The Superintendent of Nelson, to the Colonial Secretary, Wellington.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 119, 22 May 1871, Page 4

The Superintendent of Nelson, to the Colonial Secretary, Wellington.

Sir — In reference to my letter of the 26th October, 1870, asking the assent of the' Colonial Government to a loan of £60,000 for the purposes therein specified, to your reply of the 10th January last, and to the conversations I have had with you upon the subject, I have the honor to submit the following proposals. That the Government consent to recommend to the favorable consideration of the General .Assembly, a Bill to. be introduced in the coming Session, authorising the Provincial Government of Nelson to raise a loan of £30,000, for the extension of Waterworks and the construction of Gasworks in the City of Nelson ; provided that such loan shall not be secured upon the Public Revenue, but upon the rates to he collected for the supply of Water and Gas, and upon the ordinaiy rates levied by the Board of Works, under authority of the Nelson Town Improvement Act. Clauses to be inserted in the Bill empowering the Supreme Court, in case of default in payment of interest or principal, to appoint a Receiver of the Rates above mentioned. With respect to the other portion of the loan to which I have solicited your sanction, namely, the £30,000 for a Railway from the Brunner Coalmine to the Port of Cobden ; I understand from you that the Government adheres to the view expressed in your letter off -.the 10th January, that, if. it is proposed to raise the required furids upon the security of the. Public Revenue, the works should be placed within the category of Public Works and'lmmigration Act of last Session. _ , But, under the provisions of the Railways Act of the same Session, this short line, by recent survey less than six miles in length, forms part of*the line from Nelson to Cobden and Westport, and the proviso to Section 10 of that Act appears to preclude the Governor from entering into any contract other than one for the construction of the whole line, some 220 miles in length. Looking to the undeniable importance, to the whole Colony as well as to the whole Province, of the speedy aud effective development of the invaluable deposits ?of coal on the banks of the Grey River, I trust that the Government, if they are not prepared to sanction the pledging of the Provincial Revenue for the purpose, will take measures to effect the same object with the least possible delay, as a matter largely affecting the interests of all parts of the Colony. . , At the meeting of the Provincial Council, which will take place in a few days, it is my intention also to propose to them to recommend;, in the terms of the 6th Section of the Public Works and Immigration Act, the construction of the line from Nelson to Foxhill, for which imperfect, if not impracticable, provision wak: made in the Railways Act of, last Session, from the prpceeds of the loan authorised for railway purposes, as the amount .required w*ill be moderate, and the interest would not be more than the revenue of the Province could fairly b_ar. -•• ' f ''", i : .' As regards the remainder of the line between Nelson and Cobden sind -Westport, I shall propose that it remain to be dealt

-within manner provided in the 9th and succeeding sections of the Railways Act 1870. ' I forward herewith a plan shewing the line lately surveyed from the BrurineV. Coalmine to Cobden by the Provincial District Engineer, and on my return to Nelson I will furnish the Government with reports and plans of such surveys as have been made of that from Nelson to Foxhill, and of the intervening portion between Nelson, Westport and Cobden. Should it appear to you that the surveys already made of the lines from Nelson to Foxhill, and from the Brunner Coalmine to Cobden, are insufficient for the information of the General Assembly, T would request that the deficiency may be supplied by the Colonial Government, so that no delay may occur from the want of the necessary details being laid before Parliament, when it next assembles. I beg leave to mention for the information of the Government, that Mr. Blackett is thoroughly acquainted with j the country through which the proposed lines would pass, and that Dr. Hector, independently of his scientific and practical knowledge ol the value and extent of the coal measures of the Grey, has also given much attention during his visits to that part of the country, to the question of the construction of a line of Railway through the heart of the Province of Nelson, and to the route which it would be most desirable to adopt. I have, &c, Oswald Curtis, .. Superintendent. Wellington, April 13, 1871