THE OTAGO CENTRAL LINE

PROGRESS Of THE EXTENSION WORKS. . yiSIT OF THE HON. HALL- JONES. (Bt Otjb Special Rkpobtbb.) ROUGH RIDGE, May 16. Th« Hon. W. Hall-Jonea, Minister of fublio Works, Messrs J. A. Millar, M.H.R., £. R. Barclay, M.H.R., and 15. R. Usaher, (District Engineer, paid a visit to the works $t the extension of the Otago Central line ibeyond Ida Valley station to-day. The jweather was fine during the first part of the afternoon, but rain fell later, making travelling somewhat difficult. When the train arrived at Ida Valley Vehicles were in attendance, and the party drove to the camp, where several big embankments were inspected. Leaving the ■vehicles, the party took the track up to the Poolburn viaduct, which is in course of erection, one pier head, which is 66ft from the foundation to the head, being finished, and the other now nearly completed. Both are massive^ substantial piles of masonry, and <a large staff of masons are engaged on the •work, while about 80 men are at work driving the cuttings and building the embankments this side of the Poolburn. After inspecting the bridge works the Minister proceeded to tunnel No. 1, which has now been 'driven nine chains from the Manuherikia «ide, and only about a chain remains to be driven... This tunnel will be bricked up a little at each end, but the rook Is considered solid enough to do away with the necessity for ■ lining right through. The way then leads round through the rough gorges of the Poolburn to tunnel No. 2, the last on the way to Alexandra, and which is now in 64 chains out of a total of 11 chains from the Poolburn side. Thi3 tunnel has been built up as it was driven, and practically the whole length (will require to be built, as the rock iB full of faults. The first four or five feet is built up with blocks of stone, and the rest of the arch is in brick. This was the farthest point inapected. After that the way leads down to the Manuherikia River, where another bridge will be erected. Service roads have been constructed from Ida Valley to in© Poolburn Gorge. Mr Ussher expects to have tunnel No. 1 through in a very ehorfc time. After inspecting the various cuttings and embankments the Ministerial party returned by road to Ida Valley. A SCHOOL WANTED. At the railway Btation a deputation, conkisting of eight or nine householders, waited upon the Minister to urge the necessity for the establishment of educational facilities, at Ida Valley. Mr Thomas Spain, the oldest reeident, acted as spokesman, and in introducing the deputation said the residents desired to lay their grievance b«for« the Hon. Mr Hall-Jones, as they thougkt b» could help them greatly. •The Minister said it was not in his department. •Mr Spain replied that the deputation ■wished Mr Hall-Jones to represent the matter to the proper authorities. There ■were now 33 children there of school age, and they were obliged to go to Rough Ridge to school, and ac the train arrangements only permitted them to atay an hour and a-half at school they were placed in a h*rd position, and it was scarcely worth •while going to school at all for that short time. Still, some of them did go, and •walked several miles to catch the tram to Rough Ridge. , The Minister said the Government had nothing to do with the allocating of the votes. That was entirely in the- hands of the boards of education, and- the deputation Should appeal to the board, or the resident* might represent to the Government that theire was a newly-settled district. Several members of the deputation replied that they had appealed to the Otago Education Board over and over again witnOU The UC Minister replied that he had been very much surprised, and agreeably surprised, to learn that there were 33 children pf school age there. When he to .Wellington he could promise them that ne would represent the matter to the Hon. V\ . C Walker, Minister of Education and lay the deputation's views before him. He certainly thought some educational facilities should be granted, and he would do his best to secure some assistance tor the residents in the matter. The deputation having thanked the Alinis{er, then withdrew, and the party boarded the train, reaching Rough Ridge a few minutee later. The night will be spent at Rough Ridge, and the Minister and party leturn to town to-morrow. THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS IN REPLY. With reference to the criticisms levelled at him in regard to his recent speech at Timaru, and in a leader in the Otago DaiJv Times, the Hon. Mr Hall-Jones states that he was not correctly reported by the Timaru Herald, several statements of his having been confused. There were two distinct votes — one for railway construction and the other for additions to open lines. The total appropriation for railway construction was £602,024, but the actual cash vote was £561,524, the total required for the current year. The vote for additions to open lines was £800,968, but that was entirely in the department controlled by the Minister of Railways, and all that the Public Works Department had to go on was £561,524. It was not possible to devote for construction money voted for additions- to open lines. The votes were in different departments, and it was not possible to attempt a transference without the express sanction of Parliament The position as to the allocations for different line* had been thoroughly understood in the House when the votes were passed. While the cash balance stood at only £813 work had been carried on in excess of the vote because he had some permanent way material remaining from the previous year to go upon. It was true there was express authority in the case of most of the lines to incur liabilities over and_ above the amount authorised for expenditure, but the continuing of employment of men was all a question of $asn. He might incur liabihties for budges, etc., but the cash was being exhausted, and die had to cut down the expenditure to make, the money and work fit in to ths end of the current year. The appropriation total included £76,000 for permanent way and other material. In no case was it permissible for turn to take for construction of line* laoaey

voted to Sir J. 6. Ward's department for open lines. . On Friday last, as already stated, the Hon, W. Hall-Jones, Minister of Public Works, accompanied by Meßers J. A. Millar, M.H.R., A. R. Barclay, M.H.R., and E. R. Ussher, district engineer, visited the Otp.go Central line extension works. THE RECENT SLIPS. As the train passed slowly over the scene of the recent slips near Wedderburn, which blocked the goods traffic for some time, and entailed considerable repair work, the opportunity was taken of viewing the formation and the works in progress at this part of tho line. It could be seen at once that the trouble had been no mere ordinary landslip, but a stupendous movement of the whole face of the country, and of such magnitude that millions of tons of the upper strata have been displaced. The porous lignite and clay formation resta upon a great under strata of papa clay, which in turn rests upon a lied of schist rock, but at great depth, and on a fairly steep slope, and, consequently, when the heavy soaking rain experienced just before the slips percolated through Jto, the papa clay, tho great downward, sliding movement commenced. In some of the cutings 'this was specially noticabie, the subsidence having tumbled and broken the upper formation as though tons of dynamite had been exploded beneath, and in the gullies below the embankments great faces had subsided like structures of cards. It seemed almost as though volcanic action had been at work, and the whole country ie on the move at this part. Beneath one long embankment the pressure had been so great as to force the formation out from beneath the bank, causing it, and consequently the railway, to subside several feet. The repairing and strengthening works, however, are nearly completed, and the banks made up again, while the ballasting is in progress. Altogether about 50 men are employed here. Though the permanent way has been strengthened at great cost, it must be feared that the Railway Department has by no means seen the end of the trouble in thiß locality, for the formation iB of a most unstable nature, and the work of human hands is but as the efforts of a child when compared to the forces of Nature at work. The department has good reason to dread wet weather at this portion of the railway. THE EXTENSION WORKS. When the train arrived at Ida Valley station, the present terminal point of the line, the Ministerial party were accommodated in buggies, and, under the direction of Mr Us9her, were taken along the service roade to the camp near the Poolburn Gorge, inspecting the formation en route. The first impression upon the mind of a layman is the enormous cost of it all. It is not only the laying of rails, but service roads have to be constructed, requiring great cuttings in many places, heavy bridg-ework and rails hauled up hill and down dale, deep gullies slowly and painfully filled in with clay, stono carted and cut for masonry, and tunnels cut through, each foot meaning heavy cost, added to which is the surveying, in the first place, over rough and trackless country. From Ida Valley station to the Poolburn Gorge, by the line route, is four miles, and the formation is practically completed. In one deep gully, which is being filled in, the embankment will be- 60ft in depth, and the material is tipped in from each side, the "toes" just meeting now. Owing to the rolling nature of the country at this part, the four miles is all outting and embankment, and when one or two gaps are filled in the section will be