THE BROGDEN CONTRACTS.—No. 2.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 769, 6 August 1873, Page 3

THE BROGDEN CONTRACTS.—No. 2.

We continue our extracts from the pamphlet of Brogdun, containing their railway proposal » ■. — It wou!d be almost an idle endeavour to calculate how immensely th's wonderful and encouraging: amount of progress might be enhanced and promoted by the adoption of a

well considered, uniform, and efficient system

of railway construction, calculated to bring into communication with each other all the habitable portions of the Colony, as well as to connect them commercially with the outside world through the medium of its excellent harbours.

To every reflecting observer the evils of J employing direct Government machinery for i this purpose will be at one apparent. j The political condition of every Government of New Zealand is inevitably such, that a j desire to acquire and retain the special parlia- . mentary support of certain individuals, and j of the communities which they represent respectively, must noxiously interfere with the j material efficiency and commercial success of j an official railway department. At the same time, any company undertak- I ing the business must come to the Colonial j Parliament for assistance, in the way of various legislative securities for the profitable ] pursuance of its operations. Power to the j company to survey lines through, and to take,, ' where required, private property, on the pay- , ment of equitably assessed compensation : power to enforce order on the lines and at the J stations, and many other detnils, must be laid j down by law ; and so must the provisions for ' securiug a minimum rate of interest on the capital of the company, to be fixed at not ex- I ceeding a certain sum per mile so as to avoid | any approach to excessive outlay. , The Governments would thus be more free , to pursue their more immediate avocations of I so disposing of the public lauds and directing j immigration, as to render the country attrac I tive to fresh capital, employers, and laborers of the best quality obtainable. I again submit to the serious 2onsideration of my readers this argument in favor of a company with large capital and guaranteed interest. It is within the range of jKwaibility that the funds and credit of the Colony, whether here or in the home money market, might be so heavily called upon for other objects as to oblige it to stop the supplies for railway operations altogether, which would thus suddenly be arrested midway, involving great loss of money spent through the waste of work already constructed, as well as much public disappointment and individual distress. Is it not, then, most advisable to provide against such a calamity by securing, as an instrument for the special purpose, a body of shareholders, who, their interest being guaranteed and depending on the work itself for its payment, —and having no other object to divert their expenditure from it—will afford a double pledge to the public that the work will be duly and certainly completed, whatever else may happen, either here or at home?

Messrs Brogden & Sons 'entertain a firm conviction that a plan something li'ie that proposed by them last year will meet the above requirements ; and they frankly invite the examination and discussion of it, and expression of public opinion with rcsj)ect to it, bv the public as well as by the Government and Legislature. They are perfectly prepared, on their own part, to consider fairly and reasonably any modifications of the pro[>osal of last year that may appear to meet with general approval. Some provision is required for fixing the proportion of shares to be reserved for disposal in the Colony of New Zealaud, and for determining what arrangements, if any, for the appointment and duties of local directors and agents, shall he made the subject of enactment. For recent experience has shown that the colonists are themselves prepared to embark their capital in many undertakings tending to develops the resources of the Colony ; such as banks, lift*, marine, and life insurance, gold and coal mining, coal carrying, steam navigation, iron, flax, shipping, and other companies. The shares of a company whose profits should be derived from the construction and management of a sound, well-considered system of railway communication for the whole Colony, would surely be as eagerly sought after as those of the various other industrial companies which have been thus supported : and the certain permanence of such a company would be a good reason for considering its shares a very desirable means of investing trust funds, because their value and stability would augment with the general progress of 1 the Colony as advanced by the very undertaking itself. j They therefore intend once more to lay ! their proposal of last year, in a somewhat modified form, before the Government and Parliament at an early period of the forthcoming session : and they sincerely trust that the Legislature may consider the proposal with that amount of deliberation which its authors may be allowed to assume it deserves. Messrs Brogden &, Sons must disclaim any wish to Hatter unduly the natural feelings of the colonists with regard to the hopes held out by the land of their adoption : but I think it is not out of place here to record the high sense with which the visit of Mr James Brogden has impressed the firm of the great resources and prospects of New Zealand, and of the numerous attractions which it offei-s for the profitable investment of capital, and Tor the satisfactory settlement of a large, industrious, and thriving population. For plant at valuation, and the payment for same to be made in three instalments, at twelve, eighteen, and twenty-four months, without interest. Government to grant sufficient areas in the Harbours of Auckland, Napier, Wellington, Lyttelton, Dunedin, and the Bluff, for the purposes of stations, warehouses, and wharves in connection with the railways, with power to charge wharfage and other like dues for the use of the same. If during the term of guarantee the rate of profit shall at any time exceed 5£ per cent, the guarantee is to cease during such time ; and in case the rate of profit exceeds per , cent, one half of the excess is to be paid to j Government in part liquidation of the amount previously paid under the guarantee.