A LOOP RAILWAY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 151, 5 October 1910, Page 3

A LOOP RAILWAY

MASTERTON TO WAIPUKURAU. LA6 SO MONEY TO SPARE. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Yesterday. The construction of a railway from Masterton to Waipukurau, via Alfredton, Waterfalls, Rakanui, Waione and Weber, wsis urged by a deputation to the Prime Minister (.Sir Joseph \Vard) yesterday. It was comprised oi chairmen of county councils in the district, arid included Messrs. A. W. Hogg, M.P., and R. B. Ross, M.P., and the Hon. W. C. Smith, M.L.C., who formerly represented the district in the House of Representatives. Mr. Hogg stated that he never advocated tne construction of railways which were not almost certain to pay. The proposed railway would go through a closely settled district which had developed as a result of the special settlement policy of twenty years ago. Most of the settlers were working men. The coast was a hundred miles from the main line, and the proposed loop would have tlnrty to forty miles of goou. country on either side. Unfortunately the settlers were under the big disadvantage of being on papa country without roiid metal. Their roads were only of use a few months in the year, ana th* want! of a railway had so discouraged the settlers, .that many of the original pioneers had mid. out and the holdings were being aggregated. A year ago the settlers had offered to guarantee the Crovernment any loss which might occur on the line. The Hon. W. C. &mith mentioned that the leasing clauses of the Government's new Land Bill could well be brought into operation in the district to be tapped, by the line. There was one estate of 100,000 acres between Herbertvffle and Porangah.au, where only h shepherd's hut could be seen upon climbing a mountain. Mr. J. Mclntyre (chairman of tht Railway League) urged that the line should be authorised to Waipukurau, when the ratepayers would be able to decide whether they would adopt the guarantee. "We are anxious to pay for our railway, and believe it will pay us," remarked one of the subsequent speakers, who pointed out that owing to the disadvantage of transit the settlers got one-third less for their butter-fat than those outside he district, 10s a bale less for their wool, and Is 6d less a head on fat stock. About 1,250,000 acres of land would be served by the line. The cost was estimated at under £500,000. The Prime Minister stated that the estimated cost of a line along the coast was £850,000, while the Dannevirke-Weber-Masterton line was estimated to. cost £530,000. He would lake very much to be able to say the line eould be put in hand, because of its value to thd settlei-3 and the added comfort it .would give them. " This is one of the Railways that will require to be made fa the future," he continued. "I am quite satisfied it ought, in the interest* of the peo'ple and the general interests of the country, to be made, but the whole difficulty is not whether you are going to guarantee the cost, but' the country's inability to borrow the'necessary money to carry on a big work like that concurrently with what is now being built." He thought the line required would cost nearly £700,000 fully equipped. It would not be much satisfaction to-start the line and spend £lO,000 a year on it. The deputation would be dead and buried before the end of it came. What was 'wanted was an allocation of £50,000 a year, but there would be no. chance of doing this until railways now 1 ic iand were got out of the way. Guaranteeing the interest' did not affect the total sum' which the country could borrow annually for railways. This would not help the country to borrow an inordinate sum of money on the London market. He would be very pleased to visit. the district, and he would again put on record the need of the line.

Mr. Ross suggested that a tramway might be put in. The Government, he hoped, would consider the policy of adapting the class of railway to the district, and not sad-Me any area with the tost of a first-class line when a tramway weuld do. The Prime Minister replied that there was a good deal to be said for light railways, so long as there was no break in the gauge, but it meant triplicating the rolling stock, because light railways would not carry heavy main line rolling stock. Cabinet had discussed the matter, but it was not the easiest to decide.