A ROAD POLICY MEETING.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1830, 3 November 1884, Page 2

A ROAD POLICY MEETING.

A public meeting was held in theTheatte Id.yal on Saturday on ler th* auspices of the North Wtirarapi Com y Settlers' Asso in« tion, to o ii aider the advisability of sending a deputation lo Gove nnient to urge a satisfactory Ho id and Settlement Polity in connection with 'ocal Government. Mr \i. Meredith occupied ihe chair ar.d real the sdve-tisenvnt sailing the meeting, fie said the subject was • undoubtedly one of vast importance and deep interest.' It was a matter of regret that such shirt notice hat b;en given o; the meeting. Had the country settleis ou'y knowii in time, instead of suoh a sparce me ting they would have had a crowdedhouse, He osllcd upon Mr Hawking to introdu;o the subject for' whioh they were, met.

Mr Hawkins .(aid: I must first express my satisfaction at'having the chair occupied by oqa of the oldett settlers of the county. I am'glad to have his countenance, When I oame to Masterton four years ago I was told that you were jupt emerging from a disastrous depression, that younad got rid of a reoklees aumiiiistia.ion, and had Btarted on a course of retrenchment, economy, and reform which uas soon to stop at; financial leaks, restore prosperity, fill your shops with customers and your lillß w,th moiiey. Well, gentlemen, I have been looking for the figua of the realization of these goldaa dreams, and looked in vain. The only addition to Masterton that I have been able to discover Beeini to have teen the additiin to its y&utalul p ipulation, and charming ind delightful a< babies are we find that they ao not m-xpeiißt'U p.eusures, and giow into boyd an I gitls who nqii.re to beej-.tbed ami kl, I \y.iß wrong i-j Bi)iug taere was only one addition, there is also a considerable addition to the taxes a»d rata, and I Jo not find that the bap.y device resulted to hy the chi-f local authority of dividing 'berates into Bj..eoiil «ni separate, and ceneral has any perceiti le (Seel; in dininshing the tital, Ofono thing I am fairly cuitain, that there is in Masterton no poiceitible addition to that valuable medium " r j ady ui.iuey." Now, it seems to me, that when it uan be said of a colonial town like Masterton, situate in a commanding positin, BurroUDded by pastoral and ngneuhural districts, not only of wide extent, but consisting almost entirely of lauds of exerptiotial fertility, that during four years it has made no appreoiab e advance in wealth and prosperity, it ought to be possible to trace oat some cause for eo disagneable a phenomenon, and I do not think that it will be difficult at any rate to place our linger upon one cause, and that a pi city substantial one, The late administrati <n attributed our troubles to our want of thuit, snd wnen I la'h-.-r indignantly icudhttd this charge, I iw.B told in a letter in one of your daily pipers that it was rain", to drink-that drink was want of thrift. vVel), there is much truth in that, but I think that when we have discounted the drunkards from the population of the town and oonntiy, we fha'l find there remains a pretty considerable number of psrsons of ail classes, whose life isonoof mideration, sobriety, thrift, and hard work, a id who Btill find it no easy matter to make two ends meet, much more pat by that pr i' ision for sickness, old age, or voadinjy disaster, which every goo I and honest c jlonV, gentle or simple, desires to do, Thd true chief causa of .the want of prosperity in my judgment is the want of development of thu land industry-that land industry is the great staple of our trade, the Bource out of whioh ~ur wealth must grow. We have two means by which we can increase this wea'.th, Ist the better cultivation and ecttaemy of the resource of tbe lwdnotf in

