WELLINGTON RAILWAYS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4409, 7 May 1875, Page 3

WELLINGTON RAILWAYS.

A deputation from the Chamber of Commerce, consisting of Mr. W. Levin, Mr. E. Pearce, Mr. R. J. Duncan, Mr. W. M. Bannatyne, Mr. J. K. George, Mr. Harcourt, Mr. W. W. Johnston, and Mr. S. Carroll, secretary to the chamber, waited upon the Minister for WSam I" 111^0 Works yesterday, to urge upon him the necessity of completing the Wellington and Masterton railway line as speedily a 3 possible. Mr. XiETiN, who introduced the deputation, said : It devolves upon me, as Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, to say a few words in favor of the resolution passed at a general meeting of the Chamber held on the 14th April last, a copy of which has been forwarded to you. It is hardly necessary to say that in seeking this interview we are not actuated by political feeling. We simply come before you as representatives of the mercantile community, "to represent to the Government that the Chamber entertains tho opinion that it is of the utmost importance to the commercial and other interests of this city and province that the construction and completion of the Masterton line of railway should be expedited as much as possible, whether by offering bonuses on the early completion of existing or future contracts, or otherwise." It seems there is a strong impression that whereas in other parts of the colony the railway workß - have been stimulated and hastened towards completion by the offer of bonuses to the contractors, no similar action has been taken with a view to expedite the completion of the Wellington and Masterton railway. I need hardly remind you that the rapid completion of this particular line is a matter of vast importance to this province, and no stone should be left unturned to secure that end. Once connected with Featherston, a magnificent tract of country is opened to us. It is within easy reach as far as distance is concerned ; and I look upon it that from the day that line is opened we begin a new era of prosperity. I wish further to state, that at the meeting of the Chamber to which I have alluded mention was made of the unsatisfactory condition of the road between Masterton and the Manawatu Gorge. You are doubtless aware that the whole, or very nearly the whole, of this line of road, has been formed, but on no part has the metal been laid down. This, it appears, is in contrast to the condition of all other portions of the line, the whole of which are completed. I need not point out that this particular piece of road will during the coming winter be worse than useless, isolating as it does, in a sense, and subjecting to considerable hardship, a large number of new arrivals located in the district, besides keeping undeveloped a large tract of fine country. I have only to ask, in addition, that you would be good enough to vouchsafe an answer as to . when the line from the Hutt to Walden's, Upper Hutt, will be opened for traffic. Mr. Duncan : As the mover of the resolution I desire to support Mr. Levin's statement that the action of the Chamber was not in the most remote degree intended to be offensive to the Government, or to bear the slightest political coloring. It was prompted by the feeling that we were justified in doing the best we could to further the interests of the port and province, and that the subject was one which we might legitimately press upon the attention of the Government. Not that we thought the Government had not done their best in the matter, but an impressioD prevailed that railways elsewhere were being pushed forward upon a vigorous plan, which might with advantage be adopted ' here, particularly as the Wellington and Masterton line was of considerable importance as connecting the whole railway scheme of this island. In the remarks I made at the meeting of the Chamber, which may have received undue prominence in the papers, I made a comparison of the amount of work done in Hawke's Bay and Wellington. I knew at the time that the analogy was not a good one, but at the same time I felt that there wa3 a great difference in the amount of work done in the two places. In the Wairarapa nothing whatever had been done. I did not know whether a vote had been taken for works in that district, but the subject was a general topic of discussion among3t the people, and I brought it forward at the Chamber. The circumstances of Hawke's Bay and Wellington are very different. In Hawke's Bay there are only about 12,000 people. In this province there are 37,000. Besides, we are hemmed in by hills, and being the capital of the colony it was thought that if the Government could accelerate the work it was very desirable that they should do so. ' Our desire is to assist the Government to complete the railway system. We took action in no condemnatory spirit. Mr. Richardson : I am sorry the discussion with reference to this subject took place at a time when I wa3 away from Wellington, because of the prominence that has been given to certain statements which can easily be proved to be utterly erroneous. Originally it may have been regarded purely as a, mercantile question, but it has not remained so. I have been reading up the matter, and I find it has become essentially a political question. The statements made by Mr. Duncan at the meetin" of the Chamber of Commerce, have been twisted and contorted and put into most extraordinary shapes, with the deliberate view of misleading and misguiding the public. There can be no question about that. Since I have held office—and I am sure the other members of the Government have been actuated by the same feeling— I have always endeavored to give all information that can be given as to what ia going on, and as to what is intended to be done. If 1 had been here when the Chamber discussed this subject, I should have taken steps to ease the troubled minds of the people of Wellington, and probably would have succeeded in removing the grounds of dissatisfaction upon which a great deal has since been written and said I will first touch upon the road from Masterton to the Manawatu Gorge, and I shall perhaps be compelled to travel beyond the immediate subject