LAWRENCE-ROXBURGH RAILWAY

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 25 August 1909, Page 17

LAWRENCE-ROXBURGH RAILWAY

DEPUTATIONS TO THE . HON. R. M'KENZIE. ENERGETIC LADIES. RAILWAY FACILITIES PROMISED. (Fbom pro Special Reporter.) ROXBURGH. August 17. Ever since the disappointing determination of the Government to cease, construction work on tbe line projected from Lawrence to Roxburgh was arrived at the 'residents of the district .concerned have set themselves to fight against the adverse decision. No opportunity has been lost of pressing, home the claims of the district to a railway, both from the point of view of actual achievements and with regard to the possibilities of the future. The tour of the Hon. R. M'Kenzie (Minister of Public Works and Mines) through Otago was, therefore, welcomed as presenting another chance of bringing to bear upon members of the Cabinet the olainas of the long-sought-for railway. Immediately "on his arrival at Beaumont a deputation descended upon him. The Minister's reply was that he must see the district himself before declaring his opinion. The 'Minister left Beaumont this morning and arrived at Miller's Flat at noon. The settlers here spared the Minister a deputation in order to save his time and allow him to see more of the district to be served. Tho party accordingly pushed on, and arrived at Roxburgh before 4 p.m. After a change of horses had been made, the Hon. Mr M'Kenzie proceeded on to Coal Creek Flat to inspect the orchards there. On his return in the evening a deputation of 11 ladies, representing the ladies of Roxburgh and district, waited upon the Minister, before he received a deputation of men. They were all members of the women's branch of the Railway League, presented a monster petition signed by 951 people. The petition was 30ft in length and the names on it had been gathered personally by a canvass _of the ladies over j-v,« district between Coal Creek Flat and Beaumont. Mr Scott, M.P., introduced the deputation. Railway communication, he said, was the vital question agitating Roxburgh at v>res«>nt. Mrs Jas. Gilmour opened with a happy reference to the suffragettes, and assured the Minister that they ware very quiet, peaceable people indeed. Hardships in a district like this, isolated from so many centres, fell very heavily upon the women. Tbe very keenest sense of disappointment : nd dismay swept over the district when they heard that tbe railway was to be r-topped. After recovering from the first ■fhock the women rose up in protest, and cue of the results j>t this protest was the j->eiitioQ, which read : — "To the Honorable the Minister for Public Works. " Dear Sir, — We. the undersigned residents in the Teviot, Millers Flat, Rae's Junction. Beaumont, and Lawrence districts, would respectfully ask that your Government will favourably consider the early prosecution rf the Lawrence-Roxburgh railway to Roxburgh. We would point out that through ihe" definite promises made that it should be completed to ite destination at Roxburgh a great impetus' has been given to the fruit industry in the Teviot district, and thousands of pounds have been expended in anticipation of its advent. In a few years the output of fruit will be enormous, and would, in oonjunfetioir with coal (of which there are' magnificent deposits at Coal Creek) and agricultural and pastoral products, provide a large revenue to the railway. It could also be expected that a large passenger traffic would he established, attracting visitors not only from the larger centres of population throughout the Dominion, but also tourists from all Darts of the world." Mrs Gilmour said she hoped it would feet fair and reasonable consideration at the hands of the Government. One fact that should weigh heavily in their balance was that in this district "it took a smaller holding of land to support a family than in almost any other district in the Dominion. In other places it took, a farm of from 200 acres upwards- to support a family, but here it was an accredited fact that seven ecres Yras suffici«nt to keep a family in comfort. There were even better cas#fi. On one holding of about 32 acres a lady had for 37 years supported herself and husband comfortably, and had raised a family of 18. 17 now being of age. She questioned very much whether any other district in New Zealand could show a similar record. Unless the railway was put through, those who had gone there on the Government's promise of a railway would have to sell out and go away as the handicap was much too great. Fruit growing

