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New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6422, 17 June 1882, Page 4

Tiie letters which have appeared in our columns from the pen of Mr. J. 0. Firth, respecting the continuation of the railway line southward', deserve the careful consideration of our readers and of our representatives as Wellington. One of these letters appeared yesterday, and thesccond is published this morning. In" the first letter Mr. Firth pointed out what he represents as an easilyconstructed line going through the central part of the North Island, to the westward Taupo, and reaching the coast * the neighbourhood of •Wanganui. The route of that line is described as starting from the neighbourhood of Oxford, passing through the Tokoroa plains, passing on to the valley of the Waikato, thence on to the Taupo district, and thence southward over a very favourable strip of country. Mr. Firth takes pains to describe this line with some minuteness, and the character of the country through which it would pass, in the event of the route from Te Awamutu by way of the Upper Mokau to Waitara proving, on examination, too difficult to carry the line that way at a reasonable cost. This latter line, however, is evidently the favourite one of the Taranaki members, the -Maori representatives, and also of those who profess to have a fair knowledge of the features o£ this part of the country. It would go through a country that has a fertile soil and is rich in minerals of a valuable character. .Deposits of copper are known to exist, limestone and coal of good quality are abundant, iron stone also exists, and it has long been a_ belief that the Tuhua plateau is rich in gold. On the occasion of the recent visit of Mr. lirycc to Alexandra the representative of the Hkuat.d who accompanied him was instructed to in-quu-e of Kewi, among other thin"s about tbe truth of the reports respecting the existence of gold in the Tuhua district, and ho was informed by Rewi that for a long time ho had possession I of a piece of gold which was found there

The old chicf stated that he had shown 1 this gold to many, but finding that it was causing- too many .eager inquiries ■about the Tuhua district, he threw it into the river. The line from Te Awamutu to Waitara would skirt, if it did not pass through, a portion of the district supposed to be auriferous. This circumstance deserves to be kept in view in the solection of the route of line which Villi connect Auckland by rail with the southern portion of the island. A prosperous goldfield midway between Te Awattiutu and Waitara would provide a large traffic both in goods and passongers, and deserves duo consideration when tho choice of routes is tuadc. Those remarks, of course, apply only cn the supposition that there is no insuperablo engineering difficulties in tho untraversed country between tho Upper Mokau and Waitara. Tho Tuhua goldfield could be reached by a branch lino from the central rout<» suggested by Mr. Firth, but the supply of coal would be made more distant, and thus more expensive. Mr. Firth's object in laying stress upon the central line, though nearly twice the length of the line by way of Waitara, is that, in the event of the westward line proving too costly, there could be an alternative line to be looked after. The precaution is a wise one, and should not be lost sight of. Though longer, it will pass through a greater extent of country, which will thus be opened up for settlement, which, upon a moro careful examination, will probably be found to be not quite so bad as some at present are inclined to think it is. It will bring the wonderful Lake district on to tho main line of traffic between Auckland and Wellington, a circumstance which will have no small influence upon the future success of the line. The central route, however, will pas 3 over a much greater elevation than the western route. It will be also further from the influence of the sea breeze in thawing the winter's snows, which is probably a circumstance deserving of consideration. Whether the central line advocated ; would be liable to snow blocks in the winter season in the neighbourhood of such giant mountains as Ruapehu, Tongariro, Ngaruahoe, <fcc., we are unable to say, but the chances of it being so are evidently greater than at a lower ' elevation nearer the coast. This is a 1 point, of course, upon which reliable information no doubt could easily be 1 obtained, and the committee having in hand the matter of railway communi- | cation between Auckland and the Souih will doubtless take it into conL sideration. The argument that Mr. ! Firth uses, that there should be a '' choice of routes, we fully endorse, and ' trust that it will not be lost sight of by Auckland's representatives at Wellington at the present crisis. If our faith is ' pinned to one route only, and that found ' to be crowded with serious engineering difficulties, that circumstance would doubtless be taken advantage of by Auckland's enemies in the House of Representatives, and be made an ex- ■ cuse for getting the money which J would be required for our line spent in the South Island. The Auckland and Taranaki members have acted unitedly : hitherto during the present session, 1 and it is to be hoped that while rail- ' way communication between the Auck- : land and Taranaki districts remains unaccomplished, T *the union will be 1 1 maintained, for tho object sought will ! be a common advantage to both dis- ' tricts. ! In the course of the discussion of ! his subject, Mr. Firth touches upon a 1 topic which is certainly now to the ! politics and administration of the ■ colony, so far as the railways are con- ' cerned. The subject is rather indi- > cated than discussed, as if Mr. Firth ' felt the enunciation of it was in. ' advance of the time. We allude to c the reference to the uniformity of ' charge for the carriage of passengers and goods irrespective of distance. The ' proposition will doubtless take many by surprise, but it is a topic upon which ' judgment might fairly be suspended, J at least for a time; The idea has been ■ given to the world, and we are much mistaken if it will not be heard of ' again. There is a uniformity of postage, or rather two uniform systems of postage; we have also the system of carryiug samples by post and small parcels; we have our book-carrying system by post; and the Home Government have just agreed upon the adoption of a Parcels Post system, carrying 71bs. weight for a uniform price whatever distance the parcel may be carried. The same is the case with telegrams, money orders, ifcc. ; and to give effect to the carriage of goods and people by railway by a scale of uniform prices is but an extension of a system already in working order in other branches of the service of the State. Tho railways are the property of the State, and, though the heads of the Railway Department may object to such a radical change as that suggested, it is not improbable that a modified system, restricted within certain limits, may sooner or later be adopted. Were such a scheme (carried out generally, the traffic would doubtless bo largely increased, and interior districts would compete upon more equal terms with those near large centres of population than is possible at present. It would probably sooner or later produce considerable differences in the price of property. Lands more remote from largo towns would for a time increase rapidly in value, while those in tho immediate suburbs of large centres of population would increase more slowly than at present.