MIDDLE ISLAND RAILWAYS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 17, 20 May 1871, Page 15

MIDDLE ISLAND RAILWAYS.

Mr Blackett, the head of the Government Engineering Staff, returned on Tuesday, after a three months’ tourin the South. Never since New Zealand was a colony has there been more useful colonising work begun and carried on than during that time. It will be interesting and instructive to give a hasty sketch of the works projected and in progress, and, a reference to a map of the Middle Island will greatly help any who may wish to follow our observations in detail. NELSON. The agent of an extensive English contractor is expected by next mail to* go over the long projected line of the Nelson and Cobden Railway. We have not been informed of tbe exact scope of his instructions, and forbear making any statements with regard to it for which we cannot vouch. He would have left by last mail from London had it not been altered so far in advance of its ordinary date. By next mail we hope to be in possession of more satisfactory information. The Grey River coal mines, the coal of which is now much sought after, being preferred by engineers and others to any other, are being gradually opened up, and latest advices speak of fresh discoveries of enormous beds of this most precious mineral. An examination is to be made forthwith by Mr Blackett and Dr Hector, with a view to determine the best line for a railway to connect these mines with a shipping port. CANTERBURY. The line from Christchurch (twenty miles) northwards to Rangiora is in course of formation, and the rails, &c, for its permanent way have been ordered from England. The survey for a railway from Rangiora to the Waipara has been authorised, and also that of a branch line from Rangiora to Oxford. Christchurch is to be connected by railway with Timaru. A part, namely, from Christchurch to Selwyn, twentytwo miles has been open for traffic for traffic for some years. From Selwyn to Rakaia (twelves miles) tbe line is being continued, the construction proceeding rapidly, the rails for the permanent way having been ordered from England. The survey of the line from the Rakaia to Ashburton is also in progress, and a bridge over the Rakaia has so far advanced towards completion as to be available for ordinary traffic. Banning at the other end (the Timaru) of this Christchurch and Timaru railway, we have to report that the survey of the line from Timaru to Temuka is now completed, and a portion, viz, from Timaru to Washdyke, 2| miles, is ready for contract, and tenders will be advertised for immediately. A site for abridge over the Timuka has been surveyed. The continuation of the line from Temuka to Ashburtou is being surveyed. A branch line from Rolleston to Southbridge, and another from the main trunk line, near Christchurch, to the Malvern Hills, have also been authorised to he surveyed, and surveyors have been appointed, with orders to proceed without delay. The line from Rolleston to Southbridge crosses the Selwyn River, over which a bridge is authorised to be erected. The surveys of the whole of the lines in the Canterbury province are under the supervision of Mr W. B. Bray and Mr S. Tancred. The Waitaki, the boundary between Canterbury and Otago provinces, will soon be bridged over, £35,000 having been voted for the purpose. This is a work of great magnitude and importance, and the site has only been decided on after careful investigation by a joint commission representing the Colonial and Provincial Governments tf