in order to make myself Mr Duncan : That subject was omitted from the resolution, fearing that it might bear a M!r Rkhards'on : But I have been asked by Mr. Levin to make an explanation in regard to this matter. . Mr Levis : I also was away at the time of the discussion before the Chamber, but I took it that there was a certain amount of dissatisfaction with regard to the road, and I spoke of it as a matter to which allusion was made at the meeting. We merely wish to be placed in possession of any information you may have at & Mr. Richardson : In reading up the subject I found that point had been made the subject of considerable discussion, and had been referred to as having occupied the attention of the Chamber of Commerce. If the deputation don't wish anything to be said about that road, I will not allude to it further. Mr. DUNCAN : Far from that; we want the information. . ~ . Mr. Richardson : Then, with regard to this road, I find a contrast has been drawnbetween it and tho road leading down from IS apier to the Manawatu Gorge. Now, up to the present time the expenditure upon theHawkesßay rcM from Napier to the ManawatuGorge.has been £45,000, and upon the road from Masterton to the Gorge the expenditure has been £46,000. This work has been pressed on as fast as we could get labor to do it, but the Government felt all through that there was already one line of communication open, and a communication that could bo got quickest <► bTweeu Napier and Wellington namely, A through the Manawatu Gorge round by Foxton. It was the intention of the Government to have done a great portion of the metalling on the road this season, but it has been found impossible to do it for want of labor. Ihe efforts of tho Government have been further impeded by the natural anxiety of the provincial authorities to do as much work as they can in that district, and they have not'only absorbed all available labor but have taken hands from the railway works. The nature of the country through which the railway runs is such that as long as men can get any other employment they will not remain on the railway, which runs through dense bush ; in fact, tho country is of a most inhospitable character. It has been stated by the papers that there is plenty of labor obtain-

able there. In contradiction of that statement I may mention that a few days ago a Government officer who came down from the district was implored by the contractor who has the last piece of formation through Akituna, to get him men if any were to be got. I merely mention this instance to show the difficulty the Government has had to contend ijivith. No doubt we could have completed the road had we been prepared to do so at an increased cost of 50 per cent., but I apprehend we were in no way justified in incurring such an increase while there was already one road open. With regard to the railway, I think the best answer I can give the deputation as to the endeavors the Government have made to push on the line will be to refer to the list of contracts entered upon throughout the colony. I find from a tabulated form before me that the first lengths of the Napier line and the Wellington line were let on the same day, namely, August 10, 1872. They required very little surveying, and the plans were completed afterwards. The next length let was the second portion of the Hutt line, which was let in February, 1873. There was nothing let in Kawke's Bay after Brogden's first contract, until March, 1874. The next length of the Wellington line was let on April 30, 1874. Tho fourth length was let on Juno 3, 1874, and the fifth length on September 23, 1874. Now I state without hesitation that there was more exertion made, and more engineering ability brought to bear on the survey and selection of the line from Wellington to the Wairarapa, than upon any similar length, or upon double the length, of line in any other part of the colony. It has the I heaviest works upon it, and is the most difficult bit of country we have yet had to deal with. It was entirely unsurveyed, and almost entirely unexplored. Our surveyors had to cut their way through dense bush before they could begin their surveys. It is, therefore, a great mistake to suppose that every exertion has not been made to get the line under survey and under contract. In the case of the Napier line there were no difficulties. We simply had to put ordinary men there to cut the line before them. The bridge over the Hutt will be completed in something like two months. The contract time expires on the 30th July next, and I feel confident it will be completed within the time. There is then the platelaying to be done, which will take something like five or six weeks, but I have no doubt whatever that within a month, or even a fortnight after the bridge is completed, the line will go to the Silver Stream, and will thus tap the whole district. No time will bo lost in completing the line so far. The main point, upon which great stress has been laid, is this question of bonuses. A very mistaken notion seems to have got abroad with regard to these bonuses. The principal cases in which they have been offered as an inducement to expedite the works were two contracts of Brogden's —one on the Mercer line and the other on the Clutha line. But when these contracts were let it was not anticipated that the railway works of the colony would be gone on with with anything like the rapidity which has been attained to. Far more time was given then, because there was an idea that the railways would be constructed in what might now be regarded as a leisurely manner. The Government found, however, that the money lost in the shape of interest was such that it absolutely paid them to share, or rather to give the contractor something like half the interest that would have been paid had the works been prolonged to the full term of the original contract ; so that the £SOO, or whatever sum was paid to the contractor, was in reality a saving of a like amount to the Government. The only other case in which a bonus was paid was the Deborah Bay tunnel contract, near Dunedin. But there you have a tunnel in a totally different position to the Rimutaka tunnel. It i 3 the commencement