The Press. THURSDAY, MAY 6. 1886.

Press, Volume XLIII, Issue 6435, 6 May 1886, Page 2

The Press. THURSDAY, MAY 6. 1886.

The stipulations made by the New Zealand Midland Railway Company— the Company formed in London to construct toe East and West Coast and Nelson Bail way—do not appear to be of a character Which; should cause any difficulty about the passing of an Enabling "Bill, that is if the telegram published yesterday correctly summarises the conditions. The first is that the land to be granted to the Company is to be selected forthwith, and set aside for them, they taking possession of the land in any sequence they may desire. The clause in the Act of 1884 which regulates the selection of land provides that when the whole line or any eection thereof is completed and fit for traffic, *' the Governor may, from the several blocks of land provided to be set aside under the Act, allow the Company to select an acreage, the value of which shall bear the same proportion to the value of the total percentage of land to be granted for' the< entire line as the value of the section completed does to the estimate of the entire fine. , * TJpon the selection of every individual block, the Government is to be allowed to select another block "as near thereto as possible." Prom the telegram it would appear that the Midland Railway Company hare stipulated that the whole or the land to be given to them ia to be selected at once and set aside for them, they, as we have said, taking possession of it. aa the railway proceeds ; in proportion, of course, to tie amount of work done. It does not appear to us that there should be any opposition to such a stipulation. Before beginning the work the' Company want to know exactly what they aregoingtoget. The second stipulation as to the price to be paid for the line in the event of it being purchased by the .colony need not give rise to much discussion. It may be taken for granted that if the colony had made up its mind to purchase the line when it ia made, it would not have secured its construction in the present roundabout fashion. We do not wish to see the railway acquired by the colony at all. When the Acts of 1881 and 1884 were passed, it was taken for granted by the Legislature that the lines constructed under them were to be owned and worked by private companies. That, being the case, the stipulation that in the event of the colony purchasing the West Coast Railway the interest in the course of construction is to be included, will not be looked upon as very important. The other two stipulations are merely formal, and need not be discussed.

When it was annonnced that a Syndicate had teen formed in London

to construct the East and "West Coast Bailway we welcomed the news, because&such step would relieve the a difficulty. It that the atfpibt wf&Bpd the line out of ro|gipl£tu|PfPlould have led to very scraps polf§P|%£omplications. On theptie have been ranged theTfanterb'uiy, Nelson and Westland members, and on the other the great majority of the representatives from the rest of ih? colony. The struggle would have beto a long and bitter one, and it is difficult to say what the consequences might have been. The appearance of the Syndicate on the scene relieves us of all this, and paves the way for a return to a sounder state of affairs. It is not to be expected, of course, that politicians will leave the matter altogether alone. Capital will, no doubt, be attempted to be made out- of the successful completion of the negotiations, members on one side or the other endeavouring to make out how much the districts interested are indebted to their labours. This, however, is harmless enough, compared with the injury that would have been inflicted had. the question been allowed to remain for an indefinite number of years in the region of practical politics. In reality it is now a good many years since the work was commenced which has now, we hope, ended in a contract being made to construct the railway by a Company of English capitalists. The Bailways Construction and Land Act of 1881 was the outcome of much discussion and consideration in the locality before it came before the House at all. As a result of these deliberations, the then Government agreed to bring in a measure for facilitating the construction of the East and West Coast Railway by private enterprise. The Bill became law, and various attempts were made to take advantage of its provisions. In 1884 the East and West Coast and Nelson Eailway Bill was introduced j by the present Colonial Treasurer. It was, he said, constructed "on the lines of the Bailwafs Construction Act, but modified in several particulars to meet the particular circumstances of the case. ,. When that measure had become law the people of Canterbury and Nelson set about the task of having the railway made by private enterprise. .A contract was entered into with the Government by a number of gentlemen in Canterbury and Nelson. The necessary funds were provided to eend Home delegatee to negotiate with capitalists in London. The first result of their labours was the famous Meigga' contract, of which so much was heard during the fate session. When its actual provisions became known, the House had no difficulty in making up its mind regarding it. Even the most thoroughgoing supporters of the railway ad- | mitted that it could, not be enterI tamed. The delegates, however, were not disposed to abandon the task they had undertaken. Mr. Alas Scott and those associated with him in London laboured industriously for months with but little prospect, as far as could be ascertained out here, of success. At length the news became more hopeful. Private information received from time to time, indicated that our delegate had finally succeeded in associating himself with substantial men, and that there was every pros-' pectof the negotiations he was conduc'img ending in an agreement to construct the railway. The very greatest credit is due to Mr. Scott for the care and prudence with which he prosecuted bis operations. Of course wnen -the affair had reached a certain stage the good offices of the Agent-General, were found to be necessary. The agreement made between the Government and Messrs. Chbystail, Fobd, Habt, Matsoh, SciiAHSEBS, and others had expired, and it rested with the Government to exercise their powers of cancellation or not. There were, besides, the stipulations made by the London Syndicate to be agreed to, and it was therefore necessary that the matter should be referred to the Government. Ministers might, no doubt, have refused to make any concessions to the Syndicate, and j thus have upset all that Mr. Scott had done. Bat they were not at all likely to attempt anything of the kind. They have wisely completed the work he has so successfully commenced. T What we desire to point out here is ' tnat in awarding credit to the various persons concerned, the public should remember that but for the local contractors, the guarantors who found the mosey, and the delegates who conducted the business in London, the New Zealand Midland Bailway Company would not have been in existence now.