railway from Wuikanae to Foiton cannot be made under £190,000, and that from Waikanae to Palmerston under £220,000, exclusive of land and stations. In connection with these lines it may be of interest to point out that if the comparatively easy private railways, from Carnarvon to Sandon and from Sandon to Rangitekei, are made the distance by rail between Foxton and Wanganui will be shortened 19 miles. The report is certainly a most mysterious and far from satisfactory document, notable only for its extreme vagueness. At the, outset the route to Foxton is spoken of as if- it were the one to be selebtod, its rival being merely mentioned incidentally, for Mr Knobpp says : " The annexed plan shows its approximate? course. Foxton is the nearest place .where^ to connect it with j the Patea-Manawatii Railway ; a route vid Fitaherbert and Palmerston No'th I has also been examined, and is shown . on the plan," thus leaving the improsI sion that the latterwas purely secondary. | Strange to say, however, Foxton is then | completely put on one side, and the report dilates m glowing terras upon the splendid land and easy country through which, the line would have to pass to reach Fitzherbert, with easy grades and few. curves. Nowhere on the route Would the line rise higher than two hundred feet ;above sea-level, while the crossing off the Manawatu and the flooded country Would be far less expensive than by the Foxton route. After going completely into the different features of the one proposed line, it would have be,en more satisfactory had | Mr'KNOBPP ent|red< a little into detail as to the c6uhtry ; to be opened up by a line .diverging off at the 23rd mile on to | the road to Foxton. The Engineer^certainly states^ that L at the 25th mile%he swamps 6i the Manawatu are entered, '" whence heavy works of embankment and bridging - will be required to get over the flooded country and the Manawatii River., for which largo spans on cylinders, with a swing-bridge for navigation, will have to be provided. The river protection and reclamation will have to be continued from the wharf to the ferry." The report, certainly does not speak of the engineering work m a cheerful way, but. we" should have been better pleased had Mr Knoepp been more explicit 4nd. given some information as to the class of land which the line would run through to Foxton after diverging at the ,23rd mile-post.- He states that to reach Palmerston a railway 47^ miles would have to be constructed, While Foxtpn is but 32 miles from Waikanae, the difference m expense being dp 190,000 against £220,000. Now, m comparing the benefits to be derived from each, it is not necessary to start further back than the. 23rd mile-post, and then we find that seven miles through swamps and sand hills , bring, us to Foxton. Twenty-four and a half miles have to be traversed' Tjef ore Palmerston is reached, but we have Mr Knobpp's authority that not o.ily is there no engineering difficulty m the way, T)Ut a large tract of magnficent country would be opened up, ful y one hundred thousand acres of the very best land being thus made availab a for settlement.; Unfortunately JVLt j^nobpp has not given us the costoE the trunk line from Waikanae to the diverging point, and consequently we. cannot arrive at the exact price to be paid for the seven miles ,to. Foxton. We can, however, without r much difficulty discover that the Pal'ierston line is fifteen miles and a,. ijaif longer than its rival, but passes through splendid country/ costs but 5£30,060 more, and can consequently be constructed for less than £2000 a ;tnile; , The matter, then, narrows itself down to the following issue : seven ? miles , have to ■ be constructed through a comparative deeert, beset with expensive engineering difficulties, only to teach a point from whence no more country can be opened, and consequently its further utility ceases. On the other hand, by the Palmerston route, the maximum of advantage can be obtained at the minimum of cost, and an entirely new and fertile district brought within reach of the capital. Taking the report as a whole, we : confess we. consider it neither so complete nor so .exhaustive , .as it 'might nave been. Knowing of the very great rivalry that existed between tlie two routes, amihaving once entered into comparisons, it* would have been well had he pursued „them a little further, and staled what the expenses !of seven, and the twenty- four* miles and a half, would cost from the diverging point. W.e are all aware of the value of the line after reaching Foxton, but the jsum. per mile required for the construction of 'that small portion would be ; of particular interest.