occupation, and 2nd the setlletmnt of the waste lands ot tho district. It is indisputable that whether we tike the large or the email holdings, the sheep farm of 10,000 acres or tho email settlement holding of one single acre, for one holding the resources of which; are fully developed; there are twenty of which they are not half developed, and many of which they are not developed at all. As to the pastoral lands, you have only to travel ton miles tout of this town on any side, and on'the'-rough hill side, covered with bush, fern, prrliti.ee. you have inefutable proof of what I say,'while the fact tnat the district grows neither,"oats, wheat, uotatoes, nor fruit for the supply of it 3 «wn population, precludes tha small farm settler raid cottager from claiming that he .has doue his best by his land, and: .from throwinp Btonfs at the pastoral firmer. What is, needed to change this ? First the industries must pay, which a'so involves the necessity for facilities for getting at the .land, and fur getting produce to market—l mean good roads, I think we have oleaily arrive;l at the Btngo that tho pastoral, agricultural, and fruit industries can be made to pay—it you can get constant and convenient access to markets (cheers.) 'l'he day is gone by when it will pay to pack wool on horseback (cheers), and if fat sheep are to be put on lo the railway trucks in good condition for the frozen meat market, they'mnst not swim in win'er through cold rivers, or be travelled for days through slough) of mire, nearly up to their bellies, If the small' settler is to produce pigs, poultry, eggs, or fruit, and make a profit by them, he mutt have a gool metal road to travel oil the whole twelvo mouths of the year ('heers'.) s If the farmer is to brojk up land, and grow corn-aud turnips he must have good metal roads on which hii michinery aud cultivation implement' may travel, a road to the smithy and a road for h ; s produce to market, Without roadß no produce, without produce no wea'th, wi'hout wetlth Maaterton.stands still (hear! hear I) Now we have not only these lands, but we also have considerably over 300.000 acres*of Waste L'lhds of the public domain to a great extent of s ich rare fertility aa to constitute a mme of wialih, comparable to agoldmine, except that its value is certain and not speculative. 1 was pr sent the other day ia the Club Hotel, wht-n a gentleman from Oamaru, wtose name stands amoiig tho highest in tne colony for practicil''knowledge of Blie-p and "attle farming, declared lo the member for luvereargill that iu his opinion the whole country from Mastcrfcon to Napier with very slight exception was—taking soil and climate—without comparison the most magnificent pastoral district iu tho who'e oolony (Bear, hear I and cheers), and I believe it, and of all the lower half of this Matterton is the chief town, and yet Masterton is poor. Mow, I thick a great mistake has been made lo bring ab«ut this condition. Wo are all deeply iudebted to Mr Bremner tor the grr at pains he b«8 taken and the professional skill he has devoted to the maps whtih hing on the wall, They represent many niuhts of very hard work, and are complied with ve r y great ca-c from information gained from various sources, Now look at that map, The yellow iim-e indicate loads which have been made, the black liius, roads laid off, and tho dotted lim-s contemplated roads, or loads which he thiuks ousjit to bo made. How \ou will observe that in all that largß extent of country time is only one coitiuuous road formed, and it is the only road in the Coanty metalled and br dged throughout. It is one of the best—if not the best-road iu the County, and it is said to have co*t £IUU,OOOI of colonial money. The settlers on its route have, I believe, never been called on to pay one ponny tor its construction, nor, 1 believe till last year for itß repair, Now, it is a remaikitblo thing that though we havo rich waste lands in the Ifangitumau Block close to Masterton, though we have rich lands in the Puketoi, due north of Masterton, and though the southorn and eastern and central parts of the Country are contributing far the larger part of the Colonial an I local revenues and has, too, tho ohief part of the population very rich CrowD lands, the whole eneigies of the Jnts Minister of Lands and of the Couuty Council's-em to have spent themselves on the Forty-Mile Uush settlement, and not only so but on tho extreme northern part, and all those other landa the roadway settlers of which would not only have added immense wealth to Mas:erton, but wouid havo added vastly to tho railway rovtuue, have been almost without any share in this liberality. I find in tho Public Works Btatsmtnt just issued the following figures of expenditure: - 'J'ab'e 4.—Seventy-Mils Bubli . .„ £55,516 Tables-Pahiatua, Mangaone&c. 16,549 Table 7,—Seventy - Mile Bush, Opaki, to Kupua, aud Gorge Bojd 5,000 £77,095 JB. Tablo 5,-Eangitumau' 5,00 Table 7.-Bunritumau - . ],UOO Tfcuuru.;. ... ... 1,000 Masterton to Castle-. point ... 3,000 Wa.rarapa East : ■ ,„ 1,500 £7,000 I think theso figures are reina.kable flhowmg as they do an expenditure of t'77 000 on practioally one line, whioh is at the extreme western limit of this county, and which for nearly twenty miles out of Maitertou has no land or settlement ut all enial in value to tho other lands of the pouiily. Yot the who'e of tho expenditure appearing ia the tables to the. Puhlio Works Statement as allotted to the tost of the county out of the Puhlio Works. Fund only amounts to £7OOO, and of this sum, I take it, the sums dobi'ed to the Taueruj Masterton, and Castlepoiilt roads are leally sums granted under'the'Roads and' Bridges Aofc; on fart of whioh repayments have to be made out of the rates. I thuik even if, from, want • of details in the schedules 1 , to the Public Works Statement, I am at all misled as to theso figures, I stall still not be very'far wrong in my argument, for oh reference to the map yon will see that by far the'la ger part of the expenditure must hive gone in the dreption 1 hwe pointed]out. Now ia addition to all this expenditure the late Government determined, in spite of the reports of their own surveyors, to extend the Ma ; tertoh railway along this road to VVooilville, undor the nime of a main trunk line from Wellington to Napier, and one of the excuses for taking this line was that the Government hal "morally pled^od" themseives to the settlers on the Forty Mile Bush to do so, I was one of a deputation to the late Minis' er of Public Works before tho detracts for tlvsliae were let, and on the put of fie deputation I urge 1 that whou the Wellington>-Manawitu Company completed their line aud the connexion through to J Woodvibe was completed, that iiue mu.-t I become the main 1 no between Wellington and Napier, owin 3 ' not only t >, the difference in mileage, but the insupemhle and lasting handicap put on the Wairarapa line by the Rinutaki ascent, and that in that event the railway beyond Misterion uptht Forty Mile Bush could only be a district nilway serving a very limitod area, Mr Johnston's reply was '■ If I thought so I should not be justified in spending another shilling on this extension." Well, what I prognosticated has come true. The Wellington and Napier, liawke's Bay, and Rangitikri people do object to go 20 miles out of their way and submit to the extra freights and gre.it inconvenience of the Ktmutaka sin. ply to plea-e tie settlers in the Forty Mile Bu'h, the majority of <vh im will be within range of Wnodville within ten miles of the Manawatu-Welliiigton-Napler line, and the present Government has decloed to adopt their views, The late Government had no right to give any such pledge as they pretend ti have given, and suoh a pledge if it deserves any epithets at all instead of' legal' or ' moral' should be termed ' illegal' or • immoral.' (Hear, hear.) flo Government has a right to pledge itiolf or its successors or the colony to an unprofitable expenditure of publio money. (Cheers.) Now Jet ns look at this railwiy extension up the FortyMile Bush as business men, not only iu a colouial but in a North Wairarapa and and Masterton point of viow. What is to he lost by the making of it ? What, is to be gained iy stepping it? Coloniallywill it pay ?. Look at the map. You will see that all the northern part of the bush settlement) and the Mangaone Block will most undoubt edly have their market towp at Woodville Yea Might M well esfwrt *(» Optii fawwr

