Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY JULY 30, 1896.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXX, Issue 178, 30 July 1896, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY JULY 30, 1896.

The representative men of Nelsou and the general public of the whole district are earnestly advised to rouse themselves and watoh with unwinking vigilance the so-called extension of the railway line from Belgrove. In another column of the Mail will be found the first of two or three articles descriptive of the work in progress on the line, compiled from personal observation and interviews with settlers, and sufficient is disclosed therein to show that either a bundle or a political job is being perpetrated. Briefly reviewed, the tendency of the line as being laid out is (1) To increase the cost of construction by needless deviation from tracks already formed. (2) To render the line unsafe by choice of a track under numerous shingle runs, and along the flood bed of JJ orris' Creek, (3) To render the line useless by erecting two stations at points where no traffic is likely to come, {i) To pierce an unnecessary tunnel into the Tadmor Valley from the Motupiko Valley when West Coast extension is undertaken, whereas a larger population might be served ut Jess expense by taking the liDe to the junction of Tatimor and Motueka Valleys, tho construction of a tunnel being thus avoided. (4) To erect a temporary terminal station at a point so far from Bromell's that waggons and coaches coming such a distance from the Buller and elsewhere would find it just as easy to continue their journey into Belgrove.

These deductions have been drawn from unbiassed sources, and if they are correct railway extension from the Nelson district to the West Ooast must be foredoomed to failure should the present proposed extensions be carried out ; for the stretch of line from Belgrove to Norris' Gully, at leaßt'the so r cailed Motupiko portion of. it, must prove both costly jn maintenance and valueless to settlers Moreover, though the district to be served is populated only nt .intervals of country, with spaces of desolate scrubby hills between, the plans propose to run broad gauge carriages (,3ft 6in), instead of making a light narrow-gauge line (2ft 6iu) serve the purpose. Those who know the distriot thoroughly declare that railway extension from Belgrove seems to be undertaken j in the hope of making a failure at

the outset, so that, when a continu' ation of the line to the Cdast is asked for, the unprofitableness of the existing line may be used as an irrefragable argument against the project. A railway to the Coast, however, is held by many authorities to be not only feasible, but likely to be of immense value in settling a great district and restoring the prosperity of Nelson. The only condition of construction is that the line should be a light narrow-gauge one, with carriages and engines more of the tramway than of tha general railway pattern. Of course opinions differ, and there may be wide divergences of views in regard to tho needs and adaptability of the district to be served, and especially in regard to the Motupiko tunnel as against the proposal to continue the lino into the Tadmor Valley at the junction of the latter with the Motueka Valley. One fact, however, is clear, that the present extension is being made on plans which, if carried out, will foredoom the line to failure and indefinitely postpone continuance to Tadmor Valley, to say nothing of the Coast.

It is suggested that the Nelson Railway League should be revived iu order that departmental and engineering vagaries may be watched with greater vigilance. At present, everybody's business is nobody a business, and perfect strangers to the district settle its destinies with the stroke of a pen on an official plan, If a railway to the Coast is feasible, let the fact be ascertained beyond doubt by an exploring and surveying party appointed by the Railway League. If it be not feasible, let the matter be ended, and lee effort be confined to an extension tbat will best serve tbe localities which oan be reaohed. Norris' Gully itßelf is a mere pathway betweeu Belgrove and the distriots beyond, aud tiie projected station at the southern end of it will be almost as valueless at the elevated siding at the head of the gully. The people of Motupiko, aud the people on Bromell's side of the bridge are agreed that the permanent station should be near Bromell's. Yet the temporary station at the end of morris' Gully is to be ereoted a mile and a half from the point of common convergence. ,'\ieuntime, pending the extension at some indefinite future time, the temporary terminus, and the whole Hue from near Motupiko to Belgrove will be perfectly useless, 'ihis is a salient tact on whioh the Railway League can work, and it is hoped that the League will spring into activity at once. Extension to the West Coast is a question of tha future ; but the bungling of the railway beyond Belgrove is a matter of the present with which Nelson has the most vitul ooncern. For the reasons given it is urged that the representative men of the city nnd distriot will at once move to revive the Railway League, and take steps forthwith to establish a critical and watchful vigilance oommittee to conserve the interests of Kelson end the whole province.