THE PROPOSED OVERLAND RAILWAY.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 225, 23 May 1872, Page 8

THE PROPOSED OVERLAND RAILWAY.

Commenting on the above project, the- I " South Australian Advertiser" says :— " What is intended is for an English company to undertake the work, receiving as compensation for its construction a large grant of land on each side of the line, in-alternate blocks. We understand the colony will be asked to grant 200,000,000 of acres in 35 alternate blocks as the price' of the construction of the .line. This, appears, at first sight, to be a. large quantity of land to hand over in feeTsimple. to any company ; but it is necessary to bear in mind the risk which any company would undertake in entering upon a'great scheme of this kind. Allowing for deviation if can hardly be expected that the line could be made shower than about 2000 miles, and it is said to be by no means improbable that it would cost in construction £10,000 per mile. This would give a cost of £20,000,000 for' construction alone/ It is possible that these figures are overstated both as to the distance and cost per mile. ,, If .the, project be carried out,. it is certain to- be followed up by the' other colonies, who would *. extend their existing lines of railway to some central and convenient point— such as Wentworth— where they could all converge, and thus clear communication .would bp established^, from all the colonies, to J:he itorth of Australia, which.

wonld bring the. produce of the A\ustralias into the neighbourhood of a large market — the Malay AroMpelago. In those islands there is a population of something like 25,000,000, and many of their wants might be supplied from these colonies. If the line were opened, it would, of course, carry the European mails, and the. large subsidy now paid to the P. & O. Company would be transferred to the railway company, which would enable them'to pay a considerable part of the working expenses. There would be, by this overland route, a saving of something like seven days for passengers and mails. The journey to Europe would then be in a truer sense than it is now an overland journey. The passage from Port Darwin to England is through comparatively smooth waters, and thus the long sea voyage would be shorn of many of its terrors. If the line were really commenced, it would introduce an immense number of immigrants, without cost, to the colony All the workmeneraployed in construction would probably settle here, and, to make the scheme payable, the company would be bound to introduce large numbers of settlers and fix them on the land. If successful at all, the company would have to be much more than a railway company — they would have to be a great colonising company, with industrial operations branching out on every hand. It should be observed that the men who are taking up the scheme are not mere penniless adventurers. They are men of substance and of high commercial reputation — notnieresangninespeculators. butshrewd businessmen, who know what they are about. The scheme may be Utopian, but the projectors are at least entitled to a hearing. The colony is asked to give nothing but land, and land is the cheapest thing we have to give, and that which we have in most abundance. If the scheme can be carried out, it will assist us in the settlement of many difficulties which now loom before us. Tt will give value to the Northern Territory, assist in the productiveness of the Telegraph line, settle the country from Port Augusta to Port Darwm, bring us into closer relations with the other colonies, and give an identity of interest to all ; and, it may be, lead the way to a future federation of all the Australian provinces."