NORTH AUCKLAND RAILWAY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 183, 3 August 1900, Page 6

NORTH AUCKLAND RAILWAY.

DEPUTATION TO THE PREFER.

ME. SEDDON ADMITS

INJUSTICE.

;<B# Telegraph-Parliamentary Reporter.)

■WELLINGTON, this clay,

Yesterday afternoon Messrs Jackman and Colbeck, accompanied by most of the Auckland members of Parliament, waited on the Right Hon. 2t. J. Seddon (Premier), to represent the necessities of the district north of Auckland in the matter of railway communication,

Mr Jackman, who was the first speaker, said the land north of Auckland is generally of good quality, and capable of carrying sheep and cattle in large numbers, with, dairy products and many tropical products, which wpuld add to the .prosperity of the colony. Many people imagined that the north of Auckland is a kind of huge desert and gum field, but only 1 acre out of 100 contained gum, or ever did contain gum. Some years ago the gum lands were covered with dense vegetation, which showed that it must have been of fertile quality in order to produce such huge timber as ithe kauri forests must have originally contained. Speaking from experience, he said these lands only required deep culture to restore them ito their original fertility, but before settlers would spend money and time in doing this they would require some guarantee that they would be placed within reach of a market, a privilege which they do not enjoy at the present time. It was said that the people in the North had easy access to carriage by water, but that was not actually correct* The sheep and cattle produced in the district could not go to market in as good condition as they would be if carried by rail or road. Many people would be surprised to learn that the district ran one-thir-teenth of all the cattle, and one-fif-teenth of the horses, produced in the colony, while the area was only onetwentieth of that of the colony. There was no desire on the part of the deputation to hamper the Government by asking that a loan, be raised, but the deputation would like to get some practical answer from the ■ Government to their request. Their proposal was that the railwajr should be extended at the rate of not less than 20 miles a year, to whatever point might be fixed upon as the terminus. He did Dot think they were asking too much. ■ The Premier: "Only £140,000. That is.not much."

Mr Jackman, continuing-, hoped the deputation would go back with some , encouragement to the settlers in the North. If the railway were completed it would lead to the settlement of every acre of waste land in the district. He believed the Government still owned some 400,000 acres of land in the North of Auckland, and the railway would enhance the value of that land by 10/ an acre. There were also in the district half a million acres of native land, which could be obtained for settlement if required. They did not ask for a speculative rail-, way, because the material for makingit profitable was already on the ground. He did not intend to quote statistics as to the cattle and dairy, or the fruit products of the district, nor as to its natural products, such as Jcauri gum, timber, and coal, which Would assist the railway which he ■*sked for in the interests of thousands of industrious settlers who are livin°in isolated places, with little or no access to a market. No doubt the Government had a difficult task to perform in satisfying the wants of the, different districts of the colony, but he was convinced of the justice of the request which he now preferred, and that the expenditure would be approved throughout the colony. In conclusion, he expressed a hope that the Government would seriously consider the representations he had made. Mr Colbeck said there were many Special reasons which could be urged ,in favour of the proposed railway. He pointed out that in a great part of the North there was no metal, and however heavily they might tax themselves for the purpose, they could not make durable roads. This would cost more to construct than the proposed railway. The only period in which stock could be driven to market was in the summer months. It was impossible to drive sheep to market in the winter months, and very difficult" to drive tattle. The holdings in the North iwere very small, but the settlers were cut off from a market for their produce. They were dependent on local buyers, and. had to be content with whatever they offered. An attempt •had been made to establish a dairy factory, biit it failed for lack of access to a market.. The fruitgrowers in the Port Albert district said if they could get their fruit to market once a day, instead of once a week, they would (be willing to pay twice the amount they now paid for freight. The proposed raillway would double the value of the land as well as the number of the population, and would- largely Increase t!he revenue from taxation. Uegardetl from that point of view'it [would be one of the best paying lines that the Government could construct. He would remind the Premier that kauri gtim to the value of ten millions sterling had been taken out of the Northern, land, without any benefit to Ithe settlers, whose roads were cut tip by the heavy traffic, and rendered impassable in the winter month?. The profit went into the towns where ithe goods were purchased for the persons engaged on the gumfields. If the railway were made, the available lands in the district would be mainly taken rap by the local residents. For many years Very little public money had been spent in the district, and the settlers had been obliged to struggle along under serious difficulties, but they had shown their confidence in the future of the district by buying up the lands thrown open in the district. He said lie had received a letter from the manager of a large freezing works, giving his views as to the stock bearing capabilities of the district.

