NORTH ISLAND MATTERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9022, 7 April 1888, Page 5

NORTH ISLAND MATTERS.

MR. MITCHELSON AND THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. THE TRUNK RAILWAY. The council of the Chamber of Commerce waited upon the Hon. Mr. Mitchelson yesterday afternoon at his offices, railwaystation, to confer with him respecting the North Island Trunk Railway and other mutters. The following gentlemen comprised tho deputation : —Messrs. A. H. Nathan (president), J. Milne, E. Withy (M.H.R.), R. Hobbs (M.H.R.), T. Thompson (M.H.R.), C. C. McMillan, R. A. Carr, ! T. Henderson, A. Clark, and J. Young. AN IMPORTANT QUESTION. Mr. Nathan said the Council of the Chamber had taken advantage of Mr. Mitchelson's presence in Auckland to bring under his notice matters of great interest to the people of Auckland, and more especially to trie mercantile community. The first of these subjects was that of the North Island Main Trunk Railway. The public of Auckland took a special interest in this subject, and, on more than one occasion j during the past few years, had brought it before the attention of various Governments. When Mr. Mitchelson was previously in office it was introduced to his notice ; and in May, 1886, he had been kind enough to report to the Chamber on the various proposed railways. On that occasion he stated that "the connection between the Auckland and New Plymouth districts will be one of the most important lines in the colony." They had noticed that in Wellington certain members had reported upon the prospects of the line, and how it would influence Wellington; but tho people of Auckland had done nothing in that direction ; they were calmly awaiting the decision of the Ministry in the matter. The wish of the people of Auckland had always been to be connected by Taranaki; but the matter had been so often brought under the attention of the Hon. Minister, that it was scarcely necessary for him (Mr. Nathan) to go very fully into the question. THE RELATIVE COSTS. Of course, the Chamber were aware that Mr. Mitcholson gave his decision in favour of the central route. They now pointed out, however, that at that time the line by that route was estimated to cost £1,360,000; it had sinco been found that the cost, including the purchase of native lands, &c., would amount to £2,285,000; and the balance to the credit of the £1,000,000 loan, available for the purpose, was he (Mr. Nathan) believed something like £477,000, so that it would be many years before tho direct line would bo completed, as intended by the central route. . The deputation wished to lay before Mr. Mitchelson the expression of opinion of tho Chamber —that they are decidedly in favour of railway communication being established as soon as possible with Taranaki; this had always been the idea of the people of Auckland, who had taken every means of urging it upon the various Cabinets. A FEASIBLE PLAN. Mr. Nathan referred to the petition presented to tho House last session by Sir George Grey, and said that the present position of matters in connection with the railway being so uncertain, in consequence of the inability of the Government to raise funds for the active prosecution of the ■work, the Council would urge upon the Government the feasibility of connecting with Taranaki from some point so far as the line had gone upon the central route —say at Te Uira. By that means the line would pass through a very large quantity of valuable land, and besides connecting Auckland, would open up an extensive district which would give a large amount of traffic on the line; whereas they were convinced that if the railway was carried through as at present intended, the line would not pay expenses for many years. Mr. Nathan, in conclusion, asked that Mr. Mitchelson would, if possible, give some expression ot opinion with respect to the intentions of the Government on the matter. AWAITING CONSIDERATION. Mr. Mitchelson said he was very pleased upon receiving so large and influential a deputation from the Chamber of Commerce. He might say at once that the Government, as a Government, had not yet considered the question of the respective routes. As they were doubtless aware, he had made a promise to the House that no further contracts would be let until the House had an opportunity of deciding whether the lines would be proceeded with ; and in the interim, he had instructed the engineer-in-chief to cause surveys to be made from three points. He had received a communication from the engineer-in-chief, informing him that the surveys were being prosecuted with vigour, but that the report would not be ready to lay before the forthcoming session of Parliament, as the work has proved to be of a much more difficult and heavy character than was at first anticipated. THE WORK OF SURVEYING. A large staff of surveyors was engaged, and of these a number were employed upon the survey from Mimi, a further number at Ingle wood, and another division afc Stratford. The cost of this would be £10,000 ; and as the data collected as a result of previous surveys were misleading, instructions had been issued to the chief survoyor to have the work on this occasion performed as carefully as possible, so that an accurate estimate of the cost might be obtained. The loan authorised by the House was£l,ooo,ooo, and in the original Act there was no stipulation as to the route upon which that loan was to be expended; but the late Government passed a measure through the House providing that the central line should have tho benefit of that loan, and the money, therefore, could not be spent upon any other route. For that reason, if the Government decided to adopt a route other than the central one, the House would have to sanction the borrowing of another- loan. Whether the Government would, before Parliament met, decide on letting any further contracts on the present line, he was not prepared to say ; but he did not think there would be very much harm in now letting the Waitete section, at the Auckland end, as the diversion could still be made across to Stratford were that line decided on. PROPOSED EXPLORING PARTY. A difference of opinion existed at New Plymouth as to the suitability or otherwise of the Stratford route. Some people maintained that the Mimi route was preferable, and others said that the Stratford line was the most favourable one. It was contended that the latter route was objectionable because a large proportion of the land through which the railway would pass waa privately owned, and they contended that the line should run through Crown land. He (Mr., Mitchelson) would have preferred that the Government appointed a committee of four or five gentlemen who, giving their time purely in the interests of the country, would go over the routes, so that they might be, in a position to supply the Chamber with a truthful report, which, he felt, they were not in possession of. The roads had now been formed, and could be ridden over from Te Awamutu to Marton. Ho understood that some New Plymouth members intended to satisfy themselves as to the truthfulness or otherwise of the reports ; and he thought it would have been more satisfactory if some members of the Chamber of Commerce, or a committee appointed by them, would also take upon themselves to make a personal inspection of the routes, so as to set at rest all questions as to the quality of the land along the lines. PURCHASE OF LAND. One of the things neglected by the late Government was that after the House had given them permission to expend part of the money upon the purchase of native lands the larger portion of that money should have been expended at the Auckland end. The fifty-two miles through which the railway was open was bounded by land excellent for agricultural {)urposes, and the larger portion of that ana should have been acquired. He understood that in the Taupo district a large area had been purchased from the natives which was of no use whatever; and he intended to ask the Government to spend a sum of money in the purchase of lands at the Auckland end. Seeing that the Native Lands Court was now sitting, the present was a most favourable time to approach the natives upon this question. There was a very large area of land at Te Kuiti which could be made available for this line. He thought that if the Government succeeded

