THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, MARCH 5,1881.

Grey River Argus, Volume XXIII, Issue 3907, 7 March 1881, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, MARCH 5, 1881.

Irthust be hailed as .an.encouraging.sign that the Government have resolved to appointa jsurveyor toonce more examine the..route from the East to the Weßt Copit, for the .purpose^ of ascertajning the pro^abllity-of^ pass being-foundsuitable fotthelconstruotlon of a railway. Various Government surveyors have- reported upon the bo veral routes, and_among others Mr Blair ; the present chief^ Mr Foy, Mt Miielter, and Mr O'Connor, but hitherto the teports have not:: t been favorable^ the;j great difficulty being that of a pass^sufßbiently low for the purpose across the dividing range: However, a pass has . been discovered^ and it is due to the energy and perseverance of the two engineers belonging to^the ifJanterbury and -We_st!and Graibd Tjrunfc Railway. Company, Messrs "And #rown.e, to make the"discovory-known. It does seem strange that after all the money, spent and skill At thia; disjjpsarpf tfie Gbvernment,.thatJt^hould. have overlooked the passiiin question, more-;especially when the Government engineers^xarnined and repbredv. on a pass— ihe Henry—^only a a few miles distant from ihe pass — the Ada— discovered by Messrs'Thornton and Brqwn. c -' There' can bePno doubt as to the discovery, as these gentlemen's positions are too high in their profession to admit ot doubt. Moreover, they have challenged thejGovernment to disprove their assertions, and we are glad to find that the Government have accepted: the challenge, andpalsd: h^ve.resolved. to allow oneof the engineers of the Company to .accompany the engineer chosefl, Mr O'Connor^ to go over the route^with'him. . , In choosing Mr O'Connor the have itideed made a wise selection, asC'hia name is a guarantee that he ; will' allow no: profesmonal jealousy to ioterefero m the execution bf his duty, and also that his. report will be faithful and reliable in every particular. Mr O'Connor gained his laurels as a West Coast engineer and surveyorji and is intimately acquainted with the)-; country which he has- been chosen to again survey." Being accompanied as he will be by one of the engineers of the Company, his report wi'.l be beyond cavil, and be the one that will guide the Government and also the shareholders in determining oh the construction of the proposed line. It has been argued that, supposing the report is favorable and ; l bea(rß' * b"ut the report of Messrs Thornton and Browne, that it will be Sufficient if the railway is constructed %o Reefton,; leaving the intervening space between' Greymouth and .that .township i to be made by the Government. Th'si however,' is not sufficient. The original proposal of the company was to construct a railway from Christchurch, or rather the Hurunui, to Hokitika, and to this proposal the Company must be kept. The proposition was to bring all the Weßt 'Coast towns— Hokitika, Kumara, Greymouth, Nelson Creek, Ahaura, and Reeftori — into railway con- • nebtion 1 with Cbristchurch, and before Parliament sanctions any scheme, before the inhabitants of the Weßt Coast pledges themselves to support the undertaking, this must be distinctly understood. It must not be left to any indefinite promise , on the part of ' the Government to connect Reef ton with Greymouth by tailj' aB we believe that it will be years, if ever, ' before this work will be undertaken. The thanks of the West Coast residents are due- to the promoters of the company for the energy and perseverance with which they have prosecuted the undertaking, and we hope that success will ultimately reward their efforts. ;