ready for platelaying up to the Poolburn Gorge, and all material — rails, sleepers, etc. — for the permanent way, as far as Poolburn, is now on the ground at Ida Valley station. All the cuttings from the gorge to the Ma-nuherikia. are fully manned, and formation well advanced towards completion. From the Manuherikia to Ophir, a distance of six miles, a considerable amount of work on the formation ha 6 been done, ami by the time the two bridges are completed the earthworks on this portion of the line will be very nearly finished. THE POOLBURN BRIDGE. Leaving the vehicles at the camp below the Poolburn, the Ministerial party armed themselves with walking sticks and set out on a mountaineering expedition to the gorge, and the journey, while replete with instruction, was devoid of neither interest nor amusement. The steep path was slippery, and the mountaineers out of training ; consequently more than one took involuntary seats on the muddy path. The junior member for Duuedin City became possessed with an enthusiastic desire to reach the summit in record time, and beat the Minister and senior member out of hand, winning by over two lengths. The umpire announced that the dividend would be paid when Parliament met. Arrived at the line formation, a few steps brought the party within sight of the Poolburn viaduct, where a &ohd tower of masonry showed in front. This was the first pierhead — 66ft from foundation to capital, — and, seeing a. ladder reaching to a ledge a short distance from the top, Mr Barclay proceeded to nnebtigate. Reaching the ledge, he announced himself, " Mr Barclay, elevated to the peerage," and was duly photographed by the inevitable camera man, though he protested on the ground that his coronation robes had been left behind. This pierhead is a massive structure built of first-class schist rock, procured in the immediate neighbourhood, and an excellent stone for the purpose, and it is now ready for the ironwork. On the opposite side of the river the other pierhead, a umilar pile, is in course of erection, and about 33ft of it has been built. A small army of masons were here engaged chipping and squaring the stone and building the. masonry. Between the two piers there is a distance of 157 ft, and the bridge, which will be of iron superstructure, will take this in one span, the balance of length Leing made up of three spans each of 66ft, two on this ride and one on the Manuherikia side. No cost has been spared to make the work thorough and subsfcanfcial, and the masonry reflects credit in every way upon the architects. THE GORGE TIWXKLS. Anothei climb ot a few hundred feet and a rapid dfe't-ont over preeipitou= rocks brought the narty to the other side of tunnel No. 1, which is being cut from the Manuhcnkia •,ido. The tunnel i> approached by a* short cutting and embankment fiom the Poolburn viaduct, and wlkmi completed will be 10 chains in length, of which nine chains lias bc-cn e\cavati'd. Th* 1 vis- Itor.1 tor.- were -upphed with candles and picoeeded to the fate whi-iv tin' wuikmoii were engaged dulling and 1 la-lmg '1 ho ruck tluou^li whith tins tUiHKI j,a-5C* 1= \Oij- hard. <>iui e-\ er-v foot of the way ha« to be won I>3 bin -ling. A peculiar fea-tura in tlui tunnel was au odour

from the r.ev.'ly-opened rock something like that of new soap. The- solid and stable nature of the rook here obvi&tes the ncceiEity for lining, and consequently only the usual half chain at each end will bo briokod up, finished with the usual masonry front*. The cutting approach from the -viaduct has now been excavated to within one chain of the tunnel mouth, leaving oii'y one chfcin of excavation in the tunnel to corr.plete ta« way through. Culverts are of course numer- j ous, and every bank and gap has its eomple- , ment. ' The way to tunnel No. 2 lead<j round the i Pteep, rocky precipices of the Poolburn j Gorge, opening up a majestic -view of rugged slopes rising sheer from the waters tossing and foaming below to the jagged crowns . above, and out through the gorge appeared I a pleasant vista of the softer country at the Manuherikia, where a faint gleam of sunlight rested upon the river, affording a pleasing contrast to the weird, gloomy grandeur of the gorge. The second tunnel is 35 chains from the first, and it is to be Hi chains in length, of which 7i have been cut, j leaving a balance of four. Though no, work j was proceeding in the tunnel at the time, ( the visitors again lit their candles and inspected the" work. The- formation here is different from that of the other tunnel, the .rock being brittle and, full of seams and fissures, and" the lines of fault in some places are nearly vertical. Consequently stout lining has been necessary, and slightly over 4£ chains of- the 7i out have been built up4ft or sft with solid masonry, and the balance and the arch in brick. The