RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8262, 16 October 1906, Page 3

RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.

MASTERTON TO WAIPUKURAU.

Messrs P. Neilsen, James McDonald and P. i>. Tuoker, Introduced fey Meosrs Hogg and Dillon, waited on the Minister for Railways, on Saturday morning, and brought under hiß notice the advisablenesß of having a light line of railway constructed from Maaterton to Waipukurau. It wai mentioned that Pongaroa, through which such a line would pass, was forty miles from the nearest railway station, and that it oosts B8 much to onrt goods from Pabiatun 1o Pougaroa ns it does to ship cargoes from Wellington to London, namely, £5 per ton. The western side of the suggested line was closely settled by Crown tenants; the eastern side of the country was mainy held by large land-ownorH. The deputation did not suggest that the line should be constructed immediately, beoauee they recognised the paramount claims of the North Island Main Trunk line and tbe Midland railway. They urged, however, that this line should bo authorised in the next Railways Authorisation Bill, and the work proceeded with as soon as the finances of the country would permit. This line would pn?B thro nab three electorate* and four counties. At the present time the settlers were able to send their produce to market for threo months of the year only, ibe dairy ing industry was flourishing in the district. In addition a large aiea of milling timber would bo tapped by the suggested lino. The Hnn. Hall Jones said he qnlte realisod that the settlers in the district referred to were to a large extent handicapped by want of facilities to bring their produce to market. They must, however, recognise that the North Islnuci Main Trunk railway was the most important work in band at the pro sent time. There were practically only twelve miles of that line on which they were working. In a short while they hoped to have the construction work going on over the whole of tbe uncompleted portion.. To show them the energy with which the work was now being pursued, he mentioned that the deoartment bad three separate engineers in charge of three separate seutions. A vote for the line suggested by the deputation was absolutely out of tbe question. That, he was sure, they would reoog. nise. Ihe difficulty, too, was that tbo lino would run alongside several large estates, and the Government was not going to build railways \.o increase the value of large estates in this country. liefore anything was done in the way of authorisation he would communicate with the Minister nf Lands, with a view to seeing if any of tbe estates referred to could be acquired foi settlement. He added tnat the Government intended carrying on the work that was started by the late Sir Jcbn MoKeuzie and Mr Seddon in regard to land settlement. There waß to be no cessation of the policy of acquiring large estates for settlement, and that policy would be vigorously pursued.