THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1885.

Grey River Argus, Volume XXXI, Issue 5304, 26 September 1885, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1885.

Much virtuous indignation has been expended in Parliament and out of it at the retaliatory tactics of the West Goast railway members in helping Captain Russell to carry Jiis motion. ' ' Dog in the manger 1 ' was one of the favorite epithets to characterise their action in cutting down the voteß for the North Island Main Trunk lme and the Otago Central railway. It is very likely that a feeling of irritation helped to some extent to accentuate their hostility to these large works. But it must be also remembered that the House was determined to make a decided effort to effect economy in our expenditure. It was too late to think of remodelling the Civil Service or to retrench by means of some carefully prepared plan. The thing had to be done at once to meet the exigencies of the case, much as was the case with Mr Saunders's memorable ten per cent: reduction all round the service ; and the House could not help picking upon the two largest and least immediately required of all the railway work of the colony. . There are undoubtedly good and intelligible reasons for pushing on the North Island Trunk line; but as the Government have not started in the right way, a little judicious delay may be the means of saving them from greater blunders in the future JhajoJJigy__haye made in the past, . and^goodness knowTT they have made many and grave ones. We do not know anything likely to be more advantageous to the colony than the consfcrrfSwon of the North Island line if -accompanied by the simultaneous occupation of the land'through which it passes ; but so far none of the land has-been acquired, nor apparently is there any immediate prospect of it being acquired for settlement. Until that is done it is better for all concerned that the construction of the line should not be proceeded with in a hurry. It will always be easy, once the land necessary for the settlement of people has been obtained, to push on the work with all possible speed. Unfortunately Government has to a great extent forestalled what the House intended by accepting contracts for work in advance both en the Otago Central and North Island Trunk line. Were it not for this a much greater saving might have been effected. Admitting that a good deal can be said in favor of the North Island line, we fail to see any justification for launching out to construct the Otago Central. That is a work we could never see the merits of, unless the expenditure of so much colonial money within the confines of the Otago provincial district be a merit, which it no doubt will be so considered- in the eyes of Otago politicians. Mr Stout professed to see in it a work of a truly colonial character; but tht Premier has constituents, and he is not a whit behind othes politicians in the art of bunkum. In a recent number of the Otago Daily Times, the most representative journal in the provincial district of Otago, it is frankly admitted that all the expenditure upon the Otago Central line up to this has been practically useless so far as the development of trade or promotion of settlement are concerned But our contemporary would justify still iurtner expenditure in this way : "It must be remembered that on lines like the Otago Central delay means loss of interest on the portion constructed, and a deteriorating of that portion. More than that, the line is perfectly useless to everybody until it taps the terrace country which it will open up. >If that country is of any value, as we believe it to be, [mark that—" We believe it to be."] then we may expect a considerable improvement in the condition of Ofcago from its settlement; and the slower the railway is in reaching a point at which it will open up land for settlement the longer we shall have to wait I for that improvement