The Daily News. FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1912. THE OPUNAKE RAILWAY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 82, 23 August 1912, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1912. THE OPUNAKE RAILWAY.

The Government is to have a flying sur•vey made of the proposed To RotiMoturoa railway and the route is to be inspected at an early date by the Prime Minister and the Minister for Public Works. This much was promised by the Prime Minister to the Taranaki delegation which bombarded him on Wednesday. The deputation asked that the I work should be authorised and that portion recommended by the Commission proceeded with. The Prime Minister was delightfully non-committal. In this respect he really excels some of his predecessors, whom he rarely missed a chance of taking to task for exhibiting the same predelietion. But Mr. Massey is a diplomat. He assured the deputation that he had voted for the line lfhe» the proposal for its authorisation had come before the House on a ]irevious occasion and promised lie -would do the same again, recognising as he did that the railway should be built, but as to whether funds would permit of this he was not prepared to express a definite opinion. He spoke in terms of surprise at the ambitious nature of the work disclosed by the report of the Commission, and was not prepared to commit the Government until it was known to what extent loan money would be available for railways. The question of commencing the construction of the line resolves itself into a matter of pounds, shillings, and pence. The Government is hard up and cannot lend local bodies or anybody else money except in urgent cases and small amounts. It blamed the previous Governments for reducing the sums that could be borrowed by local bodies, but now that it is in power it finds it can do no better; indeed, from the' remarks that have fullen from the Treasurer and the Prime Minister it looke very much as if borrowing both by the Government and local bodies may practically have to cease except for urgent necessities. Tf the allocation of money for the Opunake line means a corresponding reduction in the vote for the Stratford-To Koura railway and for the improvement of the roads in the backblocks of the province—if, in other .words, our hinterland is to be starved in order to provide money for a part of the proposed railway, then, in our opinion, it would be better to wait a. little longer for the Opunake railway. The line is urgently required, it is true, but not nearly so much so as are better trail-it facilities for our backblockers who have been handicapped by lack of them quite long enough. The Government, of course, might permit the local bodies couccrncd or private enterprise to step in and finance the line. As Mr. Massey and his friends vehemently preached this doctrine when in Opposition, they surely cannot have the nerve to oppose its adoption now that they 'are in the saddle. No doubt the money eonld be found or guaranteed for a considerable section of the line. Should

money from any source be available for undertaking the construction of the line, , partly or wholly, careful consideration will needj to b% given to that which is the most pressing and likely to do the greatest good for the greatest number. The Commission recommended commencing operations simultaneously at Moturoa and Te Roti. It may be found advisable, however, to make a start with the section which the Commission suggested could be held over till the other portion was completed. We refer to the section between Stratford and Kapuni, or even through to Manaia. A line from Te Roti to Kapuni is really unnecessary if a line is to be built on to Stratford, for a glance at a map will show that with a line between Stratford and Kapuni all the land on the Te Roti side will be brought within four or five miles of a railway. The Stratford section would tap a much greater district, i relieve a big proportion of the traffic i on the main roads, and as a business proposition Would pay much better than a lino constructed from Te Roti to Kapuni, even thotgh the cost of construction of the latter would be considerably less. This is s point that should not. be overlooked when the Ministers make their visit ■of inspection, which, \ve trust, will result in something more tangible than the "keeping steadily in view" performance of the pant.