THE MINISTER'S REPLY

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 2, 2 July 1913, Page 7

THE MINISTER'S REPLY

The Hon. W. H. Herries said he thought a mistaken impression had gob about as to which was intended by tha Department. He looked upon the Te Aro goods shed scheme as part of the scheme for a station in Wellington* There was no intention on the Railway Department of having a separate ex» penditure. If they expended money on ft good shed at Te Aro so much lets would need to be spent on a goods shed at -Bunny' Street. It was a part o! the scheme and would be undertaken at the same time. It was not a separate scheme but the same scheme. Any idea that it was going to imperil the central station was entirely witthoufc foundation. TE ARO'S POSSIBILITIES. , "1 have," he added, "a very strong opinion about the possibilities of Te Aro,)' he B aid. "You have different opinions. I believe that certainly onethird, if not one-half, of the goods would go to Te Aro. t believe the whole of the produce would go and nearly all the timber. I have looked carefully into the subject. I wish to disabuseyour minds of any idea of imperilling the central station scheme. The goods shed at Te Aro would be auxiliary to the central scheme." Then, in regard to the running of tha trains, he went con to say, the goods traffio could be arranged that the trains would run early in the morning and late at night. That would be an easy matter for the Department to arrange, so as not to run the trains during the busy time of the day. In regard to the central station scheme, he was very anxious to go on with it, but it wfts a question of finance, and he was afraid they would not be able to go on with it this yeah He hoped to be able to get a loan next year for the purpose and for other important railway works in Auckland, Wellington, Invercargill, and Palmerston, Big works were required at all those places, and the only way he could see to carry them out was to pass a Bill authorising the Government to obtain money from the Old Country, spread over a number of 1 years, for the purpose of carrying out works which were becoming an absolute necessity. POWER TO TAKE THE LAND. The Ha?bour Board was a different matter. The Government had power under the Act to take the land, and he thought it was only the right thing to warn the Board that the Government proj>osed to take it. if the scheme was carried out. x They did not propose to start with the Te Aro station imrne* diately.