OUR SPECIAL.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 1051, 25 June 1883, Page 3

OUR SPECIAL.

V | TBIiBGRAkPH.) f WELLINGTON, This day. The Government will be ‘iasked 'tomorrow as to when the r!Patea railway? gap will be, ready for traffic as far as• Manotahi. Wellington merchants have' been agitating a good deal lately for the early completion of this link to .connect, the noith and south /portions of the coast railway,; and I was present with a deputation some two months ago when the Minister for Public Works promised that the line wonld be. open for traffic to Manotahi. It is reported here that patt of the hew formation near the boiling ‘ down works at Patea . has settled during the wet weather to a serious extent, and that this 1 accident is preventing the line from being opened for traffic. The Minister for Public Works is expected to state to-morrow whether that is the only cause of delay. I may add that the Minister has distinctly promised to two deputations, lately, that a vote for completing the section between Manotahi and Hawera will be taken in the House this session, and that the work shall be let in contracts, as soon after the vote as possible. I am told the only difficulty which members have is that they can spend only one million a year out of the three million loan for public works, and that the million to be voted this year will have to be spread over a large number of works. It may thus be inferred that the sum to

be voted for the Pat "a gap this session may not nil be spent within the twelve months., and Patea people may safely reckon on the .line not being open to Hawera within eighteen months from this date unless extraextraordinary pressure he applied by voters in your district acting in conjunction with their natural allies the Wellington merchants. Any communications on the subject should be addressed to the Chamber of Commerce. I would suggest that when the vote for completing the; line has actually passed the House you /should then apply all the pressure you can to get the money spent within the year, on the . plea that the other parts of the line cannot be fully-productive until the gap is finished for through traffic. The- party division on Friday night has had a depressing effect on the

Opposition. Their voting strength is found to be less than some leaders had [pretended when addressing their constituents. It is now reckoned that 'Government have a safe working Imajority of nine .to twelve, and that [there, are several independent members, ■who may at a serious crisis vote with [Ministers merely to keep them in/ I ban see no probability of a change of ’Government, this, Session.; They; have ■made an ingenious bid for popularity by proposing to reform the Upper House. If this had not been done it is certain ■the Opposition would have raised the same question and would have gained [popularity with the country even if they could not have carried a motion against the Government, Sir George Grey does jnot conceal his vexation at this successful move by the Government in taking but. of, his hands ? a very popular reform. He has a Bill for abolishing the Upper House .altogether, but if members had not announced in the Governor’s speech' / theirs intention to abolish nomination to the Upper House, the Opposition, as a whole, would have gone in for an elective Upper House and. probably carried their motion. There are not a dozen members in the Lower House [opposed toAhelhtendedlchange/ There; is no doubt the Government will proceed by resolution and not by a Bill in the present session. As I indicated last Week this would Ibe the Ministerial plan. ,