NORTH AUCKLAND RAILWAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16783, 25 February 1918, Page 6

NORTH AUCKLAND RAILWAY.

Sir,— Reed in his latter in the : Herald of the 21st inst. saya that I > missed the point of his previous letter/ wherein he states that 20 miles of uncompleted line'held up 200 miles, which is not so. (If Mr. E«d will reduce the number of miles by 80, from Auckland to the present terminus, which is not held up, I will agree -with'him on that point, ■but that is a mere trifle.) I am well - aware of the position, and the great loss and inconvenience to the northern settlers. But I do not wish Mr. Seed to miss my point— if he had supported me at the right time, and the line had gonf/ via - Bryndorwin, there Would have been no 20-/ mile gap to-day. I quite appreciate his anxiety to avoid a- retrospective • view-, the position, and can assure him that .I,| am quite as anxious as he is■ to see the lino linked up as soon as possible, and will do all I can in that direction. -Mr. Beed says that I blamed him for not supporting me in getting the line through my electorate instead of the Kaipara. That 3 is a statement I can afford to overlook. No; I blamed Mr. Reed for not being guided by the weight of evidence, seeing that the* question was of such vital importance to the whole of the North. That • Mr. Coates and Mr. Stallworthy supported-; the western rout J is quite true, and the weight and impartiality of their support : it would be futile for me to deny. But, compared with such skilled and impartial engineers as Messrs. Knorpe, Hales, Holmes, Vickerman, and the late Mr. J. Stuart, I think I may be ipardoned, aside from my own knowledge of the country, if > I claim to have had some reason for supporting the eastern route, apart from the consideration of which electorate it would \ traverse. Begirding the advantage of tapping tho Kaipara Harbour at Ranganui,: whero £8000 was spent in erecting", a ; , wharf, and''where it was stated in 'the I petition presented to the House that all/ the trade, from the Wairoa. and its estuaries would come, I am informed that : the trade is very insignificant, but. that' the wharf is < very, much appreciated by ? those who are fond of sitting out in the ; moonlight and doing a. little fishing. Eegarding the route through Bickerstaff being | more' attractive, and 1 the capacity of the; soil more prolific than on the Brynderwin | side, this, to say the least of it, is a most; surprising statement. Mr. Reed says he- : does not yet know that this deviation has, been a mistake. If he will only consult ? the engineers or the present Minister for Public.Works, I feel sure he will soon be enlightened. I am aware that a commission was sot up to inquire into the section north of McCarroll's Gap. I also, knowthat Mr. Reed was appointed chairman,/ although it was well known what side he; was on. -1 also know that Mr/Trounsoii;. was on the commission, although he wis ■well known to be a supporter of the.; western route. I also know that Mr. witson, the then district engineer, who was; the only engineer in New Zealand who could be found to support the Hon. li. McKenzie, was appointed to advise ana direct the commission. What' could.. be -. expected from such a commission but the decision they gave? Looking back over ; the whole controversy I am not now prepared to withdraw one statement that ; have made. If the railway had gone via; Brynderwin it would have been a'"™ 1 ?- short way through to Waip*i, to whicu ; settlement a line from Whangarei •" i authorised, and if that line had been adopted it would have saved the settlers in the North, for all time, at least ■.J: miles to Auckland, and would have savea the country anything up to £250.000, apart. from the extra cost of the |«***g|l deviation, but I fear Mr. Beed did not, study the matter sufficiently to understand the position. F. M.VNDEB.