THE DEBATE ON THE MATAURA RAILWAY RESOLUTION.

Southland Times, Issue 729, 27 September 1867, Page 2

THE DEBATE ON THE MATAURA RAILWAY RESOLUTION.

[The following was unavoidably omitted from the current report of the proceedings : — ] Thursday, Sept. 19, 1867. Evening Sitting. Mr Cutiibertson said it had been argued that if the Companies took the land they would expend £6 per acre upon it. It was well known that their proposition was to hand the land over to the runholders on long terms at 8 per cent interest. That would be a splendid thing for those who were able to absorb all the valuable land ; and he guaranteed that very little of it would then be improved. If they were permitted to take 100 blocks of 2000 acres each, they could render the remainder of the land valueless, and the province would become absolutely a pastoral district. The hon. gentleman then read several passages from the report of the select committee of the Legislative Council to show that it was entirely unfavorable to the granting of land for railway extension ia the province. In the face of that fact, he (Mr C.) thought the Government, in bringing forward that measure, were only fulfilling their hustings' pledges. Another motion had been passed that a Railway Commission should be appointed to enquire into the railway schemes of the colony, and it was not likely that their report could be made before twelve months had elapsed. It was well known that a small clique in Invercargill had exerted eveiy iufluence to carry the country elections, driving parties to those districts who had merely a nominal interest in them. He did not say anything of those members who had been returned by the influence of the clique rev ferred to. However, as that was probably the last session of Council he would attend, he would enter his protest against government by " mob," as he could call it nothing else. He intended, at the proper time, to propose an amendment, although he had no hope of carrying it. Mr Abmstrong in supporting the remotion denied that the government we insincere in introducing the measure. It was, however, perfectly true that at first the company were to be the paymasters, and that at present thay did not' evince the same disposition. Dr Monckton thought it, did not matter to them who took the land or what was done with it. When they looked to countries that were progressing, they would find that those countries were indebted to railways for their prosperity. He would support the motion. Mr Lumsden objected to the. matter being disposed of in so slipshod a manner. If the Government had £150,000 to dispose of, would they vote it away? He acknowledged that a road of some description to open up the Eastern District was a commercial necessity, but if it were four or five years before they reached the Mataura he believed it would be better for the province. At the present time the railways were a serious burden upon the province, aud to go on further by gigantic strides could not be productive of satisfactory results; He would move as an amendment—" That after the word "submitted" in the motion, it should read ' submitted to and approved of by the Provincial Council before the final agreement is entered into .with a contract, ,tor for the construction of the works, 1 " ; The Provincial Treasurer seconded the amendment, although he conceived it to k$ a distinction, without ft $$ ereace,

