THE New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOHTHEES CROSS. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1884.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7123, 15 September 1884, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOHTHEES CROSS. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1884.

Now that the recommending of the route to be selected for the North Island Main Trunk Railway hag relegated to a committee of the House of Representatives consisting exdusively of Southern members, there we two considerations which we venture to urge as likely to have some weight in the balancing of the conflicting »claims on the question at issue. The first of these is that, on the supposition that only one line is to be recommended, great importance should be attached to the views and Irishes of the West Coast settlements, incladia® the whole of the Taranaki province from Waitara southwards, and that portion of Wellington province stretching northwards from Whanganui. Over all that extent of fertile country there is, in the parts of it already occupied, a very large population which may be roughly estimated at forty thousand souls, and among these there is a wonderful unanimity in favour of the western or Stratford route. A glance at the map will suffice to account for this, as also to demonstrate its reasonableness. Situate as it were midway between | the southern and northern .divisions of | the North Island, they are naturally I anxious to have the most direct land L access possible to the Auckland extreme, as they already virtually have !to that of Wellington. This, clearly, could not be obtained by adopting th 9 inland or Marton route far the railway proposed. To them this would mean an increased travelling distance to Auckland, varying from fifty to one hundred and fifty miles, according to the situation of their residences, and the entailing on them a proportionate loss of time and money. On the other hand the Stratford route, while proving decidedly advantageous to the West Coast settlements, would, for all the purposes of direct communication with Auckland from all other parts of the North Island, and, for that matter, the Middle Island as well, be about equally convenient with the Marton route. Indeed, in the petition from Taranaki, a* also in the resolutions of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, the Stratford line is represented as the shorter of the two for the purposes of through communication between Wellington and Auckland. This we are disposed, however, to regard as a little too strongly put. At all events, we prefer to understate rather than overstate the argument respecting distance, and, therefore, even admitting the Stratford route to be a little longer than the Marton one, our contention still is that, while the former would be of incomparably greater value to the settlers on the West Coast it would not, as compared with the i latter, appreciably inconvenience the residents of any other part of the colony. This argument, apart from any others that might be advanced, seems to us conclusive as to the chums of the routes, viewed simply as routes. The facts on which it is based cannot be gainsaid. These show incontestably that, in the question of determining the route of the railway, the voice of the West Coast settlements ought to be largely potential. We say nothing here about the injustice that would be inflicted on Auckland or the advantage that would be secured to Wellington if the Marton route were adopted. This would certainly exclude the former city from the West Coast trade, and practically give a monopoly of it to the latter j but we abstain from insisting on that point; as, by the committee appointed to investigate the matter, such a contention is sure to be attributed to comsaercial rivalry. Neither do we instance the reduced cost which the Stratford route as compared with the Marton one would entail on the colony, as the committee are sure to attach due, And according to Mr. Bryc#, probably an undue importance to the financial aspect of the subject All that we now contend for is that, irrespective of Auckland or Wellington interests, and irrespective too of the question of cost, the preference of the West Coast settlements for one route rather than the other ought, other things being equal, or nearly so, to be regarded by the committee, and hereafter by the House, as decisive of the issue.

Bat though tke Stratford route 'would thus be selected it does not necessarily mean that the Marton route would be condemned. With Mr. Hitchelson, we have a thorough conviction that both lines are necessary to the proper opening up of the North Island interior, and that a few years will witness both of them in process of formation. Hie question, therefore, which h* B reilly to be now decided is, not which the two lines shall be adopted, but of which of them shall havo priority respects formation; and the thing be avoided is any. such disputation over thin point as may have the effect of indefinitely postponing the commencement of the work.

This brings us to the second consideration which is likely to weigh with the committee in making their recommendation, namely, the urgen importance of proceeding at once with that portion of the to* common to both competing ron *j?% and respecting which there is no.dis; pute. From Te Awamutu soutJ> wards to the point at which the Stratford and Marton routes meet, is a distance of about eighty miles, traversing large tracts of the most valuable lana in the country, and presenting no engineering difficulty worth mentioningThe formation of this portion of the railway might be.undertaken forthwith, and, by the time it approached com-

pleiion, the Wellington-Manawatu line Jad the Whanganui-Hawera lino would available for through traffic. The country would also then be in a better -option to face the cost of forming both the Stratford and Marton lines, and to adopt such alterations in both these routes as amoro.thorough survey or the necessities of settlement might render advisable. To this 'arrangement the Wellington and Hawke's Bay representatives might possibly object, on tbe ground that in the expenditure 0 f money and the opening up of the country, Auckland would have a jcirked advantage. But, as a set-off B *ainst this there might be pled the equivalent they -would have in the pushing on of the proposed line through the Manawatu Gorge, connecting Wellington, Whanganui, and Hawke's Bay lines atPalmers ton North, judging from the important mention made of this last-named work by the Stout-Vogel Ministry, in the Speech with which His Excellency opened Parliament, there need be no doubt 0 f it being early proceeded with. To. those specially interested therein, this TFOu'.dinoro than compensate for any loss thev might be thought to sustain from the" operations on the Main Trunk line being at first restricted to its northern division. In view of all the circumstances attendant on the competing routes thid arrangement would, as it appears to us, best reconcile all conflicting interests, and anticipate all disputes and difficulties which are certain otherwise to arise. It would secure the immediate commencement of a great national ■work, which has already been too long delayed; would open up for settlement the most important part of what is known as the King Country, and oive a becoming finish to the longstanding native question; would further the extension of the North Island railwav system, so as to satisfy rival localities; and would lead to the completion of that system on a more ertended scale than that originally contemplated. For these reasons we are disposed to think that the consideration nnw under review will assume great importance in the estimation of the committee, and that they will in all probability agree to recommend to the House, that, subject to some future necessary adjustments, both the Stratford and the Marton routes should be sanctioned, and that measures for forming the portion of the line on which all are agreed, from Te Awamutu southwards, should be adopted without further delay.