THE Manawatu Times SATURDAY, SEPT. 17. 1881. A COINCIDENCE.

Manawatu Times, Volume V, Issue 161, 17 September 1881, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times

SATURDAY, SEPT. 17. 1881. A COINCIDENCE.

X Word* mm things, m 4 r Arop «f iak falling 111 m iUw mp»m prodiow that whioh. makes thousand*, yerknw Millions think."

In its last issue our Foxton contemporary had an exhaustive article on the Railways Construction Bill, but its tenor, arguments, and very many of the expressions used, bear bo strange a resemblance to one which we had written for publication, that m order to bo spared the charge of plagiarism, we have consigned ours to the waste-paper basket. The question, however, is of such importance, and so vitally affects the interests of Manavvatu, that we feel we cannot allow it to pass unnoticed, even if we have to reiterate the arguments? of our contemporary. Many of the provisions of -the- 'Railways Constructions B'll — a number of which we published m last issue — are of a nature which would be quite right and proper if embodied m a District Railways Bill, when the benefits conferred by the construction of a line would be reaped by a single community, and consequently the bui'den incurred m obtaining such benefits should be borne by the benefitted parties ;but they are totally out of place when applied to such a line as that proposed for Manawatu, which is, " puret simple " a main trunk line. It is proposed by the Bill which has now become an Act, that the owners •of land through which the line passes I Rball be compelled to pay five per cent interest upon the cost of construction for fifteen years . No w thi s is one provision which would be quite right ancj . just if the proposed line was being " "constructed under the District Eailways Act, but, as we said , before, „when treating with a trunk^inWit 1 is simply preposterous ; for, why should the burden of construction of a line which, will benefit tlie u !Nbiftherri Provincial Districts of Taranaki, Auckland and Hawk«s Bay— when tho Gorge railway is

constructed— belevied upon one small section of the community? The injustice is the more flagrant when it is remembered that there are numberless branch lines m both Islands which have been constructed out of the general revenue — for which every Colonist is taxed — which only benefit small sections of the community, and which do not pay a tithe of the interest upon the cost of construction. Our contemporary — who has evidently well matu red his subject before dealing with it — quotes the following, which, will show the fish-and-flesh policy which the provisions of the Act indicate: — •• Let us look at the neighboring dist.ict of Wairarapa. A few months ago we mentioned certain facts regarding the line from WeJliugton to Wairarapa, which we will repeat. That line has cost the Colony about £538,000, which at 5 per cent, requires an annual outlay for interest ot about .£26,900. Yut the profits on that line during the year ended March 31st last were oiily sum £4,500, lea vino; the colony on the year's wo. king £22,400 J to the bad. Now, what we wish to point out is that eight thousand peupie m the Manawatu district contribute exactly as much as do eight thousand people m t 1 c Wairarapa to the taxation of the colony m order to make up that £22,000 whica the Wairarapa line costs the colony per annum ; yet not only does this county have to assist m paying interest on o'her lines m the country, but it will have thrown upon itself the cose of payiag a very large portion of the interest on the cost of construction of the WellingtouFoxton iine. Had the Government adopted Mr. Hursthouse's motion, tabled early m the session, to the effect that all districts m which non-paying railways existed sbo»jH be rated to such an extent as would cover interest on cost of construction, we should have admired their consistency though not their wisdom ; or had they S!<id t.nthe Wairarapi people, " Now, we arc losing £22,000 per annum through {riving you a railway, and you, and the Wellington people must club together and pay that amount into the Treasury," we might hive been reconciled to the fate cut out for us ; but to ask first to help to pay interest on cost of construction of such li.ies as that to Wairarapa, and tbc-n tosa^, " If you want a West Coast railway you must pay ra es to the extent of 5 per cent, on the cost of construction,' is b'>th tyrannical and unjust." Taranalci s another case m point j which has ..ad a quarter of a million given to i for the construction, of railways, only to be worked at an annual 1 .s of £10,000. Examples could bt! multiplied to no end, where lines such as tno Wai mate branch, the Kaitangata, Mount Somersi, and kindred jobs have been for mod and j are worked for the benefit of favored communities with powerful political representatives, and the loss put upon the shoulders of the Colony at large. If we do not go the length of asserting that the Manawatu line is, or should be considered, acolonial undertaking, there can be no doubt as to its being one m which the vital interests of the whole North Island is involved, and the conditions* imposed that any loss which may be sustained at the outset shall be borne alone by the owners of land through which it passes, is without precedent m the past, and would be a log round the necks of settlers m the future.