THE WEST COAST RAILWAY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 5913, 15 March 1880, Page 3

THE WEST COAST RAILWAY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ZEALAND TIMES. Sib.: —The immediate commencement and steady prosecution of the West Coast Railway is of such vital importance to both the Empire City and the country districts on this coast, that I consider it the duty ofjeveryone having their welfare at heart to assist in forwarding the project, and a clear understanding of the merits of the case is evidently essentia] before effective pressure can be brought to bear on a Government so “hard up” as ours is. No doubt the Wellington public knows enough of their end.of the line, so I need, not refer to it, but have ventured to put together a few facts relating to bur end, which may, perhaps, strengthen the hands of the gentlemen who have undertaken to worry the Government into action, or, at least, will aid those of the 1600 signatories of the petition to his Worship the Mayor, who do not know Manawatu in comprehending what they are asking for. The Public Works Department has full and reliable information on the subject, but as the department, does not advertise all it knows that information is not easily accessible to the general public. Let us assume that . the primary objects of the railway are to open up the greatest extent of country settled or available for settlement; thus insuring freights and passengers along the route, and to connect such country with the metropolis at the least possible cost —the least possible coat in working is - only to be obtained by securing ' a minimum of train miles over fair grades. The route from Wellington to Waikanae has, I understand, been fixed by the • department, and contract surveys finished to Porirua ; from there, passing under the foot of PaikakarikL no difficulties occur until a point 55 miles from Wellington' is reached.' From this point (Piaka) situated inland, and not far from the. Hofowhenua Lake, alternative lines are under the consideration of the engineers, one running ■ direct to Foxton, a distance of llj miles, the other joining the present WanganuiEoxtou line about 2\ miles south of Palmerston, a distance of 22 miles. Piaka may be considered a fixed point, as! any line'from Wellington must pass, through it to fulfil the conditions stated above; It remains therefore only fo.consider which .is, the.mpst advautageous route from that point to a junction with the existing railway,,;, At first glance the mere difference in distance between 22 and 11 miles would seem to point conclusively to Foxton as the proper junction, but a closer examination of the case does not bear out this view Prom Wellington via Eoxtou to Palmerston is 90J miles ; from Wellington to Palmerston direct is 79J miles, a. saving by the' latter of 12 miles, or in time nearly an hour, that is to say, the distance from Wellington to Wanganui via Foxton is 1534 miles, or 11 hours ; via, Pal- : merstonj'lllj miles,! or 10 hours., To put the . difference to passengers in money value alone,: the fare via Fpxton would.be 3s. 3d. Ist class, or 2s. 2nd class more than by Palmerston from any station north of the latter place; Foxton residents would, be at the disadvantage of having to travel en route to Wellington 22 mile's extra,' i.e., .the distance to. the Palpaerston junction,but 'Foxton 1 itself would' furnish but a ’ very small contribution to,either .goods or, passenger. ,traffic, besides wh'ibh Foxton considers itself a port capable, of. competing with'Wellington as the entrepot for Manawatu, and as a matter of fact the Government are now about to expend a sum of £15,000 in reclamation and harbor improvements at that place. : , Pursuing the direct to Palmerston route, and thence by Bunnythorpe, ; Ashhurst, and the Gorge to Woodville, Napier is brought more than 20 miles nearer Wellington than by the Masterton-Wopdv'iUo or East Coast route, and looking further into the future, and the interior of the island, this route 'is the shortest by the' 12 miles, as above, to that valley of the Oroua which the late Engineer-in-Chief, Mr. Oarruthere, C.E., .reported on as being the natural outlet for the great interior plateau, and in which line'of country is situated the thrivingKiwitea (deferred payment) settlement, and the lately acquired Otamakapua Block of 140,000 acres. The actual cost of construction to formation level from Piaka would, I believe, be about the same by either lino, the extra length to Pal.merston being balanced by the expensive pro‘teotjye - and bridge works, necessary on the route to Foxton. The cost of the permanent way would be in favor of the Foxton route by the difference in distance less the cost of hauling ballast, none of which is found bn or near that line, as it traverses little but, swamp and shifting sand dunes, while , the Palmerston route avoids the large' swamp , east cf the Manawatu River, and runs through country adapted for battlement for its entire length. I .do hot wish to' convey the impression that the land thus opened is anything but bush land of average quality ; it is not -an Eden, but is capable of providing homes for a large population judiciously located, A further consideration, which materially affects the unemployed and the laboring classes generally, is that the greater part of the construction on this route consists of earthworks iq ehoift leads and pjle •Jn-ldges, 1 and can' b,o' 'iiarriod' out with inexpensive blahti'whilst Ilip long heavy embankments and swing-btidge, 'on cylinders, .on tbo.Roxtpn line, jvill entail the expijnfUhirpof , g., large sum Sd{ money outside the colony‘for plant “and materials.

The native title over most of the land between Piaka and the southern boundary of the Fitzberbert block has already been extinguished and the land could, under some system of deferred payments, be advantageously settled by men employed on the railway construction; unless, indeed, the Wellington “land sharks,” who are at this moment on the ground, steal a march on the Government in the matter. Local jealousies (which I am glad to see, by the similarity of resolutions passed at puplic meetings recently held at both Foxton and Palmerston, are dying out) have for some time past existed between north and south Manawatu, and public opinion has been swayed by them to the detriment of a fair consideration of the relative merits of the alternative routes, but since the pale attempt to float the Sandon District Railway Company has faded out and the hope of inducing the Government to con-, struct a loop line through Sandon and Greatford has deserted the promoters of that scheme, our mental vision has cleared and we are thoroughly in earnest in wishing to forward our own best interests (which are identical .with those of the metropolis) by getting to Wellington by the West Coast railway, as quickly as possible and by the beat route, irrespective of where a junction may be made with the existing line,—l am, &c., D. W. P. Fielding, March 6, 1880.