"AS IMPORTANT AS THE HARBOUR."

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXVI, Issue 13526, 7 November 1911, Page 3

"AS IMPORTANT AS THE HARBOUR."

THE WANGANUI-RAETIHI RAILWAY DISCUSSED BY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. The Need for Completion. The necessity for ■ linking up Wanganui with the back country.; by means of a. railway to Raetihi. formed the theme of an animated discussion at last night’s meeting of the Wanganui Chamber of Commerce. Letters'were read from Mr J. T: Hogan, M.F.; statihg that; he,’ was endeavouring to get'thc‘ -ghaut cff-'£15,000 for the RadtihiSiain; Ttuifk' branch. line designated as bbihg ; for ~ the- Wangamii-Raetihi-Main Trunk; line'; and from athe Raetihi-Pro-gressive Association,; expressing tliat'body’s willingness to do all-"in; its power towards bringing'the line into existence. Mr A. HARRIS,, in with notice given at the last ■ meeting, moved: “That a committee-be set up for the purpose of furthering the construction of a railway lino to connect Wanganui, with the Maiii Trunk! lino .at or near Ohakune. ■ taking the most direpfe. route that r: ' can be found by survey.” , Mr HARRIS, continuing, said that the advantages of the line, did not need recounting; they spoke for. themselves. Since giving notice of the,,motion before them that evening, ho had been pleasantly surprised to see that the Government had placed .£15,0U0 for a Raetilii-Main Trunk railway on the Estimates. He was hopeful that Mr Hogan would be successful in getting the grant designated as. for the AVanganui-Eaetihi-Maiil . Trunk rails, way. The opening up of the back country would provide an enormous increase of”;trade ■ for Wanganui's harbour; and it was little use- agitating for exten'siy.o harbour works while the main source of revenue was bottled up. The gauge must necessarily be the same as the railways, and he reminded his hoaxers that electric power was 33 1-3 per cent, cheaper than steam-. Now was the time to act, and they must be up and doing. Mr'C. E. MAGEAY seconded. He said tliat some..time ago he had approached Mr T. B: Williams with the idea, of forming a railway league in Wanganui. ,He (the speaker) agreed with Mr, Harris, inasmuch as,it;was a. waste of.time to go in for an expensive harbour Ac their main source of trade—the back . country—remained unopened; the only way to do this was by the construction of a railway. Was it not reasonable to suppose that the settlers would adopt a more kindly attitude towards .the harbour scheme ff. the business men of Wanganui showed that they were willing and anxious to help them? He was glad to see the £15,000 on the Estimates for the, commencement ■ of. the line, hut this was not enough. What they wanted was to see the money actually being expended on the purpose for which it was intended. The line woifld have to ho commenced at , both ends, "and run right into Wanganui. The proposed lin'e was an N ; actual necessity, and it Was the Government’s duty to carry it through.. Mr F. H. ALLEN supported the motion. He. had been in communication with an important Government official,, who considered that the lino would, be one of the best .paying in the Dominion. The Hon. John; Ballanco had been instrumental .in sending a party of men to peg'out the Parapara Road. They half been going to make the lino then; that was 26 years ago, sand the, road., w’As.stiU uncompleted.. If ho better ‘'jifogress wa'!?;'made’Avith’ r ’thc railway, was it not reasonable to suppose that another 26 years would filld-‘them in the same position? ■ ' The SECRETARY road a.letter' from Mr J. T. Stewart, suggesting that a. trial survey of the route should be taken first. Mr C. THORNS—“What distance' will the line traverse ?’’ Mr HARRIS—“About 70 miles.” ■Mr. T. R: WILLIAMS said that if they looked back they would see that the Premier’s statement provided for the construction of the Wanganni-Raetihi railway withiaW years. When in Wellington as the Chamber’s representative, he had been successful in getting the first link of the chain forged, and he had no doubt T.iat the rest would folloyv. He thought Mr Stewart’s suggestion of the trial seran excellent. one. As far as he could ascertain there were ho engineering difficulties in construction to bo overcome, and the steepest grade,would not be morn than 1 in 50. He was at. a loss to 1 understand Mr Harris’ proposition, as he considered that. everything • possible had been done. Let thorn, however, press on" the survey ait all costs. , hj Mr MACKAY emphasised the importance of getting to work at once. Delay was harmful, and to press on was the best course for all parties concerned. ■' Mr F. M. SPUR.DLE, ..sen., supported Mr Harris’ motion. The present-time, he said, was opportune for the commencement of their best endeavours. He was satisfied that the Government was anxious to see railway communication between Wanganui and Raetihi established, but they wanted to impress the Government with the necessity for baking Wanganui the natural outlet for the back country. ■; The line was as essential to our prosperity as- the harbour. ' . . Mr JAS. WILLIAMS endorsed Mr Mackay’s remarks.. A-railway league, he. said, was hadlv wanted. However, more than a section between Ohakune and Eaetihi was required, the. line must come right through to Wanganui. The Raetihi people wanted to get their goods on to the market through the most 'convenient outlet, and now was the time to provide them with this outlet. Wanganui should get to work: not leave the agitation tp Eaetihi and Ohakune. , Mr HIORNS reminded his hearers that rf. they did,not hustle they would.get. left. Auckland and Wellington were competitors with us for the, trade of the .back country, and ■ this was the chance for Wanganui to, bo first in the field. He urged an. immediate survey. Mr HAGGETT—“Let us strike while the iron is hot.”, Mr R. W-. GREEN—“If we do not use our.best energies to get the produce of the hinterland into the port: of Whuganui the whole mat ter will lapse .into the limbo, of . things forgotten. But we must do it now,” ’.Mr W. ASH WELL saidthat as a recent visitor to Raetihi, Hie could assure them that the country people were only too anxious to see the line through- to Wane-a-im i-, ° ° Mr" F. 11. ALLEN 'remarked that the lino could go throim-h at Mangawhero, and thouoo down the Upokongaro Valley. ' Mr F. D. ALLEN, while recognising the truth of what had been said, urged his hearers not to lose sight of the magnitude of the undertaking. He suggested that; Hie' motion plight be amended to read: “With a view ultimate construction of the Wanganui-Raetihi railway, the Government bn urged to make a trial survey.” Mr A. BURNET—“Anyhow', we could do no harm by urging, the Government to do all in its power to further the Construction of the line.” " -Mr, HARRIS—“But why "does Mr Williams oppose the scheme, at a time when