Mr Monk strongly supported the views expressed by the two delegates. Lnst year gum to the value of £607,000 had been produced in the district, last year very large damage was caused to the roads, and an increase in the rates was caused by the heavy gum traffic. The bulk of the money derived from the gum industry was spent in the way of -wages, which were expended in goods which paid large Customs duties. They contributed more in that way to the revenue qf the colony than mi"-ht be expected, reckoning on the twiJds of per head of population. Many of the residents, regretted that they ljnd ever settled in the district. The Ben port* were near, but there was great difficulty in getting access to

them, owing to want of roads. In his opinion the most suitable terminus would be at Kaitoki. but before reaching that point the line would have to pass through n country abounding in shingle, which was very urgently needed for constructing roads as feeders to the railway.

Mr Bollard thought the railway should be regarded as an integral section of the great Trunk Line from the Bay of Islands to Invercargill. When the first portion of the line was agitated for, from Newmarket to Kaukapakapa, it was represented as a useless line, which would never pay for grease for the wheels. But it was now one of the most profitable sections in the colony. The people resident in the North' of Auckland had contributed for many years very largely to the general prosperity of the colony. A large amount had been spent in employing labour on the gum and timber lands. The railway was not asked for in anticipation of traffic, but that already existed.

Mr. E. Thompson said the line should be regarded from a business point of view.' At the present rate of interest the necessary money for the line could be raised with the certainty that it would pay the interest. lie knew of no proposed' railway in the colony which was more likely to pay interest. Owing to the bad condition of the roads sheep could not be driven to the freezing works in suitable condition, and the result was that the sheep breeders were unable to derive any advantage from that industry. He knew that great pressure was being brought to bear upon the Government for roads in various districts, and that to satisfy these demands meant borrowingl, but there was no railway in the colony that had a stronger claim upon the' Government than the extension of the Northern line, or that was more likely to pay interest on the cost of construction. The settlers in the district were' now despairing of ever seem"- a railway running in the district °nt the present rate of construction of one mile per year. He trusted this line would receive prominence m framing the public works estimates. Mr Houston said there was no other part of the colony which had a greater claim to railway extension than the north of Auckland. The. Premier: Not even the North. Island Trunk railway? Mr Houston: Not even that. During the past few years the northern district had received a fairer measure of justice in the way of expenditure from the public revenue. Mr Fowlds thought if a ballot were taken among the people of the Auckland district as to the relative importance of the North Island Trunk railway and the extension of the north of Auckland line the verdict would be in favour of the latter. If a line were drawn north of Auckland and the amount- paid by the people especially towards Customs revenue credited to them and a charge made against it for the reasonable cost of government it would be found that the settlers in the North had contributed enough to defray the cost of the proposed extension two or three times over. Nearly the whole of the earnings of the people employed in the district was spent in the purchase of dutiable goods. Many of the settlers had taken up lands under a promise that the railway would be made within a reasonable period. He thought the people ought to be treated more liberally than in the past. The Premier said he was glad to meet the deputation arid to hear what they had urged in favour of the extension of the North Auckland section of railway at a more rapid rate. They had put their case very temperately, and there was a good deal of sound argument in their contention. But it was scarcely fair to complain of delay in -the work, seeing that it was blocked for two or three years through difficulties with the contractors. At present the Government was spending money on the line at the rate authorised by Parliament. He had been subject to considerable pressure from all parts of the colony to proceed with local railways at a quicker rate. He had received a deputation on behalf of the pushing on of the North Island Main Trunk railway, and they had assured him that if this were complied Avith the other lines might remain for the present. Mr Monk: The North Auckland line stands in a special policy, because Sir Julius Vogel promised many years The Premier said he now understood that the deputation was not willing to make the sacrifice which the advocates of the Main Trunk railway had expressed their readiness to agree to. In that case it might be necessary to reconsider the whole .situation. If the Government were to deduct expenditure from other lines and spend it on the north of Auckland railway he feared it would create much dissatisfaction. He fully recognised that in these days of keen competition, if our settlers were to have access to markets of the world, facilities must be given them in sending their produce to the nearest seaports at the cheapest possible rates. But he was not in favour of a large borrowing policy He would prefer to proceed on safe lines than to cause a boom which must ultimately result in serious loss and entail heavy burdens on the people of the colony. , He would impress upon his colleague the Minister of Public Works in framing his estimates for the year to consider the necessity for gradually increasing the expenditure upon the North Auckland section. This was an inopportune time to go in for a large borrowing policy, but he would endeavour to do his best for the. settlers north of Auckland, who, he must admit, had not been'well treated in the past. So far as the Government were concerned they desired to give due consideration to the wants of the settlers in all parts of the colony. The deputation thanked the Premier and withdrew. , ; ■>