HON. THOMAS MACKENZIE.

Evening Star, Issue 14035, 16 April 1909, Page 4

HON. THOMAS MACKENZIE.

AN INTERVIEW. NARROW GAUGE RAILWAYS. ROXBURGH AND CATLINS LINES. A member of our staff was granted a few minutes' interview this morning with the Hon. T. Mackenzie, Minister of Industries and Commerce, and in answer to the opening question, "Are vou not on thin ice' regarding your attitude personally in respect to the stoppage of the LawrenceRoxburgh line?" the Minister promptly replied : " Oh, no; I think not. You may remember I have always held that there are certain districts in this country that should be tapped by narrow gauge or a light system of railway line, whicH would make it profitable to run trains to suit the requirements of the districts, and with a fair prospect of charging reasonable rates and obtaining a Teturn on. the expenditure, lhat has always been my attitude." What was your attitude when you spoke at the Roxburgh meeting held some four years ago? "I have just looked up the report of that meeting for my own satisfaction, and find that what I said reads as follows:—'Were he called upon to express an opinion regarding the natural connection with the interior of' Otago, he would sav that the great natural forces which in ice or a solid form crushed from the mountains the gold that enriched that region, and in a liquid form ground the schist rocks into fertile sod, provided also an easy and direct highway to the ocean down which the products of the interior might almost have been conveyed by gravitation to market, as a railway line could easily have been formed down the banks of the Clutha to either Stirling or Balclutha. Such an outlet would not only have provided for all the requirements of the interior of Otago. but would have sent out laterals to tap probably Moa Flat on the one hand and Tuapeka on the other, and would have provided railway communication with those large estates which were being acquired by the Government—viz., Greenfield and Clydevale. The position now, however, was that two suitors were tendering for the favor of the people of the Teviot district—lnvercargill on the one hand and Dunedin on the other. ... He was prepared to support the construction of works suitable to the requirements of that district on sound economic lines. . . . The work should be undertaken on such lines as would at once grant the convenience required in the day of the present people. If this was to be done, the people must unhesitatingly declare for, a narrow gauge system of railway. His estimate was that it would cost £250,000 to put a present gauge railway to Roxburgh.' The actual cost was now said to be over £350,000. Further. I said on that occasion : 'lf you people here desire to see a railway reach : your orchards before your grandchildren are grown up. you will support a narrow gauge, because a wide gauge will not be here for many years.'" Apparently the Government intend stopping the railway at the tunnel. If that is I permanent, what are your views on the situation now?

"Firstly, I might say that the Premier, has stated the case very fully, and all that I ran say is of a personal nature. In several papers appears my advocacy of railing the Clutha Valley" from Stirling or Balelutha. At the time I was speaking at Roxburgh, four years ago, it was then decided that the connection should be -by Lawrence, and we accepted that. But it is clear that sooner or later the Clutha. Valley must bo railed. There are many fine estates on both sides above Balelutha. There arc the Barnego, Manuku Island, Hillend, and Greenfield Estates on the right bank, now subdivided and settled, and on the left of the river there are the Clifton and Clydevale Estates, the latter cut up. without a line to__tap them. For the first twenty-five miles a line would go through these estates and up the natural gorge of the Clutha and on to Roxburgh. Mr Brydone some years ago got an estimate of the cost to construct a light line up the Clutha from Stirling to Teviot or Boxburgh, and the estimated cost was £97,C00. The estimated cost from Lawrence to Boxburgh or Teviot was about £350,000, Of course, this was a matter of policy on the part_ o£ the Government. I am only repeating my statements to show the original position I took up regarding railing that portion of Ota go." The statement ha,s been freely made that Southland influences have led to a change of policy regarding discontinuance of work on the Lawrence-Roxburgh line. Further, it was said at yesterday's meeting of the Catlins River Railway' League : '• Oh, you fellows have been hoodwinked. They are building two miles at Waimahaka for every one mile at your end, which, if true, would mean that Invercnrgill will get the trade from that line." What, have you to say in reply to that? " Again I say Sir Joseph Ward has replied to the first question, but I can assert that what influenced the Government was the engineering and financial aspect of the line. We know that there is a demand for economy in the expenditure of money on public works and in the cost of administration of the State, and the Government are displaying great courage in facing what must be unpopular in many parts—the economy they are practising. Regarding the meeting' of the Catlins Railway League yesterday, Mr Chisholm said : ' It was due to members of the Ministry that they find out the truth about the Wnimnhaka line. Personally, he did not attach any importance to the report. The Hon. Thomas Mackenzie was a member of the Ministry and of the League, and he could hardlv conceive of his allowing himself to be swayed by local influences in the direction "of supporting Waimahaka as against Catlins.' I might say that I am'surprised that the League are not better aware of what is going on. I personally am quite familiar with the work being" proceeded with at both ends, but in order to confirm that I called on Mr Furkert at the Public Works Office this morning, and he at once supplied me with these figures :- The number of men working at the Wnimnhaka end, including those on the Lawrence-Rox-burgh line who were told that thev could get work there, is 105, and the number atthe north end, including those from the Lawrence-Roxburgh line! is 362." Concluding, Mr"Mackenzie said : "T am not at liberty to discuss the policy of the Government or of my colleagues. lam merely relating my 'past action in connection with the work. It has pained me of late to. find that I have been placed in the position of being apparently antagonistic to the Catlins Railway. If eome°of those who aTe of the opinion that I am antagonistic to the Catlins line had hea.rd some of the things that were said to mv at Clyde the other day. thev would wonder what people are talking about."