and Otago, consisting of the following well-known engineers, viz., Bray, Tancred, and Millar, Mr Blackett conferring and assisting. The bridge is to cross the river about two and a half miles from its mouth, the river at the flood being nearly 4000 feet wide. It is to be composite (wood and iron); the design has been agreed on, and the ironwork ordered from England. Thus these four rivers the Rakaia, the Selwyn the Timuka,and the Waitaki will shortly be bridged over. We may explain that all these bridges are intended for railway purposes, but they will be opened at first for ordinary traffic, and made applicable to railway purposes as they are respectively required. Such rapid and simultaneous progress in internal communication was never known before in Canterbury, and the support given to the present Ministry by the Canterbury members is not difficult to understand. The junction of the two provinces by the Waitaki bridge will lead to important results in the future of both, and we shall not have to wait many years till we see it eventuate in their political union. It is gratifying to note already that the interest now taken in all parts of the colony in the actual work of colonisation has done more to tone down local and provincial jealousies than all the bills that have ever engaged the attention of the legislature. The policy of the Ministry formerly stigmatised as “ narrow provincialists,” is now recognised as truly colonial, embracing all parts of the colony, and providing for its colonisation through its local Governments. The antagonism between the General and Provincial Governments, which did much to retard the “ heroic work” for several years previous to their accession to power, has now in Canterbury almost disappeared, and will soon die out altogether ; and the change thus far effected shows that this happy consummation will be owing not to the centralising work of Ministers, but to diffusive administration under a Minister of Works. OTAGO. We have spoken of the Christchurch and Timaru Railway, and we have explained what part of it is opened for traffic, what part under construction, and what parts are being surveyed. But this railway only forms a part of the projected railway from Christchurch to the Bluff. The part from Timaru to Waitaki is reserved for the future, but from the Waitaki Bridge to the harbor at Moeraki (forty miles) a survey is now going on under Mr Millar, F.S.A. This railway will open up one of the best wheat growing districts in the Middle Island, and turn to account the valuable beds of coal, lime, and stone, which it contains. The Oamaru stone has already been exported to Melbourne and elsewhere, but the impetus given to its quarrying by a railway will render it a profitable source of employment to a large population. From Moeraki to Dunedin, nothing is being done at present. The railway from Dunedin to Balclutha (fifty miles), the first sod of which was turned by His Excellency on his recent visit to Otago, is now in pro-

gress. Six miles are under contract. In and near the City of Dunedin great numbers are at work, and the first sec-

tion, contracted for by Mr J. Smith, from Dunedin to Caversham, will shortly be finished. Sections two and three are advertised, and the last day for receiving tenders is fixed for the 31st instant. There can be no doubt that this will be one of the best revenue lines

in the whole colony, passing, as it does, through a country already well settled. When by branches it is connected with the Otago gold fields, the trade it will develop will be immense. It is to be continued from Balclutha to Mataura (forty miles), through the Mataura plains, the survey now being carried on by Mr Brunton, C.E. The survey of its further continuation, from Mataura to Invercargill (forty miles), is now completed.. From Invercargill to the Bluff the railway has been opened for some years to Winton. It is intended that it should be extended to Kingston, on

Lake Wakatipu, and the survey is now going on from Kingston to Athol (fifteen miles). The resources of the country of the Lake District are so well known that it is unnecessary to say that this line also will contribute greatly to the rapid settlement of a large tract of * country. Such is a very hasty survey of the

work now being done. The cheering intelligence by the Nevada of Mr Vogel s success in raising the loan has been hailed with satisfaction from one end of the colony to the other. The foregoing remarks will show that its arrival, while such great works are being projected and begun, vvas most opportune. The arrival of the Nevada, the first vessel under the new contract, has excited much interest. Everywhere the officers have been feted, and by this new service New Zealand and America have been drawn into closer bonds of amity than could have been effected by the arts of diplomacy or countless protocols. The great confidence in the Hon. Mr Vogel by his ministerial colleagues (as implied in the inception of these great works) has been shown to be not misplaced, and his great services to the colony as Postmaster-General and Colonial Treasurer are now more generally acknowledged.

In conclusion, we may state that New Zealand never under any former Government, enjoyed such peace or made such progress. To-day we record, it is true, only the beginning, but it is all but universally felt that under the same auspices we cannot fail to reach a suecessful and glorious end. Dr. Featherston has gone home as Agent-General for the colony, ai.d Ministerial and AntiMinisterial journals have vied with each other in expressions of satisfaction at his selection for that high and important office. It is evident that the works above enumerated will require a constant stream of immigration. The laborers on the railways will soon settle down on the lands they open up, and their places will have to be filled. An increasing population of settlers implies an increasing population to supply their varied and numerous wants, and the estimate of the Hon. Mr Stafford that New Zealand can find happy homes for thirty millions of people is we believe no exaggeration. To superintend this gt e.it immigration scheme, and to represent the colony generally at home, is Dr Featherston’s high mission. The colony has lost him only to gain his valuable assistance in the great future that is before her. He carries with him the regard and confidence and best wishes of his fellow colonists.