RAILWAYS.

Southland Times, Issue 698, 19 July 1867, Page 3

RAILWAYS.

(TO THE EDITOB O3P THE 'SOUTHLAND TIMES). Sic,— l have no doubt your correspondent, Mr Beichter, "Waikivi, is an honest man, and believes what he advances on the railway question to be true and unanswerable. As, however, there may be others — and there may be many — equally innocent of all knowledge of the real merits of the question, but less honest in reference thereto, it may be desirable to offer a few more remarks, upon a subject supposed to be already worn threadbare, with the sole view of, if •possible, shewing how all important it is to the agricultural and commercial community that they should — as one man — ■concentrate their united efforts to obtain the .land : necessary for completing the ! Northern, and constructing 'the Eastern | lines of^ railway • ' - < Mfßeichter says there are "about 7,000 imen, women, and children in the ' Prol vince,~and that we are" already bankrupt or ; nearly so, and that' the above railways •would give us the finishing touch. . He merely intimates that we are to -be irretrievably ruined, and then takes his (leave without proposing any remedy. ! My idea would be to endeavor to get. thoroughly, ruined (and not be like jMohamed's Coffin) under the' evil influences of the expenditure of between 'one and two millions sterling among the unfortunate' 7000 already referred to. This expenditure resulting in our acceptajnee of the, say, 260,000 acres offered by thel General Government. ! It is said the Oteramika Company was ' to purchase about 200,000 acres, the iprice to be laid x>ut in railways. Judging ! from the past, let us see if we could pos- j | jSibly escape ruin, under this sore inflicsion\ "Well 'then, this 'much, maligned •Company has already kid out a largej amount at the rate of abdut ten pounds J an acre in clearing, fencing, ditching, | 'ploughing,-- cropping- -&c. At : the : same^ rate the expenditure -qn the 200,000 i ! acres proposed to.be purchased by same i company, 'would amount to two millions sterling, spread over, say, a period of ten years, at the rate of £200,000 per annum. But take even the one half of this sum, or at five pounds per acre, one hundred : thousand a year, for ten years, i If this would not effectually, . accomplish the ruin of the unfortunate 7,000 who would be the recipients of the; above, I have other 60,000 acres to aid in the extinction of this unfortunate community— viz., the acreage required to complete I ' "'•'the Oreti Bailway. At the same outlay of five pounds per acre, and extending over the same period of ten years, there would 'be an additional grievance oorf r £300,000 more to be disi tributed among the inhabitants of this already sorely tried province. ! Still further, it would not be extravagant to- take for granted that the owners of the strong arms who made the railways and converted the desert at the above estimate of £1,300,000 would save; say, £60,000 to be invested in land likewise, and on which £300,000 more would, in all probability, be laid out — say principally during the second period of ten years. Is' this all, Mr Editor? No^ unfortunately we are to be burdened with the expenditure amongst us of the £260,000 required to construct and complete these, to us, unfortunate railways.! Now, sir,, you see what .your, advocacy of these railways has brought, us to. "Why, sir, Mr Keieh'ter says we are' already ruined— and I say" let us ;be ruined again under the expenditureamongst us, in the course of ten or. twelve years, of a sum probably amounting to a million and a half .sterling. - ' Now Mr Editor if double ruin would be the result of converting 260,000 acres into another description of property t is it

riot sad- to contemplate what would - r folI6w the alienation; of ;twa or three hundred thousand < more ? Undoubtedly the' country -would be depopulated;' It would certainly revert to the original owners of -the Tr . r.:., ( , ........... . r : .-. .-. .-.( „..•! '-„_ t '. Tru&tingi';'. Mr j Editor "you'U ,tak a thbcht ang. mefld jin.time., I am, yours &cij-. ■■';";..;.'■ .;, /■;..'.-. V : .', .';'..;.•" ■ - ■'.. '■'■ ''*'"" '[""', ■■■■;,: ■ : [ ,; Eailwax* , juiyiith, 1867.° ■"■;; -';;'";■ " ;\.