MORE MIRAMAR.

Evening Post, Volume LXVII, Issue 132, 4 June 1904, Page 6

MORE MIRAMAR.

OWNERS WAN II 11I 1 A TRAMWAY. LAND OFFKIIKIPFo THK LMTY IN EXCJIIANUK. I With reference, to the offor which \v« reported the other day a.s having been made by lund-o\viu'i\s at Minimal' Peninsula to the City Council, more details arc now available. Meaar.i. Crawford Broa., original owners of the Peimi.sula, and still owners of about 680 acre*> (hereof, havo offered tlw Council 497 acre* of land (mcstly hilly) at the southern end .of the Peninsula — i.e., tunning out loM'anla tho .Head;; — on condition tlud the Council roust met* a tramway to Seatoun within two years, and urns it for at leaht. tlirco years, with a aervico builablo to tho morning and evening transit, to and fioin tho city, of the Minimal' population, piv«ftit a ud prospective. Under uu offer previously madi> by tho Miriniav Limited Syndicate, and s>till open, the Council, if it constructs a tramway through the cutting lo Miramar North, will be givt'U by Ihe Syndicate 48i acres of lovel laud in perpeUiity f«»r recreation purposes. 'I ho pcw-itioii appears to be, therefore, that if the Council constructs the tramway from Ivilbiruie, along the foreahoro of Evans Buy, and througli tho cutting to Miramar North, it will get tho 48£ acres; if it extends tho tram over or through the intervening hill to Seatoun, it will get in addition the 497 acre. I*.1 *. The Mayor jstale» lint I lie offer of the Syndicate will be Admitted to the ratop;>yerN in the usual way. Messrs. Crawfoitls,' ollVr of land for 'tlio further extension to Seatoun ha*, not yet been gone into by the Council. With respect .to the extension from Miramar Norlh> to Seatoun, the points arising are as to what co.sl the conf>tiuotion and workinjj; of the tuunvny will involve ; whether the value for 10.i.5ing and other purposes of tho land ottered by Messrs. -CraWord fairly bets olt the capital cost of the further extension, nnd a possible initial lo«.<» on the running; nnd whether tho Council can, in view of it« loan and public workb commitments, freely nuance the undertaking, ■evoii if the investment is a good one. Interviewed, the City Council's Kloctrical Engineer (Mr. Wright) stated that approximately the distance from Miramar North to Seatoun would be about one mile and a half, and tho cost of the proposed tramway about £?.C,OOO, but this must be discounted by the fact that no details had been gone iiito, and no proper estimate could yet be mado. There would have lo he oilJier a cutting or a tunnel in the hill this side of Soatoun, and tho Council would have also to make a 66ft road. The Mayor staled that tho Council had not yet any exact information as to cost of construction, nor as to the amount of the probable receipts nnd Iho initial cost (if any). Neither would tho Mayor express an opinion as lo tho value of the land offered by Messrs. Crawford, which has in some quarters been assessed Hi £90,000. Uo stated thai from the Council's point of view it was premature to discuss what the expenditure and tho return Avould be, because the Council had not yet gone into details as to tho co&t of construct! m and working, nor a-s to the value of tho land. The latter had not yet been iiir spected by the Council, but probably would be next week. Apart from the merits of the offer an an investment, the Mayor pointed out tho extent of the Council's present obligations. The Council was now spending over £100,000 in extension of tramways and in stivct formation in Greater Wellington. The Council must also provide water supply and drainage outside tho city. The question wars whether, aftor attending to these- things, the Council would st:ll have money lo deal witli tho present offer. . TUe 497 acres offered by Aics&rs. Crawford is said to include about 30 acres of level land situated near the golf links, and utilised by Chinese for gardeu ptirpi/es. It is slated tliat another 60 acres, though not level, is buitablo for building sites. Concerning the valuation of £90,000 put on the whole block, it is interesting to note, as illustrating progressive development, Hut-t about three years ago Crawford's jMiramnr area was offered to tho Council for about £75,000. A Bill to give the opportunity to vote for or-, ugai^st that offer -was wrecked in Parliament, mainly through the agency of the' Premier and Mr. G. Fisher. Much of the land then passed from Mowsrs. Crawford to various syndicates, who have profitably dlbpo.sed of Uhe land to a number of holders in small blocks. Now for 497 acres — mostly hills — of vhat Messis. Crawford still possess, a value of £90#00 is assessed. The ground offered runs from the golf links to the Seatoun .side. It m claimed that there are valuable giavel doposits on the forc&hore, that the high land might be conveftod into a park, that tho lease* wo.uld provide a permanent revenue, and that tho tramway would bring great im< provement and increment to everybody's benefit. Also that the recreation ground problem would be holved. About 388 acres of land would remain with Messrj Crawford. Mr. John Duthie, M.H.R., asked his opinion of the scheme as one who is in timotely connected with tho affairo of tho city, of which ho was at one timo Mayor, premised by that no had not scon tue land proposed to bo conveyed to th« city, but as far as lie could place it—seeing that the Signal Station is upon it — it was apparently for the most part a piece of bleak hilly country. Still, it might be valuable without his being aware of it. At the same time he hoped tho Council would be exceedingly carefu before entering upon an undertaking of tho nature proposed. The total debt of Iho city to-duy stood at something like £1,179,275 (including the £330,000 loan), in addition to which we were committed to tho expenditure of another £75,000. Thero waa also the obligation for an extension of the water schemo, of drainage to tho suburbs, and for tramway extension, under the Greater Welting! on agreement. Tho last water proposals, as mo.'st people were aware, amounted to' .oa,UUU, and they had been twice rejected by the ratepayers. Yot it was imperative that this important matter should he. dealt with, and dealt with aoon. With the present debt, and those extra obligations, it must be apparent that the Corporation would have to be very careful befaro it went into so large a question as that involved in the Miramar proposals. It must be remembered that it was not alone the question of the cost ol the tramway suggested by th« Messrs CrawfoTd, but there was also Ihe fact that for very many years the lino would of necessity be worked at a low. Tramways wore very profitable wJien thoy vutb fully, employed, but tramways to distant subii) bs, running half empty, wwo a serious drain upon the resources of a city, and herein lay the danger of a pub|ic body owning tramways. It whs not u> strong aa a private company in ability to resist tho undertaking of an unprofitable work. Wo were, Mr. Duthio thought, in danger already of th» oxtenuion of our tramway system proving unprofitable for a time. Therefore, a« lie had stated before, such * scheme us the present required to be most carefully examined, since obligations would be incut red which mi^lit prove of very serious consideration lo the ratepayers. Mr. J. Boucher, cyclo mechanic, 11, Littlo Pipitoa-stropt, has an announcement in ■ tb*ui*nia. Bopairs a encoialUr^