Thames Railway Committee.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3641, 27 August 1880, Page 2

Thames Railway Committee.

A meeting of the Thames Railway Committee, convened by Dr Kilgour, was held at the Borough Council Chambers, iv consequence of the receipt of a telegram from Mr Speight stating that Government intended to devote the vote of £15,000 to the construction of a line between Gambridge and Hamilton. Amongst those present were Dr Kilgour (who occupied the Chair), Messrs Brodie, McCullough, Osborne, Kead, Dean, Aitken, Cocks and others.

The Chairman bavins; introduced the business by reading Mr Speight's telegram, said that the proposed line would start from a point four miles from Hamilton, and would not go to Morrinsvitle. It did not seem to him to be logical on the part of the Government to make a railway along the banks of the Waikato £iver, which was far more navigable than the Thames.

Mr McCullough drafted' a resolution protesting against the action of the Government, but several members thought it too mild, and it was not put. Mr Brodie said that the railways being constructed, by the Government in Auckland province would not pay—some of them not even grease for the wheels. The Thames people were too apathetic, and had themselves to blame for the stoppage of the railway, as they had employed themselves fighting other people's battles, instead of looking after iheir own interests. He showed that the Thames was entitled to £1,000,000 on public works expenditure, and referred in strong terms to the action of the Railway Commissioners who, he said, had decided adversely against the Thames line before seeing the district, and even the questions asked by the Commissioners while here were, all against the railway. They did uot want to hear anything iv its favor.

After some further irreraleut discus*

sion, the Chairman, with Messrs Brodie and MeCullough, were appointed a committee to draw up telegrams for transmission to the Government, the Thames representatives, and to Mr Speight. The Committee met and drew up the following telegram, copies of which were sent as directed by the resolution of the the meeting:—" Thames and Waikato Railway Committee are informed that Railway Construction Bill provides for construction of line to Cambridge instead of to Omaha by means of vote taken for latter. The Committee protest against this act of injustice to this community, which has been already completely deceived by the stoppage of the ThamesWaikato line already undertaken, whereby also much individual loss has been occasioned. The line to Cambridge will certainly be of less public .advantage than that to.. Thames, which, moreover, has justly to complain of the niggardly amount of public money expended in this district.—J. Kilgottb, Chairman."