The Lyttelton Times. MONDAY, MAY 10, 1869.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2604, 10 May 1869, Page 2

The Lyttelton Times. MONDAY, MAY 10, 1869.

s Wi hive bo wish to create .unoecesjsary aiarm ki the. public mind, but iiinee we have read Mr Thornton's irephkt ~en' the existing 1 state of the tmmel we cannot get rid of a jmcit hdririble ideA What wodld icome.of tbe province if it, were, ai«K defily deprived of its t ouperintebdent and Executive! Into #hat depths of confusion/wooid aii the public businese be. pinugedishould such a catastrophe happen! And yet the event is by no b6 , ,tt Pi posed. More thap this, not only is the sudden cemovul of the Executive a possible occurrence, but it may take place rai'dfeb ■ cufcutnsiances 1 which the imagination hardly ventures to contemplate: To conceive for an instant the possibility of his Honor and the Executive in ai felon’s, dock rads a figorou* ftrebph of fanpy. Imagine his Honor and Messrs Montgsuiery, Jbliie, Lee,and Wynn< Williams habited in the .well-known, rid shirt, aid fbroed by the stern, decree 6f the law to divert their attention from the nmnagetziant ef the Railway* tto a more inritfiate bot painful with harhpur ,W or^B - Ludicrously ,suggestive as this picture will, appeiar to many, the reality is npt so utterly incooceivhbie. If Mr Thornton’s report upon' Ibe State' of thd’thhtael earthing. It certsfuly meanr that the tunnel ir far fihm safe for trafic. Sie “ amomllmg-toj*96W,frWhi#hi >«tjben*ditri» l'oi**idee “ anytteuUkfa ftyretl bfmftiy." It ia dear tbm* Mr Thornton considers the tuauel aamlhr and that he baa reported his opinion to the Government.

