RAILWAY EXTENSION.

Te Aroha News, Volume XI, Issue 1746, 12 June 1895, Page 2

RAILWAY EXTENSION.

TE AROHA TO THAMES. A joint meeting of the Committees appointed by the Thames Borough and Couijty Councils to consider what steps shall be taken to impress upon the Government,the necessity for extending the Thames-Te Aroha railway from Paeroa to the Thames was held in the Borough Chambers on Monday evening. The following were present: His Worship the Mayor (Mr Radford), and Crs Davey, Scotty VVood, Comer. (Borough Council), and Dunlop/Heebie, Otter, Kilgour, and McCormick (County Council). The Mayor was elected chairman and Mr Kenrick secretary pro. tern. Mr McGowan, M.HR., said he thought it right that a Committee representing the local bodies, who were in the best position to know the requirements of the district, should be appointed tq deal with a matter so important to the whole community. It was absurd that the railway should be constructed to come only part of the distance. The speaker touched upon the value of the railway as a» means of conveying coal to the upper country, remarking that when the firing at present used had been consumed coal would be bound to play a prominent part in up-country mining. He explained how tourists to the Hot Springs district would be certain to either como or go by way of the Thames for. "the purpose of • A seeing fho goldfield,” always an - object of interest to outsiders. To some extent toui’ists even now travelled by coach in order to gratify their curiosity in this .direction, and if the railway was introducedihetourist would undoubtedlybecome much larger. Apart from these advantages, he was confident that if the line were completed it would pay better than any other in the colony. Mr McGowan said that the Committee' should make representatives to the Government in the meantime. They knew the importance of fthe undertaking. At the present time the position was totally different to when the work was initiated. Fifteen or sixteen years ago the railway might have been sai d to be before its time, but such was certainly not the case now. The land between here and Paeroa had been proved to' be suitable dairy land, and the line should he completed both t'> convey settlers’ produce t) market and to bring the railway to a payable, paint. He was glad that the Committee had met to discuss-the matter and that they would be able to aid him in his efforts to secure the extension of the line.

z The Mayor said that no man in tho country had more confidence in the Thames.than he (Mr Radford) had. At Home he had seen people sink*' shafts without expecting to meet with a shillings worth or ore before they , : had attained a depjh of 100 feet, whilst here we- have any amount of payable ground sufficient to employ 1000 men .if the money is available £ to work the deep levels. The completion of the railway would mean direct -communication right through to the Waikato. The Waikato coal mines were only 2,0 miles further from the Thames than they were from Auckland, and as a result coal would be sold locally at - Auckland prices. This, as Crs were aware, would mean a large reduction. It was decided to present a petition to Parliament to be signed by the three local bodies most interested, / Ohinemuri and Thames Counties and the Thames Borough Council. j The usual thanks closed tho meeting.