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New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4393, 19 April 1875, Page 2

Our remarks on railway formation in Wellington having been misunderstood in certain quarters, the following memorandum has been courteously placed in our hands for our information. As it contains a good deal of valuable information which the public should know, we prefer publishing it in its entirety. We should explain, however, that the memorandum in question was written by Mr. Knowles, Under Secretary for Public Works, at the request of the Hon. Mr. Reynolds, in the absence pf Mr. Richardson. It is therefore an authentic statement, vouched for by the proper authority ; Memo, roil Hon. Mr. Reynolds. The following particulars relative to the length of railway lines in the Wellington province, and in the Napier province respectively, will show you how little foundation there is for the comparisons recently made by the Press, &c.:— Wellington and Masterton Link. Open for traffic — m. c. Wellington Contract Brogdens and Sons 8 0 Contracted for — Hutfc „ C. McKirdy 5 75 River „ O.* McKirdy 5 25 Mungaroa „ C. McKirdy 7 78 Pakuratahi ~ W. F. Oakes 0 50 Summit „ Collie, Scott & Co. 1 12 Manawatu to Wanganui Line. Contracted for — Wanganui contract W. Strachan 9 50 Wangaehu . „ W. Pell 10 8 Oroua „ E. &0. Aid Corp. 4 CO Junction ~ ~ *1 15 Wanganui bridge Bundle & Bassett Open and under contract .. ... .. .. G 3 02 Tenders advertised for, to be received on 2Sth April instant — Brunswick contract 8 34 Total length of railway .. .. 72 10 Open for traffic— Foxton to Palmerston tramway (wooden) 24 00 Contracted for — Palmerston contract (iron), P. Stewart 4 56 Open and under contract .. 29 36 Thus there are in Wellington 72 miles 10 chains of railway open and under contract, &c., and 29 miles 30 chains of tramway on a railway formation, open and under contract ; total, 101 miles 52 chains. The only thing that is stopping the opening of 11 more miles, viz., the Hutt and River Contracts, is the finishing of the bridge over the Hutt, which is getting on famously, and will probably be ready in six months, long before which all the lino up to it will be ready. In the Napier province there arc ; Napier to Waipukurau Railway. Open for traffic — >r. c. Napier contract Brogden & Sons 18 13 Contracted for — Paid Paid „ C. McKirdy 13 35 Waipawa „ Brogden & Sons • 8 70 Waipukurau ~ B. Ross 4 02 Open and under contract — Total length of railway .. .. 45 20 Takapau Tramway. Under contract — Takapau contract Allen k Co. 13 13 Thus there are in Hawke’s Bay 45 miles 20 chains of railway open and under contract, and 13 miles 13 chains of tramway under contract; total, 63 miles 33 chains of railway and tramway. Wellington 101 miles 52 chains against Hawke’s Bay 58 miles 33 chains. It must bo borne in mind that some of the Wellington railway work is immensely more difficult than the Napier work, as the contract amounts will show. Wellington, m, on. Mungaroa contract 7 78 McKirdy £57,752 Pakuratahi „ 6 50 Oakes 61,079 14 48 Hawke’s Bay. Nearly the same length, Pakl Paki contract, 13 miles 35 chains, McKirdy .. .. £51,007 Or nearly the. same length, Waipawa contract, 8 miles 70 chains, Brogden, £0469 ; Waipukurau contract, 4 miles 02 chains, Ross, £23,410 .. .. £32,879 Thus 14 miles in Wellington cost £119,731, while in Napier province nearly the same length costs only £61,007 in one case and £32,879 in another. The Hutt and River contracts have not been used in illustration, because the comparison would not be fair, the bridge over the Hutt being included therein. U, Knowles.

It will be observed from the foregoing statement that the point of our complaint is altogether missed. We did not so much as hint at any unfairness in the distribution of the public works loan, which appears to be the imaginary charge combatted by Mr. Knowles. What we did say was this : that whereas large premiums were _ offered to contractors for completing their works within schedule time in other provinces, no such inducement has been offered to contractors on the Wellington and Masterton line, which forms part of the projected, trunk railway through the North Island. This is what we said and what we adhere to. If it be desirable to hasten the completion of the Otago, Canterbury, and Auckland railways, it must be equally desirable to hasten the completion of the Wellington trunk railway. There may be some sufficient reason for adhering strictly to contract time in the case of Wellington ; but if so, we have yet to learn what that reason is. Meanwhile, does it not seem strange that there are now only eight miles of constructed railway open for traffic in Wellington, where the public works were first begun, while there are 18 miles 13 chains open for traffic in Hawke’s Bay, where the works were much later of commencement in the order of time 1 Mr. Knowles does not think so, but his mistake arises from a not unnatural misapprehension of facts on his part. He finds the wooden tramway between Foxton and Palmerston in the schedule to the last Railways Act as a “new railway,” and he thereupon includes that engineering bungle amongst the constructed _ railways of Wellington province. This is altogether an error. The Foxton and Palmerston tramway cannot be taken into account in such a comparison. It is not a railway in the usual moaning of that term ; it is a kind of “ wooden “ contrivance” for conveying traffic, which was intended to save the cost of making and maintaining a metalled road, but having quite failed in that object, the General Assembly sanctioned its conversion into a light railway, and appropriated funds for that purpose. It has not yet been “converted.” When that work has been done, and a locomotive is running on the line, Mr. Knowles may include the Foxton and Palmerston tramway among the constructed railways in Wellington, but not until then. Moreover, this tramway was originally constructed out of the vote for roads and works in the North Island, and its inclusion in the railway scheme was an afterthought of last session. At some future period the Foxton and Palmerston tramway may be counted among the railway lines of Wellington, but we deny the right to do so at present. Nor is there any point in the argument the Under-Secretary would draw from a comparison of prices in AVellington and Hawke’s Bay, the nature of the works, and the circumstances under which the contracts were let, being altogether different. It is not a question of cost. The Assembly has appropriated the money to build the several railway lines in the schedules to the Acts authorising their construction, and all we insist upon is that the Wellington trunk railway should not receive exceptional treatment at the hands of the Government. If a bonus be given to the contractors of the Deborah Bay tunnel at Port Chalmers, for example, why not give a bonus to the contractors of the Rimutaka tunnel, on the completion of which the traffic to the interior of this province wholly depends. But in the one case, the contractors started with the promise of a bonus, while in the other case no inducement -whatever has been offered. This is our sole complaint. It is one we prefer in the name of the public; and it is one we mean to urge until the cause for it has been removed.

Let it be clearly understood, however, that we find no fault with the Governmeat for accelerating the construction of railways in other places : what we desire is that the Wellington lines may be brought under similar stimulating influence. Our complaint is justly founded, and our demand, on behalf of the public of Wellington, by no means unreasonable.