RIMUTAKA LINE

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 71, 25 March 1937, Page 17

RIMUTAKA LINE

WAIRARAPA PROTEST

"PROMISE NOT KEPT"

COMBINED ACTION

(Special to t'lie "Evening Post.")

MASTERTON, March 24,

At the instance of the Mayor (Mr. T. Jordan), the Masterton Chamber o,f Commerce decided yesterday to cqnvene a conference of district and Wellington local bodies and members of Parliament to protest against the failure of the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) and other Ministers to give effect to promises they made to a representative deputation in May last on the subject of .the improvement of the Rimutaka railway.

On being welcomed by the president (Mr. A. B. Wood), Mr. Jordan said he had not come to make any address, but to register a protest against the treatment the district had received so far from the Government in respect to the request made to Ministers, in May of last year. It.would be remembered that a strong district deputation then interviewed the Prime Minister, the Minister of Railways, and the Minister "of Public Works, and asked that something should, be done to give this wonderful district a reasonable and proper railway service. The' Minister of Railways said it was amazing that the request of the deputation had not been achieved in 'the years gone by. The need for it ' appeared to be'so obvious. ,He agreed that in the past the district had: been paralysed. \ The Minister of Railways had also said .that', he .would like them to give the Government a chance of trying out the rail-cars. "We are not satisfied," Mr. Jordan observed, "that the rail-car meets our circumstances at all." The Minister of Public Works, speaking to last year's deputation, had said he could not understand what the state of mind of the engineer who' designed the railway must have been when, the work was done. Mr. .Semple had added that he would get his engineers, ort the job and obtain a proper report. The' Prime Minister had said, "The" Lord only knows how the. line got there." , Mr. Jordan said he asked if the district representatives could have a copy of the report when it was compiled. . The Mayor went on to. state that h.e had spoken to the-Minister of Public Works once or twice informally about the railway, and Mr. Semple had said the .work would have to be. done. "A HOLE IN THE HILL." j Oh November 19,: i 936, Mr. Jordan .said, he wrote to the Prime Minister as follows:—"You will remember that on May 28 last a delegation representative of the whole of this district waited upon you and some of your colleagues: to1 stress the importance, of abolishing, the- present Rimutaka railway and substituting for . it, as you aptly put it, 'a.hole in the hill.' You promised to obtain a report on the .project, and we have:'been anxiously Avaiting and watching for some sign that the' report was forthcoming. We were frankly disappointed to. find .that there was no provision in the Public Works Estimates relating to the"' work, a'ftd' I-am certain that the whole district would welcome an announcement from you that this work is to be done. I am personally reluctant to make comparisons with other railway works now in hand, but, the comparisons are being^made in soni^ fc qugrte.rs, H and we believe"th*a't there is no railway deviation or duplication that j has superior claims to ours.' My-anxiety* for the progress and development of this beautiful area is my apology for thus writing to' you." On Deecniber 15, 1936, Mr. Jordan received ' the following reply, ■ written for the Prime Minister by the Hon. R. Semple:—"ln connection with..'your letter of 19th' ult. , concerning the Rimutaka Incline, tunnel route, and proposed deviation, I have to advise you that the Government is not prepared to go on with this work at present, but the matter will be brought up for further, consideration when next year's Public Works , Estimates are under review." On January 21, 1937, Mr. Jordan wrote to the. Prime Minister: "I. duly received your letter, of the 15th ult. above the signature of the, Hon.' Mr. Semple.- f have interpreted your, letter as an indication that owing to pressure of more urgent matters you have not yet been able to reach the consideration in. earnest, of the proposal put forward', by-our deputation;' but I should feel relieved to, have your assurance that my interpretation is correct. The whole' of : this beautiful district cries' out for settlement, and I believe that the removal of the Rimutaka barrier between us and our port is an essential preliminary to its settlement. If we have the assurance fronv you which I have indicated we shall be patient until the Estimates for this year, are framed." ':' ■''■,"■ '.'.-.■'•: The: following' reply was: received from the Prime Minister, dated February 15: "I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of January 21 regarding the .prosecution of the above railway (the" Rimutaka. railway), and in reply would, advise that. I have nothing' further to add to the letter of December 15. last, forwarded you' by my colleague,, the Hon. Minister.. , ; of Public Works,' which' correctly states the position." . . ■.'■■..' RAIL-CARS INADEQUATE. "Weir, gentlemen," Mr. Jordan commented, "that is not. what 1 anticipated the Prime.Minister meant when he promised1 he would go into this matter, or what the Minister of Public -Works meant when he said he would ■get his engineers to go into it." To his' mind, Mr. Jordan added, th r replies he had received were not a fulfilment of the promises made by Ministers to the deputation in May last. The rail-car' did not begin to touch the situation and he thought it was the duty of the district to stand up and tell the Prime Minister1 so. Mr,. J. Bradbury asked when the Public Works Estimates would come down. : Mr. Jordan, replied . that the Estimates did not come down' until well after the House met, and it would not meet this year until August next. The Prime Minister had said the deputation was going to get a fair deal and prophesied that its members would not be dissatisfied1 when they knew the result. Now,- said Mr. Jordan, the thing was being put off to the Greek Kalends. Mr. 'G. L. Thomas suggested that a protest might be made through the member for the district (Mr. J. Robertson), who had shown himself keenly interested in the question of the Rimutaka railway. Mr. Thomas remarked that the Prime Minister, the Minister of Public Works, and to a certain extent the Minister of Railways, had seemed to be sympathetically inclined when they were interviewed by the deputation. "We were told quite definitely," Mr. Thomas added, "that if the' rail-cars did not pay and meet the requirements of the district they would most certainly pursue a deviation policy." Mr. A. B. Wood said the rail-car would never satisfy the transport requirements of the district. LESS NECESSARY WORKS. Mr. Jordan said the Government at present was actually going back to the deviation at Palmerston North which had been stopped by Sir Joseph Ward. The money that was being spent at Palmerston North should be spent in