in purchasing eome of these landa it would be of Bome assistance in making the railway pay. He would have very great pleasure in laying the views of the Chamber before his colleagues on his return to Wellington ; and if a favourable report was submitted, he had no doubt it would be taken into consideration when the question was under discussion. Mr. McMillan asked whether the report 3 of the surveyors would have the result of deciding which route should be selected ? Mr. Mitchelson replied that they would not. The question would be fully cansidered in Cabinet; the majority ruled there, as everywhere else, and if the majority decided in favour of the Taranaki route, that line would be chosen. Mr. Milnk remarked that the whole matter would thus be hung up for another twelve months. Mr. Mitchelson said that this would probably be the case, as it could not be anticipated that the surveyor's report would be ready by next session of Parliament. THE DIVERSION OF THE LOAN.

Mr. Nathan called attention to the fact that part of the £1,000,000 loan had not been diverted to a purpose for which it had been intended to be put —the purchase of native lands and the making of roads and bridges. Ho understood that the Tongariro National Park had been purchased with money from the North Island Trunk Railway loan, and he also understood that various rolling stock had been shunted—if he might use the term—from other loans and charged to the £1,000,000 loan, thus materially reducing the amount at the disposal of the Government. In regard to the sugfestion as to the exploring party, they ad before them Mr. Mitchelson's report of the routes, but he (Mr. Nathan) thought the suggestion a good one. He, however, wished to call particular attention to the diversion of part of the loan, and to ask whether there was any chance of the money being repaid ? Mr. Mitchelson thought that the cost of all the lands which had been purchased with this money, and which could not be considered to the credit of the railway, should be refunded to the loan account. With reference to the question of spending money upon roads, he did not thmk that the sums spent in connecting Wanganui and Mar ton with the Trunk Railway, should be charged to the loan ; they should be deducted from the Crown lands vote. Hβ thought it only right that the Crown Lands Department should refund the money taken from the loan and spent in this .direction ; for he was opposed to further borrowing, and the present million loan was tied up in such a manner that it could not be used for any but the central route.

