The Waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 912, 27 April 1878, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political. ***** Here shall tho Press thc People's right maintain, Unawed by influence and unhribed by gain. SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 1878. As we said m our last issue, the people of the Thames are persistent agitators m any cause they take np, aud already it would seem that the movement they hava made m respect to the Thames Waikato Kailway has had the effect of inducing the Government to introduce a Bill next session for the special object of enabling n company to undertake the work. So much having been acceded by tho Government, the next step the Thames people take is to assure themselves as far as possible that the provisions contained m the Bill shall ba ofa satisfactory character, and to give the Government every opportunity of making them such,, and leave them no excuse for failing fco do so, they call together a Conference of the several local bodies interested m the constiuction of a railway. The idea was a good one ; the Government placed the telegraph wire 3 free to tbe use of the Conference at its various centres; some useful suggestions have been made, and, whafc is more, made m concert, so that the clash of conflicting interests and diversities of opinions may not hereafter crop up as lions m the path. With the Waikato terminus at Hamilton it was only jusfc that the important and largely producing listricfc of Cambridge sliould not be left out m the cold, and we were ( therefore all the more pleased to find so general a unanimity of feeling ' yesterday m the proposal made by < i Hamilton man to include as part ' )f the scheme a branch line to Cam- I jridge. As Mr Kirkwood very justly < laid, too, without sush extension ( he Cambridge people could not with | my fairness' be asked to contribute J ;owards the cost of the proposed *, •ailway. A line connecting near Mr \

Peter Walker's farm will give to Cambridge railway communication with, the Thames and Auckland for about qnly nine additional mi'es qf railway ovor a perfectly level sound .country, and without a ,gnily to cross, with respect to the terminus at the other end of the line that was lefb for the people of the Thames themselves to decide, the only suggestion made being that .such decision should be as consistent with economy as possible, referring to the probable cost Of Thames Borough land required, if fho line were taken into the hearb of Grahamstown, instead of' to, say Shortland, or even further out. As to the second question both the Thames ancl Waikato portions of the conference were agreed upon the proportion of guarantee the Government should be asked to .undertake, though m the matter of duration of guarantee the latter advised a period of twenty one years and the former one of fifteen. And m doing so the Thames members of the conference were doubtless guided by the Diatriot ljailwaya Act of last session as indicating the opinion of the Assembly on such a nutter. The Act m iis 75th clause provides that the guaran 'cc created by thc Act shall only subsist for a period of fifteen years from the date when the railway is opened for traffic. A far more important point, however, is the question of the guarantee. On this the conference, as a whole, was unanimous. The adoption of its suggestion would be to exactly reverse the provisions of last year's Bill, which, providing for a guarantee of 7 per cent., stipulated that five per cent, of this amouut should be contributed by means of a special rate levied by the several Boroughs and County Councils interested, and the remaining two per cent, be contributed ftom the consolidated revenue of the Colony. This proposition ih' ordinary cases might be a fair one, but not so m this special instance. In the Districb .Railways Act above referred to, provision is made that the lands rateable for such guarantee shall be divided into four classes : (I) lands receiving or supposed to receive immediate and direct benefit from thc construction of the railway ; (2) lands receiving or supposed to receive less direct benefit ; (3) lands receiving only the benefit Jincijintal to or derived generally from the construction of such railway • (4) all other lauds (if any) affected. Now, some little time since, we published what would be the actual result of depending on such a classification. The Thames Council showed, from a careful working out cf an estimate so based, that, where itwould have been possible for nearly the whole amount ot the guarantee to have been levied by a rate of I per cent, on the annual value of the land, had all the lands benefitted been taxable, not .one-third the amount could really be raised, because two-thirds of (he land (being hold by natives and Government) could not be tuxed at all. The length of the live was estimated at (32 miles, the cost at A3,500 per mile : over £217,000 altogether, and the interest, at a 7 per cent, guarantee, would be .£15,190. The Thames Council goes on to report : — " Tho vO2 miles would pass through the counties of Thames, Pinko, and Waikato, namely— Thames, 20 miles ; Piako, 23 miles ; and Waikato, 10 mile's. Class Ko. 1 would embrace a rateable radius of 2. miles, unci the Thames Borough and County Hidings bf Waiotahi, Kauwaeranga, and Parawai would contribute, at the rate of i per cent, on thc annual value, £2,160 ; Puriri, rateable value, at £3 per acre, 2.5G0 acres, £307 : Hikutaia, ditto ; Ohiricmuri. at £4 per acre. £110 ; Tc Aroha. at £3 per acre, £307 ; Waihekau, at £2 per acre, £205 ; Hamilton Borough and suburbs, £512. Class No. 2, 1 mile on each side of the proposed line, 158,720 acres, valued at £2 per acre, at 3 per cent., £G. 523. Class No. 3, 1 mile to 3 on each side the line, 317,340 acres, valued at £1 per acre, at 2 per cent., £6,340. Class No. 4. 3 to 5 miles each side the line, 317,340 acres, valued at 10s per acre, at I per cent., £1,586, making a total, m all, of £14,445." But, adds the renort, only one-third of these lands is m the hands of Europeans. This really means, that where m ordinary cases the providing of five per cent, of the guarautee by the land owners would be a fair thing, m the case of the Thames- Waikato line the burden would bo just ns great if they provided a third or something less than two per cent. Aud this is what the conference proposes they shall do. The Governnient says you shall not levy rates ou Native Lauds, that politically it is not desirable that any such attempt should be made. On this the public will doubtless agree, but it is only fair, if m the interests of the colony at large, a particular section of its inhabitants : suffers, as the ratepayers m this case would do, that the colony which is so : served by their abnegation should stand to (he loss, This is iudeed, we take it, the gist and tha necessity, ' of a special Bill for the Thames- ' Waikato Eailway. The case is an ' exceptional one, and, m all fairness, ■ the district has a right to expect ( consideration at the hands of the . Assembly. We have quoted the ' Thames County Council's report ot a ' couple of months ago — not becanse \ it is at all likely to be adopted, but i because it shows how unfairly to tbe 1 comparatively few European land- g owners the estiraata works out m t the exceptional case of the Thames c lands, and affords some data 5 whfcch jpay be useful to our local r bodies, W^bafc the Confevence s

yesterday proposed to do m the . mutter was s'muly not to tax 1 inds moro than len miles distant ftom either side the line, or be}'ond a similar r.tdius from the termini, leafing the question of classification lo be considered afterwards as a matter of detail, but to be worked out oh the principle of the value given to such luid by the railway. As to the question of rating* native lands, it very wisely left that m abeyauce. There is much more that we could say upon tbe subject of the construction of this line, aud there are many matters of detail involved m the several resolutions agreed lo which naturally suggest themselves as most important, but the limit of a single article does not afford us space to more than, at present, briefly refer as we have done fco Ihe proceedings of yesterday.