lining is massive and of great strength, this extensive work being required in view of the unstable nature of the rock. An instance of this was afforded by tho tumbled rocks and debris from a recent slip a few feet from the mouth of the tunnel. It had started some hundreds of feet above the track, and thousands of tons of solid rock had crashed down, some going ov«r into the river below. The great masses were lying in a tumbled, confused heap, one piece about 20ft by about Bft by 12ft assuming the of a ship's hull ready for launching, while another, as yet in position, and about a hundred tons in weight, is cracked, and appears ready to fall. Some timbers in front of the slip were bent and broken to splinters, lOin manuka props being smashed into matchwood. The debris will of course be cleared away, and the threatened danger above removed by blasting. One cannot but ac'mire the indomitable energy of the engineers and surveyors who lay out and carry lines through such forbidding country. This was to be the end of the visit of inspection, as far as the line was concerned, and another steep pinch was ascended to the service road above, where the buggies were in waiting. On the way up the irrepressible junior member remarked : " Well, Mr Hall-Jones, I'm ready to vote anothei* £250 to you after this." "And I've the satisfaction that I have earned my extra £60 to-day," broke in tho senior member. % 'Ah!" remarked the Minister, drily, " I am showing you the troubles of a Public Works administrator," to which Mr Millar meekly rejoined, amidst laughter, "I'll take back all I said." THE MANUHERIKIA BRIDGE. As rain had commenced falling, and it was necessary io hurry ba«k in order to reach Ida Valley, before dark, the party did not proceed to Manuherikia bridge, but Mr Ussher kindly supplied particulars regarding the words. Iron cylinders 7ft in diameter will be sunk into the river bed down to solid rock bottom, and securely stayed with lateral iron rails. Upon these cylinders will stand the two concrete piers, each about 30ft high, and which will support the iron superstructure in four spans of 66ft each and a central span of 99ft. The cylinders are now being carted to the bridge site, and provision is being made for their sinking. Tho ironwork for both the Poolburn \iaduct and the Manuherikia bridge has all been manufactured, and a large proportion of it is now in Dunedin The rain had now set in persistently, and consequently the roads were very slippery ; but we had careful drivers who knew every inch of the road, and Ida Valley station was reached in safety, the journey being enlivened with choruses, which, however, are not to be found in modern opera scores. An engine waited at the station with the Minister's, reserved carriage to convey the party back to Rough Ridge, where the night wae to be spent ; but the Hon. W. Hall-Jones was not to escape without the proverbial deputation. EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS Some eight or nine householders waited upon the Minister, as already reported, to urge the necessity of educational facilities, as there were now 33 children in the vicinity of school age. A number went to Rough Ridge by train, but they had a considerable distance to walk to Ida Valley station, and then a mile and a-half from Rough Ridge station to the school, while this fact and the train arrangements only permitted the children to remain at school an hour and a-half. The Minister replied that he would lay the matter before the Minister of Education, and ho certainly thought some facility should be granted The deputation aKo complained that they had represented the matter o\er and over again to the Otago Education Board, but without redress. Since this, on the return journey, the Minister decided to hand over to the icsidents a iulwtantial building at the camp, used at piesent a« a blacksmith's shop. It is built of iron, and there is ample material ' in it for a comfortable little school, while i it could be removed to a more convenient | pite if necessary with comparatively little trouble. The rcidents can then represent the matter to the Education Board and re- j quest the attendance of a teacher. The fitting-up of the building for tho purpose j required would not entail much outlay. | A few minutes' run and the party arrived at Rough Ridge, where they were made comfortable at the substantial hotel. THE COUNTRY OPENED UP. | When the line i-> across the Manuherikia River it will prove of great benefit to tho . settlers in that extensive district, a« it will | tap the country known a3 Manuherikia | Plains, whore there i^- considerable settlement. It is understood that when tho lino ib up to tho Main road between Luudei and Blacks a railway station will l>e pro\ ided j at this point for the convenience of settlers j in tho Lauder portion of the district, who , would otheiwibe have to cart their produce | to the Ophir station, fhe miles farther up . th" lino, and, of course, pay the c\tra freight hack from Ophir to Laudr-r. Tunnel No. 2, I already mentioned, il mis<ht be stated, is the ht-l on the way to Alexaii'ir.i. and tho woiUb dr-fi ibed, together with the railway I from livla *-n Ida Vall»v. have bean carried

