THE PUBLIC WORKS SCHEME.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 182, 2 September 1878, Page 2

THE PUBLIC WORKS SCHEME.

To the Editor of the 'Evening Mail.' -iir^Vr 1 hope the P eo P le of Nelson and the West Coast will unite in resisting their proposed exclusion from the main trunk railway line of the Middle Island. The Nelson and Greymouth line was promised us as our share of the railways proposed by the Public Works Scheme of 1870, but only an instalment at each end was constructed through want of funds. Had not the Government undertaken the responsibility of the matter, I think that the Inland Communication Committee would have accomplished it by means of a public company and the grant of a bonus of the adjacent land for a mile deep; a concession the Nelson people would have readily made to obtain what must ever he their dearest wish. Now that further moneys estimated at £7,000,000, are to be expended in filling up the gaps of the trunk railway system, our claim ought to be no longer ignored. It is utterly unfair to tax us and our land to make railways that enrich other places and impoverish ours by tempting our population to immigrate to the favored districts. In ray opinion we ought to combine with the West Coast and Amuri to have the main line constructed from Amberley via Waiau and "the Amuri saddle to the Grey Valley and Brunnerton, and from thence by Ahaura, Reef ton, Lyell, and the Top Honse to Nelson and Picton, and to oppose the line via the East Coast from Amhorley by Kaikora to Picton and Nelson. The difference in length between these two lines is not great, but the West Coast route opens up a country abounding in coal, gold, and timber, that will support a large population, while the East Coast route, with the exception of land round Kaikoura, runs through sheep country like Mr Robinson's, and will add bu> little to the convenience, and wealth of the public at large. Then it is admitted that Canterbury must be connected with the West Coast, and a branch line to effect that would cover nearly half of the length of a main line, so that the West Coast main line would, in addition to all its other advantages, be far cheaper than au East Coast main line -a West Coast branch. And a branch line must have separate rolling stock and is more costly to work than au equivalent distance on a main line. This latter fact is admitted by the Minister of Public Works, who in his Statement jproposes to construct an inland main line through Canterbury, instead of making a number of branch offshoots that end in "dead heads." A line up to the Hurunui or Waimakariki would perhaps be the shortest and best route from a Christchurch point of view for a branch line, but the people of the Amuri, Weat Coast, and Nelson ought to oppose it] because it can never be such a good route for a main line a3 the one I indicate. It leaves out the Amuri (which would have access to the mam line if it went by Waiau), and by going too far South it increases the distance between Christchurch and the Northern porta of Nelson and Picton. If Picton is considered more suitable than Nelson for the -"Northern terminus we need not be jealous as, were the line made via the Top House to J. icton, JSelson could not be refused the short connection of thirty miles from Foxhill to lophouse What we should demand as an __ „f * . 6 " connectl °» with the main line, S?»«r ? ♦£ 80 ftr lOQ iaa corner - Let Nelson licton, the West Coast, land Canterbury all

be connected by a main trunk railway, and then trade will find it3 own level, and favor the place that presents the greatest advantages. I believe the Canterbury members are not selfish enough to refuse to share the main line with us, and to cabal for a branch line to country on the Coast, which ha9 always belonged to Nelson. I understand that the Government engineers admit that the route by Waiau is the best for a main line, and the Hurumii route for a branch line. It is for the public, therefore, who have to pay for it, to decide which they want. As to the route from Brunnerton to Nelson, from all I can learn, the route through the Grey and Buller Valleys, as surveyed uiore than ten years since by Mr Wrigg, and more elaborately lately by Mr Roehfort, is the best, and it intersects the main centres of population at - Ahaum, Reefton, Lyell, and Hampden. And the general direction of this line on the map is almost straight, and it is the shortest possible line from Nelson to Greymouth. When the through route was first spoken of, the portion from the East to the;West Coast waa regarded as the most difficult and the most unprofitable. The demands of Canterbury for coal and timber now make that part an admitted necessity to those upon whom the wealth and power of Canterbury can be brought to hear. Surely then our members, if properly supported by the public, can secure us the part that first recommended itself, and which is a still greater necessity to us. — I am, &c, Acton Adams. Nelson, August 31, 1878. P.S.— Since writing the above I have seen Mr A. Dudley Dobson, who, as Provincial Engineer and Surveyor, had charge of the West Coast and Amuri roads and surveys for years, aud who probably knows more of the passes between the East aud Weßt Coasts than any other person, and he assures me that the Amuri (or Ahaura) Saddle i3 by far the best one, and that the Hue from the Waiau through that saddle to the Grey ought to be adopted for the main line. Every settler who knows the country will, I think, confirm this opinion.