to morkai at Woodvillo, ae Alr-MeCardle and the Pahiatua folk to market at Master-.. ton. Woodville will be their town and the Welliogton-Mnnawatn their railway, and to! Woodvide- they mil have the very best of metalltd roads with a bridged river. The necessity of a railway for them does not exist. What, then if the railway is carried from Masterton to Eketahuna, is the prospent of its paying its expenses ? I say unhesitatingly it will not do so for many years. We are reproached already that bur MastertonWellington railway is one of the worst paving of all the colonial hues. It naid in in 1882-1883 only £1 13s lOd per'cent, interest, If you weight this already, nou paying line with 20 mile' 3 more of lino which absolutely does not pay its working expenses, you will reduce tho payment of interest to £1 or £1 5s per cent, and how can we in the Wairarapa ever expect to get reduction of fares and freights under such conditions? Now looking at it solely in the North Wairarapa-Masterton poi it of view, will it do us any good ? Emphatically hot. It teud to pass through to Wellington all the traffic and trade that does come now, and might otherwise come hereafter into Masterton. I for one, as a central north County mau, hold the strongest opinion that it is of immense importance to the County [settlers that" nothing should be done to injure, but everything should be done to fo3ter and support the trade and prosperity of Masterton, A wealthy and substantial country town aid m&iket town is absolutely essential to us. I would like to see its tnsrchants rich; its trade thriving, its people well to do, prosperous and independent. This is, I hope, to be tho seat of local government, and some day of our higher education. What then do we propose to this meeting to forward these prospect? From whence does the custom and trade come which keeps Masterton going? Does it not come from the Opaki, the Upper Plain, the East Coast and tha north and central districts ? Does any one protend that Masterton depends for its support on the Forty Mile l'ush settlement. Ido not want to uuderrato the Forty Mile Bush or disparage its settlers, but I .waut it to be assessed at its true worth. I think it is time that the Government should cease to troat it as the spoilt child of tbo family and should do justice to all these large important districts which they have hitherto so completely ignored, to toe damage as much of the colony as of this county. Maßterton, in consequence of this policy, is left liko a seaside town in England with a six months trade. Its connections with the county become rivers of mud, and as the roads become liquid the trade dries up (Laughter). Nor does it end hero. Tne trade which would come to Masterton goes direct to Wellington. The county settlers mid thoir wives and daughters take 'thiir outing after shearing, tho purchases for the year arc made in WoU hugton or Christohuroh, and the families return to their winter quarters to hibernal e at home till the next shearing noasnn. Nothing but dire necessity induces them to face the miseries of travel through, the bogs and morasßes thut he between them and Mastertou. (Cheers). Whataro wo to do then ? I thiuk wo may take a lesson from Auokjand. The Auckland peopk declined a railway north of Auckland and asked lor roads, and they got them. And tho north of Auckland got £400,000 for its roads, and is now so well settled and prosperous that the Minister of Publio Works has promised an enquiry whether the time-has not come when it will bo remunerative to the colony to construct a railway there.

