CROMWELL'S NEEDS

Evening Star, Issue 12396, 9 January 1905, Page 1

CROMWELL'S NEEDS

[Fbosi Oub Own Cohkespondknx.]

The Hon. Hall-Jones, accompanied bv Mr Ussher, of the Public arrived at Cromwell about 11 a.m. on the Ota Mist., and was at once interviewed by Mr Chas. Holden (representing the Borougli Council), Mr Jas. utile (on behalf of the Railway League), Messrs J. L. Scott L. Harris, and Mr A. Warburton, and were introduced to the Minister by Mr Ja& Horn (chairman of Vincent County). Mr C Holden, who apologised- for- the absence of the mayor, who was in the North Island, brought the matter of the extension of the railway Ho Clyde and Cromwell before the .Minister. Inter alia, he dwelt oh the fact that on the promise of 'the. Government of that period tnat the railway would be completed to Wanaka in four years settlers'.took up land m the Wanaka and Hawea districts, lhat was in the seventies, yet the line was only now completed to Omakau. - He hoped, however, that no delay would occur in the completion of the line to Clyde, and thence to Cromwell. He pointed out'that Clyde and Alexandra had been assisted, by the Government in their water Eupply, whereas Cromwell. residents had borne the heavy expense of bringing in ■ their own water, and as an increase of the supply was now imperative he hoped that the Government would assist the' Borough Council The necessity of a suitable residence for th« postmaster was brought under the Minister's ■ •notice, as the department 'required that dffi-' cer to reside on the premises, while the room he at present occupied was damp and imsalubnous, and had greatly affected tha occupant's health; in fact, he had only lately come out of the hospital, and was again confined to his bed and under medical treatment. The rotten state of the fence round the courthouse and police quarters wa*also brought under the hon. gentleman's notice by Mr Holden, who pointed out that until the Borough Council ,car.ted the sand out, of the Government sections it was a. couple of feet deep in the-enclosure, the result being that the fence was, in a state of dry rot, and was only hanging together.— Mr T. L. Scott said that too much praise could not be accorded to Constable Bradley, who, as soon as,the sand was carted out on his own responsibility, worked hard to improve the sections, laid them down in clover, and what was formerly a sandy desert was now a beautiful green paddock, and he considered the constable's exertions in the matter should be suitably recognised by the department.—Mr Jas. Lottie brought under the Minister's notice the necessity of the Government assisting to bring, in an adequate water supply to irrigate the Cromwell Flat, and thousand of acres at present bar-, ren,. which under -a scheme of irrigation would render it the most profitable fruit* growing district in Otaao. . The Hon. Mr Hall-Jones replied to the various matters discussed by the deputation* He painted out that the railway was being pushed on as rapidly as possible, and he could assure the gentlemen present that no time would be lost in completing the line to Clyde. As for the extension to Cromwell, he stated that 'many vears ago he travelled from Cromwell to Clyde, and he then thought the Gorge .presented very formidable obstacles to the construction of a railw:ty. But on this trip he had carefully examined the proposed route, and he was pleasantly surprised to find that, with the exception of two or three rocky points, the route was practically of easy construction and over country free from slips. There did not exist a tithe of the difficulties "that were met. with in the Pooiburn Gorge, and he assured ;*he deputation that the advent of the railway to Cromwell fras nearer than the gentlemen present imagined. As 'to the requirements of the Post Office and the Courthouse fence, they would be passing these places en route to Pembroke, and Mr Ussher would see for himself and attend to those matters. Water conservation he admitted to be of vital importance to the district, and he could see. that with irrigation it would blosron like a rose. Mr Hancock, the expert who had reported to the Government on the waterpower of the colony, had stated that Lalra Hawea alone could furnish many hundreds of thousands of elctrical horse-power—in-deed, enough to drive all the machinery in use from Hawea to Dunedin inclusive—and. by taking a line of.wire across the ranges it could supply Christchurch as well. Besides this, enough water could be brought in ,a race to irrigate the Clutha Valley to Cromwell, and the proposal would receive the earnest consideration of the Government. The county chairman (Mr Home) who the Ministerial pirty' at Clyde and drove them to Cromwell, also energetically advocated the necessity for extending the lire. and pointed out to the Minister the ivnte that would probably be adopted in linking Cromwell with the rest of Otago.