Greymouth and the Midland Railway.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17919, 13 November 1923, Page 8

Greymouth and the Midland Railway.

One of the members of the Greymouth Chamber of Commerce, Mr D. Tennent, •who urged the Minister of Railways not to grant Canterbury's request for back-loading rates for merchandise sent westward through the Otira, Tunnel, has expanded his ideas in a criticism of the apticle, "Westland a "Tibet?" which was printed in "The "Press" of Saturday. The remarks made by Mr Tennent and his colleague Mr McLean, who was anxious th.3t Westland "should preserve its indivi- " duality" by being kept free from the contamination of Canterbury, implied, as we pointed out, that they think Westland would he best off if all means of communication with the world except over the Greymouth bar were destroyed and Westland were made as mnch like Tibet as possible. We combated the Tibetan attitude because it seemed to us to be hostile to the real interests of Westland, of Canterbury, and of New Zealand, and even hostile to the interests Greymouth. Mr Tennent suggests that those who advocate the back-loading rates are insincere in their declaration that they wish to make the railway pay; what they really wish, he suggests, is only to make the railway pay Canterbury. Certainty; we wish to sea Canterßury

benefit from the railway, but we -wish, to see Westland benefit also. Everybody on both sides of the ranges knows that "The Press'' has always had the interests of both provinces at heart: and most Canterbury people have so greatly desired the invigoration of Westland, for which Canterbury has an old affection, that the prospect of that invigoration has been more in Canterbury's mind than anything else in the long agitation for,, the completion of the tunnel. In this we in Canterbury are better friends of Westland than Mr Tennent and those Greymouth citizens who share his attitude, for they are obviously thinking of Greymontti only. It is very short-sighted of them, we may note in passing, to suppose that Greymouth can suffer from any policy which will be of benefit to Westland as a whole. They claim, they tell us, that any concessions made to Canterbury are due to Westland also, but that as they are making no specific demands themselves none should bo made by us. If Westland needed any concessions on the railway, they would certainly be asked for; but she needs none. The fact is, as Mr Tennent is frank enough to admit, that certain people in Greymouth are afraid that Greymouth's shipping trade will suffer if Canterbury can send goods freely by the railway route. For tn» sake, therefore, of the revenue of the Grey Harbour Board, and of such interests as depend upon the shipping of the port, the Greymouth Chamber of Commerce, if Mr Tennent correctly represents its views, will fight against the putting of the Midland railway to the most profitable and economic use. They are mistaken as to the effect upon Greymouth, but whether they are mistaken or not does not affect the duty of the Railway Department. The Department should aim at making the Midland railway pay, and to that end should seek to encourage goods traffic westwards, which it can do by offering low freights that will attract consignments without materially increasing the inevitable cost of hauling the waggons westward whether they are full, half-full, or empty.