- j without rapid transit and a "market was I utterly unpayable. ! Mrs Sloihom eajd she had been in the district for 37 years, and had been engaged in fruit-growing, but unless they could place the fruit on the market in i good condition it'was unprofitable. When 1 in Dunedin she had seen strawberries from Alexandra marked at Is 6d, and strawberries from Roxburgh marked 9d, and this was the difference caused by the railway landing fruit in good order. The absence of a railway was the greatest drawback the district had. Mrs Bird, the wife of one of the largest fruit-growers at Coal Creek, endorsed the remarks previously made. Mrs Malcolmson remarked that last year especially the roads were very bad, 'and hod caused damage to the fruit by delaying the waggons and carriers. Mrs Behan, who has been a resident of Roxburgh for 40 years, said the only thing they bad to fall back on was the orchard. With road carriage so much was taken out of the returns for fruit that it was barely profitable. They had been expecting the railway for come time, and were greatly disappointed when they heard that it was being stopped. They hoped, however, that the Government would see its way clear to continue the railway "to its destination. Mrs Gilmour .added that the line was a vital matter to the district, because many had come to the place on the strength of the promise of the Government that a railway would be provided. I€ this were not done the handicap would be too much, and would be unbearable. When she said! that the ladies had personally canvassed from Coal Creek to Beaumont for names the Minister, having travelled " over the district, and knowing the distances, would realise the earnestness witih which the matter was regardted by the ladies. Mr Scott said words failed him to express what he felt in this matter. He knew from his short experience how many of the people had struggled to plant orchards and derive a living in anticipation of the railway comimig. About four years ago, when the line was started, they were told to go home and plant their trees, and that they were to have the railway. Now, unfortunately, th>» Government saw fit to stop that line at a certain point. They did not know why the Government did so, but they surmised that it had very good' reasons for so doing. That meeting would show the Minster how seriously the district was affected, and he hoped he would give the representations made very serious consideration. The Hon. Mr M'Kenzie said he was pleased to meet the deputation of ladies. He realised they had stated their case exceedingly well, for whioh he must compliment them. The petition presented to him would be hamded by him to the Government, and he could assure them that it would receive very serious and careful consideration. With regard to the railway, he would point out that most people were under a misapprehension, as t ne "i® na< * not been stopped at all. It had never had less than 50 men working on it, and that number was at work now. The work at tihe tunnel had certainly been stopped for a time, and it might be stopped for a longer period. There were five or six different railways being advocated for Roxburgh, and the Government was particularly anxious and careful not to go in for making unprofitable railways. Tlie line which did come might come through Lawrence to Clutha Valley, or Edievale. No doubt all those present considered Lawrence the proper route, but that was a question with which he would not deal that night. They could rest assured that in any case they would have the railway. That was an assured fact. — (Applause.) He had been favourably impressed with what he hud seen of the district, especially as regarded the immediate vicinity of Roxburgh, where he hed seen more fruit trees than ho had seen in all the rest of Otago and Southland put together. He himself represented a fruit-growing district, and the orchards he had seen that da-y were certainly a oredit to their owners. They would develop an excellent fruit-growing industry about Roxburgh. He was aware that it. ■was an industry which required a large population or very small areas, as a great amount of la,bonr could be absorbed. Ho recognised the disadvantage under which the growers had been extending their areas, but he recommended them to plant as many trees as they cou*d conveniently work. There was, of coui^e, a limit to whioh a family could work, but if they got a bigger population they would be able to work the industry on commercial lines, employ a large number of people, and pay the standard rate of wages They *had not reached that stage yet. The Minister concluded by again expressing his pleasure in meeting a deputation of ladies. A large deputation of men then filed into the room. This comprised a large number

