NELSON PROGRESS LEAGUE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 7 May 1925, Page 5

NELSON PROGRESS LEAGUE

SECRETARY INTERN IE WED

The President (Mr W. -L Moffat 1) not having returned from the Invercargill Conference, the above information was submitted to the Secretary of the Netson Progress League (Mr E. L- Neale) this morning.. Mr Neale expressed tlie opinion tliat the Canterbury report was only wliat they had been' expecting ever since the Canterbury delegates were here; and “having tapped the West Coast, by means of the Otira Tunnel it is only to be expected that Canterbury now favours the Marlborough line from a commercial point of view.” This seems to be borne out by the fact that the Canterbury Committee which travelled over the routes in 1921 reported in favour of our line, but another committee is sent over the same ground in 1924. so that the recommendations of the first delegation were evidently not palatable to the Canterbury League,

That Committee, which was a much stronger one than the second reported “that they were much impressed by the extreme modesty and fairness of the Nelson, requests and thoroughly recommended their whole-hearted support by the Canterbury people.” The Chairman of that delegation said “that the section should, certainly he completed as an illdispensable part of the South Island Alain Trunk Railway System.®

Air Holland, then Mayor of Christchurch, who was a member of the party said “k.e was tremendously impressed with the necessity for the line.”

In addition to this I hold a personal letter (which of course I cannot publish) from a highly placed official of the Canterbury League, in which lie definitely pronounces in favour of the Nelson line as against the East. That the Government realises the claims of the Nelson-West Coast line is shown by these facts. 1. That no work lias been done on the East line for probably 10 years and no sum was placed on this year’s estimates for the line.

2. That over 80 men have been working on the Nelson line for some time and tha* five miles of new line will he opened almost immediately. 3. That the" Prime Minister stated in August "of last year tliat in his opinion the line would pay as a. coal line alone and its construction would solve the Dominion’s coal troubles, and in October/ last lie-said ‘ The line must be finished.’ 4. The .Minister for Public Works at the same time said “they could not shut, their eyes to tlie fact that the success of the .Midland line depended upon the. completion of the line front Nelson to ’Westport and Inangahua.” I he attitude of many of the members of the league when the Canterbury members were round was that if we could get them to support our claims so much the better, but if they did not, it would not alter the position in the least and would only mean that Nelson would have to work harder still for the line.

The Canterbury report seems to attach great importance to the probable passenger traffic between the two islands, but to say the least of it, it is extremely problematical whether more than a-very small percentage of travellers would take the trouble to first cross the Straits to Picton and then undertake a long train journey to Christchurch, when with the class of boat on tlie Wellington-Lyttelton run they can do the journey in equal or less' time without any transhipping and in greater comfort. After all the final decision rests with the Government, and so far the, present Government has unmistakably shown its preference for our line. Ihe Secretary said that Mr Moffatt had wired from Christchurch asking for a meeting of tlie Nelson on Wednesday next when their attitude on the matter would no doubt be fully considered-