ORETI RAILWAY DEBATE.

Southland Times, Issue 1075, 18 December 1868, Page 2

ORETI RAILWAY DEBATE.

Mr Peabson said— Once upon a time* Mr Speaker, a frog and a 'mouse wiged dire war with one another as to which of them should have possession of a certain swamp. The mouse beingagtter.andi^f a crafty disposition, used to hide in the long grass and make sudden raids on the frog, which disturbed greatly . its equanimity. Trusting ; to its.' superior strength, the. frog challenged; the motuJe to single, combat on the op^n L groand. Armed with hullrusb?esf they proceeded to tilt at one another r with r f^?eat earnestness. A kite T flying^, by, seeing their attention " thoroughly taken up with one anotherT^pSßfi^Bd*' down upon them, and carried off both. Moral — Factions- breed-mischiefin-the-state — application— you had, better take your own land while you've got the chance, instead of squabbling over it^leit you be deprived of it altogether, shortly.* I thina, Sir, I may here most 1 appropriately quote, if I recollect right, Lord Macaulay's lines—" "So should Confederate States and~ people hush all inward strife, -/-.= -/•>', 7 - When from without a foreign foe assails a'Netion't life; r . .... „ _ .-.. ; All discords then out-trodden : 'tis by 'unit» alone, , : ' . The free shall have their freedom, and the brave preserve .their ;ewn." • And the brave preserve their own. Some one vdH~doubttess^aisfe~huw , '^t^il * that I, the member 'for. the Oteramika district, who have steadily advocated the construction of roads foc v the development of the interior^ should now seek to divert from this channel so large an acreage for the completion of the two railroads. In reply, I say suy that it is ' because! am member for the important alstrict of Oteramika, and because I a% anxious for the development of' ; "the.. mterioi' Jafjtnis Province, that I will vote for theallocav tion of this land for the- completion 'of' our : railway works • and I wifl J ;^roefeeid IW prove it. The bdmpletioh'bf^^e: from Invercargill to "Winton 1 " wul not merely largely benefit the Oteramika die' fcrict which has the first claim on my aW

tention, but will also contribute greatly to the welfare of the Province as a whole, which is and ought to be of equal importance to me. This line bridges twenty miles of road from Invercargill inland, at a smaller cost than an ordiuary road could by any possibility be made, even had we the means to make it. Once finished, the demands for this North Soad which are every session thrust upon us, will be I trust finally satisfied, and thus any funds which may be available for roadmakihg, or at any rate the greater portion of them, will be released for the construction of the Eastern Road; the paramount claims of which, will I feel sure when the time arrives, be acknowledged and cheerfully acceeded, by so intelligent and impartial a body as the present Provincial Council. There are, however, other matters, connected with the completion of this Work, which render its formation of greater importance than as a mere roacL Its construction will tend greatly to tho development of our indigenous' resources. Eirat, lime. Now, Sir, some meihberg may think the cheap carriage of this important product a matter of little moment, but as member for the Oteramika District, I may say, as representing and being mindful of the interests of the whole of the Eastern District, it is of moment to me. This large and most important agricultural area requires lime in large quantities to realise its legitimate development ; to obtain this for it at a cheap: rate is, I assert, the duty not only of myself, but every member of this Council} therefore I will, on conscientious grounds, vote for the completion of the Oreti Railway. -Next is the utilisation'of the" coalfield, which providence hasj ..as it were, cast at our feet. Now, Si*j ;T'nave been informed that the coal ids been pronounced by a thoroughly practical man to be a first class coal for ocean Steamers, that with a slight alteration 1 in the-present furnaces in use in slieam'ers,' it will be found hot merely superior to the PreservatirinThlet or Grey Elver coals; biit to that of New Castle, id New South "Wales. To utilize this most "valuable deposit, it must be delivered c%eap at the seaboard. The field is cioserto the\-proposed 4»rminatiou of the Oreti line, "Winton, and it only requires the completion of this railway to enable the coal to bej delivered at the Bluff, at a figure below that of any coal in the Australian group. It is an established axiom lhat the great cost of production is the cost of carriage. Seeing that we have it now in our power to overcome this difficulty at so trifling an expense, and not desiring to be branded in the future history of the colony as one who Was so Shallow, so narrow minded that he would rather rdtard for years the jirdgressj not merely of the Province in which he resided, but.of the colony as a whole, than' pay say five per cent extra in land which we have, over cash which we haye'not, I will vote for the completion of the rail by payment in land. The third reason why we should at once complete this work, is that when completed we can lease it and the Bluff Harbour and Invercargill line together, jf tit them off our hands. I firmly believe that the. true Value of the coal being established, we could let the lines for a sum sufficient to cover tbe whole official expenditure of the Province, and thus release definitely any funds arising from land ; sales or local reveunes for the construction and maintenance of roads ; and therefore, sir, as a steady, determined, ftild Consistent advocate for roads, I will tote for the railway. It may be said that if we pay for the Completion of the line in land, it will interfere with land sales and thus preclude the possibility of obtaining money for road making, this I deny vmost emphatically. In the first place, according to the stipulations under which the contract was taken, the contr^toi has to take his laud on the completionof. the work, not in progress payments. Thus he cannot compete, with the Government for at any rate nine months. Next if we do not sell much land within the ensuing three months, I db .ndt anticipate we shall be able to do ntubhfor roads from this source, inasmuch as the calls of the General Government in the shape of interest and sinking fund, not merely for our individual debt, which does not now exist, but for the indebtedness of the Colony, and the prosecution of the Maori war, will absorb any surplus revenue we may have. The mere fact of prosecuting the work will accelerate, I may say stimulate immediate sales of land ; it has done so as regards private sales at prices varying from 40 to 60 shillings an acre, why not public sales at 20 shillings ? The money derived from which can be spent on roads, a sufficient argument to induce me to vote for the railway. There is, besides, a, moral obligation compelling us to vote for .the completion of this line, arising from the feet that settlers in the "Winton District have been led to believe, not from the action of the Government, but that of the Council, that this Railway will be perfected. The records of every session will prove that, although through some accident or subterfuge, the work has been delayed, all, whether supporters or opponents, have agreed that it ought to be finished, the only point at issue being the manner of completion. Thus the farmers in this locality have been induced to purchase larger breadths of land than they would otherwise have done, relying on the honesty, the integrity, of the most potent and, let us hope, reputable body in the Province. Nor is the production frorr this particular district to be despised. It is^inguiarly well adapted for the growth of ; barley, as has been practically ascertained. This is an agricultural product which will Command a steady and ready market,,' whether in the raw condition or converted into malt and beer. . I believe we could consume locally, and export, a million bushelsper annum. On moral as well politic grounds therefore, I will vote for tl& railway. There is only one thing -s^uPw^E^o^^l^sib^y "hiave caused me pain in ! supporting^ j^elcompletion of this

