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Southland Times, Issue 1593, 18 June 1872, Page 2

« A public meeting of the inhabitants of Riverton and the adjoining district, called by Mr M'Gillivray, the Mayor of Riverton, in compliance with the request ■ of several settlers, to consider the ques- . tion of a railway from Riverton to the interior, was held in the Court-house on Friday afternoon. On the motion of Mr Basstian, Mr Instone, of the firm of Whittingham Brothers & Instone, was called to the chair. The chairman 1 bavins: briefly explained the object of the [ meeting, Mr "W. A Lyon proposed the following resolution : — " That in the 1 opinion of this meeting it is desirable 1 that a line of railway should be formed from Kiverton, through tbe interior, to connect the district with the proposed Invercargill and Kingston Eailway." '. Mr Lyon spoke at considerable length on i the urgent necessity for the establishment of better means, than at present existed, of communication between the interior i and the port. The farmers, he said, had large stackyards, but they could not , realise their produce, on account of the expense and difficulty of the present , means of transport. They had been fooled by the Government, which year after year placed sums on the estimates for the roads, without the slightest intention of expending them. This year the small sum of £400 had been voted, but even that he feared they would derive I little benefit from, unless their representatives made it their business to see that it was actually laid out. The proposed line would open up good agricul--1 tural land, the like of which was not to be seen in any other place between this and Dunedin, and that was one good f reason for its construction. Another was, that as they would most certainly be , called on to pay their share of the interest on the proposed railway loans, they were ( as much entitled to benefit by a share of the expenditure as any other district in the colony. A third good reason was, that from the level nature of the country, a railway could be constructed at very little cost. Unanimity was essential to success in this matter, and he hoped that, sinking all minor differences, they would all unite in getting the Government to report on the best line, and the most reproductive line, so as'to lessen the burden of interest which would fall on the shoulders of the local population. Mr M'Gillivray, M.H.E., seconded the motion. He believed it had taken the right and proper ground to take. The question was, what was the line most required in the district ? By an expression of opinion on the part of the inhabitants, aided by the reports of professional men, the handa of the repre-

sentatives would be strengthened when the matter came before the Assembly. Very heavy liabilities for railway works were to be incurred by the colony ; they would have to pay their share of the interest ; and that whether any local works were executed or not. They were as much entitled to have something done for this district as any other in the colony ; nay, considering the manner in which they had been neglected by the Provincial Governments, first of Southland, and then, after the union, from which so much had been hoped for, of Otago, he would say more so. He would leave no stone uDturned, when the line bad been decided on, to forward their interests, and he only hoped that it would come up in time to be considered at the ensuing session of Assembly. Mr Francis, in supporting the motion, said he would confine himself to one word of advice, that the meeting should be unanimous, and avoid quarrelling about the particular direction the liue should take. (Applause.) Mr Eoss Robertson called attention to the fact that what the settlers wanted was not a few thousand acres set apart for a tramway, as had been done by the Provincial Government, but some portion of the colonial loan expended on permanent railway works. The motion was carried unanimously. Mr J. L. M'Donald said that he would propose a resolution by way of following up that which had just been passed : — " That this meeting memorialize the Assembly for the purpose of getting a portion of the railway loan expended in the district, and recommend the construction of a line via the Otautau and Yellow EJuff, to join the Invercargill line near "Winton ; the memorial to show that a line could be easily constructed over the country referred to, and that such a work would be reproductive, benefit the inhabitants, and open up a large quantity of very fertile agricultural land for settlement." At a meeting lately held at Flint's Bush, it bad been unanimously resolved that the most likely route would be the one he had proposed. Some people were under the impression that the proposed line would injure the trade of Riverton, but he held that it would do nothing of the sort. The more facilities that could be obtained in. the way of despatching goods, and commercial intercourse generally, the more able would they be to hold their own in the markets of the world. At the same time be would suggest that the improvement of the harbor, for which local powers had been recently conferred, should be proceeded with simultaneously with the railway. Seconded by Mr Francis. Mr M'Gillivray was not in favor of this resolution, because it appeared to him to be in some degree incompatible with the firat resolution, which left the best line to be decided by actual survey, whereas iu this resolution there was a particular line indicated. He was in favor of leaving the right line to be decided by the engineer. Mr Simpson, seconded by Mr M'Grillivray, moved the previous question. He was desirous that the meeting should avoid an expression of opinion in favor of any particular line. Mr Basstian hoped that the meeting, before it broke up, would come to some unanimous conclusion. Both resolutions were good in tbeir way. Mr Lyon's resolution did not appeal to any governing power in the country ; Mr M'Donald's supplied that omission by appealing to the Assembly, to do the district justice, which it had never yet had, from Council or Assembly. Mr M'Donald's resolution was excellent in everything but that it named the route. (Applause.) It was necessary to be very cautious not to arouse needless jealousies. In order to avoid doing so in the Council, he had confined his motion to a line of tramway in the direction of tbe Otautau, and stopped short there, not to encroach on Mr M'Arthur's pet scheme. He anticipated some good would result from this motion next year. If we succeeded in carrying a line to the Otautau, the centre district would eventually benefit by the whole of the scheme. We must succeed bit by bit. To stop short at the Otautau was the correct thing at the present time, and the ultimate result would be a benefit to all. Mr M'Donald expressed himself willing to limit his suggestion to the Otautau, and leave the further extension of the route to be decided in course of time. Mr Daniel said that the General Government made none but main lines. The main road must be defined, and he held that the main road north from Riverton was to the Otautau, and the east road was to Wallacetown. A tramway was easier to keep in order than a metal ed road, and he was for accepting the offer of the Provincial Government. He hoped they would be unanimous, aud to secure this object it would, be better to define no route further than the Ofcautau. Mr M'Donald's motion, amended to read as follows, was then put, and carried unanimously : — " That this meeting memorialize the General Assembly for the purpose of getting a portion of the Railway Loan expended in this district, and recommend that a lina be constructed from Riverton, in the direction of the Otautau — the memorial to show that a line can be easily constructed over the country referred to, and that such a work would be reproductive, benefit the inhabitants, and open up a large quantity of very fertile agricultural land for settlement." It was then proposed by Mr Ross Robertson, and seconded by Mr Hopcroft : — " That a memorial embodying these resolutions, and setting forth the advantages of the line, should be transmitted to the Honorable the Minister of Public Works for the Middle Island, and to His Honor the Superintendent of the Province, requesting their concurrence and assistance." Carried. It was further proposed by Mr Ross Robertson, and seconded by Mr Baastian — " That the following gentlemen be appointed a committee, to draw up a

memorial, viz., Messrs L. M'Gillivray, J. L. M'Donald, P. Grant, T. Daniel, M. Instone, E. Simpson, senr." The meeting terminated with the customary vote of thanks to the chairman.