RIVAL RAILWAY ROUTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 143, 19 June 1899, Page 6

RIVAL RAILWAY ROUTES.

MEETING AT OTAHUHU,

A public meeting was held In the Otahuhu Public Hall on Satwdny evening- relative to the rival railway routes, when Mr Cheai, on behalt of the Auckland - Tarannkl Railway League, addressed the meetings and irave an exhaustive statement rela-uvo to the past history of the Central and Stratford railways routes, Be/ova com, mencing his address Mr Cheal pointed out that he did not come there us v Parliamentary candidate for tho district, as some supposed, or with any personal feeling against their member (Mr Massey) whom he invited to v seat on the platform and to apeak If he wished at the end of the address. Starting with the statements of various Public Works Ministers and Eng-i----peers-in-Chief, he quoted from their Public Works Statements from 3875 Jill 1882, and pointed out that in all these statements the Taranaki to Te Awamutu (Waikato) line was advocated, and that in 1878 the Te Awamut'iNew Plymouth (the Taranaki line afterwards called the Ngaire route in tke report of the Committee in 1892) was placed on the sehediile of authorised railways for construction,and Mr Mucandrew, as Minister of Public "yorks, stated that this line when completed would give an unbroken line if connection between Wellington and Auckland of 47S miles. After quoting from the report of 1884, which he considered in the light of the Committee's report of 1892 showed that the construction of the Central line was one of the most scandalous jobs in the history of the colony, and that the Ijfc92 Committee found that the estimates for the Central line in 1884 were Exceedingly erroneous, he thought the Committee would have been within ftieir prerogative by calling- the estimates scandalously inaccurate, for in JIBS 4 216 miles of railway were estimat-.-d to cost £1,293,134, and the bridges !;30j000. In 1592 the cost of construe- • *on was estimated at over two million /ounds sterling, and the bridges and laducts £250,000, instead of £30,000. -Ir Massey had informed him in Weilast year that the Mokohiue 4saduct alone was estimated to cost $> 150,000. The speaker explained the difference with regard to Mr Massey ftnd Mr Oliphant about the number of funnels on the Stratford route. One *iad taken his figures from the 1884 report and the otter from the 1892 -eport. As no fresh siu-vey had been made since 1884 on the Stratford route, except to alter the position of its junction with the Central line, the extra tunnels must have been put in the 1592 Estimate in Wellington. Coming to Ihe totara forest, Mr Cheal stated that iJ c came to the conclusion that this I Srest was an india rubber forest and •?6t a totara one, because it was so Mastic and stretched so much, quot'♦lg from the evidence of Mr Stevens, in 1892, who stated then that lie forest was worth £750,000, as estimated by three Government officials, fit last year Mr Stevens, speaking at arton, stated that this great and valuable totara forest comprised 10,524,COO.OOO (sixteen billions five hundred and twenty four million feet) of timber, and at one shilling per hundred Foyalty would produce over eight miliions of pounds sterling. Mr Cheal was'of\opinion that if this elastic forest remained for a few years longer it would ~.gTpw large enough to pay »ff the national debt. Quoting from 592 report, which he considered condemned the Central route, he pointed out on a large map of the district the extent of pumice country which he had shown there, as taken from Dr. Hector's geographical map of the district. He further stated that it was utterly wrong that the Auckland-Tara-naki Railway League wanted to repeal the Act authorising the Central route, but to make strenuous efforts to get the Taranaki route re-instated on the list of authorised lines for construction before the coming big loan was raised. After stating how the earmarked million loan was spent on the Central line, about half on railway construction and the balance on public works, roads, and native land purchases, where Wellington received nearly £200,000 more for roads, bridges and native land purchase than Auckland, he gave an idea how some of it was spent, £40,000 in one instance on a road between Ohakune and Taumaranui, where one bridge alone cost £5000, a dray bridge, and several other bridges, along which for the past ten or twelve years hardly any one had travelled, and no dray had ever crossed those bridges or would cross them before they rotted away—rotten monuments on the slopes of the Ruapehu mountain of rotten administration of public works expenditure. Mr Cheal, whose address lasted two hours, was listened to with great attention throughout. Calling on Mr Massey to speak that gentleman spoke for half an hour on his side of the question, quoting also largely from the Blue Books. He stated that the Auckland agitation for the Taranaki route was responsible for the way the million loan had been spent, and also Mr Bruce's evidence of several special settlements along the line of railway, and in trying to belittle the Committee of 1892 he gave their names and callings, and stated that Mr Wright as an engineer of high repute was the only one who knew anything about it, and he favoured the Central line in the best interests of the colony. He stated that not a single Auckland merchant he had spoken to spoke in favour of the Stratford route for carrying goods, and that the New Plymouth people und the Stratford Chamber of Commerce had declared against the Stratford railway route. . Mr Cheal asked the indulgence of the audience for a few minutes to correct some of Mr Massey's /statements. First with regard to the million loan. That had been frittered away long before the Auckland-Strat-ford agitatidn; that in 1891 Mr Cadman stated that only some £84,000 out of the million loan was left. With regard to Mr Bruce's evidence of special settlements, those settlements were in the good country between Raugitira and Karioi, as he showed on the map. He had spoken to Mr Wright and other members of the 1892 Committee last year, and he found Mr Wright was a great friend of Mr Duthie, one of our strongest opponents to the Stratford route, the others favoured the cheapest and best line with respect to cost of construction, quality of land and closeness of settlement. Mr Cheal spoke at New Plymouth, Eltham and Stratford, and could say that &t these places large numbers were in favour of the Stratford line, and with regard to the Stratford Chamber of Commerce, all tha «l*ambers of commerce

ia the eolosy T?ere iniisieui. iq {.he ]}re: sent Ueveruineni, ami oi euiirsu in fayotH? et the Central rou-ta. lie aui not eaF« how booh T'kiQ ueeaiiia a. pai'Vy question, to wiiteu it wav rabidly driii> ing, for in that ease he waa sure of the result.

A resolution was projjssed by Mr McGee: "J Imi having heard the address of Air i. JO. (Jheaij d« v delegate of the Auokiand-Taraiiaki iiaiiwuj Ijeag-ue, this nuMs-aiijj is 01 opinion iliat i the Taranuki route ia in iije best inter- \ eeta oi the colony uiui me Auckland district, and that the member for tlit; district siiouid üb»j his influence and assist With other members o£' the liou^e of tie^teBcnUttivets jior tlio Aucuuinti provincial district, in making' atrenuous eit'orts to get. the Te Aw&xntttU'.ttew Plymouth railway re-instuued on the list 01 railway lines authorised for construe don,' An amendment was proposed 'That this meeting deprecates the action of the Auekland-'l aranaki Railway League in opposing the construction of the Main Trunk railway lino.' 'Mr Ma.si3ey suggested that both resolution and amendment should be withdrawn and that a rote of thanks to Air Cheal for his interesting address .should be give!:. The proposer of the resolution refused to agree to this, and the amendment and resolution were both put to the meeting, when the resolution was carried by a substantial majority.

The meeting terminated at 11 o'clock p.m., and seems to have created considerable interest in Otahuhu.