WELLINGTON FARMERS' FREEZING COMPANY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9590, 9 September 1909, Page 5

WELLINGTON FARMERS' FREEZING COMPANY.

Afc. IMPORTANT MATTER.

To the Editor. 1 Sir,—Re Railway Facilities and the Wellington Farmers' Freezing Company: It appears to me that the advocates of the Pigeon Bush site have neglected to take into consideration a very important factor —viz., the lines on which the railway systems of both the iUast and West Coasts will be developed. All railway engineers are aware of the fact that the carrying capacity of a single line of railway is very limited, and it is acknowledged the Manawatu line will, in a comparatively short time be up to its full power; in fact it is probable that the coming season will tax all its resources. It i« obvious therefore that the Government smust, in the very near future, face the of either duplicating the Manawatu line from Palmerston North to the South —or making the long talked of Rimutaka Diversion. One does not require to be an expert railway engineer to know which will be the least expensive in either construction, or working costs. With the diversion an accomplished fact, and a certain amount of re-grading between Mauriceville and Eketahuna to ease the somewhat stiff banks that have to be negotiated on that section, the Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa traffic could be carried as cheap ■ ly as on the Manawatu via the Gorge. The shunting and assembling of traffic to and from the Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay at Palmarston North and Woodviile must add considerably to working expenses, to say nothing of the delay, anl> with the suggested diversion that item would be cut out. Assuming at any rate that sooner or later the Rimutaka incline will be a thing of the past, then Pigeon Bush becomes a "cockspur" line —the most expensive and inconvenient of lines to work. I am of the opinion that the local Chamber of Commerce would be taking a wise step if in conjunction with the allied bodies from Napier to Wellingon it thoroughly threshed out the question of the future development of the transport facilities for the Hawke's Bay and Wai • rarapa, and immediate pressure brought to bear on tho powers that be to abolish that magnificent but mistaken piene of railway engineering—the Rimutaka incline. —I am, etc., ENGINEER. Masterton, Bth Sept., 1909.

Tu the Edilor,

Sir,—ln reply to "A Resident's" letters dated August 26th and August 30th, I consider it is a great pity that he did not select "law" as his profession, for if he had done so with his great capability of defending and pleading for a weak and hopeless case, he would have gained fame and renown far and wide, and my only regret is that he is not doing that which I am endeavouring to do, that is, writing on behalf of the interests of the Company instead of Featherston. If "A Resident" would alsj tear himself 1 away from his dearly beloved Featherston and travel North during the summer months ha would have his own eyes opened and find thai; the northern counties were not as he states, stocked with store 3 and

breeding ewes. At every station he passed he would be surprised to see the large numbers of "fats" that were being trucked, and long before he reached Napier he would learn that" Featherston wad one of the smallest instead of, as he at present states, the largest "fats" producing county. In comparing the numbers of aheep which he states left Featherston and Masterton stations with official railway returns, I find they are not correct. lhe returns for Featherston for 1909 is 185,497, and not 190,000 as stated; Greytown 9,223, but the actual number of "fats" sent away from Grevtown was over 50,000, so therefore 40,777 were driven from Greytown to Featherston and booked as Feather- | ston sheep, so when deducted it would make the actual number of Feathers_ ton sheep leaving Featherston" 144,720. In taking the distances of the two sites from Greyown Post Office, I find that Pigeon Bush is thirteen miles, while the Waingawa site is only ten, therefore it is three miles nearer for the 50,000 Greytown

sheep to be driven to the Waingawa. The number put down for Carterton is 179,805, but of that number 90,000 were trucked at the Meat Export's yards at the Waingawa, so therefore the actual number trucked at Carterton is 89,805. and the Masterton returns are IGG.GSB, and not j 154,456 aa he states. The Meat Export tru?k all the sheep they draw from Masterton at the Waingawa yards, so when the 90,000 js deducted from Carterton and added to Masterton it brings the Masterton county output, to 25G.G58, so you see Sir, ''Mr Resident" is very misleading when he states that Featherston sends away 04,554 "fats" mor<2 than Masterton during the yaar, while on the other hand tiie railway returns prove that Masterton sends away 111, more tiian Featherston, not counting the northern portion of the Masterton county, for as the hulk of the sheep drawn from that portion are taken through Dryer's Rock and trucked at Mauriee- ■ ville. with the works at the Wai-

ngawa they would be driven down the Wangaehu and not trucked. Now, Sir, we cannot get any more absolute proof of which would be the most central of the two sites for the Wairarapa and Masterton than the returns of the sheep trucked, and the road distances Irom each town to the sites proposed. The Pigeon Bush L site being at the extreme end of the district would only be of advantage to Featherston, which actually sends away 144,720. On the otner hand the Waingawa site which is nearer to Greytown, Carterton and Masterton, which produces 396,463, therefore the Waingawa site nas the big advantage of 232,743 sheep to draw from, which would be driven direct to the works; that is not counting the northern part of Masterton, which would probably be another 60.00 C. With regard to trucking on the one side there is only Featherston to consider, while on the northern side there is Mauriceville, Eketahuna, Pahiatua, Woudviile and Dannevirke, each ot those counties producing as maDy or more sheep than Featherston, and also a greater proportion of shareholders. Weber is the farthest north, and out of 100,000 sheep 61,000 are owned by shareholders, which is a much larger percentage than those owned by shareholders in the Featherston county, it would be imposing just as much on each of those counties to have to truck the extra distance from Waingawa to Featherston as it would be from Featherston for Featherdton to truck to the Waingawa, so therefore in deciding the site wa must consider the greater number, that is the northern counties. In "A Resident's'* letter dated August 26th he states tha Masterton arid Carterton butchers could draw their supplies from Pigeon Bush. Well, sir, can you imagine the Masterton butchers driving 28 miles and carting the meat back each morning, and Carterton 39 miles. These are the distances from each town to Pigeon bush. Such a suggestion is absolutely absurd, and not worth a second consideration. By stating that I would like all the local industry in Masterton, his legal qualities break out again, for when a lawyer succeeds in raising strife he reaps his harvest at the expense of his clients. Therefore "A Resident" is endeavouring to raise strife between Masterton and Carterton to further his own ends at the expense of the company. With regard to the Carterton Show it is that Society that I happen to bo a member of, so in that instance he is barking up the wrong tree. As to the cheese factory I consider it in the very right place doing pioneer work, a boon to the settlers and a credit to its directors. If a curing factory was worked in conjunction with the freezing works the fanner would have his pigs killed and cured at the lowest rates, his by-products used up to the best advantage, and his bacon put on the market in the best condition to obtain the highest po-isible price. Now, Sir, the Waingawa site is one question which Masterton aid Carterton can shake hands over, as each town would derive advantages from tha works. If the works were established at Waingawa a certain amount of trade would find its way into Carterton, especially as Carterton being a licensed area it would be a more attractive business place to those who prefer to do business in a license area. Thanking you for space.—l am, etc., OBSERVER Masterton, September Bth, 1909.