DEBUTATION TO MINISTERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 5977, 13 January 1881, Page 6

DEBUT ATION TO MINISTERS.

A-deputation" consisting of the Mayor of the Thames (Mr. W. - Wilkinson),, the County Chairman (Mr. Brodie), Messrs.': Dean 1 and Carpenter, waited yesterday upon the Hon. Mi , ; Whitaker (Attorney-General), and the Hon., Mr. Dick (Colonial Secretary), for the purpose! of bringing under the notice of the Government the necessity of railway-com-munication between Grabanistown and Kopu, and other matters relating to the county and borough of Thames: ' .'

.'. The.Mayor, of Thames: .We wait ■• upon you, Mr. Whitaker, in the hope of getting through you a reply from the Government to a telegram which has been sent, also, through you, having reference to direct communication betweenGrahamstown and Te Kopu'. : Our excuse must be that the opening up of new goldfields in. the Upper Thames,; necessitates some kind of improved traffic. .There are two small steamers being built, the object of which is 'to connect Te Aroha with Kopu. They arc not intended to come out of the river. Therefore if the people of the Thames had the means to get direct from'- Grahamstown to Kopu it would be a great advantage to the whole district. We are also persuaded that the Thames river is the natural outlet from the new goldfield and' the Upper Thames lands about to be opened. The two steamers which I have mentioned are built in anticipation of that trade. You are probably aware that some reclama- • tion work has been done in Grabamstown and Shortland, and a bridge is also to be put up, all which will be-of advantage if we could get the two miles of railway communication between Grahamstown and Te Kopu. The. influx of population to the goldfields and the settlement of the district are reasons, ! I think, for pressing this matter strongly upon the Government. The importance of utilising what has already been done in this direction is an additional reason why we think the Government should, with as little delay as possible, do something to open up this district, which is likely; to become very populous before 10ng.., Mr. Brodie, the County Chairman, will inform the Government, in respect to other particulars. ' : '

Mr. Brodie : I do not know that it 1 is 'necessary for me to say anything in addition to what His Worship ■ the Mayor 'of Thames has stated. Mr. Whitaker,! I think, knows the circumstances of the case as well as we do. But >it might be that Mr. Whitaker should have some delicacy in this matter, as he owns land at Kopu. But his being the owner of land at Kopu should not, I think, interfere with his doing what is necessary and to the advantage of the whole community by carrying out this ■ through communication from.Grahamstown to Kopu. It. is necessary that we should have communication with deep water. Our present means of access is rapidly silting up. It is of no use waiting until we should not be able to get our vessels in at all. The time. has come for some enlarged accommodation to be provided. There are only two places of permanent access—-Te Kopu up the river and Tararu below. Kopu is a natural harbour. Anumber oE Lincolnshire farmers are about to settle in that part of' the country. We think that the short line would be payable. We think the estimate for its construction is excessive. We think the estimate of working expenses is also excessive. If the Government would make the line, we could work it ourselves far more efficiently and cheaply than the Government could do it. I do not know whether the money is available or not, , but the work is oue that will be reproductive. This is no new idea. It is a matter that has been in the mind of the public for the last thirteen years—ever since the opening of the Thames goldfield. This connection of Grahamstown with Te Kopu has been publicly advocated.. There.can be no doubt th« whole of that, country .will soon be settled with a large population ; not merely a gold-digging population, but agricultural also.

The Hon. Mr. Whitaker : What took place before was :—You (sent me a memorandum, which I forwarded on to the Minister of Public Works. The representations you make now are very like ; those . which you made then. It would. be much: more agreeable, to me if you would put in writing your representations, so that they may not be weakened by my interpretation of them, If you do that, I will take care that they are forwarded to the Minister of Public Works. That is the only thing I can do about it. I cannot myself do anything in the matter; it is one entirely for the Minister of Public Works. If you put the whole case in your own words, it will not be weakened by any argument of mine.

Mr. Brodie : We made our representations to you. You may or may not have commented upon them. Unless you make some comment, I do not see how the Minister of Public Works would act. You know the whole of the circumstances as well as we know them.

The Hon. Mr. Whitakek : Mr. Blackett is the engineer. He knows tliG country, and the survey, and all about it. I shall not. oppose your reccommendation on this subject. What I may say in favour of it is a matter for consideration. I shall, say nothing opposed to it. Mr. Brodie : Is it not possible to get a reply to the telegram of the 17th December ?. The Hon. Mr. Whitakkk : I only know I sent it forward. I cannot say at this moment where Mr. Oliver is. KOMATA ROAD. . Mr. Brodie asked permission to bring this question before the- Government. It would be recollected that when Mr. Bryce was in the district the consideration of the question was deferred until his return. The Hon. Mr. Whitaker : On that matter I can only" say that Mr. Bryce has resigned, and his successor has not been yet named. But the matter has not been lost sight of. I have no doubt you w ill get an answer as soon as possible. : ' ' .

The deputation thanked the Hon. the Attorney General for his courtesy, and withdrew.