SOUTH ISLAND MAIN TRUNK

Marlborough Express, Volume LIV, Issue 170, 20 July 1920, Page 5

SOUTH ISLAND MAIN TRUNK

NATIONAL ASPECT OF WORK

PRIME MINISTER'S ADMIS-

SIONS

[from oub correspondent.]

WELLINGTON, July 19. In addition to being thoroughly«re~ nresentative of local bodies in Marlborough, a deputation which interviewed Mr Massey and the Minister for Works on the subject of the completion of the South Island Main 'J.i'unk Line was well reinforced with South Island members of Parliament as an indication of the national character of the work.

Mr R. McCallum (Member for Wairau) introduced the deputation as cmc which would urge completion of the railway authorised by Sir Julius V'ogel in 1870. They were not asking for the line to be put through sbead of. everything else in the Dominion, but they had strong claims on the Government to be. treated t:iirly, as it was a national matter. The deputation had asked the Prime Minister to receive them. .

Mr E. 11. Penny, chairman of the South Island Railway League, iemarked that, he could not remember how many times he had come to urge the completion of the Main Trunk Line. They did want It to get into the minds of Ministers that it was a Main Trunk Lino, that it was not a dead-end, but would open up good country for settlement. Coupled with this there should be good opportunities, for settlement, so that the lino ought to pay its way apar£ from the. through traffic. " "We feel," said Mr Penny, "that we- are the Cinderella province, and we want to find the- slipper and put ourselves in a better position. We have only two members. They hav-j done their very best, but we feel that we have been neglected. We want you to promise that you will commence the line again and finish it. Sir Joseph Ward promised it six «r seven years ago. ■ Sir William Hall-Jones, Mr Seddon, the Hon. Mr Duncan $ir William Fraser, and the Hon. R. McKenzie all promised it. Now ye want you to redeem those promises."! Mr Massey: "An old advocate."' Mr S. Andrew (Kaikoura) suggested that the line should have been completed years ago in the interests of national economy. He remembered that Mr Massey, when indhe cold shades of Opposition, attended a deputation to urge completion of Uiis line. No doubt, as an honorable man* he would stand by his promise. At present a few men were pottering about at each end, but something more business-like, was wanted.on a work which would benefit the country' from Auckland to the J'.luff. In. the- incomplete section there was good country. Canterbury drew it-> store sheep * largely • from Marlborough, and as there wore occasional droughts in *Marlborough severe losses would be avoided if the railway were available to truck the stock into Canterbury. 'The gap was 80 miles, and the. first thing was to get a detailed survey of the difficult country around Parnassus.

Mr W. J. Girling produced a map of the country to be covered, pointing out that the line • would open Up 4-40,000 acres of land, of which 383,----000 acres were Crown land. The Lands .Department had a report on the Clarence Vallej' showing, a * big extent of land which could be opened up. Last year, although a fair amount was promised on "the Estimates, only £15,000 was voted, and nothing was spent. Re believed that men could bs got for the work, iho, deputation wanted a definite opinion from the Government whether it regarded the lino as a national one, and if so if it would be pushed on to completion. Colonel Mitchell (Wellington South) advocated completion of the hn& as the Main Trunk National Line. It was also desirable, that the loss of interest through the idle sections should be avoided by linking them up. He could not hejp being struck with the fact that two-thirds of tho railway construction at present was in the Auckland province. What seemed necessary was a nat!onn,l*«moeirtratiqn of effort upon the development of the Dominion in the same- way as the community concentrated on winning the war. Mr G. Forbes (Hurnnui) said that the deputation was. emphasising the national importance of the line, and its value in reducing the. ferry service- between rJie North and South Islands. The difficulties over the Lyttelton ferry service did not fccm to be diminishing. * In fact discrimination now seemed to be exercised over passengers to be carried. He was becoming concerned lest members of Parliament who made a. speech against Labor would, not be allowed to get back to their homes.—(Laughter).

Mr G. Witty,« as a Canterbury member, fully endorsed the deputation's 'claims.

Mr T. K. Sid^y, as an Otago representative, said that his presence was due to recognition of <the national character of the proposal. Tho nonexpenditure of votes had also been tm old master of complaint, and he hoped that this would cease with the present Government, seeing how strongly it criticised it when in office.