Mr. Withy pointed out that the Act providing for thus tying up the loan could be repealed. Mr. Mitchelnon said they would have to repeal the Public Works Act. In answer to Mr. Clark, the Minister for Public Works said that nearly £600,000 of the £1,000,000 loan had been spent. CAPTAIN DAVENKY'S SCHEME. Mr. McMillan called the attention of the hon. Minister to the question of special settlements. In order to have an efficient railway, it was absolutely necessary that they should have settlers, and if they could get good men who would develop the resources of the land, such a step would prove greatly instrumental in increasing the revenue from the railways. Mr. Mitchelson had probably hoard of Captain Daveney's scheme for introducing pensioners and placing them upon the land. Besidai the capital already in their possession, these men would have their pensions regularly paid by the Imperial Government. He was sorry to see that Mr. Richardson had made a statement that there were no lands available for the homestead settlement; and he (Mr. McMillan) thought that was much to be deplored. Me ventured to say that a steady influx to these shore from the home country of immigrants of the right class, would soon remove the depression. The speaker read extracts from a letter received by him from Captain Daveney, in which the latter referred to the benefits which would result from the carry-ing-out of the scheme, and stated were the Government to set aside a block of land at Te Kuiti for 1000 or 1500 men, the. actual sale of the village settlements would neatly purchase the block of land required. .Mr. McMillan contended that if the Government gave away blocks of land to these men, they would not be acting unwisely. Mr. Mitchelson said the Government had had this question brought undor their notice by Captain Daveney himself, and they were favourably disposed toward it. The Government asked the House to pass a vote for bhe purpose of introducing immigrants, but the House thought fit to refuse the request; but the Government fortunately succeeded in retaining the amount upon the Loan Bill, and another attempt to pass the vote would be made next session. A good deal of assistance had been received from Sir George Grey in connection with this subject. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION WITH WELLINGTON. Mr. Nathan referred to the means of telegraphic communication with Wellington. It had been intended by the late Government to duplicate the telegraph line between Auckland and Wellington ; and of late the continual break-downs was a subject of great annoyance to all mercantile men. He would ask whether the Government had given the matter any consideration, and whether it would not be well to carry a duplicate line, instead of one along the coast ? Mr. Mitchelson said that if the railway were constructed the telegraph line would be erected alongside it—that followed as a matter of course. He understood that the question had been brought before the attention of the Government, and it was now being considered by the PostmasterGeneral, who was fully alive to the necessity that existed. He had no doubt that if funds were available the work would be attended to.

Mr. Withy asked whether a layman, on inspecting the routes for the Main Trunk Railway, could form an accurate opinion of the merits of either line ?

Mr. Mitchelson thought that any man of common sense cojild form an opinion. If any members of jthe Chamber of Commerce decided to visit the , routes the Government would afford every facility, and supply guides, &c. OTHER DEPUTATIONS.

The Hon. E. Mitchelson (Minister for Public Works) received a deputation from the Trades and Labour Council yesterday morning, in the room of the District Manager at the railway station. The deputation consisted of Messrs. T. Tudehope (President) and H. W. Farnall.

THE CHINESE QUESTION. Mr. Faknall said that the deputation had been appointed to wait upon the Minister, with a view of ascertaining what action the Government intended taking to prevent the introduction of Chinese immigration into this colony. Mr. Mitcuelson replied that the question, though not yet discussed in Cabinet, was one of the subjects set down for discussion next session, but nothing had been decided as to the form legislation should assume. He believed the Premier intended addressing a note to the several Australian Governments, asking what they intended doing, so that common action might be secured.

Mr. Tcdehope observed that if the Australian colonies excluded the Chinese, and this colony took no action, the rejected Mongolians would make for New Zealand —a state of things which could not be contemplated without feelings of alarm. Mr. MiTCHELSON said the Government were fully alive to the evils of Chinese immigration, and would not lose sight of the question. As the meeting of Parliament was near, the representatives of the people could express their views or legislate directly on it. He desired to know from the deputation what the views of the Trades and Labour Council were. Mr. Faunall replied that the Council had no definite scheme in hand, but desired to know what the Government intended doing. The Council had considered the matter, but only arrived at a general conclusion that the Chinese should be kept out of the colony. Mr. MiTCHELSON suggested that the Council should make a representation on the matter to the Government, in the form of a memorandum, and Mr. Farnali consented to convey the suggestion to the Council, which be believed would adopt it. THE SOOTH SEA TRADE. Mr. Farnall inquired whether the subsidy was still being paid to Messrs. Donald and Edenborough s steamer, in connection 1 with the South Sea Island trade ? Hβ

understood that the subsidy was being paid, although Kanaka : labour was being employed on the steamer. Mr. Mitchelson said he was not certain whether the subsidy was in existence, but would inquire from the Wellington authorities.

Mr. Farnall stated that the firm refused to give the information. The impression was that they now got £100 a month instead of £4000 a year. Kanakas were being employed as seamen and firemen, to the exclusion of Europeans, and at reduced wages. The firm said the Kanakas stood the climate better than the Europeans, but this was not true. The Council did nob think it right that Kanakas should be employed by a subsidised company, when white men could not get work. Mr. Mitohblson said he would communicate with the Premier, and inquire into the matter, and communicate with Mr. Farnall. At the same time, he would prefer that they gave him their views in writing on the subject. Mr. Farnall promised this should be done, and the deputation having thanked Mr. Mitchelson for his courtesy, withdrew.