The Evening Star THURSDAY, MAY 28, 1891.

Evening Star, Issue 8527, 28 May 1891, Page 2

The Evening Star THURSDAY, MAY 28, 1891.

The Minister for Public Works is evidently a tough subject for The deputations to deal with, Central, and it is altogether a mistake to approach him without being fully posted in every phase of the question to be discussed. We would not say that this was actually the case with regard to the gentlemen who interviewed the Minister on Tuesday relative to the Otago Central Railway, but we hardly think that the most was made of the opportunity; there was too much harping on what Sir Edward Stafford termed "the wretched past," whilst no formulated proposal of any kind was submitted. The members of the Legislature who were present may no doubt be at one as to the urgent desirability of continuing the line to completion, but there was no evidence that they were agreed as to the means to be adopted, taking it for granted, as we must do, that it is hopeless to expect the money to be appropriated, within at least a reasonable time, either from the Public Works Fund or the ordinary revenue. With the exception of a casual reference by Mr Pyke, no allusion apparently was made to the very practical scheme embodied by Sir Harry Atkixson in his Bill of 1889, which was shelved by obstructive tactics—not on its merits—simply because it was a Ministerial measure. Are the Otago members of both Houses prepared not only to give a word-of-mouth approval to the immediate pushing forward of the line, but to concur in supporting some reasonable plan for carrying through the work 1 The principle of the Bill of 1889 might be adopted with advantage; and the construction at a certain rate of progress being thus secured, it would be open for the Government from year to year to propose such appropriation as the state of finances might justify. The Minister, it may be noted, expressed himself " rather disappointed" that " some well developed scheme" had not been submitted to him by those ostensibly so anxious that something practical should be done at once. The simple demand for an indefinite but necessarily large appropriation could only be met in the conventional manner which he adopted, and it was unreasonable to expect that he would commit the Government in a matter financially of such moment, and in respect to which his action no doubt is jealously watched in other parts of the Colony, and notably in his own constituency. We havenow, however, the assuranceof the honorable gentleman that he is not antagonistic to the line, and that the question of proceeding therewith will be fairly considered by the Cabinet. The present position is described with precision by the late Premier in a memorandum appended to the draft of his Bill in 1889. "It "is quite clear that we have either "done too much or too little. " Either the railway should never "have been commenced or it should "be carried to a point to reach " which was one of the objects of its " commencement; and it is now at the " threshold of the country from which " alone any satisfactory return would " be reasonably expected. In order to "obtain any substantial advantages "from the large expenditure already "incurred, the line must be extended to "Eweburn. This will give the com- " mand of a large and valuable dis- " district, for the most part the pro- " perty of the Crown, and now rented " by pastoral tenants, most of which " is suitable for the settlement of an in- " dustrious population. There is also in " some parts of the districts to which "the railway would give convenient " access a considerable mining popuia- " tion that would be benefited by the " railway, and which would also give " encouragement to further enterprise " in extending that enterprise." These were the conclusions arrived at by Sir Harry Atkin&ok, on consideration of all the circumstances, after a personal visit to the district, and after inspection of the projected route. There can be no question as to the economic results to the Colony of the completion of the line, which is by no means to be regarded as a mere provincial work. The statements made from time to time, that the construction would do little more than enhance the value of large freehold estates through which the line would pass, have no basis whatever in fact. Nor is there a scintillation of truth in the representation that the extension has been condemned as inexpedient financially and otherwise by the late Surveyor-General and present Chief Railway Commissioner. The last-mentioned gentleman, who knows the country intimately, has on several occasions, before select committees of the House, testified most favorably in regard to the line, and especially as to the character of the country to be traversed. In 1887, before the Waste Lands Committee, Mr M'Kerrow spoke as to the quantity of land which would be affected under the concession clauses of Mr Fyke's Bill, and as to the quality of the land and its availability for settlement, and was asked to make a statement on both these points. The proposal was that the line, presumed to be constructed by the Government as far as the Taieri Lake, /should be completed on the land grant system to Lake Wanaka. Mr M'Kerrow, taking the distance to be 110 miles, and all land within fifteen miles on each side having to be considered, stated that the area included 170,000 acres of freehold and public reserves, leaving of Crown lands 1,650,000 acres. From the Taieri Lake to Clyde, a distance of sixty miles, he said, ifchere were 1,030,000 acres of Crown lands, 830,000 pastoral, and 200,000 acres agricultural. From Clyde to Hawea, a of fifty miles, there were 620,000 acres .of Crown lands, 50,000 of which attheleastwereagricultural. As to the nature of the Jaad, the line from the Taieri Lake, he said, runs through a large tract of level country, mostly of a " gravelly "soil, with a deepw soil along the " margin of the mountain slopes. ° • " a light sweet soil that yields crops "admirably in moist seasons," and ' which irrigation would render through-

out perennially fertile. " There is a " considerable amount of mining going "on over this district; indeed, it " may be all termed auriferous, because " where there are not alluvial workings " there are many quartz reefs, which " will no doubt be worked in the "future"—i.e,when railway commuthe transport of timber, plant, and The character of the country 6<|t»e«| Blair Taieri (Middlemarch) and *fib 'Taieri Lake was described by Mr M'Kerrow before the Committee of 1877. From Blair Taieri to Hyde, he stated, the line passes through a "very fine agricultural district." From Hyde to the Taieri Lake the country is "semipastoral, semi-agricultural." The total area of Crown lands between North Taieri and Clyde which wculd be opened up for agricultural settlement, purely agricultural and pastoral and agricuitur.il, he estimated at 1,200,000 acres.

Mr Seddon, in the course of the j observations he made in reply to the representations of the deputation, expressed the opinion that the only way in which the exodus of people from the Colony could be stayed was by the prosecution, of " public works that " were absolutely necessary and that " would be reproductive. If that were " done and followed up by land settle- " raent, he thought it would go a great " way towards meeting the difficulty in " which they found the Colony placed "at the present time." We entirely agree with the honorable gentleman, and hope that he will see his way to give effect to these sentiments by forwarding the completion of the Otago Central Railway. . |