out during *iie ticn. "V?. Fall-Jor**'* administration H3 Minister of Public V.'ofku. THE CO-OPERATIVE LABOUR. Between. Ida "Vailey and Mauuhenkir. 150 men are employed, divided i.ito lets, ami er.ge.god on forruauon, mascury, «uui tho tuni»«la, wLiio tyro blacksmiths' lions are kept bu«ily oii?agsd in connection with the work* — on« at the oaiup and the other at the firet tunnel. The ivcrk ib, cf ccuree, hoavy, but tLe men seem contented, and their little canvas city is well GituataJ hi view of the severity of the winter, while good coal seams in the vicinity will supply them tvich Cring. Some of the men have their wives with them, and tetera.l rosycheeked members of ilia . risiug generation were noticed playing about the tents. The frosts will naturally dolay work somewhat in connection with the bridges, but this again is an obstacle which mail is powerless against, and doubtless provision will be made for other work along the line when tne frost, delays operations at the bridges. The men in the tunnels are naturally independent of the weather. Complaints have been' made by storekeepers tnat a number of men have left the works omitting to pay their provision accounts, but if the storekeepers lose it is largely ' their own fault, for the Minister states the department had forms provided, for signature by the engineer, foreman, and, paymaster, and when these forms are cashed the balance of wages is handed over to. the workman. Whjle ho had no sympathy for a workman who left without paying his provision bill, he had done all he could to safeguard the storekeepers, and it was open to them to deal only upon the lines set out in the forms. There are no men at present employed on the other side of the Manuherikia River, the working being now concentrated in the vicinity of the Poolburn Gorge. A large cutting remains to be taken out on the other side of the Manuherikia, and there is an extensive embankment to build, and upon the representations of the members present with the Minister, he has consented to take on 14 unemployed from Dunedin for this work, and as there are only 1+ men here who have hand-ed in their names as unemployed, this gang includes them all. THE IDA VALLEY AND ROUGH RIDGE DISTRICTS. The Ida Valley and Rough Ridge districts, while no mean factors in the output of grain and wool for Otago, will undoutedly take up a very much higher position in this respect in the future. Vast areas of good arable land lie at present untilled, while the wide rolling hills provide pasture for many large flocks of sheep, and the mutton from this district is unexcelled in Otago, and consequently in New Zealand. Population is as yet naturally somewhat scattered, but good farms, which will yet become valuable holdings, are in plenty. Cattle in large numbers are stocked upon some of the runs, and one has only to glance at the reports of the Rough Ridge sales to obtain an idea of the^extent of the pastoral industry io this locality. The land is of a somewhat porous nature, and as the rainfall is but small, there is necessity in some parts for irrigation. It is proposed, in this connection, to irrigate portion of the Ida Valley, and the value of this is instanced by the splendid crops and rich pasture on one farm, the owner of which has irrigated his land. The necessary supply for watering the proposed area of irrigation can be commanded by building a dam to impound the waters of the Idaburn Creek, about two miles from Rough Ridge, towards Ida Valley, at the mouth of a gorge. The dam required for this purpose would be about 50ft or 60ft high, and it would impound a very large body of water. The proposed area is splendid agricultural land, capable of producing heavy crops if this idea is carried into effect. The district is also supplied with good coal — an excellent heating and burning fuel, but whether it is of any utility as a- steam coal remains to be tested. In appearances it closely resembles the Walton Park product, and one very extensive seam exists at Rough Ridge and another about two miles away, a snort distance from the Main road from Naseby to Hill's Creek. At Ida Valley a little settlement has cropped up around the railway station, and a commodious hotel has just been erected, while, judging from the appearance of the station yard, there is a large goods traffic to the locality. f i At Rough Ridge the large goods shed is always full, and residents consider that a man should be appointed to look after the