D.—4.

108

G. L. PEACOCKE.

39. Do you not think that settlers who live ten miles from a good inland water not affected by storms, such as the Wairoa River, have a better road than settlers living on the coast with eighty or ninety miles of rough water to pass over? —They would if the still water brought them right down to their market. Of course, after the Wairoa River, you have the Eaipara Harbour to navigate. 40. Yes, but it is all land-locked?—lt can blow pretty hard there. 41. But there is no extent to traverse —not eighty or ninety miles; and have not the settlers who live on the coast a long way to go before they pel to their ship?— Very often 42. And have very rough roads to travel?— Yes. 43. You said Mangapai was not euitable for shipping stock?—No; the boats are so often weather-bound. John Alexander Wilson examined. (No. 63.) J. The Chairman J You are District Engineer of the Public Works Department for Auckland?— Yes 2. Would yiMi prefer to make a statement to the Commission on this matter? —f think 1 would. A comparison of the cost of the two routes in question has been made. It has been taken out as exactly as the plans and data available will admit, from actual quantities as far as possible. There is not a very great deal of difference between the costs of the two routes as surveyed and estimated because the country through which they run is not very dissimilar from the point of view of railway-construction. The estimate of the ■■μ-icimi route is as follows: Land. ; fencing, £8,255; grading, £255,381, tunnelling being included in that item; culverts, £15,743; bridges, .£40,0i1; ballast, £40,373; stations, £25,740; rails, sleepers, &c, £49,695; there is besides an allowance for the extra distance to get from the gap at MeCarroll's on to the eastern route amounting to £18,063: the total of the estimate for the eastern route is £156,152. That estimate is for the railway on the eastern route from the junction at McCarroll's Gap to the other junction north. The estimate for the western route is as follows: Land. £3,036; fencing, £8,423: grading, including tunnels. £259,409; culverts, £28,688; bridges, £24,380: ballast, £41,635; stations, £27,390; rails, sleepers, &c., £51,181. The total for the western route is £444,142, the difl -ring about £12,010 in favour of the western route. The total length of the eastern route .is shown on the plans is, counting tin- mileage from Auckland. 136 miles 36 chains 62 links: thai i< to the poiat of junction • i:d length of the western route as shown on the plans is 136 miles Hi chains links. The western route is thus the shorter by 40 chains. These lengths are allowing for the eastern route, instead of starting two miles to the eastward and something to the northward, starting from McCarroll's Gap, where tin , western route starts, that being the fixed point to which ii decided the North Auckland Railway is to be proclaimtd. Reducing the • to an average rule per mile, it gives £11,784 per mile as the cost of the eastern route and £1 1,625 per mile as the cost of the western route, the latter bjing slightly the lower of the t« ,; namely, a difference of £l")!l per mile. On the eastern route the length of tunnelling is 6,266 ft.. ami on the "■ Ii of tunnelling is 4,269 ft., being 1,997 ft. more of tunnelling on the eastern route The length of bridging on the eastern route is 3,005 ft., including overbridges. On the western route the length of bridging is 1,701 ft., including overbrideres, being an excess of bridging on the eastern route over the western route of 1,304 ft. The bridges on the eastern route include oh, SVairua of 150 ft. span and eighteen 20ft. spans, with concrete piers to carry the main span and pile piers for the others, estimated to cost £7,000. Likewise a bridge over the Mangakahia of one 150 ft. span, two II ft. spans, five 33ft. spans, and one 22ft. span, of similar construction to the previous bridge, estimated to cost £9,400. The bridges on the western route include a bridge over 'lie Wairoa consisting of one 192 ft. span, one 44ft. span, three 33ft. spans, and one 22ft. span, with concrete piers for the main span and timber piers for flic others, estii £9,000. There are eight stationyards provided for on the eastern route and nine on tern route Each route shows some slip ground, for which allowances have been made in the estimates. Ballast will In , found at McCarroll's Gap by a branch to the Waipu Ranges, about two miles in length, up a good valley. This would serve for many miles for either route. Scoria ballast is obtainable at Maungakaramea. Crystalline limestone is found in the n< ighbourl I of \\ i iay turn out satisfac torily, and there is a prospect of suitable rods being obtai oirt the Tangihuas on the western side if required. The Mangakahia Valley is nol likely to prove a good source for metal ballast. The deposits there seem limited. Referring to the question of length, the western route is capable of being shortened between 96J miles and 100 miles. There is also the question of carrying the western route line through Waikieike, with the object of shortening a branch to Whangarei. This is to be looked into on the ground. There is a further suggestion to shorten the route on the west of the Wairoa River by | the* bridge somewhal higher up stream. Ihere will possibly be some slight improvement to lie effected here. On the northern end, after leaving Kirikopuni, a diversion has been pointed out which it is suggested might !»• an improvement on the present line between Kirikopuni and the Mangakahia Valleys by going to the wee* of Mangatipa and coming out on the Opoutoko. This appears to lengthen the line, though it might improve it otherwise possibly. It is possible 'hut the eastern route is capable of being materially shortened at the southern end between McCarroll's Gap and its crossing with the Tokatoka and" Mangapai Roads. At the northern end it is possible to shorten the eastern route, as a reconnaissance survey has shown. This shortening ;>j!".imts to about one mile, and is obtained by running the eastern route into the western one between the Mangakahia and Kirikopuni Valleys near Titoki. Branches to Whangarei and Dargaville are practicable off either route. The branch to Whangarei would be reasonably easy to construct. The eastern route rises higher than the western route by 76 ft., the greatest height of the former being 388 ft.. at Maungakaramea, and