giving the .Wairarapa, a railway t ' its port. A great deal of the traffic going through Palmerston North could then be diverted to the East Coast line. Tho Turakina deviation, which would cut out 2i miles, had been undertaken In order to provide work for 600 unemployed men at Wangariui.: Was that to be compared with giving Masterton and the Wairarapa proper access to the port of Wellington? He would say nothing about the Pukerua. roc. .. ... ,-*

In the course of a brief discussion, Mr. Jordan' said the job of district representatives was not to go into questions of route or Other details, but t<.; "say to the Government: "We have not got proper rail communication. Give it td. us." There was nothing in the letters of the Prime Minister and tha j Minister of Public Works to show that j they had done anything whatever to give.effect to the promises they, made to the deputation in May last, :e.n months ago. Mr. Jordan moved that the local bodies of the' district be invited to'attend a. conference to protest against the inaction of the Government in giving effect to' the promises made, by Ministers to the deputation in May I last HEAVY TRANSPORT PROBLEM. Seconding • the motion, Mr. A. B. Wood said he had been trading in the district for the last thirty years and was convinced that it could not advance as it should, until it got proper facilities, for heavy transport. He was not at all certain the, rail-cars were serving even the purpose it was intended they should serve, and in any case I they did not touch the question oi ' heavy transport. The Government had treated them in such a; way that thay were .perfectly justified in calling together the local bodies and entering a strong protest. . : j Mr. Bradbury suggested that Gisborne and other ' East Coast, local bodies should be invited to associate , themselves- with, the movement for Ihc j improvement of the Rimutaka ' rail- | i way. ■..'... Mr. H. H. Daniell said it might ipe as well to anticipate objections by the I Government engineers that a' greater 1 elevation than that of the Rimutaka had to be dealt with between Mauriceville and Eketahuna. ....

Mr. Jordan- dissented,, declaring that matters. of route and detail ~w.ere for experts. . "We have a good case,";he said, "and all three Ministers' who were .interviewed admitted Our,. case. We; are entitled to protest against the treatment now given. Iro-us by Ministers and to emphasise. the contrast between that treatment and the promise made to the deputation in May." ,

Mr... Jordan's motion was carried unanimously • and .it was' agreed that the district conference should be called on Wednesday, April 21, and that the Wellington City Council, Wellington Harbour Board, Wellington Chamber of Commerce, Associated.Chambers of Commerce, and:, all 'district members of Parliament 'should be invited to. associate tliemselves'.with the Wairarapa protest.