Original Correspondence.

Clutha Leader, Volume 1, Issue 52, 8 July 1875, Page 5

Original Correspondence.

: ■•■ ! THE WAITEPEKA DEVIATION. (To the Editor of the Clutha Leader,) Sir, — I see from last week's Leader that the settlers in Waitepeka- and snr- , rounding districts have at last received an < answer relative to the railway deviation; < and a more unsatisfactory answer could : not well be conceived. The reason assigned by the Government for being so . long in coming to a decision on the matter ' , was that the Engineer in Chief was unable to furnish a report, on account of having to leave for the North. Now, I venture to think that the Engineer in Chief might have written his report without even. : leaving his office. He surely did not require to come to Waitapeka to discover that the line by way of Waitepeka, being one mile longer than by way of Four-milo , Creek, would increase the cost of carriage from the South by fourpence per ton ; that being a fact that the settlers never for a moment doubted Mr Carruthers in his report says that the gradients by way of Four-mile Creek are better ; but not one word about the cost of ' formation of the two lines, which is nega* ' tive evidence at least that it is not the cost of formation that stands in.the way of the : Waitepeka line being adopted. Mr i Carruthers in his report also says that the i extra fourpence per mile would be a great hardship to the settlers south of Clinton, "while it would not have any great effect upon the comparatively small traffic from Waitepeka, the lines being only two miles apart j the extra cost to the settlers in that ' district being only one shilling and sixpence ; per ton, If the Hon. Mr Richardson will only : take the trouble to look at the map he will , soon see what reliance is to be placed upon the;Engineer'B report, for he will find that : the .distance between where the . railway line' crosses the main road at the Fourmile Creek and where it would cross the road at Waitepeka is three and a half : miles, not two miles ; and' as the lowest rate of cartage in the district is one and ] sixpence per ton per mile, and that only in the summer, when there is no grain to cart, the three and a half rqiles will make a difference to the settlers of five shillings and threepence ton. From careful enquiry, I find that there are one thousand three hundred tons of grain in the district this Beason, and it is yearly increasing. . One thousand -three hundred tons at five shillings and threepence pet* ton represents a loss to-vthe district of three hundred and forty one 1 pounds'; in addition to"' which, duringthe i last year, the goods received from Dunedin , alone amounted to . over three hundred ' tons, which taken at the same rate wouldt amount to oyer, seventy pounds. Then? there are no- coals on thi* side of 'thar - Clutha, and if procurable at a cheap rater ; large quantities would be consumed; -Add! j to the above sums the cost of maintaining three and a half miles'of toad to .carry such traffic, and you- will see that hot onlytho district but the country at large .woiildvbe' benefiitted by taking the; lihe^by; r Way of - Waitepeka. At* the present" v time * the - country is. discussing the question of the .;-; abolition' 1 of the provinces ; but Ithink -, facts such as these ought to make them pause before taking such a $tep ?r /yiThen a ;-,,.;, whole community 'backed by a yqte 'oif^ihe; : , Provincial;Council,'iß denied^tsjustnghti^^^' 7 simply on account of an Engineer^ report, f.ui what may we expect' when; leftifentireLy; to d-d the" tender mercies of an imbecile^Gbvern- dy ment.-H-I am, etc., A-;-. -■;."; :y- .yyfdy'y y >: ■ ,-, . ' A, jWattepeka .SbttlerV .. " .