ABANDONED PROJECT.

WAIKATO'S LIGHT RAILWAY.

ACCOUNTS FESTALLY SETTLED.

(By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.)

HAMILTON, this day. The proposal to construct a railway from the Waikato to the west coast created considerable interest a few years ago, but it remained .. proposal. * The accounts are now finally settled and the railway district dissolved.

The light railway was to run from x 1 rankton to Kawhia. A permanent board was elected in October, 1923, with a mandate from the ratepayers that they did not want the railway proceeded with. The board at once took steps to discharge the legal liabilities that had been incurred by the provisional board, and bring the undertaking to a final issue. JLt tound liabilitiesc to extent of £3000 had been incurred by the provisional board, the greater portir ». being engineering charges and legal expenses. The board has settled all liabilities. It was legally hable for and on three items alone the sum of £730 has been saved to the ratepayers in the settlement. To enable this a rate had to be struck over the railway district. This amounted to £4132, of which £3G54 7- °:yj and s occupied by Europeans, and £478 over native lands. Of the European rate £3542 was collected, and xll2 written off as non-recoverable, and of the £478 due by natives £40 was collected, and the rest had to be written off.

Under the provisions of the Local .Hailway Amendment Act, 1926, the surplus funds had to be handed to the Crown, and a surplus cJ £730 has been duly- paid to the Government. The Minister of Public Works has, however, undertaken to return the amount to the various local bodies concerned in the railway district, the Kawhia, Waipa and Raglan County Council.