THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 1906. THE RAILWAY LEAGUES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13192, 1 June 1906, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 1906. THE RAILWAY LEAGUES.

One of the most important movements yet set in motion for the benefit of Auckland Province will reach a further stage of development this afternoon, when a conference of delegates from the various railway leagues and public bodies interested in the East Coast railway will be held at the Chamber of Commerce. Every »part of the country directly interested is directly represented, and the Parliamentary delegation of the province will be strongly in evidence. We may therefore hope to see an enthusiastic, as well as a representative gathering, and one which will speedily put forward a definite scheme of such a character that the ■ approval and support of the Government may be reasonably anticipated. As we have already bad occasion to remark, the people of Gisborne are now thoroughly awake to the merits of the proposed Gisborne-Auckland connection, and have an influential spokesman in the Hon. J. Carroll, who has long been an advocate of the project. All along the Coast, in every township, by every county and borough council, and in every electorate, the proposal has been heartily welcomed, ! and energetic steps have been taker; \

to form local organisations in its behalf. If this activity is continued during the session, and is supported, by genial co-operation between members and the public at large, it is possible that the East Coast route

may be placed where it belongs, among the most pressing and important of colonial railway items., That an East Coast Line is 'one' which calls for immediate attention by the Public Works Department cannot be questioned. Not only would it connect the northern metropolis of Auckland with the eastern port of Gisborne, but would do so by way of country which is almost wholly fit for settlement, and at many points of which settlement has been commenced. Part of the route inevitably lies among rich Native Lands' and among valuable Crown Lands, the opening up of which would not only make . the line speedily profitable, but would greatly advance the general prosperity,.of the province, and the colony. . The reason why this region has so. long remained undeveloped, for the feeble tapping of the railway advancing from the Gisborne end cannot be considered as a serious attention to the matter, is to be found in the general neglect of Auckland province, and to the extraordinary Public Works' . book-keeping by which the whole burden of building the Main Trunk has been shouldered upon the North Island, principally upon' this province. We have reiterated many times that the Main Trunk is not a provincial, but a national undertaking, earmarked long ago as a national undertaking, when a rough allotment was made among the provinces of important public works to be covered by • a general loan. In the case of the South Island, its share of the, loan was spent as intended; in the case of the North Island, its share of the

loan—and a sufficiently small shave it —was diverted to'land purchase, the proceeds of which will all go into the Consolidated revenues. It is difficult to understand how it has been possible for the Government to make. this shallow excuse cover such gross injustices- to Auckland as have been involved in the railway policy of the colony. But thus it has been for many years. We must take warning from the past, so as to avoid similar treatment for the future, and one proof that we are taking warning is the important and representative gathering on behalf of the East Coast Line which is to be held this afternoon. Having come together, the conference should not only make up its mind what it will ask for, but should make arrangements for securing the support of the public to that request'. Usually when Auckianders assemble to take steps for securing a provincial share in public expenditure, somebody is always found to ur<*e them to be reasonable. We should always be reasonable, but it is time that reasonable'' ceased to have one meaning in Westland or Ota*o and another in Auckland. A glance at the map ; the most casual investigation of the amount 0 arable land involved by the route, and the number of people affected by it • the most rudimentary acquaintance with the agricultural, commercial, and industrial possibilities of New Zealand, will show that the East Coast Line is vastly more important, and therefore more naturally desirable, than either the Midland or the Central Otago. As for the WestlandOtago connection, it is not worthy to be mentioned in the same Parliament as the Gisborne-Auckland connection. T hat > then, is ' : reasonable? If it is reasonable for Parliament to allot £100,000 to these Southern railways, what ought it to allot to a railway like the East Coast? At the very least it should rank with the leading provincial projects, and be second only to the

Main Trunk. There is no necessity to /speak here of-the indubitably claims of other provincial linr.;. such as the North of Auckland, or of other projects, such as the Kavrhia connection.. The East Coast can stand on its own merits as a line which will pay, section by section, if energetically pushed on with, which will connect leading provincial centres, and which will open up large areas of magnificent land. It is a line which ought to be worked at from various points at once, so as to complete, it as rapidly as possible, and so as to assist settlement in every reasonable way. But these are considerations which will be thoroughly discussed by this important conference, whose delegates know the route, and have come prepared to take practical steps for the accomplishment of a great under- j taking.