I of members of the Roxburgh Branch of the { Railway League, and included Messrs Gow, ' Pa*ersan, Moritzson, and M'Pherson from Dunedin. | Mr Scott again briefly introduced the : sp-sakers, remarking that the Minister was • fully acquainted with tbe position. ! Mr John Bennetts- (chairman." of. the RoxI burgh branch of the league) said they had ' been . laboring for many ...years, under .great ! disadyajatages. ■ Industries, "bad been developed,' but "cdtfld not be carried , out as ! they should be for'-ttie reason, that they did not possess proper means of- transit tor their produce. They' had been very much disappointed to learn -of tihe §fcppage o£ the "railway at Big HilL :It • was extremely grieving to him and others to know that their work had been ojf so 5 little use. The league looked upon Mr .M'Keiizie as being peculiarly fitted to inquire into the line by reason of hie acquaintance with fruit- " growing areas *and his practical knowledge of railway and road construction. They had 303,700 acres of pastoral country, 29,184 acres of ayxicuiltnral land, and 27,330 acres capable of fruit-growing. It was easy to plant any' number of trees beyond what had already been* planted, and so increase the produce of the district, if they could b© sure thait they would have means of transit. The quantity of produce last year had been about 1400 tons, and thia had been catted about 30 miles to the nearest station, and afterwards railed 40 miles to reach the , market. The nearest station now was Edievale, but they had formerly carted the fruit to Lxwrenoe. They had also produced about 8000 tons of coal, and it was felt that with a line this could be delivered in Lawrence •at 12s per ton, a* which figure a very big I trade could be worked up. The supply of lietkite was practically unlimited, and the ; quality was very fine, being but little inI ferior to Jfait.Tinga.tta cool. The pastoral I lands had produced 40. COO sheep, and that ' total could be inoreased if the Government J would take oveir some of the large estates j and break them up into small holdings. The efficacy of this course was shown by the Moa Flat estate. Mr Bennetts referred to other lines of produce, and concluded , by expressing <he hope that Mr M'Kenzie ! would see his wav to push the line on with j all possible expedition. 1 Mr J. H. Waigth opened by quoting a J detailed statement compiled from statistics j collected throuehout the Teviot and Benger j districts, including part of the Beaumont I a-nd Raes Junction district, in April of this ! y^-ir. showiner th<» revenue available for railway purposes. This statement 6'noweil the j to r '<l amount of revenue provided to the I railway by the products of tho districts, 1 «nd -nlso the amount to be cveditpd to brine 1 ' lines. The totnl revenue from hides and akirvs, grain, cattle, sfoee-p, wool, imports, p-a-sen-frer-. parcel*, co-ils. and mails • was £9^35. This total provided £5706 to j the creriitM-f the branch line ami £36°9 to the m->in line. The output of fruit had been 1380 tons and ihis cave a total rail- ' way revnue of £1000, £609 prom? to the branch line ami £391 to tho main line. j It wa* estimated that in tlir-ce years Uvp> production would have increase.(l by 587 tons, giving an extra revenu" of £259 to the branch line and £166 to the main line. In seven veare' time the output wnnH havo increased by £1077 over the present production, and this would vieWl £474 greater | revenue to the branch line and £296 more to the main line. As tlio settler* were pre- ! pared to pay double rates of freight, the total o ( f2195 in revenue from fruit in seven years woukl he £4390. Of this £26^ would go to the branch line and £1706 to the main line. The grand totals showed a total railway revenue of £13,725 from tho district, £8590 goinc to the branch lin^ and £5335 to th*> main line account. By a«Wing to the total of £8390 half (£10C0) of the Government votc^to the county main roads, the brannh line would yield a revenue of £9390. Further figure were given *liovinEC the area of productive land in the district. In the pastoral area there wore 303.700 acres; under agricultural condition. 29,184 a-eros; fruit trees just clanted, 266 acres; fruit tro^s coinincr into bf.aring'. 145 acrps ; fruit twe in full bearing, 3£o aor"? — mating a total of 751 acres ; available for fruit-growinc, 27.330 acie=. Tho di^ti-iil's output was 55,191 c:ws of fruit. 8650 tor* of c0a1^762 ton* of grain, 506 bullocks, 39.390 sHeep) arud 2793 bales of wool. The tonnage, of imports was 1901 tons, and the total population was 3000. Mr Waigth c aid th^sp figures had been looked into and verified by a committee of capable genti-emon, .in--! he cave them as perfectly reliable. They ■would welcome any inquiry or scrutiny by a commissioner or anjone pl«vp. Th-pv had be3n gathered to show that the distiicfc could contribute sufficient revenue to warrant a railway and also as some justification for the authorisation of the railway from Lawrer.ce to Beaumont. With reference to the fruit figures, the i Minister asked where it bad been sent to. ! Mr Waigth replied that it had gone to i Invercargill, Dunedin, and Christahuron.

