The Press. THURSDAY, MAY 14, 1891.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7863, 14 May 1891, Page 4

The Press. THURSDAY, MAY 14, 1891.

Aftbr reading the last communication of the Minister of Public Works to the Midland Railway League, it is impossible to arrive at any other conclusion than that his refusal to sanction the deviation is simply vexatious and obstructive. Hie telegram is the production of a man who is evidently resolved to place every possible obstacle in the way of the immediate prosecution of the railway. Mr. Sbddon appears to be determined to bring the whole question once more under the review of Parliament, although he must be perfectly well aware that when the question came before that body in 1890 it was understood that all difficulties had by the Act been removed, and that the Company from that date would be in a position to proceed with the enterprise without further delay.

The reply of Mr. Wilson, which we publish in another column, is a complete vindication of the Company's poeition, and an exposure of Mr. Seddon's misrepresentations and halftruths. Mr. Wilson shows conclusively that the Company has literally complied with the terms of the Act of 1890, and that the Minister alone is responsible for the delay and waste of time now experienced. The agreement entered into with the Grey County Council is conclusive evidence on this point. Mr. Seddon, however, is not content with making a general statement to the effect that the law has net been complied with. He ventures to accuse Mr. Wilson of refusing to carry out a distinct agreement made with the Mayor of Kumar a. The only resnlt of this attempt is to place Mr. Seddon in a worse position than before. We now learn that a conditional agreement of that nature was made, and that it was due to Mr. Seddon's obstructive tactics that the additional £300 is not now available. The important part of Mr. Seddon's letter, however, is that in whioh he bases his refusal to sanction the deviation on the ground that it must b& shown to the satisfaction of the Governor that the making of the deviation " will render the rail- " way more efficient for traffic pur- >( poses." Mr. Seddon contends that this has not been shown, and boldly asserts that " the responsible engineering officers of the colony say that the original line is more efficient for traffic purposes." To this Mr. Wilson replies that the reports of the Government officers, which he has seen, have been exactly to the opposite effect. Mr. Wilson conoludesi "I " challenge the Minister to publish in " extenso the official reports and cal- " culations on the subject, and " especially those of Mr. C. Y. " O'Connor, which he has lately quoted "in public as adverse." Here then we have a distinct challenge thrown down, and it will be interesting to sea in what manner Mr. Seddon takes it up, and we shall be greatly surprised to fiud Mr. Seddon supported by official documents. At any rate the public are entitled to learn the truth about the matter without delay. All the evidence hitherto made public goes to ebow that the proposed deviation will result in a large saving in. the working of the railway, open up a at itch more valuable area of country, and materially assist in bringing traffic to the line. Mr. Seddon tells us that it has not been shown to the satisfaction of the Governor that the deviation would make the railway more efficient. It appears to us that it is Mr. Seddon alone who is not satisfied. But this is a matter which does not conoern the Minister of Publio Works alone. It is the Governor in Council who is authorised to sanction the deviation, and Mir. Seddon is not the entire Ministry, although he has been speaking and aotmg lately as if he were.

Mr. Seddon does not confine his opposition to the points we have hitherto discussed. He has also raised the quite irrelevant issue of the manner in which the Company lets its work. Now it is no part of Mr. Sbddon's duty, at this time of day, to enter upon the task of making a new coutraot with the Company, The contract has been settled by Parliament, and it is not in the power of any Minister of Public Works to go behind that contract. Aβ Mr. Wilson points out, no private contraots have been let by the Company, except the first, which was let in London, and he has personally informed the Minister quite lately that no arrangement to do otherwise has been made. Mr. Sbddon's statement to the contrary is therefore distinctly contradicted. In any case, the reasons given by the Minister for opposing the supposed intentions of the Company are quite groundless. It is not a little .surprising to find that Mr. Seddon should have shown himself so ignorant of the contraot he has been discussing as to assert that an inoreased cost of construction means an increased grant of land. The land grant, as everyone knows, is fixed at the amount of £1,250,000, The Company, therefore, can have no object whatever to serve in increasing the cost of the line, for the idea of the purchase of the railway by the colony may be dismissed without further thought. On the contrary, it is manifestly to the Company's advantage to keep the cost down, for, as Mr. Wiusoir points out, the cheaper the line can be made the greater will be the comparative value of the land grant to the actual cost. Mr. Sbddon must be hardly pressed for excuses when he has to resort to actual miaetatemento to support his extraordinary proceedings. The concluding paragraph of Mr. Seddon's telegram makes it plain that if he can have his way, the whole affair is to be hung up tUI Parliament meets. This means that it will be several months yet before the difficulty is settled and the work of construction in full swing. The muoh needed employment which the contracts would have afforded will sot be available just at the very time when it is meat needed, Mr, Ssddoh h&a

succeeded so far in months over groundless objectio&Tf the deviation. He has, moreover as M Wilson shows, been guilty Ifa A standing i tt the way of the eettlotnJ! of the land. Instead of attending!! hia legitimate business, he has bee busily enga«ed in attending banqtSj and making speeches, while reluk tions affecting the settlement of ft land in question have been waitin his approval eince January ]3 Either Mr. Sbddon is noting with J approval of his colleagues in rtmatter, or he is not. If he ia not «" sooner he is compelled to work in w mony with them the better. if the other hand, he has their author!! for what he is doing, the public »1 not bo easily convinced "that tk Government is most anxious to mote the work and to assist the (V pany in its undertaking."