CORRESPONDENCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 231, 27 September 1872, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

A COMPANY TO FORM A WOODEN TEAMWAY TO THE.IiULLEK. ' To the .'Editor op iHis'.'Nßtsoir.ETßNiso Mail. Sib, — I don't know who are the parties who wish to bring, this subject under the attention of our community, but as you express your readiness to receive communicßtions respecting it, I give you my thoughts upon^ih 3 Jet it be understood, however, that thfrjfoarov.not of.a'very. old resident, orjnf a person largely interested till the property or business lof.Ne.lsoa" There is nothing iv the country through which the .tramway must pass to render its construction impracticable', or .even very difficult. Kerr's Kill has bceu looked upon as' a; -very great obstacle. This might, I-ihiiik. b 3 avoided, and the tramway cross the Motueka ( , river .several miles Tower down than it is crossed, by the r6i.td.to the Top Ilouse by Macfailane's and Keif's. It should', I think, leave that road a few miles beyond Foxhill, -ah d '■ pass to •' the "- B uller' to' thfe >west <i fit ; all the way. It would, in that ca?e, go through a country; increasing, in population, and-much- of rit available ;for settlement, and its : trafScuwould be fed by ; the Tadmor, \yangapeka,;&c.-;The present road by Kerr's passes itbrough a rugcedjand'mri-produatiVje-cquutry, and it ypesep, especially aSjit approaches the Top Houre, a long way toihe east of a true line from Foxhill to th^s B.ujLLer Valley, and" it would -be much? rnoreiiable'-to interruption from snowfalls in winter than a line & the west of it. - /■What would; be, the cost : of ■suc'bJa; tra'mw'ay^ \ Suppose the rails and sleepers to be of the heapt of black- birchi which is f pretty geqerallymsedyin New Zealand for this purpose^ tliey" would' probably be supplied at about iflOO.per mile, especially as no pkrt.of the 1 line would.ba'. more than a few miles from the'w'ood. If we take the'earihwork, including cuttings, leyellings, and . metalling, the spsce'betw'eeri'the raits at £2 per "chain', and" the fitting and laying the : rails at 10s. per chain, this would make £300 per mile. If to this we add an avei'agX expense of i£4o pei?. mile for clearing^ and £2D per mile for bridges and culverts, the amount will be raised to £360 per mile, and £40 per mile for stations and contingencies, will bring it to £400 per mile. I should therefore estimate the cost, including, -rolling stoclc*, and' everything necessary for the safe and good, working, of, the line at considerably'less than £500 per "mile; and taking the length at. 100 miles, the whole cost at under £50,000, to be raised, say in 5000 shsres at £10 per..share.. ; :"" : " '•' , ; ,',' ; : '. ; ; ? ? I will hot attempt f'to calculate the ■trJiigSc, for no person can do this with anything approaching., certainty, ■ It r is,,l believe,,tlie opinion of persons practicallyacquainted with; the subject, that the power required by such a traniway ; a,s compared with that required on a common road is in the proportion of Ito%\ to 3. ' I mean that a horse would draw.2|Oto 3 tbns 'on.i such a tramway with as great ease as 1 ton on a common .roadj ,and >v;itb same ;; speed. If, therefore!, ili6uid be t .cohsidernble, a charge of Gd. per ton per mile for goods, , vand, ;2d. per. mile,, for, , passengers., should ; pay tlie shareholders well, and, if goods could be forwarded to ; the LyeU ; ancl'Reeftoh fdr'£2 '10s. or £3 per., ton, the -whole trade, of. ;,the Upper BulUt would pass on the line, "With cheap proyiaions, and. easy cqnamunioation, Aliat^ district would^b^ive^an! enormously. ilicreafled>pdpnlalioC Would it be unreasonable to expect the liberal aseistiuice of .the Pr^vdncial-GoYernnienttin:;such ; a work ? Misht not the Government give a bonus of say £ ICO br j £l 50 per mile on every mile of completed. tramway., and, an .equal,ainoiapt in landL^iequjniJgJasiaLcpnditfoni ttie!.free'J:oiiveyance of mails, the proper working of the line for a certain, number of years,; jan,4. filing the mnximum charge for traffic. The surveys wouM probably be made by the';' Govefiimeat without charge to the company., There are several reasons wh? the Government jfh.opM further : such : -an undertaking-! by/ every means' in their powder,. It would do more than anything else to 'un'ire the eastern and western portions of the province. It wpuldjallay. the^ji(rft"4tK n } P§ '%) ¥^11^*1^^ is{Vfe&£ Buller. "And with Nelson as^ their chief port, and with^easvjaad .•eheap r cpramunica^io^i- i with it, all desire for separation wouldcease. May I suggest to those who s are.,ipovins[.in. ; tb^s-. matter that they call-a*nieeiirig6f t thefitahaliita f tf'ts v at an early date, and lay their plans and wishes before tyem^afyj-'see ifithey^Cßnrib&tget a good working committee to carry them out. If it became the t geperallv expressed wish of the people, a spefeiaPmeeting''6rthe Provincial Council might be called (the companv. , beings first formed) and the work, if it can be' a'c'cb'mplisbed, might be entered on without delay, and completed within twelve nio^Ka^'jpSMsjta^n a r <sfesr) *pf two, would not- only 1 "bo'raiw'd^dut of its present depression, but would become, under the blessing of G6dv*vv^i\hHt/H!Wtf D n l apWr' x 'afta V 6barmi!ig climate, one of the most-prosperous places in New Zealand. : But I. am afraidilishalbnptiseefiit. '/(Possibly a meeting may be called and a resolution passed that •' Kelson ißspftoHi|liS]pos|ti^nij- the^orl^forjthe West Coasf'G'otafielas." Jtiosn t '"'A hundred such resoluiions are not worth the paper they are written 'et£: /(irrfrop shall corpe tofitlfeT re^olulibn^ that we liad t>ltter waft anoraer t 'year ana A go u to sleep upon it. '". | ,' • Yours, &C, A QtriEr Lookbb-ost. ; Ne'sbnSeptejnber|^ f -|- * -f-t . .'. T*4T- '"'' P.S.^^ee-wfiibiDg^e-aWv^t'haf «lad Mr. GroVe's letter in* your isßue : of ; torday;,. and I.agree yith nilim . as , to thSKiiJfi^^fißtaiiied by the

