MR MITCHELSON, M.H.R., AND THE TRUNK RAILWAY. The Ex-Minister's Reasons for Favouring the Central Route. Dargaville, November 25, 1884. (To the Editor).

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 79, 6 December 1884, Page 6

MR MITCHELSON, M.H.R., AND THE TRUNK RAILWAY. The Ex-Minister's Reasons for Favouring the Central Route. Dargaville, November 25, 1884. (To the Editor).

Sir,— Now that the question of the route tor the North Island trunk railway has been decided by Parliament, it will not be out of place for me to give the publio my reasons for recommending the central line in the report I prepared for the Government, but which was unfortunately never considered owing to our having been turned out of office within a week from the time of itb being written. As I did not wish to iniluence the Committee that was appointed by the House to consider the question, I carefully avoided giving an opinion as to which line I considered should be adopted ; but I now propose, with your permission, to continue my report from the point where I left ofl" in giving my evidenco before the Committ c. For the sake of connection it will bo convenient to quote tho closing passages of my report, as far as I read it before the Committee. It runs as follows : — And now I will give the conclusion of my report, which I held back from the Committee in orcier that I might not unduly influence their opinion. It was as follows ;— " On tho banks of the Ongarehu Stream, about eight miles south of Waimiha, Mr Mountford's line from Ohura strikes Mr llochfort's line. The whole of the land in the vicinity of Waimiha is of very poor quality ; but as soon as the hill above the Hinemoa Stream, through which the tunnel has to be cut, is reached, the land begins to improve in quality, and from this point to To Awamutu, a distance of fiftytwo miles, the line passes through a tract of splendid open country, consisting of fern ranges, rolling downs, and flats, a good deal of which is ploughable. Even now, without any stock upon it, the whole country is covered with clover, growing amongst tho fern. At To Kuiti the land is exceedingly fertile ; and, in my opinion, this district is entitled to rank as the garden of the Waikato. Taking To Kuiti a& the centre of a circle, and looking north, south, east, and west for twenty-five miles in each direction, the proportion of indifferent land that could be found would be very small. The total length of new line by the central route would be about 210 miles, 100 of which is through bush and the balance through open country ; and although only seventy miles of this open country is really good land, the area of first-class land at the southern end (tho Turangarere and inland Patea country) which would be opened up would be very large. It may also with perfect truth be stated that the line would open up on one side 210 miles of good country, as tho bush land is also good beyond dispute ; and the line where it passes through the Murimoto Plains (which is the worst land along the whole route) is not, at tho greatest distance, more than ten miles from the bush. The line would open up valuable mineral as well as agricultural and pastoral lands, gold, it is stated, being plentiful in the Tuhua country as well as in the Kangitoto Rangos, at the Waikato end of the line. Limestone is albo to be found in abundance in the Hautapu Valley, at the back of the Waimarino, and from the Waimiha Valley right through to Te Kuiti. At Waimarino a township could advantageously be established, us from this place objects of great interests to tourists — Ituapehu, Ngaruhohe, Tongariro, Tokeano, and Lake Taupo— could easily be reached. The hot-sulphur bath on the slope of Tongariro is said to be the finest in the world. The line by this route would be easy of construction. The grades are all favourable, and there are no great engineering dilliculties to be surmounted. The estimated cost of constructing and engineering the line is £6,500 per mile, or a total of £1,360,000. That is the whole of the report in reference to the central line. " After having spent thirty days in these explorations, I have arrived at the conclusion that in order to properly open up the enormous tract of most valuable country (which has been lying waste for so many years), it is absolutely necessary that both the central and Mokau-Ohura (to Stratford or Ngaire) lines should be constructed, and it is to be regretted that the colony is not in a position to construct both lines at once, as it is beyond all doubt that the land which would thus be opened up is capable of supporting a very large population to their own and the colony's mutual advantage ; bul as only £1,000,000 is at present available, it would, I think, be better to complete one line rather than to commence woik on both without being able to finish cither, it therefore devolves upon me to make a recommendation as to which route should be immediately proceeded with, and in making thi3 recommendation, I have thrown aside all local considerations, and looked at the matter strictly from a colonial point of view, and on that basis I recommend the construction of the central route as being tho most advantageous in the interests of the nolony at large. Its advantages over the western route are many. Ist : It will open up a far larger area of open country fib for immediate settlement than the western route, and also a far greater extent of good available timber (especially totara), which is an espontial point. 2nd : Seeing that for some years to come the revenue will have to be derived principally from passenger traffic between the chief centres of population — Auckland and Wellington — besides the large amount of tourist traffic that would be created during the summer months, there is no questioning the immediate advantages which the central route would have over the western. 3rd. A good proportion of tho Mokau country will be opened up by this linetwenty miles at leabt. 4th. A most serious objection to the adoption of the western route is tho steepness o f the grades in the existing line between Waitotara and Rangitikei, hecauseif this trunk line is to be of any benefit to the travelling public it will be necessary to run a daily express service between Auckland and Wellington, and vice versa, which would be very difficult of accomplishment if the western route were adopted. sth. The line by this route passes through the centre of the country, and the distance between Auckland and Wellington would be 428 miles only by this route, against 470 by the Mokau-Stratford route. Before finally adopting the central route, however, the question ot ways and means must be taken into consideration. Only £1,000,000 has been voted by Parliament for the construction of this trunk line, and'

