RAILWAY EXTENSION.

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 948, 20 July 1878, Page 2

RAILWAY EXTENSION.

I . PUBLIC MEETING AT HAMILTON. A. NUMKiiousr.Y attended meeting was held on the above matter m the Royal Hotel, Hamilton, on Thursday last. On the motion of Captain Steo!e, Mr Sedclon took the chair. The Chairman said he had presided over four meetings for the construction of the railway o Hamilton and the fronlitsr, He alli-dec'i to the .success of the line so far as opened up, and tho.ight every Settler s'lould assist m giving- the Government assistance iv tapping the important districts now left out m the cold. He thought if Iho extension were carried out it would be one of the most remuneiativo works undertaken by the Government under tho Public works Act. Mr A. Potter alluded (o the necessity which existed for tin ex"■euwion. As secretary of tho Provincial Ccmmittee, ho would lay certain statetuonts before them. The Waikato County w.is entirely cut off from fcho benefits of iho railway. Piako Comity was m the samo condition, as were other districts also. The extension of the railway into East Hamilton would afford tho convenience for traffic these districts needed. These districts were taxed for the railway, yet debarrod the full use of it. Ho referred to his previous proposals m the Council to bring* the tramway into Sydney square. Ho had it from f^ood authority tbat the railway freight right through into the square would not be more than 11s per ton, where now 35s was paid. The state of the roads at present was such that East Hamilton was cufc off from the railway. To put that road m repair would cost ,£2,030. He had take.i some pains to ascertain exactly what the work would cost. It was useless to put tho gravel ordinarily used m these parts on a road where the traffic was so heavy. Nothing would do but stone, and the nearest place this could be g"ot from was at Taupari, a distance of 17 miles by railway. The cost of this metal would be 9s lid per ton. namely : quarrying pci' cubit yard, 3s Gd ; breaking, 2s ; carriage, Id per mile, is sd ; demurrage on truck of 5 tons, Is ; carting and sprc vling*, 2s. He had acertained that these prices for quarrying and breaking wgvo actually what were now being paid. They could not have a roadway of less than u!v yards wide, metalled nine inches deep m the centre, and three inches deep at the sides, or au average of six inches all over. This would consume 20 tons, or .£lO worth of -metal to the running chain. Now, tlie distance from the station to the river was J-iO chains, so here they would bavj •*, cost for metal of £1400, and at least another <£100 for forming and binding the road. The con tin "a ;ce of the road into East Harnilon, would necesitate the formation of another 50 chains, at au expenditure of .£530, making a total, as he already stated, of' £2,030, and that for a road that would cost a large sum annually to keep m repair, and one of the principal uses of which would be to act as a feeder to the Government railway. But even were tho road made the tonage of goods received was such it could not be kept m repair. To make this one road, would swallow up the Borough rates for 0 years. He would oppose spending the rates on this road to put money into the Government chest. What was proposed was to bring* the tramway into Hamilton West. He then proposed to bring it on to Sydney square. What thi>y had to do was to sliew the Government wh'.TO they must look for tlie traffic to make this railway pay. He had endeavored to get statistics iv from the east side the river, to shew the amount of freight tho railway was losing from the want of an extension to that side. The returns wore necessarily incomplete. Those settlers who had furnished them, however, gave suilicieut evidence that if the full amount of freight, could bo asceitaiued it would be found to be very large. Nut only had he not been able to got m fill returns, but those actually scut m f.iilod to show the full amount of Mic traffic oven as far as they were themselves concerned, for vhile some settlers had given iv their fre : ghc returns for a period of fcwolvo lnunthos, some had given them m for a period of six months, others of three months, and others again for only one month. He would not average tho n, but taking them as they were the ainountshowed that over these varied periods, 1,500 tons had been received by river, and 32J,- tons by rail. Tliis did i o l^ include timber carriage, and many stated that produce which could have been sent down, had not boon sent at all, on account ot the prohibitory cost, while others were propaiod (o .slock and cultivate extensively if they saw their way to a inu'kct. The parties from whom these returns had bejn received Wt-re noiv settlers soil tcrod comparatively one, here and one there. Tlie proses. t traffic was only the e truest of nn enormous future Irallii:, which (,he extension of the railway would [ hasten to develop. These stations aud

