Otago Central Railway.

Waikato Argus, Volume XXIV, Issue 3751, 7 April 1908, Page 2

Otago Central Railway.

By Telegraph.—Press Association. Duncdin, Last Night. The Prime Minister received a deputation from the Otago Central Railway League, which urged continuation of the Otago Central railway. Mr W. Burnett, chairman of the league, said if the railway was carried on it would open up 50,000 acre:i of Crown lands, which the Government would not have to buy. The Government could at once put 1000 farmers there. Mr W. Gow, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, said that they did not look to Lake Wanaka as the end of the line, and they were curious to know whether the Government had made any inspections or enquiry as to the kind of country to be met witn on the other side of the Haast Pass. They looked to the time when the line would be the main thoroughfare of the South Island by way of the West Coast. The country was very much belter than was generally considered, and the prospects of settlement were very much better than anyone could conceive. The whole of the land along the West Coast was Crown land, available for settlement without purchase. Other speakers pointed out that with irrigation and the railway Otago Central would advance greatly in the near future.

The Prime Minister, in reply, said he could not tell them what the Government would do with regard to any extensions of railways when next year's Estimates we>-e submitted. The Government had a diilicult problem, and the country would have to' realise the necessity of being reasonable in its demands. Regarding the Otago Central line, since he had been in Parliament, 21 years, he found that there had been an average of over £60,000 a year' spent on that line, bringing the total to date to £1,270,918, and there was a small amount pui, on the Estimates last year. The Government had to consider, next session, whether it was to go beyond the amount it had set aside for railways, to the extent of £1,140,000. The sum of £330,000 was on the Estimates for the Norli Island Main Trunk this year, and it would probably require £170,000 to finish it. He was going through Otago Central with responsible engineers, chiefly with the object of benefiting by their advice on the matter of irrigation and also with a view of having a further look into the general surroundings of the country. When the Government dealt with the general allocations for railways, and saw how much it could fairly allocate, Otago would receive every consideration.