EAST AND WEST COAST RAILWAY.

Press, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5361, 30 November 1882, Page 3

EAST AND WEST COAST RAILWAY.

-attee o£Jf of the f _!£ Sf hoSrtoplacebefore figures representing the from traffic upon fXS Sat would connect Canterbury £__^West Coast, and which may be to accrue within thejiext Sy«K based on the present consump*_m of the various articles t~-|Sber-12,000,000ft at 4s per jjKo,OX)tonsati236d*perton 46,875 jbhoing stone ... ••• "' ' Betchandise and agricultural produce—2o,ooo tons at average 'rateof 30s '" / 1)500 Parcels — ■ ~ 2 ,000 Sheep and pigs • 2jooo fettle .» — —.. *" 25,000 Passengers ... ••- ■ *** " _______

m_j. i . ..._3134,375 - tbeabove Stimated earnings Sension of th? main trunk .line as far ' werta3 Reefton.ortosome point farther - S, if such were thought more desirable. _S_o' n gb such a deviation wonM»adetrunk line less direct, the convinced that the^ interests would best servedby such a. would connect the East and !i Annexed hereto is an .extract' '■- from a report prepared by a committee at '' information as sSftew* fo«sts of. variousdescriptions '.% useful timber on the West : "Coast which information has been pracv _caKy confirmed by a commission that was - jspoiuted by the Canterbury Chamber of " Conu-erce to travel over the districts re-_-_to. 3fi Timber from Invercargill and Wadxm is now being laid down at places as fer North as'Ashburton (a distance of 324 antes) at lower figures than imports from Pelorus Sound can be laid down at the •.. r -me place. It is estimated that if railway were opened with the West -£&wst, consumers of timber in Canterbury CTtouia be able to obtain their supplies at smb average reduction of about Is per 100 ft ' aUKanpared with existing prices. j 4 Coal—The excellent quality for house-j .4 hold, manufacturing, and steaming pur- # noses of .the extensive seams existing 1 on the West Coast is co well known aa to | reader any detailed information under this 2? head unnecessary. The cost of Newcastle ?- coal delivered in Christchurch is about 80s I «t ton. From the West Coast coal of *' : good quality could be laid down here by i?;««hray at 23s per ton, which would show 4-asaving to the consumer of about 7s per. {.ten. In view of the steady development of industries in Canterbury a ? .-rapid increase in the consumption of coal Tjiay be anticipated. Information has just fcbeen made public to the effect that the |j3few Zealand Shipping Company is about :9io inaugurate a direct steam service, with and the requirements ot the Steamers"of this service will cause a large demand. _£' Building Stone —On this subject an «x----llisaci from the report of the Greymouth JaaemiDiee is also annexed. The committee <pjl the League is of opinion that the refloats from the carriage of this article to would probably be an jimportant. steadily increasing item, % " General Merchandise, Agricultural ProjPabOfc and Live Stock—The estimated earn3'.i»fkk respect of these are bated on the V-4n6ig statistics of population on the s>JS*t Coast, and of ipoptt-pM-m there that would be surf to follow gijfe opening of railway coi_munlcationwith E-fius district, aconsiderable augmentation of p2_i-o under* these several heads might be 1; looked for. V The committee of the League would invite the attention of the Comf. mission to the comparative statistics of Iliad aud stock, dated 30th September last, t prepared by Mr John Tinline. If a copy of S*"ttis paper should not be already in the i hands of the Commission the oommittee § will be pleased to furnish one. |, The committee would also respectfully |c«uggesttothe Commission the advisable- _< ness of taking oral evidence from the fol- | lowing gentlemen regarding the respective Icharacteristiea of the various proposed I routes going north, north-west, and west | from Canterbury, viz.—Messrs. John Tininline, John Ihglis, William Atkinson, and |Tw. Hossack. All of these gentlemen possess fpspecial personal knowledge of the features |N>f the district in question, and the comI; ndttec would regard their testimony as par§T tic—arly trustworthy and valuable. P¥- Baring thus indicated reasons which, in s-ihe opinion of the committee, show, conm «lssively that the construction of a railway fetoiKamect the East and West Coast is a §ysoW_l work, that should take precedence Sfesany work intended, simply as an ex--S?i__m of a co called JErunk linenorth- , the committee mmld now beg to the attention of the Commission to facta which prove that the proposed sioh of the trunk line northwards, by «f the East Coast or the inland route, phouse to Blenheim, is not supported If by any justifying condition either from a |:local or colonial point of view. Neither of g--shese proposed routes touch country where %. x_narals or timber exist in any quantity that |~<ould afford any traffic worthy of mention. f/The area of agricultural land, or any hind ' .-fording encouragement for settlement, ii that would be opened up would be incon- % ektetable'; and as agricultural produce 'Could be carried by water at, much lower ' S rates from the convenient shipping places f| «t Kaikoura and Gore's Bay, any revenue I be of themost trifling character. 0 Moreover, as regards passenger traffic, in S.view of the woo. appointed aad yoarly S improving steam services now operating on %s&» coast, it could not be reasonably ex- -. pected that any considerabie portion of „',<h*t traffic, as .between Lyttelton and 1 Wellington, could ever be diverted to a sF" railway connecting Christchurch and Pic-|;-*aa. With railway communication com:i pleted to that point, there would still ret% n_an the sea voyage across Cook Straits; F and personß travelling from Lyttelton | "to Wellington wctdd, as a rule, prefer to niake the voyage steamer aa at present. In the opinion of the committee it . %*' inlxneceGsarv to peruse the Governreport in order to _-* %aons %3iply sufficient to con- <^ a the Government to ■extend Island trunk line north--Ira^*« b J*ae Eist Coast, the Amuxi Coast, routes. Speaking of these alternate **&»,;__. Blair says in hia report, emboli in the last Public Works repolt shows *hat ihe the country traversed, *nd the napcrbaioj of the districts immediately connected, a_ t

~ . .. not alone warran *** <»ostruct««t £ * through line in any * tS^^T 11 must therefore v ?* shortest and quickest route best." The , firmly __Sn_irway J *- I£tZ*3 for thenc"" ?v 3eet i** 6 ca - aec -°° <* the two ends of | the colony are entirely i«n2£aad ; S*.- progress, be productive of ;f t»nraensur_teto the cost. *! WMMS, » e,xei » I In oondusioa, the comnuttea. __aKnthat it represente "^l o «* the people on tiJwest an 2.. m kelson, cannot refrain from was opportunity of expr*___«rrpn_e and dmppoinia.n**! this TEgl gjgaßddle Island trunk line, the Go*b_w J S^* 8 ignored the posabili. {"» Wr promoting settlement, and for in-

creasing the wealth of the colony, that could be made available by the connection of the East and West Coasts by railway; and the committee cannot help viewing with concern the existing danger that the certain prospect of the considerable traffic that could be developed by an extension of _he trunk line by the West Coast may be sacrificed by the Government in order to give effect to tbe mere sentiment of completing the Middle Island trunk line by a. more direct route, but by one that could not possibly yield any traffieor serve any interest worthy of any consideration from a colonial point of view. By order of the committee, W. Ckbtstau., Chairman.

Note.—-The distance of 176 miles is taken as the distance between Reefton and Christchurch. When the line from Greymouth to Nelson is completed the whole of the traffic mentioned would pass over the line-from Reefton to Canterbury if that were constructed. -