The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 1867.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume II, Issue 22, 26 January 1867, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 1867.

One of the most important things the Provincial Council did, at their late sitting, was to vote £1000 for the preparation of a report by an unprejudiced surveyor on the proposed line of railway from Nelson to the West Coast Mr. Curtis thought the vote had better be raised to £5000, but he withdrew his motion on the understanding that only a preliminary survey was contemplated for the present. We have always contended that a survey by competent authorities was the next step the Government should take, and we think, on the whole, that the Council have acted wisely in restricting the expenditure to £1000, at least for the present. The fact is, nothing whatever is known authoritatively of the country through which the line is to pass. The Superintendent has denounced the attempt as impracticable, others dismiss it with faint praise, and no one of any standing, either in the province or out of it, has put the public in possession of any infoi'mation respecting it, such as to justify absolute confidence in the success of the undertaking. All are agreed that railway communication is necessary to the prosperity of the province, that it is only a question of means whether it shall be established or not, and that no more time ought to be lost in frivolous disputation as to how the preliminary attempts should be set about. The province has no money of its own to pay for so costly a work as a line of railway, and the General Government would not allow it to borrow the money if it were willing and able to do so. It is simply a question of an equivalent being presented to the contractors for their outlay, and the furnishing them with information which shall be deemed satisfactory data for their calculations. We think the Council would have been as willing to vote £5000' as £1000, had any arguments been used to show that they should do so. It was not a question of money, but the propriety of expending it for a given purpose, that influenced their decision. Mr. Young says : — " If the people really want the line, they must survey it, and publish lithographic sections and particulars of the country they intend to offer in payment." Surely it would not cost £5000 to do this, if the work were set about in the right way. No doubt, some engineering authority could be got from London or elsewhere, who would run up a bill of double the amount, but it is the part of the Provincial Government to cut the coat according to the cloth. If there are only two saddles to pass wHh easy gradients, and the greater portion of the line is practically through a level country, the sum voted by the Council ought to go far towards furnishing the information which such men as Mr. Young want; especially if we add to that furnished by an. independent survey, the knowledge already in possession of the Provincial Engineer. But the Council are not bound to £1000, should it be found necessary, as the work advances, to sanction a further outlay. Whilst attaching all due importance to the arguments in favor of the survey being made by men uninfluenced by local politics and prejudices, wo think it is

possible to cany the theory too far; and that hi all probability men may be found at hand to do the work for a tenth part of the money that it 'would cost to get it done by fashionable heaven-born surveyors, to use an Oliveriau expression, brought from the world's end. There are hundreds of engineers aad surveyors in the Australian colonies who would be glad of the job to survey this line, and who would do it satisfactorily and cheaply at the same time. We attach little importance to the attempt of the Superintendent to prejudice the undertaking, in his speech to the Council. His opinion is only that of an individual with no practical knowledge of the subject, honestly entertained, no doubt, and formed in accordance with strict notions of economy. If the Superintendent really thought the railway was a wild goose chase sort of thiDg, he had a right to express his convictions on the subject. His reign is, however, drawing to a close, and two of the three candidates for the superintendency, and perhaps the. third, if we are rightly informed, have no such scruples on the subject. We know that a line can be carried anywhere for money, and what we have to do is to find the cash or an equivalent. The election for the Superintendent will soon come on, the views of the candidates will be well ventilated, and no harm is done, if the Council have erred on the side of economy and voted too small a sum. It does not do to vote away the public money without rhyme or reason, and it must be admitted that a good deal was voted away at the last sitting. The supplementary estimates as recommended by the Superintendent, were £15,018, which were altered by the Council to £15,768, £350 of which went for the " lollipop and greasy pole, arrangement," so virtuously and indignantly denounced by Messrs. Gibbs and Simmonds. But if the Council had not voted this £350 the festivities by all account, would be a very seedy affair, many of the rich merchants who have made their money in the place, hanging fire considerably at subscribing any very large amounts. So the Joseph Humes of the Council were in a minority as usual. No doubt the public will be glad to have the railway and the "greasy pole arrangement" too.