J The amendment on being put was;-. ! agreed to. y ■; Mr Peaesos; said he must confess that it was with a feeling of lukewarmness he-/ spoke in support of the resolution allocating 60,000 acres for the completion of., the Invereargill and Winton Railway— a (| feeling engendered by the fact that>.inj>' his opinion, it was of very secondary importance to the line of rail from Invercargill to the Mataura, , and that in our present financial position, the allocation of the land for one might interfere with the constr action of the other and more important work.' He was also oppressed with a feeling of regret, that we Tiad lost the Opportunity of having it made at no cost to the Province. It would be within the memory of some of the present members, that at the last session but one of the late Provincial Council, he (Mr ■ Pearson) had moved for the appointment of a committee to enquire into, and report on an offer which had been made to the Government to construct the Winton line for nothing, but a lease of both lines; the members of that committee, he had stated, were some of the ablest men in the Council, of the largest business capacity, of undoubted integrity, and he had chosen that opportunity because it was oniy while the Council was sittingthat such a combination could be obtained — to his surprise the proposition was refused; not one single argument was adduced against it, yet the motion was lost ; he begged to quote his words on that occasion — " If, however, the Council objected to the appointment of the committee, the responsibility of future mismanagement would rest with itself." He said now, let it be on their own heads. This opportunity of saving 60,000 acres and the expense attendant on the working of the Bluff line, was lost, it lay with the irrevocable past — the tide had swept by, and left this chance stranded. If, however, he felt such a regret, how much more keenly must those feel it who had opposed his motion, more particularly the hon member for Oreti (Mr Cufchbertson). He (Mr Pearson) imagined hia feelings might be aptly described by slightly parodying the lines of the poet : " Keen are hia pangs, but keener far to feel, 'Tyras his own veto which impelled the steel." Mr Pearson here answered some objection, raised by previous speakers, to the effect that the size of the blocks of land could be determined when the. contract came under the consideration of the Council, that a bargain might be made with the company to take the bulk of it in the Hundreds and 2000 acre blocks which adjoined their present estate ; that as to Mr Lumsden's proposition of taking five years to complete the railway by piece-meal, should we have any land of our own five years hence? when the Provincial system would, in all probability be abolished. No hurry or scramble need be feared iv passing this resolution, the latter part of it, provided a safeguard against this. He would now refer to the arguments in favor of the construction of the Mataura line ; and first would state, that the quantity of land escheated | from the Crown in the Hundreds to the east; of the "Waihopai bridge, amounted to upwards of 150,000 acres, nearly a third of the whole sold land in the Pro-vince^-that of this, many thousand acres were under cultivation, with a large quantity of stock depastured on it, that a most complete and expensive flour mill had been erected at the end of the Long Bush, which, without some . means of communication with the seaboard, superior to that at present enjoyed, would be virtually useless, that this, the most highly cultivated district, not merely in this, but in any other Province of New Zealand, or even perhaps in Australia, was almost totally cut off from a port by the want of anything like a passable road ; to contrast with the . large receipts from this district, nearly :a third of the entire revenue derived 1 from land sales in the Province —he , would call the attention of the House to the Government expenditure in it, in the shape of roads and bridges. He had known that it was far less than in other portions of the Province, but in looking at 7j7 the return he held in his hand by the Inspector of Roads, of the sums expended in the various districts, he was „ ■ ' absolutely staggered ; and he felt sure every member of the House would sympathize with him in entertaining such a feeling, when he read some of the items. He found that the total sum. spent on roads since separation amounted to £153,703 9s lOdj of this there had been expended on the Mataura road, the most important in the Province, only £16,703 5s 7d,.. while on the North Road, there had been spent £42,672 19s, not to mention the Oreti railway, £110,000. On the small piece leading from Invercarcargill to the New River Fervy, a piece of road opening up no country, though it connects by its continuation along the seabeach, the towns of Invercargill and Rivertpn,. £8,384 Is; more than half than on the Mataura road. On the streets of Invercargill, by the Governj# ment alone, £7,767 2a Hd. He would, ask whether this was not monstrous j £i6JQa 0a Ui t© & $V&m\