Mr H. Poland, Member for Ohinenuiri, was present, and lie was invited to speak. lie assured the deputation with a. smile that he was there for information. He knew how the South Island had in past defeated the attempts of Auckland to get justice—(Laughter)—and he''hoped to get some inside information. Therefore he was pleased to accept the invitation to attend, - but he kept an open mind.

Mr R. McCallum asked if the Minister for Works would note that no authorisation existed for the portion of tho line north of Parnassus.

The Prime Minister, in reply, •said: "Your argunients are perfectly sound and valid, and I am quite of the same opinion as I was when I came along before the war to ask for completion pf this line." He went on to say that he had been over the country. It was not all agrieulturiU, but there was a very large area, of good land adjacent to the uncompleted portion of the line very good

for pastoral use. A Tew Zealand, likff Giber countrioj, had not v^t got over the changed conditions due. to the* war. One of the most seaiaus xv&& the scarcity of labor. He had. anticipated some difficulty in pi-cwiding. employment after the war. Contrary to expectations one of its effects was a scarcity of labor. The PaWioWorks Department could employ 8000 men instead of half that number Tvhor were now engaged on roads and railways. He did not know when thecountry would get back to normal, and while this condition was good in on& way it kept back the development of public- works. Labor was coming slowly into the market, and lip believed that the position would gradually improve. The suggestion had been mada, continued Mr Massay, that them perhaps had been a. certain amount of favoritism in the fact that- this line had been neglected and construction was going on in the North Island. "I don't want to be parochial and set one island against the other, but there has been no favoritism. Let me remind yon that in railway construction the South Island to-day is £00 mi!e« ahead of the North Island, and as far as Auckland is concerned Auckland was the last of the provinces to bo railroaded. -There i» room even now for a very laxge* amount of closer settlement—opportunities that do not exist'in other parts of New Zealand—and advantage has beon taken of that to open up parts of the counti-y. The East Coast railway from Auckland to Welnrgton, via Gisborne and Na,r>|er, is feeing proceeded with, but it will take quite a, number of years before it is completed. There h a certainamount of railway building goinn-oa to the north of Auckland." We ha.ye to finish some of these that have been under construction for many rears." Mr Witty: "This is not*a new line. '

Mr Massey: "No; not Jby any means. It is a main line, and completion should be gone on with at the first opportunity." He suggested i la\r as a Sood argument raised l>y Mr Forbes that its completion might minimise troubles such as recently occurred in connection with dif-cnmmation against certain passengers on the Lyttelton ferry steamer. This would ha.ye to be brought to an end.—(Hbar, hear) &\en most earnest advocates of-the line would admit that it was difficult to build. There were .somo heavy cuttings and some tunnels brfdges," O:Yte9: "And jUSt afew

Mr McCallum: "The biggest river, tile Clarence, is bridged." Mr Massey went on to'say that the Minister ror Works and, indeed, every member of Cabinet, understood tne position thoroughly, and-were anxious to do what was right.' Ife would bo wrong to anticipate what would be m the Public Works Statement. Just at- present Cabinet was occupied with the Financial Statement, but,when the other came forward it would do its best with the money available. .

£10.000 which is on the Estimates?'* Mr Massey : "I hope that .a great deal more, than £15,000 will be expended, but it-is the business of Mr Loates to look into the matter and recommend to Cabinet, and the decision will bo in the Public Works otatoment. v .*■•-. The Minister for Wolfe, in a brief reply, £aid that the essence of his problem was- to spend money to the best advantage, He was not savin* anything about the South Island iYiam I rank, which they all knew wjis necessary and part of a bioscheme. It had been approved far .idany years by swv-espive Ooxot»----ments. He was glad to hear' tho deputation's arguments, and when the time 'came they would have pro- ' per and due consideration. ■ A member of the deputation p&p.d it the Government had considered the possibility of calling for tenders outside New Zealand, thus introducing cutide labor to overcome tho shortage.

Mr Cba-tes- replied that, many inquiries had been made outside "NewZealand, but there was the same labor difficultyVall over the world. New Zealand was too small, and h» > kr-ew perfectly well that they would have no chance of getting people to come from outside, no matter how big the contracts. New Zealand in * ..this: respect would have to depend upon itself.