THE Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 1879. THE RAILWAY QUESTION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume I, Issue 54, 4 March 1879, Page 2

THE Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 1879. THE RAILWAY QUESTION.

i■ ♦ I I Regarding the point of junction j for the projected. Weso Const I Rail way with the existing line ! lit must; be gratifying 1 to those ' who, lilft) ourselves, havo pevsis- 1 I tently battled on behalf of Foxfcon, { | to know that every journal which has ! ; discussed the question lias pronounced | in favour of our views. Distant I i journals at times discuss questions which can only be fairly estimated by those having a purely local knowledge of the men, the' circumstances, and the motives which go to make up the j •wh'Je. An^instuncu of tho hhi:l j occurred some nine ago, when several j of our contemporaries pronounced ' opinions upon a matter purely local, j and were accordingly, as we thou^hc ! mistaken, through imperfect know* I ledge of the parties. In tho matter I of the railway, however, the case is ! a different one. The question is cor- ! tainly one of burning interest to the ! south district of Manawatu ; but it also is of vast importance, — we spoak advisedly r — to tUe whole North Island. It is, in fact, a Colonial ques. j tion. .The data upon which an opinion can besbasfed, 1 •cari.be found upon., almost any one of th 0 Maps issued TSy the Public Works Popartmentj whilst those acquainted with thecouutry are even without any such aid competent to give an opinion [.upon the subject Below we reprint an able article upon the Railway question from the Evening Chronicle r Wellington.) It bears upon its surface the familiar sty le>6f Mr Henry

SJWilejftton, tho editor otHlve\journaiv^- ! a gontlpnmn, \ro nerd hardly sn-y", w% tkuowS every inch of thq, whole' V%O; SJiugtun I'rovineiul fro||[ to Oarlylo, ami wlw has for twenty years past, bean closely identified with tho growth of the Wellington country district, h iving ;fpsio:c<l it both as a journalist and politician. The importance of tlie [ '/lnoniclo's opinion in thio in at tot is ! therefore considerable, and on behalf of i ho residents of theso-districts we thnuk our contemporary for throwing tiio weight of his •irJfluencettittJ'STir scale, and bringing-iltmler tho .notice i of the Ministry thd iriihieusly superior clniiusuof^oxtOM.^ _„. ..— r^ -WWM . " The great question of the.day in tho Manawatu and liangitiki JJL--tricts at present, as j:\yhethe.r tho :pi;pv j posed Went Coast railway " r lirib airfoil" |- connect with Fox ton. or Fox-ton.'?. On this question an exhaustive and ; Jjitti-r con yufovpy hn§ be'eji going on I |^|\feicfl T|}^\l^cal papers are: At.ilea^iiigr articles wi. bout nfimuer havo betM wri'ten on tho I subject, and puhlio meetings lield to j consider ic. The Alanawatti Herald declarer by nil tho gods that the i ! railway shall conneot at Fox ton, the • liungitiki Advocate expresses s ime- i what similar views,- while tho Times j'lirgnca that the proper place of connection is Pidmerston. At a public meeting held a few days ago at SanI don, the whole subject was very fully ', discussed, and a series of resolutions passed in favor of making Fox ton the j place where tho railway .should con- ; now. The various speakers made out a very strong case ill favor of Foxroii being the place chosen ,' and, speaking from a miuuto personal acquaintance wiih the topography cf tho district.--'ye also I'-ronounce decidedly in favor '){ I'oxon. Foxtori is. the shipping port of tho M ana watu River, and a towuship ol considerable importance, i Palmers' on is situated about twenty- ' threo miles inland, on a natural clear- ! ing, at the beginning of a valuable bush country which extends to the >lanawatu Uo'rgo and thence to a few j miles from Masterton. Falmersto<i ! isconnte'ed with Palmorston by rail* ' The aiguments in favor of making! the proposed new West Coast Kail- ■, way line connect at Foxton are that ' I if this were done tho townships of ! fandou and Bulls, with the surroundj ' n S' populated districts, could be ! brought into connection vritn Foxton I by the construction of a branch line. ! As we understand tho case, tho set* tiers themselves propose to get up a company to construct a branch line from Foxton to Sandon, a distance of 18 miles, and also t.) connect Sandon with Bulls in the same way. Sandon is the centre of a large \ reducing district, the country being upon, an J tlie importance of connecting it ami the surrounding districts with Foxton as a shipping pjrt and outlet for the produce of the settlors is obvious. Then, if the proposed 1 line ejnneets : at Foxton it will, on its way there, pass through a largo extent of; I valuable timbered country situated j south of the Mannwaru River at ! Horowhenua and Uhau. Directly I the line was made, a large number of saw mills would be established ! and timber sont on by rail to Foxton ! for export. It has to be boino in j mind that the original proposal of j the Government was to make tho lino j to^oxton, but the Palmarston poople i agitated to havo the point of on*- j uectiou at Palmer.ston. In this agi- ' taJjaujh^^wj^Q- bacjved^.bjr,^ few 1 ;Wellin^ f jO!i merchants and lawyers ; who"; ipwMilanll^jiji^ |i|4|(^ijtz'verbevt | District 4®*s wlih.Hfomtdiiy \yould like that tho railway should 1 run ! through their property on itswoy to '• Palmerston. The real interests of ; the groat body of tho people of Wei- I lington would, however, bo bast pi\)motod liy the railway being taken to | Foxton, tho "shipping port. We i therefore cordially endorso tho fol- I lowing resolutions which were passed by tho meeting, viz : — | (1) That the settlors of Bulls, S:iiulon, nud Carnarvon, having determined to form a district line of i*iiilway between Urea! Cord , cn-.l Carnarron junction, do, :it tSiis meeting, ! full; 1 ri>presentiuj» tlie said district, request i the Gorcrnincnl, :ill tiling being equd, to : fix tlin junction of tho Wellington line of . railway nt Foxton in preference to nny other ' point on the .Uiiu.iwntu railway. (i) Thiit in the opinion of this mtu'tin^ I it. is exceedingly desirable t!i:it the wv>rk of forming the Wellington lino should be i commenced nt the I'oxton end, ns there j would be, uftor fi fow miles of for .nation j had been made, a large extent, of land opened up, which would speedily return a revenue to the line, whereas waiting until the line \ was formed throughout, a length of time would elap.se and a large expenditure wjulJ | be .iiK'iirivd, while the country tlirough ! whic'i it wo ul 1 puss conlcl n>t pro (nee a sufficient traffic to make the same return. It is to bo hoped that choso ro.solu tious 1 , which have been forwarded to the Government, will carry all tho weight which they doserve, and that, the West C.jast railway line will bo* made to connect at Foxton, the shippiug port of the Manawatu district"