J One thousand three hundred and eighty tons , had gon© away. The Minister said that 50 tone had gone from Lawrence and 1190 from Edievale and Heriot. According to the departmental figures the number of cases had been 54,991. Mr Waigth said they had to allow 40 cases to the ton for cartage, and had: thu3 arrived at 1380 tone. The -Minister said there was practical agreement so far as the number of oases was oopcettied. Mr Waigth said the settlers were prepared to pay double rates on freight. He submitted that it* was not for him to say what class of line should be constructed, but at the worst the interest and working expanses would only be about £12,000 per year. The return showed that at the end of seven years, by which time they might have the railway completed, they would have £9390 in revenue. The deficiency" was I so small that the district would nofc "be harshly treated if they had to submit to a railway rate" to make it up. Mr H. Veale said that the Minister from his -visit- to Goal Creek would be able to judge the district to some extent. They had been labouring for 40 years' under disadvantages, and had contributed to the. revejiu© 1 of tbo colpny by taxation,, and the time had now come when they asked for 1 reasonable consideration at the hands < of the Government in the way of railway i communication. They had hoped that the lane, would be .contiwued £o Roxburgh w on th* promise of Mr Seddon, who "hod-advised /them to plant trees. This advice had been followed by many of them for the first time, but then the ground was useless without railway transit. ' They, hoped ,the» railway would be forth€toming in a short time. , The Minister asked -"Weigth on what statistics he based the population of 3000, and how far this extended. j Mr Waigth said it extended iroui Coal Creek to Lawrence, including Lawrence, and was got from the last census returns. The ■ Miilister said Lawrence should not be included, and the district only had ICOO people in it from Big Hill. j Mr Bennetts interjected that there were far more, but the Minister said there might have been when the railway men were working, but such was not the caea now. THE MINISTER IN REPLY. The Hon. Mr M'Eerazie commenced hia reply by saving that he was pleased to say that they had made out a fairy good I ease so far as this distriot was concerned. The Roxburgh part of the country had impressed him very favourably, and he regarded it -as better suited for fruitgrowing than any other part of Central ! Otaigo. They were avvaue that the answer did not lie with him or the Government, but with Parliament. He would on his return to Wellington make his recommendations to the Government, and the Government would decide which proposal to submit to Pa.rl lament. He again explained that the work on the line had not altogether ceased, but was being pjroSecuted to some extent. Four or five lines were being advocated. The merchants of Dun-e-din were equally as anxious as the merchants of Invercargrill to get tibe business of the glowers of Roxburgh, but he could assure them that whichever route was decided en they would be the people first consulted, and their wishes in the matter . would to a large extent be abided by. The I Government, of course, had the interests jof tho country to consider. He admitted I that their figures of 303,000 acres were approximately correct. The Government figures in the past were higher. As re- I ! garded tihe cost. Mr Ussher had estimated j i the La-wre-noe-Roxburgh line at £320,000, ] ! but the cheapest railway the Government j could build would be £220,000. Personally, I after canning from Beaumont he saw that , the road was a littla more difficult t>han he ' had thought. He found that it would re<iuirp threa or, perhans, four tunneJe, and j would also pass throuirh a very narrow i gorge where there was barely room for a waggon road. Mr Benn€'tt?: Wo will give you roads. The Minister: That is a great consideration, I assure you, and will | lighten the matter considerably. Will j the other settlers be willing to let , the road go? He would lay tlic case lj"fore his coMeaguos as clearly as he poei sibly could, bur he did not estimate that the line wa-> hkely to pay within seven year?. He thought they ehould do all they could to develop the resources of the rlis-ri-ict. A great deal could be done in this direction by the large estates being cut up, and more population brought in. That was ; a gieat He would see the Minister I of Lands, and inquire if he could see his , way to resume two or three of the large I estates and cut them up, so that they ! could carry ICO families or so. The Government's policy of railway construction { was governed by the allocations made by Parliament, and these sums were allotted to the different lines. Laet year fix or seven 1 lines were being built in Otego and Southland, but these would coon be cat of band.

and then the extension to Roxburgh front' some point could be prosecuted. Referring to the cost of workinjj the line from Beaumont to Roxburgh — 28 miles, — he said hi«. idea was about £6600 or £700 per year, and] that would be about- the limit of theif revenue for seven' years. "The Minister concluded by saying he would make a strictly impartial report to., the Government. No more lines similar. to the Otago Central were wanted, antUtjie members of the dia-' triot should dennrfceqrjfagree as to the roufcf, • desired. *- : "'V Mr Scotfe thanked the Minister for hi, reply, and the deputation then withdrew^ HERIOT TO ROXBURGH. A' small deputation, representing th« Heriot to Roxburgh Railway League, was then shown in and .introduced by Mr Scott.-* Mr J. Inglis detailed the history of the , league, saying it was formed when the line> - reached Heriot, and had advocated an extension to Roxburgh /as being the route least expensive and, of the best use for tho . distriot. It had been in existence before the Lawrence-Roxburgh League, and would! show a position which they could not dispute. ■ ' • The Minister: My ' experience of railway, leagues is that they "will dispute anything. • Mr Inglis- said the objective of the lirio from Edievale was.Ettrick, where it would meet the route of the propnoed Lawrence , line. The advantage was that it was only 10 miles to this point, while the other line • was JJ6. Mr A. H. Tamblyn also spoke, and said this line would tap all the new country that would be tapped by the LawrenceRoxburgh line. <- Mr J. J. Harris said that of the four or -five lines proposed, it was. the duty of i the Government to adopt 'the cheapest and most productive route. i The Hon. Mr M'Kenzie said that in rej gard to this route it was admittedly at i least 7£ miles shorter — not 16 miles, — but to get over the ridge 1200 ft or 1300 ft high would make it very expensive. The estimates 6hoyed that it would bo £60,000 dearer than the other line. The 234 miles from Edievale to Roxburgh would cost £280,000, while from Lawrence the estimated cost was £220,000. It was wholly % question. The deputation then withdrew.

— Great Britain has £2,700,000,000 in vested abroad.