IMMIGRATION VERSUS THE RAILWAY PROPOSITION.

Southland Times, Issue 677, 31 May 1867, Page 2

IMMIGRATION VERSUS THE RAILWAY PROPOSITION.

■ -* ' ' ' . (TO THB EDITOB OP THB SOUTHLAND HUBS). Sib, — Much correspondence has lately been published in your columns ostensibly for the purpose of directing public opinion, and through it the Council, to assent to the proposition of the General Government to appropriate a. considerable portion of the public estate of this Province to v defray the cost of completion of the Oreti Bailway and to construct a new line of Bailway from Invercargill to the Mataur*. V Ou. tu-o flioi/ uf nioae two projects I have no remark to make, but regarding the latter as of the most vital importance, I beg you will allow me a small space for comment. A. .-'■ A A As yet I have been unable to educe from the .arguments contained iri" the letters of " Alpha "ancl others; that the introduction of the -proposed 1 scheme is at' the present juncture either necessaryor expedient ; the Province beirig already deeply involved through the prosecution of works of a similar nature should surely cause our Provincial-, Couricii to hesitate and ponder well upon the isubject before comriiitting itself to an undertaking the benefit arising from which, for many years to come, is so problematical ; and more "especially since the recent revelations in re Marchant and Davies, in Dunedin, should. make them doubly cautious . about entering further into ; railway speculation ; however, it must be admitted that it would be very desirable to have a work of such extent progress, ing in our midst, because it would afford employment to a great number of persons, and in many ways benefit every department of trade, but as such a desirable state of things would be only ephemeral, great care must.be exercised to ensure that such short-lived advantages are not too dearly paid for. As an important part of a great trunk line of railway extending from North to South of the Middle Island, I consider the conception a good one, but 'let me ask has the time arrived for the execution of such a work in this Province? and also, are not the promoters entering into the matter with undue precipitance ? W[ithiregardVto the first query some good ground exists on which to form an opinion;

on account of tlie unsettled relations between the G-eneral G-overnment and the Provincial Government, of Otago tliere is no guarantee vohen the connecting line will be* constructed to the Mataura, and if there was such guarantee,: a very; considerable time must elapse before the works could be so far completed, as the disposition "of the country in the South Eastern part of Otago presents en--gineering difficulties of no small magnitude.-, What then in the meantime is to be done with the line to the -Mataura.? which we suppose to have been completed, as it could be formed in one eighth ofthe time that the line thence to Dunedin would take to make, the traffic could not possibly pay a moiety of the working expenses. Who theiu is- to- pay the piper? "Will not the onus fall ; upon the people of the Province ? in the siape' of taxes grievous to be borne, till such- time as the G-eneral G-overnment may think fit to take it off bur hands, we should then say — truly has " Vetus " likened our position to that ofthe poor man presented with an elephant which, while he could not refuse the gift, he was ruined by keeping. ■ y' • As to the second query, I 'think all except land jobbers and contractors will admit that the consideration of the' question just now is premature. Why '.should the experiment be commenced at the most remote end of the j undertaking ? in other word's why should Southland, bankrupt Southland, be bo. rash as to commence a gigantic experiment and by leading the van provide experience as a lesson for the other provinces to profit by ; I say she cannot afford to do this. Is it usual or^judicious for any contractor to commence first at the farthest end of his work? Ought it not rather to begin iri Nelson nearest the seat of G-overnment ? And be pushed forward till it reaches our borders, then and not till then will b.e the time to enter into the question. Meanwhile let us rather devote every energy to retrieve past. blunders instead of rushing into fresh ones. But conceding that it is desirable to enteiflinto the undertaking just now, the Provincial Council -would, I should imagine, consider it imprudent to accord their assent to the alienation of ao much public property till the details bf the scheme nave been laid before, and .considered by their constituents. In Britain, prior to 1837, when accompany intended to apply to parliament for powers to construct a railway, it was compulsory upon it to give personal notices to all the owners, lesses, or occupiers -of property on the line six months, before the Bill could be introduced, and at the present daya whole year is allowed to interested parties to consider the scheme. Without pretending, to know what time would be requisite for the consideration of such an important " question in the widely different circumstances; of the colonies, I cannot refrain from expressing a conviction that the Provincial Council should allow at least six months to elapse before anything definite is decided. A current opinion which I believe contributes to the spread of this Bailway Monomania, is that if the G-eneral Government's offer is not accepted, nothing will ever be gained hereafter, and that trade can never . otherwise be resuscitated.. This, I assert is altogether a fallacy, the idea has doubtless been industriously advanced 'by a few individuals;:,i.whose personal interests are intimately wound up with the immediate execution ; of the work at all hazards, and who, having served their own purposes care nothing what may become of the Province. It is not likely when the line is approaching our borders, that the G-eneral Govornment will ever dream of refusing its sanction to appropriate at any time as much land as will defray the cost of connecting it with the Bluff Harbor and InvercargiU Eattway, but it is very likely if -tha work, goes on now, the contractors, as in; the case of ythe Invercargill iand Bluff Harbor Eailway, will take care to lose no time in selecting the best blocks of land there are, ;• and you may reasonably conclude (having abundant precedent in the history of almost, every railway yet constructed.), that the actual, cost will be more than double the estimated cost, and it will be found when the work is executed so far as the first contract extends, that an additional and larger alienation of land will be requisite to prevent the first expenditure being altogether abortive, and then when too late, it will be discovered that a very large portion of the finest land has been absorbed, and nothing like an adequate equivalent gained in return. Capitalists too well hold aloof, believing that all the land worth having in so small a Province, must have gone to make railways.- Supposingthen that mostof the best land is.so absorbed, and theremainder rendered thereby unmarketable, what other resource is there to fall back upon? You will have blindly sacrificed the only means of improving the Customs Bevenri-ey by disposing of the very land which' would have been . the mogit powerful attractdon4o population, and the truth will then dawn upon you which should have been remembered from the first, that

