The Telephone. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE POVERTY BAY STANDARD. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 234, 13 September 1884, Page 2

The Telephone. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE POVERTY BAY STANDARD. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13.

A report on the alternative routes for the North Island Main Trunk Railway is to hand which will probably interest many of our readers. The reports on the different routes have been sumiattrised, and the results arrived at are : ist. That the most serious engineering difficulties exist on the Marton line, namely : —On the Rangitikei, where “ a break in the line of considerable difficulty, owing to its great depth ” — which depth is not mentioned in the report— occurs.—The costly nature of the “ several ” bridges required on the Rangitikei.—The crossing the two “ affluents of the Manganui-a-te-Ao—-bad, deep depressions, one 100 ft. and the latter 200 ft. deep.”—The difficulty of getting down from the plateau at the I foot of Ruapehu to the Wanganui River ; ; with respect to which it is to be observed :hat as the grades on this Inehave been ' :aken from a total length of 244 miles, I md as room on the plan was only

found for 210, the discrepancy will seriously tell on this part of the line. 2nd. —That the estimated cost of the Marton line exceeds the estimated cost of the Stratford line by Z"; 17,000, as shown by the respective estimates of Messrs. Rochfort and Holmes. 3rd. That the estimated cost of Z"i,525,000 for the Marton line cannot be relied on as there is not sufficient detail in the report to judge what the serious difficulties, mentioned above, will cost to overcome, nor what the Rangitikei Bridges will cost. The number of these bridges will apparently have to be an even number, so assuming that several means four at least, and the cost of the present railway bridge, with flood-pro-tection-works and approaches, having been something like, /T 5,000, with something to be added for repairing the part damaged by flood £60,000 may be taken as the cost of these bridges. Now, as Mr. Holmes includes “ rolling stock, stations, &c„” and as Mr. Rochfort leaves the inclusion of these doubtful ; and as there is nothing in the two reports to show that the cost of construction per mile would be greater on one line than the other, unless it be the more serious difficulties on the Marton line, it appears as if the cost of these exceptional bridges should be spread over the general cost of the Marton line ; this would bring the cost of that line to about the .6'7000 per mile of Mr. Holmes, so that the Marton line wotdd then cost /T,7oB,ooo—exceeding the Stratford line by £700,000. Nor, when it is considered that the longest tunnel is on the Marton line, and that a deviation is recommended on that line, “ skirting the Korikau Block,” which will lengthen the line with the object of getting a better grade down to the Wanganui; and that on the Stratford line two deviations are recommended, one by which the line may be “ straightened considerably,” and the other avoiding one watershed altogether, does this excess of one line over the other seem unreasonable. 4th. That the cost of the purchase of the land for the railway will be greatly in favor of the Marton line, judging by by the nature of the land passed through, after making due allowance for the larger amount to be purchased for that line. sth. That the area of Crown land benefitted by the railway is immensely the greater on the Stratford line. 6th. That while the Stratford line passes through country, a great deal of which is very good, and the whole quite available for settlement, except along twelve miles of the line where the coal beds exist, the Marton line passes through pumice-stone or broken country with hardly a break until joining the Stratford line. A Committee of the House sitting in June 1874, on the then suggested lines trora Te Awamutu to Waitara or Marton, chose in favor of the Waitara, pointing out that the Marton line “ will for a considerable portion of its length traverse poor country, largely composed of pumice, and growing only useless wiwi grass.” This was after examining a large amount of evidence. 7th. That the suggested branch lines on the Marton line either run into worse country, or, if running towards the good country on the Stratford line, besides the unnecessary cost of construction, have to fall from such an elevation that they would probably be impracticable. “ The country all falls towards Taumaranui,” as. Mr. Rochfort says. Sth. That the Stratford line maintains a level accessible from the surrounding country. 9th. That pottery clay, coal, and limestone are found on the Stratford line, whilst limestone only is found on the Marton line. 10th. That the Hot Lakes district is not accessible from the Marton line, by any reasonable route. 1 ith. That the good country between Stratford and Mokau cannot be opened up except by a railway. “ The great advantage of a line of railway in that direction must be apparent to every observer, especially that of opening up the fine country in the heart of the province through which the first sixty miles would run, and without which means of communication the country could not be advantageously settled upon." This extract is from a report by the Chief Surveyor of the Taranaki Province to the Superintendent, dated sth June, 1875. 12th. That as far as its junction with the Marton line the Stratford line would open up some one and a half million acres of land more or less fit for settlement until it reaches the Stratford line. 13th. That the cost of maintenance of the Marton line will exceed that of the Stratford line, as it would be “ unfavorable for working," and would be liable to extra damage—from snow on the higher elevation, and from floods in the Rangitikei. 14th. That while on the direct route from Auckland to Wellington some too miles of extra line would require maintaining by the Marton route, nothing would be gained between those places. 15th, and finally. That as a bush country is generally settled by a population of small means, who require to work at first a part of their time away from their land, until it is in a condition to support them, the best method of opening up such country is to give employment to such settlers near their holdings. A line from Stratford would thus, while opening up the bush country to the north of that place, give an impetus to the occupation of the lands which are still owned by the Crown in the Taranaki Province within the settled districts, of which some 50,000 acres are open for selection, mostly in the neighbourhood of Stratford, as well as promoting the clearing of the large area of deferred payment and other lands held by small settlers in the vicinity.