work, it is that it might injure the squatter. Irrespective of any private feeling of regard which I have for most of them, there is the conviction, which must be shared by every man of common sense, that to constrain a class to invest capital in a way contrary to its inclination, is impolitic ; not to mention my firm belief that wo are parting with our waste Lmi;!.s too rapidly, parting witli them, not for bo >.afide agricultural settlement, but for grazing purposes. I have, however, the consolation of knowing it is the squatter's own fault that this acreage will be substracted from their runs. In the January session of 1887 I tried my utmost to induce the Council to get the line completed by a long lease of it and the Bluff line. It was then a practicable proposition. My friend, the member for Invercargill, Mr Calder, had taken great pains to elaborate a tangible scheme by which it could have been done at no cost to the state — all honor to him for it. Unfortunately he was not a member of the Council at the time, perhaps if I could have secured the assistance of his cool clear judgement I might have effected my purpose ; as it wasj twice [ proposed the appointment of a select committee to enquire into the feasibility of completing this work by a lease, a committee composed almost entirely of squatters. Both times my attempts were frustrated by their own perverseness. Messrs Menzies, Cuthbertson, Cowan, Howell and Holmes opposed me. I took great pains to try and convince them, I quoted largely from the Victorian railway statistics to show the fallacy they labored under, or pretended to — that it was a paying speculation of the Government to retain possession of the lines — it was of no avail. I was tempted tOj and I am not sure I did'nt, quote Dr Johnson's reply to an obtuse controvertist, " I can give you arguments, Sir, I cannot give you brains to understand them." Be that as it may, the squatters refused my offer to spare them as well as the Province, and my conscience is clear on this score. I tried my best to assist them, but they would not ; I will not now sacrifice the interests of the Province to subserye those of a section of its inhabitants. There is another phase in which this matter must be viewed. It will be within the recollection of every member of this Council that at the last general election, the strongest argument advanced on the hustings by the solicitors for popular suffrage, was that this railway should be completed, and the Eastern one initiated. Now, Sir, leaving the latter out of consideration, I hold that every man who obtained a seat in this House under the pretension that he would advocate the completion of this line, is bouud in honor to vote for it, if he has any desire to vindicate his claim to honesty. I stated on the hustings that although I was always averse to the continuation of this line — deeming it of very secondary importance to that to the eastward — I would vote for its completion on the grounds that it would bridge a distance of road which we were unable to compass in the ordinary manner, and be enabled to utilize an expenditure which would otherwise befruitless; I will this evening redeem my pledge : and I call on every man who made a similar promise at the elections, to imitate my example. I call particularly on my friend the member for "Waihopai, Mr Clerke. "Whatever differences on political grounds we may have had, I have always considered that his conduct has been actuated by honorable motives. He stated clearly and emphatically at the hustings that he would vote for the completion of this line, and I now claim his vote. He may say that circumstances have changed, that at that time our land fund was pawned to the General Government, I reply that after the 31st December not only Southland, but every Province in the Middle Island endowed with that hypothetical possession, will find that the proceeds of sales of the waste lands of the Crown will be considered by the General Assembly as the legitimate source from which to defray the expenses of the Maori war. Dr Eeatherstone's letter to Mr Pox, to the effect — "that the members for the Middle Island had better consent to give up part of their land fund at once, to crush out the war, than have the whole absorbed by taxation consequent on its protraction," is the key note to a symphony, which will rather startle the Southern Island ear. Believing in Mr Clerke's honor, I claim his vote on the present occasion. In conclusion sir I would ask every member of this House to ponder over the fable with which I introduced my remarks. Demosthenes once saved his life by relating one of JEsop's fables, when Philip of Macedon thirsted for it, and the Athenian mind grasped the pregnant meaning. I trust that your mental calibre is not so far inferior to that of the lively Greek, as not to understand and take action on the concentrated wisdom of the wise man of the east