THE LAND AND RAILWAY LEAGUE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXIII, Issue 93, 21 April 1898, Page 3

THE LAND AND RAILWAY LEAGUE.

»■ would accrue from the construction of tbe promoted jailways are worth '' the price of a loan. Certainly there , r is very slender prospects of the jj present generation getting any benei fit out of aline between Blenheim t and Ohristchurch unless a loan is 3 raised, and the League # has good grounds for its proposition m the 1 latest particulars as to the pro- ' Kress o*-the Railway Department. J A telegram received from Welling--1 ton yesterday gives most encouraging a information as to the traffic and

That there is vigor m the policy and work of the Land fand Eailway League is [evidenced by the proceed* ings at the meeting yesterday. One outcome of the meeting was the decision to circulate throughout the province a petition to Parliament praying that a special loan be raised to simultaneously carry on the works of completing the line between Blenheim and Christchurch and the North Island Trunk Eailway. This, bold proposal is, we believe to be supported by several representations, to appear on the petition. It is to be represented that, as the com* pleted railways of the Colony are now paying more than three per cent on the cost of their construction, and, as money can be borrowed at three per cent, the Colony would be justified m continuing the policy of railway conn struction until the trunk lines are completed on both islands ; that the connection of Blenheim and Christchurch by rail as a colonial work was an integral part of Sir Julius Vogel's Public Works policy ; that this railway would open up for closer settlement 250,000 acres of low lying lands, mostly agricultural, between' Blenheim and the Clarence River, which, if acquired, would be a most profitable investment; that the completion of the southern trunk line would enormouely increase the earnings of the Hurunui-Bluff see* tion, and through traffio would also considerably add to the earnings of the North Island trunk line ; that it has been estimated by experts that 100,000 sheep and lambs from Marl* borough would be annually railed to Ohristohurch markets if a through line existed ; and tha^ there are no limestone deposits on the Wairau plain, but there are vast quantities of limestone at Flazbourne, through which district the line would pass, and a considerable trade would be done with this commodity, whereby the traffic of the line would be promoted. These are the main arguments, and it remains to be seen whether the public of Marlborough generally tbiuk that the benefits that

revenue of the railways, recent receipts being desoribed as phenomenal. It is quite probable that the local League would, if an attempt were made, secure for their present move znent the co-operation of kindred institutions m other parts of the colony. It is satisfactory to learn, from a statement made at the League's meeting yesterday by the member for the district, that the negotiations for the purchase of Scarborough are rapidly approaohing completion. The acquhement of the estate can only be a matter of a few months, and then there oan be no poseible excuse for further delay^ of the long deferred work of bridging the Awatere Biver. If, as deter mined by Government, the estate is to be put on the market not later than March, 1899, and if a successful settlement is to be established, the bridge will have to be oommenced m a very short time. We/ trust that the extension of the railway line to the Awatere will soon follow.