of a length of fifty miles of railway, which could not have been gone on with until the tunnel was through. Here you have the tunnel at the other end of the line, and if its progress were hastened it would simply have to remain idle until the other portions were completed. It would be holding out a bait to the contractors to hurry their work for no possible object. Then, the nature of the country between here and the Eimutaka wa3 such that no bonus the Government could offer would enable the contractors to complete the line in anything short of the contract time. There is no doubt the contractors have not at present anything like the number of men at work they should have, but they state that they are prepared to employ any number of men the Government can send them; so that the old difficulty presents itself again. They cannot get men on account of the discomfort of living in the wet, uncomfortable bush. If we saw that anything was likely to be gained by offering bonuses, we should be prepared to do it, but I must say that it would be a fruitless expenditure of money. If it should become apparent as the works progress that bonuses would have any good effect, we shall most decidedly not withhold them, but the time of the contracts is so arranged that I am confident no advantage would be gained. Mr. Pearce : May I ask if you are aware whether at the present rate of progress the contractors are likely to complete the works within the contract time ? Mr. Richardson : The rate of progress upon the upper section, including the tunnel, is such that it will just about be completed in contract time ; but the rate of progress on the two sections on this side has not been such as would enable them to be finished within the time. I find, however, on looking at the reports, that Mr. McKirdy, one of the best contractors we have had to deal with, has secured a large number of men, and is determined to make every endeavor to finish his portion according to contract time. All we can do is to keep him up to his contract. In the next contract there has been the same difficulty as to the scarcity of hands, and all we can do is to remind the contractor of the conditions of his contract. I can assure the gentlemen composing the deputation that they would be astonished if they saw the heavy character of the work between here and the Rimutaka. Nothing like it has been come across in any other part of the colony. Mr. Duncan made reference to tho line between Featherston and Masterton, but there the formation will be so easy that nothing need be done until the line is through the Rimutaka. Mr, Duncan : Although I mentioned the matter I was not sure whether any money 1 had been voted for that part of the line. Mr. Richardson : The original vote was for the whole line through to Masterton, but, as I informed the House last session, it was found that the vote would be insufficient to take the line as far as Masterton. It is, however, sufficient to take it beyond Featherston, and the Government will ask for a further appropriation when it becomes necessary. The engineers, when advising the Government as to the amount of the first appropriation—in 1871 I think it was —made a liberal estimate for the cost of a station and wharf in the city ; but of course the appropriation will now prove insufficient for these purposes. The Government have, however, assisted in the reclamation works, and have made arrangements by which they secure a site for a railway terminus for the Masterton railway. The question of a railway wharf must, of course, be left for the Assembly to decide. It is not for me to say anything about it, but I, of course, see that it must be done by somebody. The Government engineers say that it is a necessary adjunct to the railway. Mr. Levin : It is very desirable that the citizens of Wellington should know the intentions of tho Government in this matter. Public attention has been drawn to the want of increased wharf accommodation, and if it were known that the Government proposed to do anything during tho next year or two, it might stop tho city authorities from doing anything to the present wharf. Mr. Richardson : That matter has not been dealt with by the Cabinet, but it will be; in fact we shall have to announce something to Parliament next session. I cannot state what position we will occupy in the matter, further than to say that it has always been recognised as part of the railway scheme that such a wharf should be built; and that was why wewero careful to acquire what right the Provincial Government had to tho foreshore. I suppose the deputation is aware of tho amount that has

been Bpent on the Wellington railways up to the present time; but in case they are not I may mention that up to the 30th April last year the amount was £265,000, and the contracts let here, independently of the cost of material ordered from Home, amount to very nearly £200,000, making altogether close on half-a-million for railways alone. I noticed particularly all through the discussion that took place, that the expenditure in the north, that is to say, from Wanganui downward, has been carefully omitted. It has never been taken the slightest notice of. Then, the expenditure in Hawke's Bay has been £176,000, and the liabilities are only £36,000. Mr. Duncan : For tho whole province ? Mr. Richardson : For the whole province. Mr. Duncan : Wo have obtained a vast amount of usoful information, and that was the primary object of the Chamber in passing the resolution. All wo wanted was information as to tho amount of money expended, and some knowlodgo as to the position of affairs. Mr. 'Richardson : The amount expended out of the £400,000 voted for roads in the North Island has been £162,000 in the province of Wellington, as compared with £69,000 in the Province of Hawke's Bay, which has been held up as having received so much more than Wellington. Mr. Duncan: After all, that can only be regarded as a fair proportion, looking at the population of the two provinces. Mr. Richardson : Yes, I believe it is. Mr Duncan : This province is more than three times the size of Hawke's Bay. Mr. Levin thanked Mr Richardson for his courtesy, and the deputation then withdrew.