The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, MAY 28, 1870.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 124, 28 May 1870, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, MAY 28, 1870.

We are sure that the railway intelligence contained in the message sent down to the Council by the Superintendent last night and which we publish below, will be perused with, the greatest interest by our readers, as it will be. seen that there is every probability that the great work of constructing a railway from Nelson to the Coast — a work that has excited so great hopes in the minds of some, and the bare mention of which has called forth so manj sneers from others — will be commenced within a few months. The first step in this great undertaking will be the sending out of & staff of surveyors and engineers who will go over and report upon the line in order to ascertain whether Mr Wrigg's plans and estimates are correct, and it is then proposed to construct the line from the Brunner mine to Cobden without delay The thanks of the Nelson public and indeed of the whole colony, for the benefits of such a line as that proposed to be constructed will be by no means confined to a single province, are due to the Commissioners, Dr Featherston and Mr Bell, who have done all in their power to smooth away the difficulties that stood in the way. Below we give his Honor's message : —

The Superintendent has the satisfaction to inform the Provincial Council, that although he has received no official communication upon the subject 1 of the Nelson, Cobden, and Westport Railway, by the mail which aimed this morning, he is in possession of private information of a very favrurable character. By confidential letters,- from one of the NewZealand Commissioners, and others, the Superintendent learns that the legal difficulties referred to in his Message, No. 3, of the 3rd instant, have, as he anticipated, been overcome by the assistance ol the Commissioners, who have pledged the Colonial Government to use their influence with the General Assembly to that end. This pledge proving to be satisfactory to the proposed contractors, and all other conditions, with some slight modifications sanctioned by the Commissioners, having been agreed upon, a draft preliminary contract was in course of prepreparation when the mail left, and also a draft bill for the satisfaction of the technical objections raised. A deposit of £5000 was to be made on the signing of the preliminary contract, and a further sum of £15,000 as soon as the bill referred to shall have received the assent of the General Assembly. One stipulation of much importance has been made and agreed to, namely, that the short line from the Brunner coal-mine to Cobden shall be j commenced at once, and the mine worked while the survey of the main portions of the line is proceeding. • • ' The Superintendent cannot anticipate any further difficulties or delays- in this matter, but of course until the necessary documents are actually signed, no absolute certainty can be entertained. Oswald Curtis, Superintendent. Nelson, May 27, 1870.