THE MOUNT SOMERS DISTRICT.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7866, 18 May 1891, Page 6

THE MOUNT SOMERS DISTRICT.

[FROM OCR CORRESPO"N"DE>T.]

There are few up-country districts in Canterbury that have been making more steady progress of late years than Mount Somers, Springburn, and Alford Forest. Many new settlers have taken up their peniiunent residence along the foot of the hills j the Mount. Somers limekilns, stone quarries, and coal pits have been the means of employing a good ileal of steady labor ; the fanners' a -.d village settlers have been making great headway; and Messrs Sharplin, Vincent and Co. have now thoroughly established a saw milling and post and rail splitting industry that is giving regular employment to a good number of hands. The traffic on the railway line from Springburn and Mount Somers is very considerable, and the dwellers along the foothills find that during the course of the year they have a large amount of important business to transact with places outside their own district. They also find that they very frequently suffer much inconvenience and delay through being shut off from any speedy means of communication with other places. Accordingly Messrs A. E. Peache, John Hood, Hon. YV. S. Peter, and eightyone other residents have petitioned the Postmaster-General for an extension of the telegraph system to Mount Somers, pointing out the rapid development of the district and the great benefit tliat would be derived through, the extension they ask for. Mr E. G. Wright, the member for Ashburton district, in forwarding the petition, pointed out that the Railway Commissioners were prepared to contribute to the cost of the work to the extent of providing railway metals for posts, and placing a stationmaster (also to act as telegraphist) at Mount Somers. This would cover about two-thirds of the cost, and the outlay for wire, insulators, labor, &c, would probably not ceed .£4OO. The telegraph would be serviceable to settlers over a wide area of country, and there was no other district in the colony of equal importance that is not supplied with a telegraph line. The reply of the Postmaster-General is, unfortunately, not a very favorable one. He states that the total cost of the work would be nearly .£IOOO, and under these circumstances he asks for a subsidy of £100 a year for five years. This certainly is a hard condition, and Mr Wright has again communicated with the Postmaster-General, pointing out as tha Railway Commissioners, in the interest of the Railway Department, would by providing the metals for posts be defraying about half the cost, the outlay to the Postal Department would be about -3432, and tbat as settlement is increasing in the district the execution of the work would bring its own share of revenue to the department. It is to be hoped that the prayer of the petition will yet be granted, and that the rising districts of Mount Somers and Springburn will be speedily put into telegraphic communication with the rest of the colony.