TARANAKI WANTS.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 August 1920, Page 5

TARANAKI WANTS.

TWO IMPORTANT RAILWAYS. {TAPPING COAL AND METAL. BRIDGE OVER THE MOKAU. (By Wire.—Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, Last Night. Representatives of the Taranaki Progress League interviewed the* Prime Minister and the Minister for Public Works this morning to ask for the speedy completion of the StratfordOkahukura and thp Te Roti-Moturoa railways; the opening of the TSgmont quarries; the bridging of the Mokau River; and the opening of the Tangarakau coalfield. The deputation was introduced by Mr. Jennings (Waitomo), and was accompanied by the Taranaki members, Messrs. Smith (Taranaki), Masters (Stratford), Hawken (Egmont), and •Powdrell (Patea). It consisted of Messrs. Newton King (New Plymouth Harbor Board), R. H. Pigott (Clifton County Council), I. J. Stevenson (Waimate ' West County Council), W. R. Wright (Egmont County Council), R. J. Linn (Hawera County Council), C. J. Belcher (Eltham County Council), E. Dixon (Hawera Borough, Council), W. L. Kennedy (Whangamomona County Council), T. Bridge (Kaupokonui Dairy Co.), J. B. Richards (Stratford Chamber of Commerce), J. S, Connett (Taranaki County Council), A. Morton (National Dairy Association), and W. P. Itirkwood (Stratford Railway League). ' Mr. Jennings assured Mr. Massey that the deputation represented all Taranaki, and was entitled to speak of the needs of a great and important district. He mentioned the Mokau Bridge as a work that ought not to be delayed. The settlers were at present paying toll charges for the use of the ferry, and they were prepared to continue the payments for the use of the bridge when the work was completed, so that a certain amount of revenue would be provided. He reminded Mr. Massey of a promise made about six years ago that the railway would be completed to Tahora within a certain time. The Prime Minister hadr not been to blame for the delay caused by the war, but the Government ought not to forget that a promts* had been made now that peace conditions had been restored.

VALUE OF THE PORT. Mr. Newton King read to the Minister some (resolutions adopted at a meeting of the Taranaki Progress League last month. The Taranaki people felt that the time had arrived when they should get an equitable share of the money spent by the Government on public works. Taranaki claimed to be one of the best districts in New Zealand for production, and the works enumerated in the resolutions were required for the development of tho district, and particularly of the back country. He mentioned the improvement of the port of New Plymouth, which was now used regularly by the large shipping companies. The completion of the railways was required in order that the produce of Taranaki might fmd its way to the natural outlet as cheaply and as efficiently as possible. Jlr. Richards said that Taranaki was a highly productive part of New Zealand, and it ha 1 been very self-reliant in the past. The settlers of the province had surmounted great obstacles bv their own efforts and energy. They had made good roads, they had lead the way in the establishment of co-operative dairy companies, and they had developed their harbors. Railway construction was not in their control, and they were asking the Government to push forward the Stratford-Okahukura railway with all speed. They believed that the establishment of through communication across the Island would open up a new era for Taranaki, for a large portion/of the Waikato, and for the district adjacent to the lino. The line was required to enable,,the outlying districts to take advantage of the harbor facilities that had been provided at New Plymouth. The railway, moreover, would give Taranaki communication with the Tangarakau coalfield, which would bo of enormous benefit to the dairy districts. The factories were dependent upon supplies of coal, and they had suffered greatly from the shortage.

DWINDLING EXPENDITURE. Mr. Richards mentioned that recently a seam of good road metal hail been discovered within a few chains of the proposed railway. The people in the district were pacing a3 much as 30s a yard for road metal, and they would be helped greatly if the railway gave them access to this seam.

The expenditure on the western end of the line had dwindled very rapidly from' £SO,OOO in 1912-13 to £10.725 in 101819. The settlers wanted, to get back to the pre-war position. The cast end of the line had received about £22,0(10 in 1918-lDi The deputation did not ask for any reduction of expenditure on the east end,'but it wanted a vigorous effort to hasten construction at the western end. Some tunnels would be necessary'at the Taranaki ctid, and they should be put in hand quickly in order that the line might not be delayed at a later stage. A suitable policy, in the opinion of the settlers, would be to push ahead with the road and start the tunnels ahead of the railway track. The great problem admittedly was labor. The local bodies were prepared to pledge themseljes to give all the assistance within their power in providing labor, and they believed they could help effectively. The improvement of accommodation would help to draw labor to the railway works. OPUNAKE RAILWAY.

