MORE ABOUT THE WINTON-KINGSTON RAILWAY.

Southland Times, Issue 1639, 27 September 1872, Page 3

MORE ABOUT THE WINTON-KINGSTON RAILWAY.

Pie,— Allow me to draw your attention to the following description of a figure in the map of the Province — bounded on the north by an east and west line through the South Mavora Lakes ; on the south by an east and west line through the north end of Winton township ; on the east by the eastern boundary Foreet Hill District produced to the latitude of fhe Elbow, and a line north and south through " Rocky Hill " (in , old Otago) to the latitudes of South Mavora and Elbow ; and on the west by the Waiau River and Te Anau Lakes. The area of this figure is about 2,000,1 00 acres, and, practically speaking, every acre of it iB available for pastoral or agricultural purposes. It contains a vast coal-field ; it abounds in great etretehes of splendid agricultural country, and tracts of, pasturage varying in character from the mountain-peak where the Merino loves to roam in summer, to the hilly range, and low— rolling down ; and at present it carries from 600,000 to 700,000 sheep, and large herds of cattle, representing about 2,500,0001b3 wool, and an immense quantity of preserved meat and tallow, annually. Its northern boundary is daily butted at Kingston by steamers from Queenstown ; its southern boundary at Winton by trains from Invereargill. and running through it, 'twixt Winton and Kingston, is a surveyed railway line, level, and practically devoid of engineering difficulties, the whole cost of construction thereof having been estimated by Mr Blair, District Engineer, at £2,150 per milo. This 2,000,000 acre block is perhaps unequalled in the Colony for richness and variety of resource! in soil and climate, not (o mention its extensiye, valuable — or rather, invaluable — coal-Said, situated within 18 miles of Winton, and very easy of access therefrom, nor its unlimited supply of superior limestone, ranging along the railway line ju»t beyond Winton township. The whole produce of this territory would reach Invercargill by the Winton-Kingston railway. The Colony would be justified in extending the railway from Winton to Kingston irrespective of intervening country. But the intervening country is there — the proposed extension traverses the 2,000,000 area just described — Buincient in itself to maintain a railway. It is therefore evident that the claims of the WintonKingston line are indisputable and irresistible. Nevertheless they were, are, and will be disputed *nd resisted, without scruple and with desperate energy, by those interested in rival lines — and although this line was placed on the first schedule by the late Government ; although it ie being surveyed in detail for estimating purposes ; and although its completion simultaneously with the Dunedin-Clutha and Invercargill-Ma-taura lines was predicted in a late report by the Engineer-in-chief, there is only one way of ensuring its completion as promised, and thut way is — appoint a committee to obtain traffic statistics, and then memorialise the new Government, memorial to be signed by every elector in Southland and Queenstown. The block of country described ia not all the " intervening country," only the heart of it. A considerable margiu of pastoral country in the north and west, and exclusive ot gold-fields, is left out, whose traffic would aleo come to the Kingston line. Take a map of Southland and draw a line from Castle Rock home-station (Elbow) due west to the Waiau. The traffic of all the country north of this line comes to Invercargill by the North Road,Yia Elbow, — I am,&c.j SOUTHLANDEB.

P.S. — After the above was written, I slightly perused a parliamentary document called " Pa pers relating to the development of coal mines," &c., and therein discovered a letter by Dr Hector to the Under Colonial Secretary, bearing upon our coal-fields, in which he says — " I have the honor to attach a map to accompany Captain Hutton's report on the Southland coal— fields, explaining for the information of the Minister for Public Works the position of the Nightcap Hill (where it is proposed to make further exploration for coai), with reference to the existing and proposed railway lines." . . " I am inclined to think that Captain Hutton does not sufficiently estimate the difficulty and expense of this proposed line ;" (Wintoa to Wrey's Bush road,) " lor though the country it passea through is level, it is very B-wampy for a great part of tlie year, and one very bad shingle river, (the Oreti,) which is subject to heavy floods, will have to be bridged." Why Dr Hector should mar an otherwise sensible letter by recording his rt .inclination to think " stupidly, ia puzzling. There is certainly some truth in his statement, inasmuch as the country referred to does comprise some swamp, and is wetter in winter than summer, and the Oreti, like other rivers, is sometimes flooded. But considered in relation to the question of a railway from Winton to Nightcap, the paragraph quoted is untruthful in the extreme, unintentionally so, no doubt, and Dr Hector must have been the victim of some wag when he penned it. Ihe swamp to be contended with in the construction of a road or railway from Winton to Wrey's Bush, amounts to three or four chains at most. With this small exception, the plain is high and dry along the proposed line, and the Doctor could without difficulty drive a carriage and pair across at any season of the year. Why, notwithstanding the existing bit of swamp, and the absence of all improvements, Captain Kay- I mond, as he stated in your columns, this winter, | the severest on record herd, drove his family home across this plain ou the line indicated in the sketch map attached to Dr Hector's letter ; and about the same time (midwinter), a surrey party drove a spring cart from Heddon Bush to Winton by the same route. ~ I

This plain is never g oo ded except in a narrow margin along the Oreh hanks, and this margin (rich alluvial) was eager!) bought up whenever the railway to Winton was < D ally decided on, and is now being successfully i^-med, yielding excellent crops — proof that it ia seldom or never seriously flooded. The Oreti in this Vjcality has decided banks, for the mo«t part clotted with light timber, and is therefore not a, " very h A d shingle river, 1 ' aa our worthy geological medico, brands it ; but higher up, where it assumes more or less of that churacter, two long railway bridges ] were estimated by Mr Blair, District Engineer, to cost £9,000 only, i. c. about £4,600 apiece. U Dr Hector specially examined the whole Colony, I question if he could point to another eighteen milei involving the construction of river bridges where engineering difficulties are so completely absent- It might, therefore, bo interesting to know how lie acquired tho information which. ) " inclined him to think " otherwise. t Apart altogether from the very valuable consideration of coal-Selda, a bridge on the Oreti near Winton i» much required lor the accommodation of the settlers in the Oreti, Aparima, Wairaki, and lower Taringatura districts. Be it remembered that 9ueh a bridge would contribute , largely to the revenue of the Winton railway. A two- feet ga^ge and rolling stock on the Fairlie principle, as adopted with such entire success in the now celebrated Featiniog railway (Wales), would, I tbink, suit admirably for our branch iinea. &*•

PlB, — Our four members — Messrs Bell, Calder, Webster, and M'GKllm'ay — should be informed that unless they are straining every nerve Jto eecura the immediate construction of tho Winton* Kingston Line, they hava mistaken their vocation, and ought forthwith to retire inco -private life. — I am, &c , iNTBaCAESiLi. 26th Sept., 1872.

£Our correspondent will be glad to observe that two-of the members referred to waited on the G-overnmsnt on the oubjcct a few days ago. — Ed.