They have 1,000,000 acres of Crown lands, and I tuppose that iu North Wairarapa we have quite ,300,000. I think we have a just claim to say to the Government, " Stop the railway works altogether, take oil your men, and give us £BO,OOO for roads. If you will do this you will, instead of hampering thecolouy' with the loss on the working of 20 miles of non-paying railway, got a vast amount of valuable Crown land settled and increase enormously tho traffic on the Mnßterton-Wellington line, and help us to pay a decent interest on the outlay." The money spent on roads goes entirely hack into the colony; the money spent on railways goes largely to England. Evon if the money is epant on railways it is useless without roads, So that if you make the railways you have still to make tho roads. Tho men employed in road making will beuoinp settlors on tho laud, and the land opened up will give a yast fiold for employment and a large, permanent, aur! ever-inoroasing revenue to the State. We are told thaton one estate alone of 10,000 acres 300 men were employed for six monks of the deadest time ot the year, and if you nut their net earnings for six mouths at the moderate sum of £3O, you have a disposable wages sum of £9OOO brought into and probably BDentin'th-i district,or carried to the !' Savings Bank from this ono property—•while tho permanent wealth of the diatiiot and colony will tw increased by probably .20,000 sheep and a permanent outlay of at. materials', stores,. &o. If this is done on 10,000 acres, will it not pay to encourage the process P It is not'only the 300,000 acres of Crown hnds, it- ia the immense impetus which would beat once given to, the aheady. settled lands aroountiuz to double and treble the Grown lands, but which are really only half developed for want of roads." Now hook at the map and ..see what roads are absolutely required if this County is to make any progress. We will begin at theeaet-r.'

