THE NORTH ISLAND TRUNK RAILWAY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume X, Issue 1882, 17 March 1888, Page 2

THE NORTH ISLAND TRUNK RAILWAY.

The Otago Daily Times has essayed to throw light on the North Trunk Railway problem, and suggests that, if the lino is to be carried on at all, it should " be like the Otago Central — by private enterprise." The similitude is not very easy to distingish. The Otago Central, so far, has been carried on at the colony's cost, and it has been a very expensive and very unprofitable work. Not a penny has been spent on it by private enterprise. It is true that Mr. Pyke, M.H.R., to whose influence the commencement of the line is mainly due, now finding that there is small prospect of the Government going further for some years, has a project for continuing the line by a syndicate to be endowed with large land grants, but it is very doubtful whether Parliament will agree to his scheme. A bill, introduced by him, was passed through the Lower House last session, but it was carried under very peculiar circumstances, many members who supported it knowing perfectly well that it would never be assented to by the Upper House. As was expected, it was there quietly shelved, the Attor-ney-General, without in any way committing himself to the principle of the project undertaking to put into shape, during the recess, a scheme which might be supposed to be workable. We do not anticipate that Parliament will agree to any scheme which will be acceptable to Mr. Pyke, and persons who should be competent judges have informed us that if Mr. JPyke should obtain all the concessions he has so far asked for there would be very slight chance of any syndicate being formed, unless with, the idea that being given an. inch, they would soon manage to squeeze the colowy o£ an ell. However, the two cases are not parallel, and we quite object to the North Island Trunk Railway and the Otago Central being placed in the same category. The North Island Trunk Railway was a part of the original public works policy, which was accepted by the colony. (It was also a part o£ the bargain that the line should directly connect this coast with Auckland, a fact which was in breach of all public faith cast aside in 1884.) The legislation concerning it shows that it stands in a special position, and is not to be mixed up with any other lines It is entitled to its million specially borrowed for it on the general security of the colony, and if there be anything additional required the colony should find it. The present surveys, we are confident, will show that very little additional would be required, should the line be taken by the Taranaki route. If the line is to be taken by the central route, and instead of costing one million absorbs nearer double that amount, it is not unnatural to expect that the colony will "jib." But that is the colony's look out. If Parliament deliberately passes over a cheap route in favor of an expensive one, the colony must pay; s.nd i£ southern members agree that this is not a time for spending more than is necessary, then they must take an intelligent interest in the matter and give their votes for an economical line which will serve intertrading populations, rather than for a line which would be expensive to construct and probably would rot away before traffic could be developed upon it.