Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1911. DEPUTATION TO THE MINISTER.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10211, 13 April 1911, Page 4

Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1911. DEPUTATION TO THE MINISTER.

The deputation which waited upon the Minister for Public Works in Masterton last evening cannot, by the greatest stretch, of the imagination, be considered ito have scored' a brilliant achievement. It went , to the Minister with a good case, it is true; but it now has reason to feel that "'Oiessed is he who expecteth little, for verily he shall not be disappointed." The deputation did not expect very much, judging by its numerical strength, and it has no reason to feel disappointed. So far as the Rimutaka deviation is concerned, the Minister made it quite clear that this is a national, and not a. local undertaking. As was pointed out in these columns after the deputation recently visited Wellington, the whole of .the East Coast is interested in the project. It is the duty, therefore, of the Chambers of Commerce and public bodiesi ail along the line to agitate vigorously until a vote is placed upon the estimates for this important work. The Minister did not attempt, to sliorw that the project was not financially a good' one. Indeed, he inclined to the belief that it was. He sheltered himself, however, behind the Minister for Railways, and expressed the opinion that the work came within the jurisdiction of the Hon. J. A. Millar, and not of himself. This is a question of pure detail. The undertaking is a national one, and if it is necessary, the Minister of .Works should Jos© no time In impressing its importance upon/ his colleagues. In regard to the opening up of the country between Masterton and Pongaroa, the Minister says that the population does not warrant a railway at present. The country, he says, is occupied by too Few people, an 1 the settlement of the land should

precede tlie construction of a railway. This is quite a new policy so far as the Government is concerned, and one which will doubtless be canvassed in regard to its application to the Gisborne-Napier and other lines. How much population is there between Napier and. Gisborne? How much is there between Picton and North Canterbury? How much on other lines which are proposed to be constructed? The Labour Ministry of the Commonwealth has recently announced that it intends that railways shall precede settlement. The Government of Canada has decided similarly. New Zealand, however, which leads the world in progressive legislation, requires population before it can put down a railway. It is nothing to the Minister of Works that a million acres of land require opening up. It is nothing to him that scores of small .settlers in the backblocks require access to markets. He must have population, or he will not give a railway. The policy is novel, to say the least of it, and will doubtless form the subject for discussion in botii Press andi Parliament. Meanwhile, Masterton has only one course open to it, and that is to hope that by some mysterious dispensation the J large estates away from markets and civilisation will become populated."