TheWangaehu.Alfredton ; withbranqb , to D -yerrt Rock and bridges B|mlii iOOO' Ranaitumnu Block, from Dryer's Rock to Upper Taueru ma ! n road lOrals 3500 Completion of Upper Tauotu main rotd to Eketahuna-Temi main road 12mls 5600 Cunpletion of formation and part metalling D pper Taueru main road 5030 Hawera and Pihiatua district roads 3000 'Mauricevilie district r ouds 1000 Gladstoue and Fiat Point, 24m1?, and biidgea 11420 Chalmers line 810 Miki Miki, Fcruridge, and Matahiwi formitinns 1800 Eketabuqa-T.'nul main road, 13fmls, with biidgea 6900 Alfredton District oonnoction with above _ 2803 Rlairlogie road fimls widening and metalling 2200 Western Puketoi main road 9000 Eastern Puketoi main road 12000 Puketoi cross road 4501) Masterton•Wuimata road, motalling 2000 £75,200 Now I havo no meanß at hand by which I can ascertain what the total balance would be at the disposal ol the Government if they stopped the railway works and appropriated the amount estimated for construction and equipment to the making of roads, but it must be considerable, and if the average cost of railways in New Zealand is to be taken as a guide, they would offeot a saving by the : course suggested. But we have to look further. The Minister of Pubho Works provides this year, under tho Roads and Bridges Act, £200,000 for main roads, besides £43,987 for district roads,, and £133,308 for roads to open Crown lands, I do not gather that all those lines are allocated, and if not we may look for a share of the money. But we have to look further still. The following pregnant sentence m the Statement in the basis of hope for the-future. |he Minister says "I venture to express a

hope that next year such a system of local government will be introduced as will make it unnecessary to como to this House for such an anbunt of votes for Eoads and Bridges." In that hope lam sure we must all cordially concur, and it is our duty to assist the Government in forming such a system as will stand the strain and be olastio enough t to adapt itself to the ever growing, ever sniffing, necessities of the colony. (Cheers, J i system which carries jlublic opinion with' it, which is representative not only m name but in fact., (Cheers.) Hem in tho North Island and largely in tho South our first want is roads, but as our settlement progresses and population increases, the conditions of society will become more complex, prosperity will, I hope, giva leisure to the many to partake of the benefits of a higher civilisation, and'the arts and scienJs will claim, I hope, abundant learners) and literature be not without yotM». ;I conceive that it tho Goverament are prepared' to.concude to tho localities tho territorial revenue, we may, starting with the unit of the road boards, who rep'osent our first present essential need, and by their united force builuing up a central county finance authority responsible to Government, develop a Court whioh.shall -grow',in its fitness year by year, till, '.as. the 'construction of roads occupies less of its time and makes fewer demflnds on the revenue, it shall lit itself to take up the wider field of higher education, of education in science, and art, of technical sohools, the administration of laws which will prov ide for the' health of:•, the 'people, of hospitals, • and tho prevention of paiiporism. All! this is possible and practical because you will see that out of this little seed of road poliov I hopo will grow up a vigorous tree with spreading branches, and it is time that the colony laid tho fouutMon at least of such a system. 1% Gentlomen, I have detained you long, but it is a grave and importantsubjecfc and one with which it was impaakto for me to deal in a few hurried sentSrces, I am asking the people of this town and county to resolve to take their place iu the front ranks of those who desire to build up this colony into a sound and healthy nation—a nation in which no vast fortunes snail dominate the people or overshadow tho land, aud where wealth shall be recognised not as an object to bo attained for self-glorification ■ but as a means for asounng the common good. (Cheer».) Mr Chairman and gentlemen, I be; to movo the following resolution as published m tho publio press on Saturday. " That there are large tracts of Crown Lands both in tho immediate vicinity, of aud at a dista nee from Masterton ainKMting to ovor 200,000 acres of a valimfor agiioultural and pasloial purposes unsurpassed in tho colony; that such lauds are lying waste and unproductive solely f com tl.e ulseiice of any road communication ; that in the settled coititry districts especially on tho East Coast the monies ansiug from tho sale of-prawn Landß were m tho duya of proviucwlAvernment from 'iiuo to time taken of£)f tho district and spent on tho West Coast. That in view of tho nature of tho soil and difficulties of the country it is impossible for the Bottlers without aid to provide tho uecossary funds for the /construction of the roads; that until the country be so opened up the progress and prosperity of the whole district and its towns 13 at a standstill. In the event of tho Government deciding not to pioceed further wjth tho railway contracts in WairarapaJley be requested to appropriate the money promised for such railways to the completion of the road system required for the district." (Continuous choors)

