I,—lo.

2

[.T. FINDLAY.

to the Government, and otherwise in the Dominion. The outlook of the company, if it acquires no further bush, is that its forests will enable it to carry on for from fifteen to twenty years, or, say, eighteen years. I pass on now to the railway itself, which is a light railway. It was constructed under the engineership of Mr. Fulton, one of the most skilled engineers New Zealand has ever had, and I can invoke Mr. John Coom's report, who made a careful investigation of the whole line — taking some days in the work —to give you conclusive proof that this light line is one that is thoroughly made and capable of carrying both passengers and goods. Mr. Coom says, " I should have no hesitation in giving a certificate that the line is fit for passenger traffic at moderate speed, say, twenty to twenty-five miles per hour, on the straight lines," on certain alterations and additions being effected, and he thought if £675 was spent the line could be used for passengers at the speed mentioned with safety. We will put the report in later. What we are prepared to say is that, if £5,000 were spent on the line, beyond all question it would be fit to run for passenger traffic at the rate, the whole way, of sixteen miles an hour. That would enable passengers to travel from Putaruru to Lake Taupo in four hours, because when the line was completed it would be sixty-five miles and no more in extent. I might say that the rails are 301b. steel rails, and that while that weight of rail is considerably lighter than the standard Government rail, you must bear in mind that the line was much more heavily sleepered than the Government lines. Mr. Fulton thought that if heavier sleepers were used the company would be able to run over the line the heaviest Government stock, and it was built with the view that Government locomotives might run over the line. But, in fact, what we would suggest is that, instead of running heavy Government stock over the line, the lighter locomotives and carriages, or locomotive and carriage combined, could be used with greater cheapness and safety. The present line is mainly used as a timber-mill tramway. It is true that goods belonging to settlers are carried at rates fixed with the sanction of the Government, but no passengers are allowed to be carried. We are empowered to carry goods, but nothing else. You will learn, I take it, from settlers who will be called, how good a service this line is already to settlers along its distance, although it has been running for only a few years. When completed we shall be able to show you that passengers can leave Auckland and arrive at Taupo in between nine and ten hours —we hope nine—but nine or ten hours, so that tourists can leave Auckland and arrive at Taupo in less time that they could leave Wellington and arrive in Napier or New Plymouth. This shows what it would mean to passengers and traffic going from Auckland to Taupo, and it shows also that the people could arrive from Wellington easily in about twenty-two hours. May I refer to the nature of the country the line serves. If members of the Committee will look at the plan [produced and explained] they will get some idea of the country served. The yellow portion is Native land, embracing 800,000 acres. The total area is 2,000,000 acres, of which 800,000 is Native land, 350,000 acres is unalienated Crown land, and the rest is privately owned or is in the shape of educational reserves. I am now touching the true basis of this petition. The company does not come before you pretending to be patriots, or pretending to be actuated by any patriotic motives whatever. It comes before you as business men with a business proposition, and if you do not consider it to be a business proposition I invite you to reject it. We say that the line will serve 2,000,000 acres, 800,000 acres of which are at present a breeding-ground for rabbits and noxious weeds. I do not know whether you are aware of the great hardship which is imposed on private settlers not only on account of the rabbits on their own land, but in keeping back the Atlantic flow from Native lands. This Native land is paying no taxes, is wholly unoccupied, and is a fertile ground for the growth of noxious weeds and the breeding of rabbits, and the same remark applies to some extent also to the unoccupied Crown land. In this area there , is practically one-twenty-fifth of the whole cultivable land of New Zealand in a state of nature. The great question the Committee has to ask itself is, how long is that national waste to go on? and that question can only be determined by this Committee and by Parliament. What we say is that the country, which consists of pumice land—a term which has heretofore been synonymous with waste land—has with scientific and, chemical knowledge been proved to be valuable. It is capable with cultivation of producing root, grain, and fruit crops, and you have here land capable of closer settlement in areas of from 300 acres upwards and in not more than 500 or 600 acres. On this question Mr. Kensington, who is a highly qualified man, and who knows this territory well, will say a few words later on. I can put it to you that this land is going to remain in the position it is in now for a time not within human horizon until satisfactory access is provided, because no man could be asked to go there and settle if he has to pay cartage on fertilizers, fencingmaterial, and other goods, and also cartage on his produce. It is hopeless to ask settlers to go there under such conditions. But if you provide the access such as the company could provide if its line were completed, you would undoubtedly induce a very large number of settlers to go on these great areas. Mr. Aston, who is perhaps the leading agricultural chemist of this country, was called last year, and pointed out that you have throughout this territory a copious rainfall, but the rainfall gets away through the porous nature of the land. There is no difficulty about working the land, for he savs you can work it during winter or summer without danger of puddling. He is asked, "You think this land is capable of being brought into productiveness? " and he says, " I am certain of it. . . .A re-dressing of superphosphate would have the effect of increasing its fertility." Mr. A.ston's report will be found in the evidence taken last session. You could therefore have upon these 2,000,000 acres a large and prosperous settlement if the essential condition of access is provided. Now, what is proposed? We propose, if the prayer of the petition is acceded to, that the railway be completed to Taupo and carry goods and passengers. The line will then be sixty-five miles from the main line which junctions from the Government station at Putaruru. The companv will in any case extend its present line seven miles towards Taupo —then only thirteen miles off, That may be some seven years hence. I