WAIMATE GORGE RAILWAY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2238, 20 May 1880, Page 3

WAIMATE GORGE RAILWAY.

The following memorial has been forwarded to the Government by the Waimalc Borough Council: — To the Hon John Hall, Premier, and the Members of the Executive Council of New Zealand. The Petition of the Mayor, Councillors, and Burgesses of the Borough of Waimate, in the Provincial District of Canterbury.. Humbly She we th: That your Petitioners respectfully beg to call the attention of the Government to the fact that a great number of men in this district are out of employment. The majority of them are married, and unless some work can be found for them, a very great deal of suffering and distress will ensue during the coming winter. Your Petitioners, without wishing in any way to dictate, would respectfully that the railway through the Waimate Gorge to the Waihao should be constructed in order to give work to those who so urgently require it. The railway itself, if constructed, would undoubtedly prove one of the best pay- . ipg. branch lines in the South Island. The district is already well populated with farmers and small settlers, and the area of country which would be directly benefited by the branch line is about 74,000 acres, 50,000 acres of which is first-class land, 17,000 medium, and 7,000 first-class pasture. There are also extensive beds of excellent brown coal, which is used as fuel by ? the settlers, and also for steam power, ; for which purpose it is considered equally as good as Shag Point coal; in addition to which there is abundance of lime and freestone, quarries of which have already been opened, and are now being worked. Your petitioners would therefore . strongly recommend that this branch line of railway should be commenced as soon as possible, in order to alleviate the distress already existing in this district, and to give access to a part of the country, the very nature and resources of which must make the line a remunerative one, &c.