The Tuapeka Times. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20,1870. "Measures, not Men."

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 141, 20 October 1870, Page 5

The Tuapeka Times. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1870. "Measures, not Men."

traffic of the Southern Goldfields of Otago to her favourite Bluff; but she must keep in mind that Dunedin is in the position of a strong man who will have his own way, and it would not at all suit his purpose to fall in with such views. Our contemporary asks if it is true that Mr. Macandrew recommended the Tuapeka railway scheme. We answer, in the affirmative, he did ; and we may further state that Mr. Macandrew dared not" do otherwise, Whatever the " Charmer " may promise to do for Southland during his present visit to that now-aspiring dependency of Otago, his political existence depends upon the agrandizement of Dunedin. Let him or any other man attempt to rob Dunedin of its prestige, and we say farewell to his political influence in Otago. Besides being the main road to Mount Benger, the Dunstan, Cromwell and Queenstown, and therefore the natural route for a line of railway, there are political reasons, and these very strong ones, why the Tuapeka railway should be constructed years before the Winton- Wakatipu one. The course of events, we feel confident, will prove the truth of our assertions.

Our contemporary the " Southland Times," who has been a great antiunionist in the recent discussions as to the reunion of Otago and Southland, is very much afraid the agitation in the Tuapeka district for a railway from Tokomairiro to Lawrence, will affect Southland's chances of the proposed railway from Winton to Wakatipu being carried out. In a summary of Tuapeka news our contemporary says : — " The railway diversion " (the italics are ours), "and water supply schemes continue to be agitated with all the effect the committee can bring to bear upon the subjects." Would that we could say the same. The Committee, so far as we are aware, have either fallen asleep, or their confidence in the success of their scheme and the generosity of the Government is so great, that they do not consider it necessary to take any further steps in the matter. It is very amusing to notice the name our contemporary has dubbed the Tuapeka railway scheme. He designates it the "diversion" scheme. We should like much to know our contemporary's definition of the word diversion as used by him. Can a scheme, the realisiation of which would be of the utmost advantage to a population nearly double that of all Southland put together, as compared with another scheme proposing the construction of a railway from one village to another, be called a diverson scheme ? — surely not; but this our contemporary appears to think. The main roads of the country, our contemporary should remember, are not those which were mapped out by surveyors in byegone times before gold was discovered in the country, but rather those which have been called into existence by the force of circumstances, and are now the main arteries of a large and increasing traffic, such as that from Dunedin to Tokomairiro, or from Tokomairiro to Tuapeka and the Dunstan. If there is any district of the country more than another requiring a line of railway, surely it is the one most densly populated, which contributes the largest revenue, and from which there would be some hope of the interest on the borrowed money being realised. On these grounds alone the Tuapeka Railway Committee may justly demand to be heard first, — at all events in preference to those who have projected a scheme for a railway from Winton to Wakatipu, which is indeed a genuine diversion scheme. It would be interesting to know the origin of this WintonWakatipu scheme, — who are the owners of the land along the proposed route ; how much of it is in the hands of the parties who constructed the Winton railway ; and what secret influences are at work in advocating such a monstrously absurd scheme. We should have thought that in taking Southland's liabilities on its shoulders and the responsibility of a railway from Invercargill to the Mataura, Otago had taken in hand as much as Southland could ask for with becoming modesty ; but it is always surprising to note the unblushing impudence of little people, little provinces, or little nations. The attempt on the part of Southland to assume such amazing proportions in a day, forcibly reminds us of the fable of the frog which, in its attempts to blow itself out to the size of the cow, burst in the effort. Doubtless it would be a comforting thought for Southland if she could see a near prospect of diverting the