RIVERSDALE-SWITZERS RAILWAY.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 669, 2 December 1899, Page 3

RIVERSDALE-SWITZERS RAILWAY.

THE PREMIER EXPOSED. Mr W. Christie, of Waikaia, in our Tuesday's issue referred, to the Premier's statement at Waikaia on his recent tour as compared with his attitude in the House i.i September, 1891. residing the RiversdaleSwitzers railway. At Waikaia the Premier stated that the prveious (Conservative) Government had diverted the amount to the credit of the line for other purposes, and promised to make enquiries into the whole matter with a view to getting a full report furnished. That Mr Seddon attempted to hoodwink his Waikaia audience in this matter is best shown by a brief summary of the discussion in the House on 10th September, 1891. Mr T. Mackenzie asked the Minister for Public Works (Mr Seddon), Has he, in fulfilment of the promise given by him to the Waikaia deputation, sent an engineer to inspect and report upon the. RiversdaleSwitzers railway ; and if not, why not ? Mr Seddon staled there was already a report on band, and he got ft further report from the Railway Commissioners and did not think it necessary to incur further expense, as in all cabes everything was against further expenditure on the line for a time. Mr T. Mackenzie moved the adjournment of the House, and pointed out that in his Public Works Statement the hon. gentleman (Mr Seddon) intended to divert the credit balance of the railway in question to some other railways. He (Mr Seddon) told the Waikaia deputation there was no money to credit, but it ha:l been discovered that there was an amount of £1S,!5OO which he had no right to divert, as in the Loan Act of 188(1, under which the money was raised, it was ear-marked. Unless special legislation was passed the Minister was precluded from diverting the money to any other purpose, lie entirely objected to this money being taken to make such lines as the HokitiknGreymouth, which promised nothing like the same return, lie compared the action of ! Mr Siddon to the principle of robbing one's neighbor, which some members would be found to support so ling as they put the results of that spoliation into their own pockets. The money for the Waikaia-Switzers railway should not be taken away for that line to be spent on one to the hon. gentleman's own door. Mr Seddon had failed to carry out bin promise, deceived the deputation, and di-.-honestly transferred money to his own district against the law of the land. Mr Valentine (Tuapeka), who had formerly represented theWaikaiaconstiluency, alluded to the nature of the country through which the proposed line passed. It was connected with the Waimea lailway and Duiiedin,'aiid would have opened upa district of first-cliiss agricultural land, belonging, for the most part, to the School Commissioneis, who, when putting ur> their land for sale, had marked off the railway on the plans. Failure to construct it would depress the values of the land, excessive prices having been given in view of the railway's construction. Further, an advertisement had been issued in connection with the taking of the present traffic bridge for railway purposes, engineers were sent down, and he believed a report had been sent in, all indicating that the Government intended to construct the line. If so, why then was this money to be diverted to the West Coast. Mr Valentine pointed to the condition of the portion already constructed, and hoped Mr Seddon would amend his Statement to allow the money still to remain to the credit of the line, and would take an early opportunity of fulfilling the indication be gave during the recess, that the railway would be gone on with in justice to thu settlers. . Mr Seddon deprecated the hon. gentlemen forestalling the Public Works debate. He denied saying there was no money standing to the credit of this line. What he said was this : there was no vote for it. His predecessors had considered it inadvisable to spend money on the line, and the late Minister of Public Works (Mr Mitchelson) lost sight of it altogether. He read a letter from Mr Mitchelson to Mr Valentine, in which the first-named, gentleman said it had been decided that as the amount available for the construction cf the Swilzers line was inadequate to complete it to any part which would be likely to yield a profit on the working expenses — largely owing to the necessitj 7 which would arise out of having a special train service to work it— the Government was unable to see its way to make provision on the 1890 Estimates for the prosecution of the line at present. He (Mr Seddon) twitted Mr Valentine with not moving the adjournment of the House at that time. Further, the Railway Commissioneis had reported to him that the. extension of the line from lUversdalc to the seventh mile would not pay working expenses. He denied that tho money had .bei/n diverted to the Hokitika line; XI2,UUO would go to the Seaward Bush line, and the remainder to the Otago Central. The Government was not responsible for what the Schoul Commissioners said when advertising their land lor sale, Ho knew it was <i sore point to divert moneys, but why bhould money be lying idle, or at 8 per cent., when they could expend it on woik which would promise settlement. Mr Furgus (Wakatipu) pointed out that Mr Seddoii had deliberately robbed certain Olago lines, and was misspending the baliincc of the loan upon lines which had been condemned in much stronger terms by the Commissioners than the Switzers line was. Mr Mitchelson's letter tv Mr Valentine was written under the impression that no further money would be available to carry out this work.* The argument against tho Switzers line was justfiable when there were no further funds available for allocation, but that could not be said now. The Uon. gentleman was trying to f'-ol the House, and he asked that the full icport of the Railway Commissioneis In' I i i i.i on I tie table. Mr Finn (Dunedm) was quite sure the dUvi.-i in it the money from the Kiversdule-Swilz-.s U.:e was the right thing to do. It

would bo folly to spend the amount of money referral to in that direction. The debate then drifted on to the Catlins river line, after which Mr Mackenzie's motion to adjourn the House was negatived.