The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1872.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 294, 10 December 1872, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1872.

Elsewhere will be found an extract from an article which appeared in a recent issue of -the Qrey Biver Argus, on the question that is now agitating the public mind in Nelson and the surrounding districts. The writer is evidently opposed to the project, and since he has deemed it a matter of sufficient importance to require two articles at his hand, we may presume that in them he has urged the main reasons that have presented themselves to his mind against the construction of a railway from Nelson to the West Coaßt. The first of these emanations from his pen was the funny article alluded to by us on Saturday, in which Nelson was likened to Rip Van Winkle awaking from his sleep, &c, &c, &c. Having emerged from his satirical mood, our contemporary commences in earnest to show that this great work should not be entered upon, and the result of his labors will be found in another column. We have read and re-read the article in question in the endeavor to ascertain what his objections are, and have only been able to discover two, which are as follows : — First and foremost, that Nelson would be benefited thereby, and consequently nothing should be done in this direction. It matters not that " with all that the Mail says in a general way as to the advantages of internal communication no one can possibly be disposed to disagree;" if Nelson, in common with the whole of the country through which the line will pass, is to derive a considerable amount of advantage from the work, it is far better" that it should not be proceeded with. This is the primary objection raised by our magnanimous contemporary; the second is the fear that the cost of the railway would be charged exclusively upon the Goidfields' revenue. This, we take it, is an argument that is quite as absurd as the first, nothing of ihekind ever having been contemplated by those who are interesting themselves in the matter. The great recommendation of such a work, to our minds, is that it is essentially a large one, that it may be stripped of all purely local considerations, and looked upon as a scheme that shall prove beneficial, not merely to this, that, or the other district, but to the whole of the vast extent of country that lies between Blind Bay and the western coast of the island. We may be excused for saying that the fact that it will confer very great advantages upon the ■ town >f^&l son not, from pur point; of yiew a fatal objection, but at the same; ?^me|^ifj; th eVifcowai woh6\;Lw,ei;e;',te..-be.,;th^- ; i ■ ig^njpi^we^ .-:- cbrtainly^ishiiju idCfwit:;; bWej

have done. But it must be remembered that by opening up the country between here and the West Coast, and thus rendering accessible land that will provide homes for thousands of settlers, and give employment to large numbers of miners, it is not only the town and suburbs of Nelson that will be benefitted, but the whole colony, not even omitting that portion of it whose special interests are watched over by the Argus. The most amusing feature in the article before us is the ground on which is based the argument that a railway from Greymouth to Christchurch would be preferable. After arguing that communication between the West Coast and Nelson is undesirable because it would' be advantageous to Nelson our contemporary proceeds, not to give any reasons of his own why it would be belter for Greymouth to be connected with Christchurch, but to quote a letter from the Canterbury Press in support of such a scheme. To whajfc extent the writer of it was actuated by a desire to benefit . the West Coast may be gathered from the following extract. After showing the cost of conveying goods from Christchurch to Hokitika be goes on to say: — " The disastrous results are many. The Melbourne and Nelson merchants have been supplyiug goods that Christchurch merchants should have supplied. The gold raised on the West Coast has gone to Melbourne instead of coming to East Canterbury. Farm produce raised in Canterbury has actually been shipped to Melbourne from Lyttelton, and sent from Melbourne to Hokitika at a profit. * * * Who, virtually, pays all these costs? The Canterbury farmer, of course, and once more, you my good friend, are the pigeon." These are the reasons ia favor of connecting Christchurch with the West Coast that are so warmly endorsed by the Grey River Argus. Not a word, it will be observed, is said with regard to reducing the prices of produce on the Coast, but the general tendency of the argument is to show that the costs which at present have to be paid for carriage, merchants' charges, and otherwise, should — not be saved to the West Coast purchasers — but put into the pockets of the Canterbury farmers. We fully agree with our contemporary that he ie could not quote anything more pointed or more pertinent." At the same time, while looking upon them as nothing more than might naturally have been expected .from a Canterbury settler, we are a little surprised to find his remarks so thoroughly adopted" by a West Coast newspaper. The motives by which we were actuated in advocating this scheme were, we consider, far more liberal. We wish to see it carried out because it will benefit the districts at both ends of the line, as well as those through which it passes. The Canterbury writer hopes to see communication established with the West Coast in order that tße high prices paid by the consumers in the latter locality may be secured by the farmers in his particular part of the country. And the Grey River Argus accepts his view of the question as the more deserving of support of the two. We shall not now attempt to show how communication between the West Coast and Nelson will prove of advantage to the former, but prefer to wait until the Committees now sitting have brought up their reports, when the statistical information they will have collected and put iuto shape will render the task a more easy one, and the conclusions to which they lead more reliable.