Mr. Bridge urged the claims of the Opunake-Te Roti railway. He mentioned that two dairy factories in the district had an output worth approximately £500,000 a year. This produce had to be carried over the roads in lorries, and the producers lost much money in the process, The delaying of the line during the war had been avoidable, btjt a speedy effort was required now. Much of the track had been formed and all the land required had been acquired. The completion of the line would not merely provide an outlet for produce, but would also enable the farmers to get manures into the district at a reasonable price. The Opunake people at present were paying about 30s a ton for the cartage of goods and fertilizer, and so were under a series handicap. They could not get their produce to the railway at all without jajlaa toll#.

South Taranaki felt entitled to ask for a fair share of railway expenditure. Mr. Belcher sske<fc for the extension of the railway to the Mt. Egmont quarry. The line bad been formed almost to the required point, but the local bodies were still being forced to bring road metal by rail from Belmont, in the Hutt Valley. .This meant using railway trucks at a time of shortage, and paying high prices for limited quantities of metal. The local people were satisfied about, the quality of the metal at the Egmout quarry. Mr. Masters remarked that about £70,000 had been spent on the line already, and a little more would bring the work to the useful stage. Mr. Belcher added that a crushing plant and water power were available at the quarry. He mentioned the large demand for chip metal for tar-sealed roads.

Mr. Piggott urged the importance of the Mokau bridge. Settlers were very seriously handicapped under present conditions. They were prepared to pay a toll that would cover interest on the cost of the construction of the bridge.

EXTENSIVE COALFIELD. Mr. Morton spoke of the development of the Taijgjrakau coalfield. He said that Taranaki had about two hundred dairy factories dependent upon coal, which at present had to be imported from other parts of New Zealand by sea and rail. Seams of good coal had been found in the Tangarakau district, but could not be developed until the railway had been taken through. There were indications that the amount of coal available was very lafge. The field probably extended rjght from the Mokau area to Huntly, in the Auckland district. Mr. Massey: '1 quite agree with that; I believe that is correct." Mr. Morton said that the Taranaki people wished to secure the examination of the area by competent scientific men. Some seams had been located, but there might be other seams in better positions. He was informed that within recent years a seam of coal had been found within a mile and a half of the seam of road metal mentioned by another speaker. The dairy companies were prepared to go ahead with the development of a mine, and they had subscribed a considerable amount of money for the purpose, but they wanted to be sure that they were proceeding on the right lines. He suggested that the Government should' arrange for an examination of the field. The investigation was highly important from the Government's own point of view, since the development of the new field would relieve the Main Trunk line of an enormous amount of coal haulage.

PRIME MINISTER'S REPLY. THE ACUTE COAL SHORTAGE. RAILWAY "CUT" JUST AVOIDED. 'The Prime Minister, in reply, said that he was glad to meet the representatives of what was probably the most productive and most progressive dis- \ triet in New Zealand. The coal shortage, which, had been mentioned by the deputation, was one of the most serious difficulties that the Government had to handle at present. He did not think that anyone outside the jfficial circles could realise just how much eifort and anxiety had been involved in the struggle to maintain an adequate supply of coal throughout the Dominion. The state o£ affairs was extraordinary. Enough coal was in sight in New Zealand to supply all the needs of the people fof centuries to come, and yet the quantity mined was not sufficient for the daily domestic and industrial requirements. The development of a new field in Taranaki obviously was important. This field probably was connected with the Auckland field, and the quantity of coal available must be very large indeed. The members of the deputation would be aware that the coal shortage had been accentuated by some trouble regarding supplies from Australia. The Australian authorities had become anxious about their local supplies owing to the enormous demand for export. Coal was being sent from Newcastle to Sweden and other European countries, and the Australian Government had announced certain restrictions on export. He had got into communication with Mr. ,Hughes- on rlio. subject, and he could say° that on the whole the negotiations, had been fairly satisfactory. He could tell the deputation wfiat he had not made public bfefore, that if the outlook had not improved the Government would have ordered a cut in the railway services commencing on Monday of next week. This would not bo necessary now. He could not guarantee that there would be sufficient coal for any length of time, but the danger was over ■for the present.

