The Oamaru Mail WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 1879.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 976, 5 June 1879, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 1879.

\Vf. must confess that the H«j:i. Mr. ?vlrtcatulrew is two clever fur us. V. hen wc heard that he was to pass through Oamaru runt* for Dunediit, nc knew that fie would be favored with the tistt.il attention from deputations. and v.e flattered ourselves that he was cornered tfiis time. We could almost sec our new railway station, so nearly wits it. in our opinion, being realised. Hut the lull south of Oamaru —the s.itne lump thar frightened the crig'infers of the southern line—came t»> the rescue of the Minister for Public Work?. He could not see why that hilt should not be pierced, and tile line which now takes a circuitous mute out of Oamaru and all its disadvantages dispensed with, although, of course, he had no authority for saying that the work should be done. To decide tip. in this would he the business of Parliament. There were numerous reasons why the hilt to the south of Oamaru should be tunnelted, and the line taken through it. The tltfiri* would be most useful for harbor reclamation, said the Hon. Mr. Macartdrew, and he might have added, " Who knows but that a gold mine may be in the centre of the hill I" The argument is overwhelming, because any objection to the expensiveness of the suggested tunnel could be met by glowing explanations of what could be done with the tunnelled earth—and the gold, if we happened to find any. There would perhaps be enough of the first-mentioned te spare a little for the use ot the Dunediti Harbor Hoard, and, as to the gold —why, we think that might be disposed of iu Oamaru. Earnestly, ■though, we would not like to Pay that the Minister for Public Works intended to treat U3 to a little ideality in the stead of something more substantial. I£ t!-»e (lovernment could give us ail assimiiuw that the liill should be tunnelled, say ten years hence, and that then a railway station worthy of the town would be constructed, we might console ourselves •,.-;th the thought that in our old age we should see our children enjoying the advantages accruing from such works. But we are expected to forego the substance for ; viiesake of little more than a shadow, without & doubt. The expenditure necessary to remove the station to the Esplanade, it is stated, would be L 18,850, which would include the coat of makipg the requisite al-

erations to the lines, &c. But a small xnciion of this amount would be expended in the erection of the long-promised nation. That is to be merely a temporary anilding—we arc to have the permanent one when the hill is bored. 5Ve are quite sure that if an apology for a itation should be constructed now, and :he expense of constructing it and making ilteration3 to the line 3 should make a iot.il of L 18.850. Parliament will not go •o the expense of tunnelling the hill and constructing another station at a cost of a few hundreds of thousands of pounds. The idea appears to U3 to be so ridiculous that, did we not know Mr. Macandrew ■•veil, we would feel inclined to say that he !h*3 been poking fun at us. e do not want earth to fill in our harbor ; we do not wont the gold which might be found in the heart of tho hill ; we want the railway station that v.*as promised to us so lon:,' -Ti". The (lovernment can place it where it like?. There is no necessity to fear thai it will not fix upon the best spot, and that which would be the best for the working of the railways would be the best tor the public.