THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1912 THE MIDLAND RAILWAY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10713, 20 November 1912, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1912 THE MIDLAND RAILWAY.

One of the -most gigantic blunders that have been perpetrated in the history of the public works of this Dominion is that pertaining to the Midland Railway. From its very inception, the undertaking has been doomed to failure. When engineers went over the proposed route, they brought down a report which was of an optimistic character, and which, induced.the investment of .hundreds, of. thousands of pounds of British capital in a scheme that brought ruin to many. . The fate that befel the Midland Railway Company 'is too well known to require detailed reference. It is a thousand pities that the late Mr Seddon, yielding to local and outside influences, decided that the project should be continued at the expense of the State. Even when the line is completed—if ever it should be completed—it will hardly pay the cost of axle-grease. Up till the present time, including the amount spent by or on behalf of the Midland Company, no less a sum than £l,432,613 has been expended Vfii the construction of the line between Brunner and Springfield. The interest on this amount, at 4 per cent., comes to something like £57,000 ayear. The unfortunate part of the wretched business is, that unless the lino is completed a largo portion of this interest will be an annual charge upon the Dominion without a penny being secured in return. The experience over the Otira tunnel has beeu a bitter one for the contractors, largely in consequence of the extortionate demands made by the labourers employed. The Government is now, as it were, between the Devil and the deep sea. If it abandons the work entirely, it will m-eaß , a loss which

the Dominion cannot afford to bear. If it continues the project, it will inquire to borrow a largo sum of money and starve other important public works for yeaa\s to come. It is estimated that the cost of the Otira tunnel alone willbo £750,000, or 50 per rent, above tho .estimate of the engineers. That tho work is a national one. goes without saying; but it is deplorable to think that pa.st Ministries have been so devoid of bacboone as to permit the prosecution of an undertaking beset with so many engineering difficulties, and possessing shcli restricted possibilities for the future. However, tho position has to be faced. The present Government cannot allow matters to remain as Miev are. They must choose the lesser '-f two evils, and. that is undoubtedly the completion of tho line. The Committee of tho Hon.se which investigated the Otira tunnel contract, has recommended that tenders be invited 'or the completion of -the contract, and Mint in the meantim" the Government carry on the work. This recommendation is. a very wisp one', for it will enable the Government to judge whether it would be mire profitable, to eorr- ! r>lete the undertaking itself, or tJo Jet i the work by tender. The probabilii ties are that, in view of the cxporiof MeTioan Bros, arrl t-b» unsettled state of the labour market, contractors will be shv in tendering. Still, an opportunity should be given contractors to •tender for the work.. The country will experience a sensation of relief when the whole bungling project is out of hand, and tho connection is made between the East and West Coasts. Tho Midkuid will stand as an. everlasting monument to tho incapacity of pa st Governments and to the incompetence of engineers. There are other railways in the Dominion which have been constructed for political reasons, and which will be a permanent tax upon tho community. Thej-e is not one, however, that has failure written so plainly upon it as this wretched, money-devouring Midland bungle.