it'full of voted-. Voting,' aM eTeW. tionsr” - '-

Mr T. B. WILLIAMS—‘;T object to that.”

Mr HARRIS, continuing,, said that the Jl 15,000 on the Estimates was- a more .bagatelle. They must push ahead now. As things were now they ; were dependent on the Government, and if the Government wont out the proposed line would probably go too. , Mr Harris’s motion (given above) was then put and carried, Mr T. B. Williams being the onlv dissentient. ' Mr T. B. "WILLIAMS said that he.might have been misled by some;, of the rather personal remarks of the previous speakers. Ho wished it Understood that lie was not opposed to the idea of getting railway communication between Wanganui and Raetihi; on,-'the contrary,' nobody would be more pleased ,to seel it come , about than, himself-..■ Tie would be' happy, tp jack ’upon any committee which)had for’ v ita r ob-. ject the good of Wanganui. However, ho Would allow his name to stand ns having voted against Mr Harris’s motion. _ A committee was then set up, consisting of the Mayors of Wanganui and Wanganui East, the chairmen of the WanganuiChamber of Commerce, Mangawlicro Road’ Board, AVaimavino, Wanganui, and Waitotara County Councils, Raetihi Progressive Association, Wanganui Harbour Board. Gonville and Castledil! Town Boards, and Messrs J. Higgie, H. Y. Haminond, E. A. Campbell, A. Harris, F. H. Alien. T. B. Williams, J. T. Stewart, and A. Nathan (Taihape). Mr FRANK ALLEN then moved: “That it be an instruction to the committee to urge the Government to put a trial survey in hand at once.” , Th.ia was carried unanimously. Mr HARRIS suggested ..that the committee (of which Mr C. E. Mackay was appointed convenor) should report at a special meeting to bo hold iu a fortnight’s time. ; The discussion then terminated.;,.