SOUTH ISLAND MAIN TRUNK RAILWAY.

Gisborne Times, Volume LIII, Issue 5537, 20 July 1920, Page 6

SOUTH ISLAND MAIN TRUNK RAILWAY.

SPEEDY COMPLETION URGED

DEPUTATION TO PREMIER

WELLINGTON, July 19. The speedy completion of the South ; Island Main Trunk railway was urged 1 011 Air Massev and the Minister of I Public Works” .by a large deputation I representing Marlborough, Canterbury, Wellington and Otago. Mr Penny. ! chairman of the Railway League, said ; lie felt the line should receive early i attention. Pronrse after promise had • been made, blit tlie line was still uni finished. . „ . I Mr Andrews (Kaikoura; recalled the | fact that Mr Massey, when in Opposition. was a member of one' of many I deputations which had urged that tlie ! line should he completed. 1 i Mr Mitchell (Wellington South) rc- ’ fretted the fact shown in the monthly abstract that two-thirds of the men on | Public Works were employed in tho Auckland district. The line was a national railway, and must be pushed ahead for the good of the country, as a I • The Premier, in reply, said that lie I was exactly of the same opinion regarding the line as he was before the war. One of the effects of the war was the scarcity of labor. Before the war the Public Works Department had in its employ about 8000 men. Now it had about 4000. It was quite true that a certain amount of work was going on along the East Coast and North of Auckland, but he reminded the deputation that the South Island had ‘ probably 500 miles more railway, than the North Island. As to the line under disj mission, it was a main line, and ought 1 to be constructed at the first opportunity, though it was going to be very difficult to put through in many places. However, justice would he done.—lress Assn. *