VISIT OF THE HON. MR. OLIVER.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1191, 10 February 1880, Page 2

VISIT OF THE HON. MR. OLIVER.

The Hon. the Minister for Public Works arrived in to.wn by the express , train from Dunedin to-day, and was met raj the railway .station by his Worship the IgVlayor, Messrs. Hislop and Shrimski', ' |M*. 11. R. 's, and a number of other gentle-, fffifen. : , ' RAILWAY STATION. . ! K 'ti ''Accompanied by these gentlemen and ; pttessrs. Lowe and Hannay, Mr.* ' Oliver inspected the proposed station site at Eden-street, and appeared anxious to obtain the fullest information upon the matter. : Mr. Lowe, Resident Railway Engineer < Dunedin,:explained the nature of the k ,plansl 'prepared for the station near the gasworks, and pointed out the - ;inr which~ the line would be diverted. Mr. Oliver then asked the Mayor what , the. recommendations of the Council were, upon the subject. His Worship said'that the' Council had not come to any conclusion upon the matter, but- that several public meetingsmeetings as large as any that had ever been held in the town —had almost unanimously declared; in favor of the site near the Gasworks. There could be no doubt as to the 'liecessityl'., for removing, the.pas-!. scngor station from the-present site, for die wotk' on 'the breakwater was frequently interrupted, and general-, inconvenience occasioned by the present station, owirijg to its cramped state, being' entirely blocked. The department had reported strongly-in favO'r of. the Edeu-street site,, and, as, was aware, plans had already been prepared for a station there. He might say that if the station was erected at any other,place there would be a row iiV tlie town. Mr. Shrimiki suggested that the station shoukLba- placed wherever the department might jrecpmmend,, no matter,./ivhat thefeelings" of the public might be upon the matter. '' " ' ' ' " The Hon. Mr. Oliver replied that the deputation might .rely upon it that the station would be erected iii accordance with the recommendations of .the department, but he was of course-naturally anxious .to . the . feelings and :so. far as possible .study .the convenience of die p'ublic. He then inquired whether or not it would be necessary^to purchase any of the sections -on the opposite- side of Humber-street,- as, in the event of that having to be done, the work would be a very expensive one. . ' Mr. Lowe replied that alternative plans had been prepared—one of these showed the station to be erected : on land to be purchased on the west side of the line, while the other showed the station on the present line and the dine diverted across the Esplanade. It'was quite'possible to erect a station without: purchasing land, but it would necessitate.four curves, while, if th 6 sections- were purchased,, a straight line would be maintained." Mr.'''Shritaskr thought l thkre' was no" necessityifor buyiag any land. ; After i: jinspecyng r the; : site . a.- visit made to the lagoon, where"the proposed curve to join the main south line was pointed out v \ ; •> _ The Hon.' Mr. Oliver then said that [.here was no doubt as to the necessity for erecting , a new, station. The present accommbdktion wis insufficient," and- lie looked upon.thq erection of a new passenger station' as* a work" of great urgency." He would look, oyer the plans that had been' prepared, and 'if they, met with his approval he would give directions for the f,be. at - once, tenders called for, and the . work commenced without [delay. Mr. Shrimski' asked if . the work would be commenced before, the end of the financial yaar, as the vote'might again be allowed to ; lagse.. .;; Mil (. 'liver said the deputation" might depend he meant jvhat he said, and there would be no need to fear that the vote would lapse. He recognised the fact that the station -was required, arid he would " , 5ee r thftt : it was-Commenced. • • ■, A.RB OR. RO ARD. : - ■' 'Messrs., Hislop and Shrimski, the members ;fcr the-" district', waited upon' the Minister for Public Works at this Muni-' ' 1 jipal jCouncil Chambers for the purpose of .isking the hon % gentleman to ,fix.a time at which.'he .could receive a deputation frpm ! the Kakanui: Harbor :Board.. . Mr. ' Oliver replied that it was impossible for " [iiim to do so, but intimated that if the deputation would,- submit in -writing to ; TUin the [inatters: upon which they desired : ito interview him,, the matters; ; should receive equally as great an amount of - as if they had, been brought ; under his notice by a deputation. DEPUTATION FROM THE WAITAKI ROAD : BOARD. , ... , : A deputation from the Waitaki Road consisting of Messrs. Conriell (Chairman), and. Stnillie waited. upon : the ■Son. iMr. Oliver to urge the necessity for i railway siding ;at Peebles and the erection of cattle yards .on the.Duntroon line. The urgency of these works were pointed out by the deputation, who showed that the distance from Aitcheson's to Gibson's siding was over four miles and a half, that Peebles was about midway betwe ! eri the' two plM]E!s,\ttmt.