The Lyttelton Times. Wednesday, December 14, 1859.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XII, Issue 741, 14 December 1859, Page 4

The Lyttelton Times. Wednesday, December 14, 1859.

The Railway Commissioners in England have been very active in arranging- means for .carrying out the scheme of railway between Lyttelton and Christchurch. Mr. Cummins, of the Union Bank, has been particularly obliging 1 in giving- his assistance to Mr. Selfe and Mr. FitzGerald. We need scarcely say that the latter gentleman, having- taken the matter in hand, is not likely to let it sleep; and the papers which have been laid on the table of the Council bear witness to the labours of our agents in London. A contractor recommended by Mr. Stephenson has tendered to do the work for £15,000 less than that gentleman's estimate, and a conditional contract has been made, with him, subject to the approval of the Provincial Council and the General Government. It is proposed to raise £70,000 to supplement amounts to be set apart for the first three or four years from annual income; and if a further loan is then necessary to complete the work, the amount required may be raised on the security of the railway itself. The contractor is to send out by January next to inspect the ground before the.contract is finally ratified. The expenses of this mission are to be paid by the province should the work not be gone on with. We understand that Mr. Stafford,-the Colonial Secretary, when in England, took much interest in the work, and approved of the proposed plan. We have but little space left us to-day to enlarge upon the great question which will be brought before the Provincial Council this week. Nor is it necessary to do so, as the main features of the proposed scheme are fully laid before the public in Mr. FifczGerald's letter which we published in our last. . But we would urge upon the members of the Provincial Council the necessity for a careful consideration of both sides of the question. After great labour and trouble the means of carrying out this railway,—of removing for ever the great difficulty of the province—are within our reach, but at "the price of some sacrifices; we must determine to-lay by every year a< good slice of our revenue. On the other hand we'may1 be sure that our revenue will' be stimulated by the undertaking. It must be remembered also that we have now the assistance of perhaps the best engineering and financial advice in London to enable us to carry out this work, an opportu^ nity which a little province like this cannot look for again within a very long time. The engineering question has been settled for us before. A practicable plan for solving the financial question is now before the Cou'n-; cil. Everything that can be done has been done by the Commissioners in London and by the' Government here ; the responsibility now rests with the [Provincial Council to determine whether or not the Lyttelton and Christchurch railway is to be made within the lifetime of the present generation. To look forward, and to sacrifice somethingof present comfort to ensure a vast increase of prosperity and progress both physical and' intellectual is not palatable to many. There will be many voices raised against curtailing the revenue out of which farm and district roads might be made at the public expense for some years to come—many persons who cannot look beyond certain temporary advantages, to aim at far greater benefits, just as certain, but not so easily attainable. The province is now well roaded—let us make up our minds to be satisfied with keeping roads in repair for the next three or four years. If an enormous and swamping--debt were proposed to be raised, there would justly be much hesitation in plunging1 into a vast undertaking; but when a scheme has been*elaborated with the assistance of the best attainable advice, by which we may carry out the work chiefly by means of current revenue, we much misjudge the general public of Canterbury if they are not prepared boldly to face the difficulty, and to put up with the possibility of temporary inconvenience for the certainty of future progress beyond that open to. most young colonies. We say the possibility of future inconvenience, because, although it is well to look the worst in the face, it is by no means certain that the revenue available for ordinary public works will be curtailed. A^-reat portion of the money expended in the tunnel will come into the Treasury again in the shape, of revenue; and fresh capital will find its'way into the country when the work has been begun.