which, had contributed upwards of £150,000 to the public revenue. He would cali to the memory of the Council the grievances which were supposed to be so great as to i*ecommend Separation from Otago, not merely to the people but to the General Government. At that time the total land revenue received from this Province by the Otagc Grovernment did not amount to more than some £40,000 or £50,000 ; the expenditure some £15,000. "What proportion, he would ask, did this bear to the amounts received and expended (since we became a Province), in the Eastern District ; and yet in the former instance, separation was obtained on the ground of an injustice having been done ; but what was that injustice to this ? what was the strength of the arguments used on that occasion, to what could be used now? In the debates on the Local Grovernment Bill lately submitted to the General Assembly, all the speakers acknowledged the necessity of doing justice to the outlying districts in each province. He had no doubt that every member of the Council was inclined to do justice to the Eastern District, and the only way of doing it now was by making this railway. The funds derived from the district had been dissipated : they could not make roads, even if they wished ; in justice therefore to the Districthe would call on them to pass the Resolution allocating the land for the construction of the Railway. If the Government had sufficient means at its command to let a contract for the construction of the road from Invercargill to the Mataura in one piece, the contractor would in the first place lay down a tramway to facilitate the construction of the road. The road once made, the cost of keeping it in repair would, in his belief, exceed the maintenance of a Railway, while it could never be looked upon as " a reproductive work. When the present Provincial system — which was gradually crushing the life out of each section of the Colony, till like the branches of a tree, bough after bough rotted off leaving a sapless trunk — was abolished, a Railway would be viewed as a Colonial work, and, like the telegraph, valued and taken over by the central Government; credit being given for it against the Provincial Liabilities. He had no fear that it would not pay even directly ; it not only opened up a tract of country, the most highly cultivated in the Province, but tapped a large part of the richest district of Otago, one which would be densely settled if a means of communication with a shipping port were established ; while the indirect benefit to the community at large would be enormous. The wealthy company which had so large a stake in the Eastern District of the Province would then have some encouragement to carry out their intentions in opening a malting establishment, and thus stimulating the growth of barley, while the expensive flour and oatmeal mill which had been erected could then become of some benefit, not merely to themselves but the Province. The Northern line of rail, together with the Mataura, would enable Lime to be conveyed at a cheap rate from Winton to the Eastern District which particularly required it. He had been given to understand that 100,000 bushels could be consumed yearly in that district for many years to come, the production of which would give large employment. This line of rail would open up the earliest settled district, the most populous, and one in which the largest agricultural operations are carried on, one which will prove the largest producing district, in flour, malt, ordinary agricultural produce and wool. Bearing this in mind, the small sum of money hitherto expended in return for the large revenue received, the utter impossibility of making a road, the benefits which would apwue to the community, he could not conceive the possibility of opposition. It had been mooted that the General Government would not consent to the escheatment of so much land, all he could say was that they were there to do their devoir like good knights, to the best of their ability, and preclude the possibility of being accused of refusing a benefit when it was thrust on them. Mr Pearson concluded by saying— l do not ask the support of every member of this Council to the resolution, I demand it, and sir, I assert that the arguments I have adduced, warrant me in making use of so strong a term. In the name of the Province, I demand support, in furtherance of its interests, to restore its prosperity, to place it on a sound and stable basis, to increase its Customs Revenue. I ask this House to stretch out this arm by which we may grasp as with giant hand, the fruits of labor in the district through which it runs and garner them for its prosperity —-to assist in aiding the settlers on the east bank of the Mataura in overcoming the drawbacks incidental to early settlement, in turning the wilderness into a garden, In the name of justice I demand the support of every member for this resolution ; justice to the settlers h^-e bought so. mwiik W { §soen.ds4.

so much money in the hope of having a fair proportion of the proceeds derived from land sales returned to them in the shape of viable communication with the seaboard. Above all, I demand the support of those members who recently at the hustings promised their constituencies to advocate the construction of railways. I call upon them to do their duty to those constituencies and themselves, to satisfy their pledges, and I trust their consciences. Mr Cuthbertson after replying to some further arguments adduced by previous speakers, and protesting that with all sincerity he had done what he considered his duty to his adopted country, moved as an amendment — " That neither the population resources, nor engagements of the province justify the Council in recommending such extensive railway works." Mr Daniels supported the amendment because he thought the matter rather premature. If the railway were made five years hence it would be quite time enough. When the Bluff Railway was first mooted, he said that it would prove a costly toy. Seeing the enormous debt which was upon the province, he could not see where the money was to come from to pay the working expenses even if the railway were formed. Mr Butler felt very strongly that they were 1 proposing to spend a large sum of money on a small portion of the province, leaving by far the largest part without even the hope of getting any benefit for many years to come. Mr Basstian would support the amendment. In doing so he was free from the blame of intsrested motives, seeing that he had a large estate which the proposed line of railway would pass.

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