\'it:'w4s v -Goveiramfent cownship v ' ; 'and that' the trains already stopped there although there, was no siding., ; Withi reference to the: cattle yards they pointed ,out .that there were no conveyances. for ; . placing ; cattle -on on the.whole ofithedine. The Horn Mr. Oliver at once-recognised the necessity for cattle yards-being erected, and promised that the matter should 1 be attended to. As regarded the siding, die said he would get a 1 report ' from the department and give, an answer as early as 'possible. The deputation, then 'thanked the. 'Minister and'withdrew. .RfTERV lEW WITH THE COUNCIL, i Air interview took place, this afternoon between Hon. Mr. Oliver and the Committee : appointed by the Municipal Council for the purpose of bringing several, matters under the. hori..- .gentleman's notice. -Theronlys subject- discussed was the matter of the railway station ; site, ; vlr Oliver declining to go into the other matters,..suggested, ~as... they belonged.to Mr Rolleston's department. Mr Oliver repeated what ; he had already aaicl as to his intention, to -have , the station erected without a day's hnnecess.ary delay. ( He said that, so far as he saw, the Esplanade* site was the best. The department had reported favorably upon the site, and the ma jority of the public were in favor of it •' he therefore thought there was very littlp. doubt ■.that this .site. ; would de selected. He expressed the opinion that to erect a station in the; old'cx-icket'ground would; be to;utterly ruin the town. Speaking of the present'railway station, he expressed the opinion that the wlible of the land there would be required for the goods station,- as-, : with the construction of the proposed'-, harbor' works, 'there was; a prospect of. Oam'ard becoming ere long a very large shipping port. .: . ' . OTHEH MiVI'TEHS. ' Several-, other matters were brought under/ the notice of tho Minister : for Public-Works by Hia Worship the Miiyor. Amongst iihe-number was the frequent damage - occasioned to the Corporation's gardens' through tho ereiok "being dammed 1 at the i '-'X3t'bwn*!l ? laui i Mills; 'This'dam| His Wofsliip'^feintpd'bnt,' hM .been -c6'usti>uoi#d!ln;ade^Wtt^'.!,>ylttii Ah'agreehieii!; entered v ;ijtto ' ,'tlve iGpvei'ihnqnt and 'former ; 'bwnera .of Jlip 'ittili when an dxqhaiige,, of, land. and as' au 'Act of Pai'liamonfc was necessary io ratify,-that: agjjQeiiXeut, he thought i

some provision might bo made or action taken by the Ministry to have the dam altered. All the Council required was that the dam should be lowered 18in. At present, owing to the height of the wall, the water was forced back a considerable distance up the creek, with the result that in times of fiood the public gardens wera damaged and private property flooded and injured. Mr. Oliver roplied that ho 4houghft / .&c^ja^@i! ;^ite, v one that came more within-tKe scope of tthe Council —it \Vas one properly for mutual arrangement between the Council, the owners of private lands jaffected, and the owners of theSmill. after some little further conversation upon tho-inattcr, the subject dropped, i I^'; jT;" EETis Worghijxtfoe M&jfbrthen pointed to thl/riecSssiiy for Erection of a Custom* house, dut that the Governmeht were paying rent for accommodation ■of their Customs offices, and that the rent paid would in a short time cover the cost of the building. Mr. Oliver repliod that he feared the Government wero not in a position to carry out all the works required, and as this was one of the works that could" stand over, it must do let alone for the present. ~ ■ t . His Worship then touched upon thb' subjects of the exchange of, the polica paddock, the erection of a new courthouse, gaol,-.&C:,> but Mr. Olivet i'di&-,l missed them with the remark that these matters came within the department of liis colleague the Hon. Mr. Rolleston. ' The interview then terminated.