The Waikato Times. THURSDAY, JULY 18, 1878.

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 947, 18 July 1878, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 1878.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Of -whatever state or persuasion, religious or political. * * * * * Here shall the Press the People's right maintain, Unawed by influence and unbribed by gain.

There is very little doubt but that ihe railway authorities have made up their minds to carry the railway iuto tldunlton. The matter has, indeed, become a necessity with them if the line is to be made to pay to Lhe fullest possible extent. It is a struggle between the railway and the steamer company for the Waikato traffic, and Hamilton and Cambridge, too, will benefit by the contest. The recent announcement by the Bail way Department that Waikato goods will be transhipped at Ngaruawahia, instead of at Mercer, secures so much further carriage for the railway, so much the less for its rival, —and, had the railway station at Hamilton been as near to lhe river as at Ngaruawahia, th lormer place would doub.less ImVe i en the point indicated. But the caitago from the Hamilton station

to the liver—over a toad, too, which Mr ou his recent termed "a public scandal"—would have been so patent a loss and iuconyenience to the consignees of gbods that the railway authorities <jould not push the terminus for transhipment further than Ngaruawahia. Toe* proposed extension of the line iuto Hamilton, with a tramway to some point on the river in the Borough will enable them to get over this difficulty, and .secure another ten or twelve miles of enforced traffic. We may, therefore, presume that the railway authorities are in earnest in the matter.

The question, however, has been raised, and a public meeting of residents' and settlers on the east side the river has been called to consider it, whether the railway and the district will not bo benefitted to a fir larger extent by carrying the proposed tramway not merely to the river on the. west side, but across it .into the level land which stretches away in an unbroken line to Piako, Tamahcre, and to Cambridge. The advocates of this further extension argue that by doing this the railway will secure threefold the traffic it would gain by simply carrying the tramway to the river, and important and interesting statistics will, we; are informed, be brought forward to-day to prove how large that traffic really is. It is said, on the other hand, that the construction of the bridge will do away with any necessity for carrying the tramway itself across the river, and that the railway cun by the issue of a single regulation, as we have shown, secure to itself the river traffic up to that point j but we think that, in all fairneßs, the convenience of the large extent of country on the east side the river should be taken into acoount. To the Piako alone a very large amount of goods are being forwarded, and if the railway is to compete for this traffic .vith steamers plying from the Thames more facilities for carriage must be given than a terminal station on the west side the river with a heavy bridge toll to pay for every load of goods taken to, or coming from the station. At the present time three steamers are engaged in conveying goods to Omaha for the Upper Thames country which could with less cost and more (convenience be forwarded by railway having a terminal station in Sydney Square on the east side, the river, whence they would be carted direct to all parts of the Piako, at a less cost for both railway freight and cartage than the Bingle freight by steamer from the Thames, to say t nothing of the superior market thus rendered available. We have, however, no intention of entering into the arguments which we have no doubt will be forcibly brought forward in favor of the scheme at the public meeting to-day, for there will be many there well able to advocate the interests of so important a part of the district, which very naturally feels that it is being altogether ignored in the matter. It is essentially the interest of the Borough as a whole to encourage in' every possible way communication between itself and the large outlying country cast of the Waikato River. That is the back country on which the prosperity of the borough mainly depends, and which itcannotaffordand must not attempt to neglect for more selfish, narrow, and short-sighted advantages.