shed, as frequently goods are stolen, and barrels of beer have been tapped and drained dry. Representations on this point were made to the Minister. An hotel, store, blacksmith's shop, post and telegraph office, and school have been installed here — surely the nucleus of a colonial town. The saleyards, a short distance from the station, arc canable of holding several thousand head of stock. The roads, as far as could be seen from the line, arc excellent, though doubtless further inland the setters might have a different tale to tell. The carting for St. Bathans sluicing claims is done from Rough Ridge, and about 100 large race pipes were lying in the station yard. Some residents have evidently objected to the name Rough Ridge, pnd the lettering on the board o\er the railway station has been painted out. The telegraph work is telephoned through to Naseby, from whence it ib transmitted by telegraph, a somewhat laborious operation; but though a number of telegramg from the Minister and a press message of considerably over a thousind words, and embracing a maze of figures, were handed in at Rough Ridge at 10 p.m., they were transmitted without fault, which is creditable to the telephone operator at Rouph Ridge and the telegraph clerk at Naseby There is another important industry in this locality which must not be forgotten — tho rabbit tranp'np. A ronunodioux depot has been erected at Rouijh Ricl:je by Tonkin and Co., and an a\er:ige of anywhere between 2000 and 3000 lahlnts is receded daily, while other depots at '■tations down the line are reiehing large averages. The carcases received al the depot are in^ppcttd and puked ready for freezing, 24 m a box, and big consignments aie despatched daily. The boxes, or rather ciates, are neatly finishedlight constructions, made in the North Island. The foreman exhibited some crates made in Southland, but they were of 'rough workmanship and heavier, evidently carelessly put together, so that the Southland manufacturer will havo to look to his laurels, or hi? northern brethren will capture the market. THE CLIMATE AND SCENERY. Central Otago rejoices in one of the healthiest climate? in the world, the atmosphere being dry and bracing, while the rainfall is very slight throughout the yew. Probably residcuU would rather nat Lara it

enid, but tha district if eminently suited for consun;ptivo sanatoria, and more thaa one who han bc-en a consumptive patient i» working in this locality and regaining lif« and vigour iv ;«, remarkable manner. Tho scenery is Rv.perb. That i« the only word t-c gi''e an adequate idea of the grand panontmc opened up before the visitor wh<> vanders to Ida Valley at this reason, or In spring 1 lime, the best periods for viewing tho grandeurs of the South Island. From. Rough Ridge a grand panoramic view Btretohes away to the front and right, whoro majestic Mount Ida towers. *now-orowned, and in wide open folds. The summits of tho range all bore heavy mantles of snow, while faint oloud-wreaths drifted around tho gleaming heads, upon which the bright, rays of the morning sun rested lovingly in a glorious play of light and shade, tinting the dead snows into life and colour. ]W.ow these imposing capitals appeared the darker shade of the foothills, tinted to golden brown on the tussocky faces and softened by the ultramarine haze in the gullies. In the foreground was the wide, rolling plain, checked again in the front distance by the St. Bathans range, upon which the early sunlight as yet only rested high up, and the lower snows were in- shadow, appearing grey in contrast, as though of solid ice. Beneath these again appeared other ranges of hills stretching away, fold upon lold, to the left, where the rocky heights above the Poolburn barred the view. Further down the line, are the majestic Rock and- Pillar Range v and the Kakauuis, all deeply laden with; snow, and no lovelier sight could b© desired . than the tinting of sunset or sunrise upon ■ these noble mountains. For stern, rugged" grandeur and gloomy impre&siveness the wild gorges near Hindon and lower down are justly famed, and this line, with its evervarying scenery, should become a favourite resort of sightseers when it becomes better known. THE RETURN. Shortly after 11 o'clock on Saturday the Ministerial party, after having been photographed in various interesting groups, bade farewell to Rough Ridge, and boarded theit car for Dunedin, surprising the residents by . three hearty cheers from the carriage platform as the train moved off. The tedium of the journey was beguiled in various wai^i and the party reached town on Saturday evening, well satisfied with their outing. The Hon. Mr Hall-Jones expresses himBelf as highly pleased with the progress of the works, and Mr Ussher may well be complimented upon the- thorough manner ir> which the operations have been carried on.