The Midland Railway.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7911, 29 August 1905, Page 2

The Midland Railway.

deputation to the Premier.

A Sympathetic Reply,

(Per Press Association.)

WELLINGTON, Aug, 28 taHu T ant i "loi-oiißhly Utivo deputation from Canterbury and the West Coast waited on ijw Prenuer this afternoon to urge upon the Government the necessity for pushing on with- tfc completion ol 1 the Midland Railway, and in particular the advisableness of letting a contract for the construction of th& summit tunnel..

In his reply, Mr Seddon said it was a misfortune that the Midland line had been given into the hands of : a private company, f or : ii it had Ibeeo kept under the publiq works policy initiated by Sir Julius iVogel it would nave been constructed years ago. He admitted' that the arguments In favour of completing Ihe line vrero ' overwhelming, and agreed that the work ought to be gone on with more expeditiously. i'reparations -had been made for Calling tendors (or the tunnel, which would be about, five miles in length, and the Government thought it was a class of .w o rfc thfct should be teti as & whole by eon tracV Taking into consideration th 3 small expenditure on the Midlalnd line in the past, Compared with the Otago Central an'i the North Island Main Trunk lines, ihe did not thi n k the most fastidious could complain if v Lhei e wag iv littlo nior--' for the Midland line this year. If th; tunnel was finished within the iiiext six years M would be about as much as could be done. He believed when the line was completed it would be ono of tl»s best paying sections in the cofrjny.