EXPERT TO ENQUIRE., "Something will have to be done in regard to our local coal supplies in the direction of increasing the output from the mines," said Mr. Massey. "The crux of the difficulty is the shortage of labor. We are very short of labor in this country. The Government, the local bodies, and the industries are all suffering. We could receive 25,000 good men in this country and find employment ' for them without the slightest? 'trouble." The shortage of labor was due largely to war conditions, and he feared it could not be overcame quickly. Many immigrants were coming to New Zealand from Britain, and some were also coming from Australia, but the full number of men required could tiot be provided quickly. Mr. Massey said that he had personal knowledge of the need for the Mokau bridge. He had visited the district some years ago, apd had seen then that the bridge was required urgently. He hoped that it would be possible to make some provision sor the bridge in the Public Works Estimates of this year. The Minister for Public Works would state the position of his Department very fully, and would tell the country fairly and frankly how the Public Works stood.

The construction of the through railway was very important from every point of view. He recognised that fact, but he realised also that same difficult country had to be tackled, and that some costly tunnels would be required. The war had delayed the work greatly. He had given instructions to the Mines Department already to send a good man, probably Mr. Morgan, to the Tangarakau district to examine the coalfield, and see where development ought to begin. Mr. Morgan, or some other officer, would be sent m 100 a as potlibl* ' "*

FINANCE ASPECT. The Te Roti-Opunake line wait another J very important work. It hal been tin- fj dertaken by tlio present Qovernjnamt, . , ■> and the whole of the line wat now tuthorised. The Government understood the importance of the work, and the Am would proceed as eoon as the necessirj) arrangements could be made anil the Me* cessary labor and material were forth* coming. ' '•<

The Prime Minister aaid that he kid £ never been able to understand why «r- 1 rangements had not "been made long ago fj to supply Taranaki with' road metal >,» from the Egmont quarries. , qwl- If ity of the metal had been questioned, la t>ut there must be plenty of good metal f| in the mountain. The carriage of rwd Ijj metal from Wellington by rail to Tor*- |j naki wae not good businesg, and it ftj would be for the Minister for Public Wctk*, «"'■■] to look into this anomaly. He wo%ld S;J like to go over the ground himself wfcra i next he visited Taranaki. The matter, ssi obviously, was of national importance. Money was an essential factor in all f,4 these works. fie was not going to v: plead poverty in his capacity of Minister ■ > - for Finance, but he could not provide all the money that was f.} asked for. It was a fact that the xe»' i quests that had been made to him by ; 'V ; local bodies and others represented & i.< suggested expenditure of about £100,• ' 000,000 for the current financial rear. f. Expenditure at that rate was out of the question. If he was able, as Minister for Finance, to provide £25,000,000 tide' year, £10,000,000 of which would be te- > : f quired for the renewal of lone falling v ~jj due at the end of the year, he would ba' vi doing well. I LABOR THE SOLUTION".

Development 'was highly important,, but it wan a fact to be remembered t|at " owing to the shortage of labor, and thai high cost of materials, the and the local bodies were not getrtisf ' full value for all the money they mrs ■ spending just now. "We should think seriously of where we are getting to," said Mr, JSatttJf. ■. "We are piling up an enormous burihn ' of debt, and we have to look Nobody is more anxious than lam to , see development, not merely in Taranwci, L 5 but in every part of New Zealand. Xa many cases neither the Government nor { the local bodies are spending the mpney ! passing through their hands to the belt advantage. My own opinion, is that the .•, < trouble will Dot be remedied until ire «*fj a much larger population With a fcradti '1 larger number of men to undertake work that is waiting is every part of 1 1 this country." 'U'l The Prime Minister added that the - S Government would do its best to carry ' | on all necessary works, and the people J of Taranaki would get their full sham i] of the public expenditure. '' 1