THE AUCKLAND-WELLINGTON RAILWAY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1068, 8 May 1882, Page 2

THE AUCKLAND-WELLINGTON RAILWAY.

(From the Hawke's Bay Herald).

There will be a determined attempt next session to log-roll the Auckland - I Wellington trunk line on to the schedule of the ljoan 'is 'almost'' o'o'rtam to he introduced, The Auckland papers pot that down as" the first duty of man," when man happens to] represent an Auckland constituency. Indeed, it seems to be about settled in the-north that the lino" will" get on the achfidaje, the question now under discussion being the route the line shall take. The original proposal was to carry it along the coast line to Taranaki, and if Major Atkinson has his way that is the route the line will take, That would involve the fundamental error of following the wait line, which means competing with waffo carriage, and opening-up comparatively little country, and that, it is said, of the I poorest quality. Whether rich or poor the wble of that land is in the hands of the natives, and to construct a line there now wouid be simply enriching the Maoris at the expense of the Europeans. Besides, the line could not pay for years' to come, and there has already been far too muoh uproduotive expenditure in Taranaki. The Auckland papers advocate the continuation of. the Botorna Railway Company V line to Taupo, and thence to Marlon, Rangit'ikei. By "Taupo"iß apparently meant the country now held by Messrs Moorhouse and Co.-not the township of that name. It is alleged that there are far ieweiengineering difficulties on that route, that for a great part of the route the country is already settled, and that there are large areas of Crown' lands to be tapped, Tho Taranaki papers'are, of course, wild and abusive at this proposal, ani! charge the Auckland joumalß with being In the

W of tho "huge laud-sharking frator Jlity who own a great part of the shares in the Rotorua Railway Company. Now, wa don't care one fig which line is adopwd, provided that it is the best. We . have had raoro than enough of " political railways," and if tho Taupo route is the better of tho two now proposed, let that be tho route, Taranaki's solfish barking notwithstanding, And more-wo hopo f that no lino will bo authorised until tho laud along tho routo has become the property of tho Crown ov Europeans, and until there is somo prospect of tho railway paying.