Yet in the face of this opinion the Government continue to trains through the iSrampd any serious accident Gcfvemment would certainly be ikble to be charged with manslaughter. A Anq then the fearful consequences Already do* picted might actually occur.. \Vje can only imagine that the Goveriib|fln( have thought of all we suppose that they do not share in the fears of their engineer. The public may therefore comfort themselves in so far as the actual degree of immediate danger is concerned. Apart from the question of danger from the state of the tunnel, the report to which we have referred will create a feeling of profound astonishment and disappointment in the public mind. We venture to say that there are not twenty men in the province who did not believe that when the tunnel was. once completed there would be an end to any further outlay upon the work. No one ever supposed that it. belonged to that large list of works which require constant additional expenditure , to keep them in proper order. If such a thought had entered into, the public mind when the tunnel was in contemplation, we venture to say that the work would never have been commenced. But if we are to believe Mr Thornton, the tunnel requires an immediate outlay of close on three thousand pounds, “ to ensure anything “ like a degree of safety." What may be the cost of repairing the numerous places which “ would otherwise be “ best protected with brick work, but V which may with careful watching do “ without for sometime," we are afraid to contemplate. But the sentence sounds so. exceedingly suggestive as to be really, alarming. To an unprofessional mind, acquainted by sad experience tfjth jobs, there looms.up a long and dismal vista of endless patchwork, sufficient to absorb for ever any femanet of profit that may be squeezed out of the working of the main lines. In the face of a report such ae this, it; is necessary that the best engineering advice should at once be taken. The public will be glad to learn, therefore, that the Government have telegraphed for Mr Patterson from Punedin. It will be remembered that this engineer was employed to examine the tundel at the time the work was taken over from the contractors, and that he expressed himself in general terms as being well satisfied with the Condition ofthe work. We believe that be. then, made a careful survey. of all, the weak points of the tufinsjli and gave © deliberate professional opinion fhat they perfectly safe. It certainly seems as singular as it is Unfortunate, that the work should to aqon be discovered te he essentially unsafe. We can only hope, in the interests of the province, that the pretent professional adviser of the Government is altogether mistaken in his opinion. And this hope becomes strengthened into belief when wp remember how Mr Thornton has managed the tunnel since it has been entrusted to him. Every one who has taken the amallest .petP oD pl interest in the tunnel works during the past five or six yeara'most hive heard of Ned Walker. To those who. did ntf. him, it will suffice to say that he was foreman of the tunnel works under th© contractors during the term of construction ; jthat hp was a man of singular intelligence, activity, and perseverance; and that he knew more about the tunnel than either of his employers, or any other man in Canterbury. In fact, it would be no exaggeration to say that he knew every stone in the tunnel. Now, without passing any opinion, one way or the other, upon Mr Thornton’s professional abilities, we shall not be transgressing the bounds of fairness ,when:we hazard the opinion that the Provincial Engineer knows very little about tunnel works generally, and that ip comparison wijth, Ned Walker he knows nothing at all about this particular tunnel Indeed, Iwe suppose that Mr Thornton would be candid enough to admit that we are light in qnr opinion. This being so, it might naturally be supposed (that Mr. Thornton would have availed [himself of Walker’s experience. Not jot all. Mr Thornton dismisses Walker ion theplea that there is sotbin* for jhim to do, just when he must nave beencpßcoctiagthe report which stated (that the tunnel requires anijapiediata lexpenditure of nearly £9QoQwordier ;** to eqsure, anything like a degree of <“ safety-” to add to this inexplicable jcohduct, he fills up Walker’s place by employing a map. efficient enough in [bis own trade of carpenter, but who is jas practically ignorant of the technical iwork of tunnelling as Mr Thornton ibimaeU- And it *s upon the join* advice of these two, endorsee -m wd believe by a personal visit from one or itunneTis declared to and to jreqpire a large and apparently continuous expenditure. We think the jpnbiic will agree that it isdesirableto jhave farther advice upon the subject. | The conflicting reports current in |woH infprfadd v the general ’ Ufays, the qnnclmion. teat it would oe for tedS interstefj both of the Government and the public that a committee of enquiry should be appointed. It is no Metet thkt rmneurs seriously affecting the management of department have better ©.long time afloat, and that aoonsatioM of im | competence and divided authority have i been ireelf bandied about. On one i side we hear that 1 the' Engineer is 1 j altogether incompetent, the line in a ■ dangerous state, and the roßrbg Stock ; seriously id/.vaMe from ; , want of ordinary care and supervision. Then it is stated that'the traffic manager iainpempeteqt his post, *pd tUt of the. delay aaf ( confusion which have tee 1 South-line an due to-this cause- >On 1 the otbeti haadite©frisndi.of this gen- j tlemaastale that he is perfectly fit for 1 Ms work tf snffieimt power ia ' him to carry it swAvOfoperly. Added te-tkis,wa hear talk of divided aathoorders, and arrogating atmlftieii Wnßa : dost'nob properly belong to Urn. 1

Jgiwt these objections, it i 8 Government ha* li»*? fuk to perform in taking Sf iail#ay at a short notice- SVlu' diftulty has been increased by iS e bemg forced to employ the sf J , , late contractors, who towards their former employe * !“5 ,rt«t time and attention will many of the obstacles whichT'® hitherto stood in the way of n have perfect management. 10016 It will be the business of the Co.w. to consider what is best to be T 11 under these circumstances, a. u?S e will, we ( think, serve to that though all the rumours we U * alluded to may not be correct, some If the more important certainly . If it be found that under the p re3 l° f system of management, the publi,,„ terests suffer from divided the railway department, it will w m the duty of the Gorncii to better system. If it be found that S line is out of order, and that the mil;* •tock bas beaa allowed to from want of proper care, then it Jn be the duty of the Council to place public property under better instructed supervision. It may be open «dj whether the Government, under ths most favourable circumstances can manage the lines as well as a private firm, but if they cannot make 8g W a profit from them they ought at lei to be able to work them with safety and without unnecessary damage to the plant. The questions which the Council ought to consider may be ; summed up thuslst. Is the railway badly managed, and is it from any inherent fruit in the present system? 2nd. If so, what improvements cap be made in the existing system? There ought to be no difficulty to prevent an earnest, unprejudiced committee from arriving at sound conclu. sions upon these points. It i 8 unnecessary for us to point out that the intrinsic importance of the subject demands a searching investigation. The province has invested something like half a million in railways, and the difference between the good and bad management of this investment will be represented by the profit or las which will surely result from the ultimate prevalence of one or the other system.