farms would soon have larg^; stores of produce, cattle, and sluiep to send down. Mr Potter ihe.si moved that — It being iiulisponHablo to tho prasimt niulfiifcuro prosperity of thoso great piodiuiiuy di.stfiots Kivilvivivaa, Tainalicrc, I'iako, and parts of Uambridyc — that a tramway, as a feoclor to tho railway, should be forthwith laid through tho Jiorouyh of Hamilton Troin tho present railway station, to tho ctufc wide the riwr, terminating at Sydney Square ; and that for such purpose a uonnriittoe .(consisting of (Japtaiu Stoole, J.V., S. T. Serldou, Esq., J.P., J. 13. Wliyto, Esq., J.P., Peter Walker, Esq., and the mover) be appoiulod to confer with the lloyernment for carrying out that object, with power to add to the committee. Captain Mul'herson seconded the motion, regretting*' that the Committee had not advertised for returns. He felt' sure that if they had done so the returns would have been nearly double. He had long considered Hamilton, us a whole, was much dependent on Hamilton East and its surroundings. That waa the main '.stay of the Borough. To bring the railway to meet this traflio was only a common-seme fmsiness request — a.s much to the interest of the Government as of themselves. He was not an opponent of the Steam Navigation Company, but this lie would say — thlit no man m Waikato had cause to thank tho Company for its past action. They had ni-ide money at the cost of the hard earnings of the settlers, having charged as much at one time as .6-1 per ton and more. Captain >teelo had not much to pay after Mr Potter's able report. Whatever tralh'o was now shown was nothing to what it would be iv three year.s. If the station were brought to East Hamilton, it would be the best patronised on the line. It would tap the traflic of Piako, Cambridge. Tamahere, and other districts. Ho was m favor of the tramway being j brought to a wharf on the river for the oonvc'uicuco of Cambridge and the country higher up, but they must run it across .the river to tap the traih'c of the large districts above referred to. i The Mayor was glad to attend the meeting. He explained that the Borough Council had already given instructions to survey the tramway line to the river and over it. In the event of thu Government not carrying the tramway over the river, lie should use all his influence to get the Council to do it. Mr A V. Macdonald had. stated to him that, if the extension Avas carried out, he believed it would be necessary to put on an extra luggage train daily He deprecated the appeal to soparato interests between Hamilton East and Hamilton West. He asked Mr Potter to frame his resolution so as to agree with that of the Council, by tho addition of making the tramway come to a wharf on the river as well as across it. He explained that, meeting Messrs Macaudrcw and ConyeiH, ho spoke about getting the railway into Hamilton. Ho had then no thought of a traimvay at all. He wanted the railway brought into Hamilton, and thus save the Borough from . taxation for tho Thames- Waikafco Railway. In course of conversation .with Mr Conyers, that gentleman said, " Railways are no use without feeders." He (Mr Vialon) then showed him what advantage a tramway to the river Avould be as a feeder to the railway. Mr Potter thought that, having named a committee, and having received the support ho had, he would not ■undertake to dictate to that committee. Pie maintained that the station must bo on the east side the Borough. Tho Mayor explained that they only wanted the line to the rUer — not the station there. Captain Steele thought that the committee should have power to add to their number. They might thus combine with Cambridge and settlers on the west side the river. Mr Peter Walker thought they should go to the Government as Hamilton— not as Hamilton East and Hamilton West — and they would carry the da.y. Mr Potter agreed to Captain Stccle's suggestion, and the motion was then put and carried unanimously. ' Captain Steele proposed a hearty vote of thanks to Mr Potter for the trouble he had taken m the matter. Captain McPhersoii, m seconding, sail ho fully endorsed Captain Steelo's cnlogium on Mr Potter. Hitherto he had opposed Mr Potter politically, but so satisfied was he now of his ability and earnestness, and of his painstaking assiduity on behalf of the community, that he should henceforth bo found amongst his supporters. A vote of thanks to the Chairman closed the proceedings.