province from tl^agneglect of .thfij.rUnjer Buller, But while ppparoßtly oppofeJ^ ■j^e;»-formation oJgft|gom]|H||f fo^ tr^^yay, §|j|iM 8 forwajd nmfumds tlWPublw! Wo^ available, sembly, and then endeavor to \\TO the* case, success is very doubtful. Could ncft^Mr.' Grove, , instt.-ad of throwing cold water on such a plan, heartily join in helping it forward? For remainder of' news seejburth pays.

The comniunicatiorj between Adelaide and Port Darwin has been proved by (' /numberless experiments tobe.ihstaataneoti?. The current passes over the 2200 miles of new wire lying between those points with greater facility than over the 21 miles of old wire which separates Mount Barker from the metropolis. On Friday week the '-message " What o'clock is it ? " was sent frcim the operating room in Adelaide, and within 12 seconds the answer came, 21 minutes past 3. " The Fiji Government hnve lately.received two twelye-poumler gans, which were mounted on Parliament hill, so as to command the entrance to the harbor. They ; are intended to command shipping, which *1 otherwise would not be likely to respect the provisions of the harbor regulations. The, guns are plentifully supplied with amtnunitioni Verb, sap.— Times. The.Fjju Government do not believe in the Eoglish Sunday. The limes says —We must protest against the utter disregard shown by the Government with regard to the commandment of the law " Remember the Sabbath-day to keep ifc holy." Not once or twice, but ofterier, we have noticed that public business or semiofficial business have occupied the Sabbath. The very first. of the Government movement wns hatched on a Sabbath; since then the "King's business" has not always been interrupted by the recurrence of that day, and now we have a trip to Bau on Suuday, we are informed, upon business connected with the appointment of a Governor in the room of the la(e Ratu Timoci. There is nothing in the political aspect of affairs upon the Rewa or in the Sewa district, to render the appointment of a Governor a matter of such' pressing necessity. It seems to us that the Government assumes to itself an importance ; which it does not possess, when for the nssumed urgency of its business it spurns the law of God and the usage of society.