, Mr flogg, in seconding the resolution, said he had not intended taking p.trt iu the proceedings that eve ,ing, but it was a matter de ply affecting Mnsterton. )Htar, hear.) If there was one thing moro than'another they wanted it was good roads and bridges, For th ee parts of tho year tho many of the s:t lers wt-rc as completely isolatod as if they were in tho centre of Africa. He in Btanced the many cases recently whwe life had been I st through the people having to ford stewnon tho main roads. It was a great disgrace that a town like Tinui should be prauticilly cut off by thMtole of the raid through the It was a great refl otion on the tiorermnjufc of the country that such largo sums of money ivere vote I frr r ilways, aud no;hing done to open tho rods of the country. He hoped the resolution would havo the hoar.y support of tho who'.e distri t. Tho olnirinan sud ' ho woti'd objoct strongly to the Government making roadi through Crown lands, and leaving them inlegacy to minor local bodies to koepiu repu'r, Settlement should go hand in hand with road makingon those largo tracts of country through which roads required making. Mr Hawkins said the President was perfectly right in his views, the object was to Kottl-i the lands,

Mr D, McGregor said the question ma ono of the greatest iiupoituuce to the public. He had persistently advocated the opening up of the d strict by roads, and bridges, but be did not »3raewith as proposed by Mr Hawkins..' He -would move, as an amendment, that that part of the resolution dealing with the. monies voted for railways be struck out. He considered the extension of the Masterton railway through the Forty Mile Bush would not be a failure financially as stated by the President. Mr Hawkins appeared to tMnk. there was a prospect of the money voted for.the railw<y exjwion being handed over to the district flSroad making He believe! the who.e.o: the three millions borrowed for- railways was already anticipated, It-would be a grave t-r:or to throw obstacles in tlu'way of conthiu ig tljaj. 'consfruction of the-ih'e. Mr Hiawkim baft takn excaptim.to the sums expendeloir theF-irfcymili Bush-raid, but this wai a 'colonial road, and the only road they bad y* ars a >q. The deputation ought to go on • ihe merits of tho road ques ion, and not try and push ona at the expeuso of the other. The proposals of the 'present Govornnv nt to set aside i' 29.000 for roals was absolutely worthloss. Thsy did not hesitato to vote mil ions to railways, but lie h'd heard of nothing that showed thsy woro willing or nb;o to trapple wiih'tlr! ro id quest on. "Ho hiped bi fore such a resolution was a'tempted to be oarrio I Mr Hawkins wou'd give those interested due notice of what wag intouded, and net a't-'mpt to tika the meeting on the " hop," and get his resolution through. He would move that tio part of the resolution asking the Government to hand over the monies voted to tho railway extension be stiuck out.

Mr rose and seconded the resolution. Ho cousiderel the proposition was in aJvance of the requirements ot the district, they had on'y one human being to !he square mile of country and neither the Government nor the settlers were in J^PP-J sition to spend monoy on distriots, He would second Mr McGSfbrß amendment, It was the first time in his life he had ever seconded any proi.ossl of his (roars of hughter and cheers), If this meeting adjourned'for a week or two to give the necessary notice to the settlers interested he thought it would be but just. • Mr Hawkins thought the last Bpeaker h«l advancsd nne very strong reason in favofof the resolution, that was the miles of countty that was unpopulated. It wai to open up this country- that thoy wanted to get the £80,009 that had been voted to this railway extension, Mr McGregor had told them tney would shut themselves out by tbis resolution in participating in the money for railways Well, he for one, did not want to speculate in a bad paying conoern, auother thing was he did not object to the money being spout on the Forty Mile Bush road, but lie objected to it all being spent iu that direciioa to the exclusion of other- districts. He did not think it would be worth-tie while postponing th 6 meeting to enahlethem to got the views of tb,e Forty Mile Bnah settler?, as he lnew trjem pretty well alwadji (laughter). He wanted an expression ofl| opinion from Maaterton, that m tin.

object of the meeting. He thought Mr Mr McGregor ought to drop Ira amendine'iit Rod tako the opinion of the meeting as to Whether they should adjourn the discussion for a week or two.

Mr McGregor said it might appear from Whit the President had said that he was opposed to any monies being spent on Mdt such 'Was not the ca e, but he was convince 1 tho Government would not devote m ney to roads in preference to railways. It wjs most unfdr of Mi 1 Hawkim to placo it. in the light that it they t-topped the railway* the £Bo,ooDwoul I bo ohtair.ab'e for ro ids. Tuere was no prospect of getting tin mo icy for such a, purpose, If-the President objecte I to accept the amendment he would movo tint the question should be aijouric 1 to tho next regular meeting of the Association.

