LIGHT RAILWAYS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 9108, 8 March 1898, Page 3

LIGHT RAILWAYS.

rUBLIC MEETING AT HASTINGS.

[OWX COEBES-OBTOBH-.]

Mr Whyte, of Tiniroto, gave a leotu.e U-tnight at tho Oddfellows' Hall, Hastings, upon the subject o! light railways generally, and in rmrtionlar with relation to a proposed one connecting NapWr and Hastings with Botorua; Mr FitzKoy, Mayor, oooupied tho cuair, and btiefly introduced the leoturer. Mr Whyte said that the subjofc was cot a new one to him, as it had been a speoial consideration with him for eleven jears. He had be.n regarded as n visionary, but he would show them that his proposal was praotioal, from his experience of light railways in India and on the Continent of Europe. 'Xhe leoturer read a mass of information and statistics that ha had collected and rivised. Ho explained that his prinoipal o.jeot in a_vooating light railways was to h_vo the land opened up for Battlement, and to do ibis means muet be tak.n to reach the various pans of the coauhy n.w lcc'sod up. He wished to state that ha wrs sot connected vath a_y .vndicaie or oompacy. In 188 a the subject was brought before tho Stout-Vogel (_ov-orna-ent by himetlf. Mr Blackett, the Fngiceer-in-Ghie-, was inatrnoted to attend to the matter, and the course ho took oould cot have been more effectual if ho bad meant to ohoke it. He seat aMr Knorp, who produced a survey whioh stopped tho project for the time, the line to be carried over nine rivers, fourteen deep valleys, and hills 1300f4 high. As a proof of the incorrectness of this survey he would mention that the dietanoß given aB between Na.ier aDO Gi-borne was 100 miles, whereas it wbb 73 miles to Wttiro-, and a like distance thenoe to Gisb.me, and it was estimated that the line would oost £11,00. per mile. By tha route he purposed *2-00 per mile would be tho outside oost. In Tasmania, over a very muoh rougher country, a li_.bt railway was constructed for £1762 per mile Ihe route he proposed would reach a gre_t number of settlements, and would go wherever trade oou'd be made. His proposal would include first Napier, Wairo_, and Giebo._e, then to Botoiua, which would complete the journey to Auokland, the total length from isapier to • Botorua being 270 miles. From Napier to Wairoa would be 70 miles, and from Wairoa to Gi-borne 73 miles, in opening up a country by theie railways it was the rule of engineers to follow the valleys by the rivers, up oce river, over the water shod, and down the valley of another, and to use tho road where there was a road. This would relieve the County t.oon«ils. It would keen the good roads ia oondition, and make the bad roads good. Tho railway wouldnotinteiferewUh ordinary traffic The lice ho-_uggeßted was a2£t gauge. It would go round sharp oorners and up steep grades without difficulty. Ho purposed that there should be a third rail laid along the pr .seat railway from Napier to Hastings. The route from ih.nce weuld be ss follows : — H.stings, along the road to Maraekakaho, thenoe aorosa the river to BEatapiro, then to Tunanui, across tho Tut.ekuti river about Mangatutu, to Patoka, Poh.i, Upper Mohaka, Waikara to river valley, Mohaka to Wairoa, through tho valley of Wairoa and Hangaroa to the To £roha river or creek, thenoe to the water shed to Mangatoitoi oreek, lo Ormond, thence to Qi.bcrne. To reaoh Botoru. the st;rt would be from Crmond via We.t Motu to Ota.a river valley, a point ten mile, from Opotiki. The line would thon branoh oft to '__ Teko and Botorua, where the railw.iy i* already opened to AhohLand. The lecturer instanced as tho need for this light railway that last year Wairoa was blooked for three months, and was blocked now. Mis Powdrell, wife of the ohairman of the Wairoa County Counoil, had a sister at ■Wbekatano, near Opotiki. To vi.it Mrs Fow-rell, this sifter took a month coming and returning, and only spent three days at Wairoa. This was the rauto she had to take:—She had to go by laud to Gpotitti, theEco to Auckland by steamer, by steamer t? Napier, by steams to W_i-08, and the sauio routa returnmar, instead of a railway journey taking las i Than a day 3£r Wfaytu brought statistics io prove tha". the line would pay a fair dividend, but if not it would pay iodircctly, When a merchant ereot.d large premises the premises themselves did not pity interest, but he could not do bis trade without them, and tho trade paid bim. The railway was, ho said, the pr.mi_es, and the c.untry around was tho trade The speaker dilated in glowiug terms upon the prolific nature of the oountry which the line would open up, and said it would prove.a mm. of wealth to Napier and Hasting., whioh latter would sjon absorb Bavelook. It would create happy homes where now only a few sheep had a scanty existenoe, it would doublo the profits of the tunholders, and increase the number of settlers in the dißiri.t from .O.COOto 200,000. He hoped the people of Napi-;r and Hastings would aseist the movement. Mr i_. D. D. MoLean exprossed groat pleasure at listening to Mr Whyto, who had shown a tremendous research in placing belore them the' aots and statistics they had heard. Praotioally the portion of the North 1.1.nd desoribed by Mr Whyte was a terra incognito, and perhaps would remain so until the 'Jovernment engaged tome Bi. Nansen or H. M. S-tanley to explore it. As an M.H.8., it wa_ perhaps not expedient for him to commit himeeli to a definite opinion on the subject before the meeting. He should, however, suggest that a small oommittee be formed to wait upon the Premier upen his visit to E.stingß, to aek him to h_ve the propo.ed route examined, surveyed, and fully repotted on. On the motion of Mr Beilby, seconded by Mr Bymonds, senr., this suggestion was agreed to, the committee appointed being Messrs O. A. Fitzßoy, 3. D. D. McLean, and A. L. D. Eraser. Votes of thanks to the Mayor and leoturer terminated the proceedings.