SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 1878.

Waikato Times, Volume XI, Issue 891, 9 March 1878, Page 2

SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 1878.

The dilatoriness of the Government m pushing forward the completion, of the purchase of the Upper Thames Couutry referred to elsewhere, is a matter of supreme importance to this portion of the North Island, and involves considerations far more important than the mere acquisition of so many acres per se. To us, it means the delay of the construction of the ThamesWaikato railway, and if that work I be, and we make no question that it lis so, what Sir George Grey said of it, when replying to the Grahamstown Deputation two months ago, | " That ia his opinion the safety of i the country would be secured when the work was done ; " the question is one also of supreme importance (o the Colony. And at the same meeting, both the Premier and the Native Minister pointed out, that the first step to be taken towards the construction of the railway, was the completion of the acquisition of these lands. In any case, we take this to be a matter of primary importance, whether the railway is to be construsted by the Government, under Government guarantee, or under the provisions of the District Railways Act. A very large amount of the lands which would be traversed by the proposed railway belong to the natives, and over a large portion of these the Government have acquired liens, by an expenditure of niouey paid on account of purchase to the extent of between £100,000 and £200,000. let, with this large sum locked up for years, with the pressing necessity there is for the completion of the purchases for which it has been advanced, and with remembrance that, when ia opposition, the members of the present Government were loud m their complaints against the party then m power for the very dilatDriness of which we are now speaking, nothing practical has been clone since they came into office. The ' Herald ' writing, under correction, m its publication of Thursday says : " The main part of the work is not touched, and unless some steps are taken to expedite matters, the position of affairs will become rapidly worse." That we can very readily understand, for, apart from the difficulties which may arise m the prosecution of further negotiations themselves by such delays, the practical suspension of the work m which both the Thames and Waikato are so deeply interested is a consequence much to be dreaded. In preparing statistics with reference to the proposed line the Thames Council shows that one-third only, of the lands immediately benefitted by it are m the hands of Europeans, the other two-thirds belonging either to the Government or to the natives, by far the larger moiety to the latter. And these statements are of so much interest that we shall take the present opportunity of referring to them somewhat fully. If the various classes of lands referred to m the Act could all be rated at four per cent on the annual value, instead of only about one third of them, as shown above, a sum of between £14,000 and £15,000 would be available as interest on the expenditure of the work. As stated by the Council, the available amount according to the specification referred to, is for class No. 1, £'4,298, and fcr classes Nos. 2, 3* and 4> one-third of the .£14,455, viz., £4,818, making a total of i 9,026. The estimated cost of sixty-two miles of railway at £3,500 per mile is £217,000, and the interest at four per cent guarantee would amount lo £8,680. The sixty two miles would pass through the counties of Thames, Piako, and Waikato — namely, Thames, twentynine miles; Piako, twenty-three miles ; and vVaikato ten miles. Class No. 1 would embrace a rateable L'udius of two miles, and the Thames Borough and County ridings of Waiotahi, Kauwaeranga, and Para\vai would contribute at the rate of 4 pi-r cent, on the annual value, £?,IGO ; Puriri rateable value, at £3 per acre, 2,560 acr s, £307 ; Mikutaia, ditto ; Ohinemuri, at £4 per acre, £410 ; Te Aroha, £3 per acre, £307 ; Waihekau, at £2 per acre, £205 ; Hamilton Borough nnd snbnrhs, ,£512. CJmss No. one mile on each side of the proI osed line, 158,720 acres, valued at £2 per acre, at 3 per cent., £6,523. Clsss No. 3, one mile to three on each side line, 317,340 acres, valued at £1 per acre, at 2 per cent., £6,346. Class 4, three to five miles each side of line, 317,340 acres, valued at 10s per acre, at 1 per cent., £1,586 ; making a total of .£14,445, only one-third of which is m the bauds of Europeans, as shown above.

There is every reason, therefore, why the Uoverament shoald urge on with as much expedition as possible the completion of these purchases, independently altogether

of the stimulus to settlement which t'li'ir acquisition and- consequent ()■:;•.• >;>;i.tiou by Europeans would ,;i ''(': If these lands were acquired •in' l ill' railway conatructai we sluml.l l',,ive a repetition of Waikato setiieu:«nh upon even „ a more extensive scale, filling up the greater portion, of the country lyinsr northward and eastward of the Waii<ato district with a settled and prosperous European, population.