Bailways should in the interior of coun- 1 tries like this succeed, instead of precede j population, and when the scales shall all j have fallen off from your eyes you will discover that you have been made dupes - by the. General YGpyernment, and ignore antly permitted' yourselves to become malleable tools to subserve the progress and interests of other \ Provinces instead of your own.- I, am at a loss to, know upon what principle the General Government can even ask- .-the Provincial Council to assent to its Railway proposition, when it has but so recently in reply to the appeals of our Bepresentatives denied us even a cent^ towards carrying out Public Works of far more vital necessity. The people of this Province may rest assured that whatever landYis taken by^contractors will be converted into Sheep Buns almost exclusively, which (while I; do riot un'der-rate the importance of.the Pastoral interest),; it must be admitted lis; more likely to be advantageous to a few individuals than' the masses ; arid it may. also be remembered that on a' work of such proportions as the Mataura Eailway, contractors will be their own merchants, &c , and import their own Tommy Shops, Ac.,- and all other necessary paraphernalia. If the General Government is. anxious to promote the permanent well-being of this Province, and will consent Yto the appropriation of- 15O,Q00 : acres of land for such purpose, I would rather see 50,000 acres devoted to completing the North line as far into the interior ..as possible, and apply the balance of 100,000 acres in free grants of twenty acr^s each to immigrants who pay their own passages, allowing each- to take up the balance up to one hundred acres at ten shillings per acre, giving the title to same on the expiration of two years bona-fide occupancy ;. by. such means both capital and labor would be introduced at one and the same time, arid we should soon be surrounded by a class of men who would contribute daily to our wealth, and importance, and enable this Province in a short time to outstrip any of its competitors in material progres. 100,000 acres so applied would provide homesteads of 100 acres each for one thousand families, and assuming each family to averagefour members, and calculating, each individual to consume five pounds worth of dutiable goods per annum, would' yield a yearly addition to the Customs Eevenue of £20,000, three eighths of which, viz., £7500, would be, available for /public works. This is taking the minimum number of persons likely to be located on one. hundred acres, probably four times that number would obtain in which case £30,000 would be available. Again, a scheme of this kind would be immediately reproductive, which cannot be said of the railway project; families would increase, relatives would be sent for. as. pecuniary resources were acquired, and by that time perhaps the railway as far as the Molyneux would be completed, "and we could then enter upon the. formation of a line from Invercargill to the Mataura. under auspices that would justify the undertaking,- and in circumstances in the highest degree conducive to success, and the work could be more cheaply executed, as I doubt not contractors could be paid partly, if not wholly in cash. Li conclusion let me advise the people of Southland to be very cautious before, committing the administration of any important public concerns to the General Government or any other hands ; but let them form Square promptly, and determinate^ apply themselves to secure an immediate, definite, and permanent settlement ofthe price of their Waste Lands, and take my word for it, that once done money will soon become abundant by its Sale ; debt will speedily be removed, and Southland "would then be ; in a state to tak-e her proper position as an integral ?. part of the Britain of thfe'f Soutli, and, moreover, would possess both the power and ability to manage her { ; oyni affairs. Tours, faithfully,. ,i it , V ■■ H. A. Gecleb. Land Agency offices; • '"'"-* * ! VPee-street,. 27th May, 1867,: I