TE ARO RAILWAY RECLAMATION.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1099, 24 March 1893, Page 21

TE ARO RAILWAY RECLAMATION.

THE CITY COUNCIL'S COMPLAINT. WHAT THE MINISTER HAS TO SA"S. A Times reporter intei viewed the Minister of Public Works on Wednesday on the subject of the proposed reclamation at Te Aio, and the compla'Et made by tho City Cou-jcll that it has been ignored in the matter by the Government. Tho Minister, in reply to the questions addressed to him, paid : The complaint of the o; unci! on this score is groundless. As a matter of fact the whole Bohome and the general plaus were laid before the council nt the time they were aulung for the Bill dealing with the altera, tion of the streets and the vesting in tho council of certain lands to bj reolaimod, aud wnen the original Reclamation Act was passed special provision was made for this railway, with the oonaent of the local authorities. At the time the question of the pitching was raised ia May or June last, and when tho legislation asked f;r both by the City Council and the Harbour Board was under consideration, the question of tho goods and passengers sheds aud tho railway reclamation was fully discussed, and although they were mentioned in the Public Works Statement of 1891, as well aa In the Statement of last year, the members for the district did not object, nor did the local bodieß themselves objoci, to the proposals embodied therein. When, however, objection was raised by the Railway Commissioners, both of the Wellington evening papers, and particularly the Post, published strongly worded articles condemnatory of the action of the Commissioners in opposing the reclamation for the purposes I have mentioned. It is only a woak ago that the Commissioners again raised the question of opposing this goods station, and then on my intimation that notwithstanding thia opposition I intended to proceed with the aork, thia movement on the pa.t of the City Couaoil and the Harbour Board begins. Coincidcntly with this, application was made to me, on behalf of a syndicate, to sell the freehold properties on the inland side of the passenger station. Representations have also been made from people living at the Thorndon end of the city that if a goods station was placed at To Aro it would mean ultimately the closing of the Thorndon goods station as the Oommia. Burners had said it would not pay to have two goods s'ußtiong. Other representations were made that if the, G)vernmont wi>re forcod to abandon tho orectiou of th.i good 3 station at Te Aro they would thon have to reclaim land in front of the present Thorndon reclamation, which hai been reserved by the Commissioners, aud that if this were done it wou'd save the looal authorities the cost of repairing the breaches made in the sea wall during tho recent st:>rm. To all these representations I have returned the same answer, viz, that Parliament has sanctioned the construction of the railway to Te Aro, and that the construction of this line carries with it the provision of theneces. rary accommodation for passenger and goods stations, and to alter this arrangement would be to break faith with Parliament and at the same time, as I believe, to act prejudicially to the best interests of the industries of Wellington. Uudtr the circumstances I feel impelled to say that as the appropriations ore rather Bhort, sooner than havo the Government treated w akind of shuttlecock between the contending parties in this matter, it would be preferable to let the whole thing stand over until after next session, more especially as tho Te Aro people themselves appear to be indifferent, and I must tbere» fore take it for granted that the City Counoll represent publio opinion on the subject, otherwiso the Te Aro people and those raoßt interested in local industries are strangely apathetic