THE WEST COAST RAILWAY.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXII, Issue 9198, 19 August 1880, Page 2

THE WEST COAST RAILWAY.

! — j — ♦ , . ■ { : ; Mr E. G. Wright, one of the Boyal Commissioners on Railways and member for Coleridge, in defending tbo Report of the Commission in the House, referred to tbat part relating to Wellington in the following terms : — Very much had been said upon the question of the Wellington and Foxtoa Kailway, but he would show how much or how little claim the people of Wellington had to the prosecution of that line by way of Paikakariki. The member for Eangitikei spoke of the projeot as if the only question to be solved was how he could reach his own door by a shorter route. But there was something 'more than that : there was the question of opening up the country and communication with Napier. Stress had been laid upon the Tact that the settlers of Foxtoa. and Manawatu ■would have to send 1 their goods round by Woodville. He took it that little or no goods would go from Foxton to Wellington by rail, as the former place possessed a port, and goods could be forwarded by water at 10s per ton to Wellington.- The absence of; this line therefore would create no very great hardship. He would show that the land by Masterton and ■ Woodville 'was' at least worth twice as much aB the .whole district from Paikakariki to Manawatu. Wellington knew perfectly well that the route from Masterton to Woodville and onwards to Napier miißt eventually be carried out; that that route had a prior claim'; and' all the effortß they were now making to secure the Foxton line were induced by a desire foroxpen-. diture of public money in this distriot.' Wellington/it had been shown on many occasions, had received much more than a fair share of public expenditure. The member for Wellington city — Mr Levin -'had stated that the Commissioners had travelled from Foxton to Horo■whenua on' a foggy day, and were not able to see the district. Well, he might say it was a very clear day, and 'they thoroughly enjoyed the ride ; and 'they also took the trouble to ascend two hills, in order to obtain a thorough view of the district. Discredit had been thrown upon the evidence of Mr Fraßi, but he was convinced that that evidence was given in an honest and reliable manner, and was confirmed by Mr Stewart, the District Engineer. Mr Frasi had stated that the district was composed of sand and swamp ; ancl speaking' of the Qpen land between Paikakariki and Manawatu lie was strictly correct, Ho (tko speaker) had

heard much about .Otaki— well, it was only an oasis in a deaert. After quoting from the evidence to show that. Mr Stewart confirmed the statoment s of Mr Frasi, Mr Wright asserted that oa the Masterton and Woodville route there was a preponderance of- freehold and Crown lands, almost in proportion of 4 to 1 as compared with the Foxton route. He was not surprised that some of the junior members of the Assembly, when spoakins oa a question of such moment, should be carried away by a desire to put themselves right with their, constituent, but he was astonished that a veteran stitesman, suck as the hon member for Rangitikei, could not divest himself of' narrow selfish con» sidrrations, and should advocate a line of railway sitiply because it approached hid own district l.y a shorter route, and, further, that he should 1 advocate that as asjainst (he best interests of the colony. What " coHsideialioa" had Wellington for this tno-l'old expense. It would be found from the tables attached to the report that the Wellinßton-Fcatherston section— 4s m/ilea — which had oost the colony £514,000, produced a per centage on the co3t of construction of 132. Taking this as correct, it would be seen that the railway does not pay oao penny, and yet Wellington was. clamourous for [a competing line. • : Something had been said about the capacity of the present line for increased traffic. Eefercnce to the evidence of Mr Ashcroft as to the capabilities of the Fell Incline would show that that gentleman had stated it would carry, five times the present traffic with scarcely any additional cost, except perhaps in./ the matter of coal, which would not be very great, and at an additional charge of twopence per ton on rill produce taken ever the line/ .It was evident, therefore, the more trafno .that could be, put upon' that line,' the more profitable would it be to the colony, and it was with that view the Commissioners advocated the extension of a line into a district which would give the best results. Lator on, Mr Brandon made a few remarks upon the Welling-ton-Foxton_Railway, and accused one of the Commissioners of showing very strong prejudice against this route, and a determination not to . ascertain the merits of the line, but rather to put before his .fellow, Commissioners all'the demerits he possibly could. Mr Walter Johnston had a few remarks to make 'against the report of the Commission as regards the provincial district of Wellington. He deprecated the action of the Government last year in accepting a contract of £50,000 for a section of the West Coast line, and then shortly after cancelling it. Thiß t was done on the pretext that the Government had to economise the balance of the loan, and yet shortly afterwards Mr Oliver came to the House to ask its sanction to spend £408,000 out of the loan on private property in the Middle Island. He did not 'attach much importance to tbe recommendations of the Commissioners, and .he did not think it worth while the House coming to any resolution upon them ; but an impression was gaining ground in the Provincial District of Wellington up to the limits of Taranaki, that the Government wero treating this part of the district somewhat unfairly, and he thought with, very good foundation in fact.