The Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JULY 10, 1877

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 378, 10 July 1877, Page 2

The Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JULY 10, 1877

The telegraphic news from St. Bathans in reference to the Interior Railway, published in last evening's issue, will atibrd additional encouragement to the promoters of the route. St. Bathans has pronounced entlmsiasiieaily in favour of the Oanuiru scheme, and has passed resolutions asking the Maniototo County Council to give their cordial support to Oamaru. Anyone wlio Lad considered the questtun could have come to no other conclusion than that the OamnrujSTaseby route was the only one that could be made to serve the interests of the interior. This was our opinion from the inception of the scheme, and its growing popularity with the inland settlers justifies that opinion. If, even at this juncture, votes were taken in order to ascertain the popularity of the various routes to the interior of the Provincial District suggested, the proposed line by way ofISTaseby from Oamaru would be found to be at the head of the list, and it is fastgrowing in favour. We do not mean to imply that such would be the result if the votes of the people in and around Dunedin were included, because it is their policy—aye, their yearning—to obtain direct communication with the interior from Dunedin, at any cost to the settlers ; and the outcome of this has been the Strath-Taieri scheme. The question has resolved itself into this— Dunedin ucivns Oamaru, and a spirit of antagonism, pregnant with all sorts of scheming and dissimulation, undignified as it is um'.-ur on the part-of the commercial city of t::o Colony in their treatment of harmless, humble, little Oamaru, have .been resi.rced "to. The Dunedinites evidently wane 10 brhg to bear upon the question the muUifarJous heavy weapons ■usually at the disposal of such populous •commercial centres ; but come what may, at least we'll i: dic with harness on our ".back." We do not, however, anticipate amy political difhculty, provided t.'ie judg--uient-of some unprejudiced and aWe engineer bs brought into requisition. One "by jone the settlements of the west a 7■'*

pronouncing in our favour, and we cannot help thinking that Cromwell might have acted with much more discretion than ithas done in essaying to strike out a course for herself. Parliamentary representatives of those portions of this provincial district interested in the Oamaru-Naseby line should be given to understand that they will he expected to do their duty towards their constituencies in the [ matter.