itSj estimated cost by the central route if £1,365,000, as against £1,036,000 by th« western route. In considering this ques tion, therefore, Parliament must decide whether an additional £400,000 shall be borrowed, and the central line constructed, this line being undoubtedly the best one from every possible standpoint, or whether the western route shall be adopted for the reason that an additional authority for £50,000 would be sufficient in that case. Be the route what it may, however, it is imperative in the interests of the colony as a whole that this railway shall be constructed as rapidly as possible, and this fact should not be ignored or overlooked, because it would entail a lasting injury to the colony generally to retard the progress of the North Island now, when the native mind is so favourable towards us. Whatever adds to the wealth and population of the .North Island must add to the wealth and population of the South Island also. In conclusion, I would strongly urge that as soon as the route is absolutely determined by Parliament, steps should be taken to secure a portion, if not the whole, of the land for some distance upon both sides of the line, either by way of endowment from the owners oi by purchase, at its present value, and too great care cannot be exercised to prevent any of these lands from falling into the hands of speculators, as it is evident that the enhancement in value of those lands by reason of the construction of the railway through them should be the property of the State, as a whole, ai,d nob of individual speculators. Hero my report ended. I may, however, add that there can be no possible doubt but that the advantages that will accrue from the construction of the central line will be innumerable. The adoption of this line was the only means whereby the whole of our commercial centres in the North Island would be connected by rail within reasonable time, And the more the question is thought out by unprejudiced men, the more will it be seen that the decision arrived at is the correct one. For example : From Te Uira, on the central line, the provincial district of New Plymouth and the West Coast of the North Island can be connected by rail with Stratford or Ngaire. It would be a fatal mistake to cpnnect with Stratford from the point mentioned by Mr J. M. Clark at the meeting of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, viz., from a point between the Wainika and the Wanganui River, as by so doing, the most valuable part of the open country that lies between tho central line and the West Coast from Mokauite North and north westwards would not be opened up). And from a point at or near Turangarere, Napier would be connected either at the Spit or at Hastings by a branch line 70 or SO miles in length, thus connecting Napier, Wellington, and the whole of the West Coast and New Plymouth with Auckland ; whereas if the Stratford line had been first adopted, in my opinion neither the central nor the Napier connection would ever have been obtained. When this programme (which I trust will not be long delayed) is carried out, nothing will then be needed to complete our trunk system in the North Island, save the extension from Helensville northwards.— Yours sincerely, E. Mitchel^ox.