KAMO-KAWAKAWA RAILWAY.

Northern Advocate, 17 December 1887, Page 2

KAMO-KAWAKAWA RAILWAY.

The neglect we suffer in the Public 1 Works Statement is not the only thing ] of which, we have to complain. Not j only does our fostering Government decline to do anything for us, but ; every obstacle is placed in our way \ when an effort is made to construct a j short length of railway to couple up < Kawakawa and Kamo. It is not j necessary to go into the peculiar merits , of the case now, as'we have but re- < cently shown the great value of the . rich apd extensive coal seams along 1 the whole line proposed. So far as ' we have yet learned, not one single ] argument worthy the name was ad- \ duced against Mr Hobbs' Bill, and i yet, for some mysterious and un- i explained reason, the Bill was killed j in the most insulting way. With 30 i members hanging about the lobbies, £ I a count out is called for, the House \ \ disperses, and Mr Hobbs and his Bill 1 are left to their fate! Had Mr Hobbs ] made the very moderate request for 1 this railway to be constructed out of < loan, injfche present state of the coun- j try's finance, we could have understood ! the conduct of the House. The con- 1 tinued opposition of Auckland and of ] Auckland members to works north of { Auckland, and to this railway in par- 1 ticular, is a matter beyond our com- j prehension. No assignable reason t can justify their conduct. It cannot < be their objection to part with the ] public estate, for the principle of con- \ structing railways by land grants ] has been affirmed continually. For example, the Manawatu in a previous ] session and the Midland Otago Cen- j tral this session. These lines will be practically constructed out of the land J fund ! and why not, we ask, the Kamo- 1 Kawakawa line ? Had both Mr Hobbs' 1 and Mr Pykes's Bills been rejected ' we would not have complained. Por once the House seems disposed to mimic ] the Conduct of the Bedeemer, and to 1 declare that "To him that hath shall be given, and from him that hath not shall be taken even that which he \ hath." Great indignation and the 1 bitterest feelings rankle in our minds ' when, we reflect on our cruel and loner '

continued neglect and oppression, and the wish that it were possible to sever from everything south of the Whau Portage, rises in the mind. If this were a possibility, with no Tability other than the value of works constructed out of the Public "Works Fund within that boundary, we should soon become a prosperous *.nd a happy people. With timber above and mineral wealth beneath the soil; with a climate which renders possible the production of every variety of fruit, and the finest wool in the world; with every variety of soil, including rich volcanic, Bats, and clayey loams ; with cheap water carriage and splendid harbours; with the Bay of Islands, Kaipara, and Whangarei ports of call, at which all our business could be conducted instead of filtering through Auckland, no part of New Zealand could experience greater prosperity. Take from Auckland our timber trade, our guni trade, our wool trade, and her decline would be much more rapid than her rise.