Mr Hawkins said the mover of the amendment waute I to take (he life out of his mo ion aud ho objec:ed to its being so malLrmel,

.Mr Yilo rose 11 cxpl'in tint in moving at tho As ; ociation that this public meeting be held his object was to discuss ways and mea'isof opening tip rotds and blocks of country, not to opp we the exten-ion of the railway. He world prefer leaving the railway question in the hands of tho Government. Tne resolution as proposed to be amtnded l)y Mr McGregor was in accordance with his Object.

Mr A, It. Bunny spoke in favor of the reso'ution as proposed by the President in ts entirely. Mr Guild, of To Ore Ore, said if they passed a resolution asking the Government to stop thc'raihvay atits present stage could they coma back afterwards and ask them to go on with tliem again if they found they could not ob aiti this sum for ro»ds. The hrfd recently so ! d in the Forty mile Bush was bought on tho assumption that the railway was sh rtly gnin,' through thitdis'riet. He considered- they should not interfere with the (iovcVnm-nt and tlie railways, hut should ad; theii to act asid ■. a sit n of npney for ro id m iking in the district, Mr \V. H. Beetham thought it would be most disastrous to have tho raihvav stop in a blind gully.where it was now. If it was extended to Eketahuna it would benefit all,tho fine country laying around that district—Alfrodton, Mauricjville. Pahia'ua, and Tiraumoa-but if it was cut off at its present terminus the vh-lc of the trade of the north end of the county would go away from Masterton through Woodville What they shou d do was to urge the Government tocxteid tio ine to tikctahiini, and in time they would get the extension tn Wood ville. The Pukeioi block was a rich and fertile country, far better than anything that had been opened up la'ely. and if the railway extenied to Ekctaluuta this fine b oA of iand would so >n have a road into it from there. If the ro'olution would stop thi railway in the blind gully whets it was at presout ho would vote against it, Mr A. W, H- gg spoke stroogly in-favor of carrying the origiual resolution. Opening up the country by roads aud the settlement of the country shon'd go hand in baud. All the money that had beca spent; on roids and abridges had been spent ia tho district, but -.the greater pari of the expenditure for nilways was sant to England. Kaitwa s hid generally a tendency to drain a roulitry of it's natural weatth rather than benefit it. Mißlertou should have bcoa the tetmiiiiH tf tho railway, and tha money that has boen expentjoil on the rai.way externum past there if spent ou tha roidt would hive considerably benefited tho district aud enabled settlers to bring their produce to market, li ;the Government refused the demotion the money for ro ids, they could use that at a lever to compel them to 'jp ou with the railway. He contended the inteieits of the district ha 1 never been consulted when the lino was continued just Masterton. lie believed had a vote been taken it. would have beeu greatly in fivor of its tertniuus hero (hear! hear 1). He did not b'ame runho'ders for trying to bring the railway tn their very doors to bring their wool to nnrket at a less to this general pnb'ic, but he would have roads lirst aud railways after, Mr Mcfiregnr ashed tho President whether thu was a meeting of the Association or tho public of Masterton. Ths Chairman said the meeting was called by a reßolntbn of the Association to get the opinion of tho public of Masterton- on tho question. Mr B Meredith said the Presidsnt had told them tint the railway through the most fertile and populated put of the Wairai-api only paid £ll3s per cent; it was not likely to pay more going through the Forty Mile Bush. Tho whole country wai suffering through unproductive railways, and the only way to make them piy was by opening up the country by gooil roads to allow of their produce going through by rail, instead of as now by sea. Fur this reason he would support tho lesolution.

The amendment was put to the meeting and lost, and tho original motion was then put and carried, ■ In order to give effect to tho resolution Mr Bunny moved that a deputation be appointed to wait upon tho Minister of Public Works to urge'the views put forth in the resolution Mr Hogs seconded, with the addition that tha deputation consist of tne President of the Association, the chairmau of the meeting, and tho movor of the resolution. This was carried, aud a vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the meeting, ,