THE RAILWAY INVESTIGATION.

Southland Times, Issue 554, 5 September 1866, Page 2

THE RAILWAY INVESTIGATION.

According to announcement, a public meeting, for the report of the deputation that hat had been appointed to wait upon his Honor the Superintendent, was held last evening. Mr Kingsland occupied the chair, and the most of the deputation were present on the stage. The attendance was very large, between 300 and 400 persons being present. It being impossible to publish a full report in this issue, we therefore only give the statement read by the Hon. Secretary, T. M. Clerke :— Eepoet. Beport of the Committee appointed at a Public Meeting held in the Theatre Boyal, Invercar-gill, on the evening of Friday, the 24th August, 1866, to wait on Hia Honor the Superintendent, with reference to the opening of the Bluff Harbor and Invercargill Eailway. The Deputation have to report, that in terms of resolutions passed at the above meeting, they addressed the following letter to His Honor the Superintendent : — " Invercargill, 28th Aug., 1866. . " To His Honor the Superintendent of " Sib, — At a meeting of the inhabitants of Southland, held on Friday the 24th inst., it was resolved that a deputa* tion of gentlemen should wait on you relative to matters concerning the Bluff Harbor and Invercargill Eailway. "Will your Honor have the kindness to appoint a time when it would be convenient for " .you to receive .the deputation. " We have the honor to be, (Sgd.) w Jas, Haste?. "THO3JASM. pLEBXE." $bat they received the following reply from his Honor ;— 11 Szs,— l bave the honor to ae&aow. Istigs the receipt of your letter relative to theresolution of the meeting of the in* habitants of Southland concerning s thg Bluff Harbor and Invercargill Eailway and in reply beg to state that I shall be happy to receive the deputation &$ oae 9'cioefe this day, " I have the houor, &., (Signed) "J, P. Tattio*, Supermteadejit,

The Deputation waited on his Honor at the time appointed. Mr Haetey informed his Honor of the business of the Deputation aad explained that the public had no desire to bring any outward pressure on the Government, which would be injurious to the interests of the Province. His Honor suggested that tiie questions should be taken into consideration. Mr Habvet then put the following questions : — Ist. In what position does the Government stand as regards to Messrs Dalgety, Eattray and Co. ? j His Honob replied that there were matters pendiDg between the Government and Messrs Dalgety, Eattray & Co., or rather Mr Eattray, and that at the present time it would not be prudent to disclose them. That the Government adjusted the claim of Messrs Dalgety, Eattray k Co., on the 20th March last,giving them a settlement in full Governmentacknowledgementsthatsubsequently Mr Eattray sent in a further claim on the grounds that there was a difference between the nominal and actual value of the Vouchers received. This claim the Government emphatically repudiated. That the matter was in a fair way of being settled. It had been put in the hands of a gentleman, a member of the House of Eepresentatives, who also had had power to act for the General Government, and that he (His Honor) expected that in a few days the matter would be finally settled. Question No. 2— Mr Hakvet then asked: — "In what position do the Government stand with the present contractors, and explained that the object of this question was to know wheter the delay in getting possession of Dalgety, Eattray and Co.'s portion of the line would give or might give the present contractors a claim for compensation ?" His Honor replied, — certainly not ; his Honor then added, that perhaps the best way to answer that question, would be to refer them to the contract deed between the contractor and the Government, which could be perused by anyone who so desired. That the line in its present state could not be taken off the contractors, as by so doing the Government would exonerate them from further responsibility. Mr Mitchell here rose, and in the most emphatic manner assured his Honor that the public did not desire the Government to interfere with the contractors , or unduly to press the Government for a speedy opening of the line. Question No 3. — Mr Habvet then I asked : — " When do the Government expect to have the line completed and opened." His Jlonob replied that they could not definitely fix any time, or name the day i when the line would be completed, as €hat in a great measure would depend on the state of the weather and other circumstances, but he could assure the deputation that the Government were even more anxious than the public to have the line completed as speedily as possible, as they could not enter into any arrangement for the formation of the line to AVinton, until the Bluff line was finished. That when contract No. 2 was finished it was passed as being complete, and was so in terms of Eoss and Aldrich contract, but since then it had been discovered that it would require additional planking and filling in to resist the winds and the waves ; that there might be alterations to be made in the present contract, such as shifting the sheds and stations at the Bluff. That at present the Engineer was drawing up a set of conditions to be submitted for tender, for the temporary working of the Bluff Eailway to be terminated when the Government were in a position to lease both lines permanently, but that nothing could be done until Mr Eattray 's claim was disposed of. That he (his Honor) that day had a letter from Mr Paterson, stating his hopes of being able to run an engine over the entire line, on his return to Invercargill. His Honor then added, that if the public insisted in having the line opened before the Engineer certified to thecontractbeing completed, the government by so doing would exonerate the contractor from further liability in completing the works, but this could easily be avoided by entering into fresh contract. That the resolutions of the Provincial Council compelled him to offer every contract and appointment for competition ; that if the public desired the opening of the line, as soon as the Government were able to open it, the competition would necessarily be restricted to such contractors as were in the colony, to the exclusion of those at a distance.