WANTED, A POLICY.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 3942, 6 January 1900, Page 4

WANTED, A POLICY.

It is very much to be desired that the Government should promptly enunciate its policy with regard to the WellingtonManawatu railway. The latest Ministerial utterance on the subject—a passing allusion by the Premier at Pahautanui on Wednesday evening—indicates that the Cabinet has still a blank slate before it, and. has not mad© up its mind what to write. This, indecision is, up to a certain point, excusable. The retirement of Mr Cadman from the position of Minister of Railways, which has been pending for a long time, and the uncertainty as to who should succeed him, made’ it necessary, perhaps, to postpone decision; but the time has now come when a determination, must he arrived at. The Hon J. G. Ward, the new Minister of Railways, may be expected to bring to bear on this important question that clearness of vision and that mastery of imancial detail for which he is famed; and if ho wishes to signalise his assumption of office by doing something that will be a benefit to tho colony, he cannot do better than have' the Manawatu railway acquired by the Government. There arc hut 'a few months to spare before the period will expire within which the Government can purchase the line, without the addition of some £40,000 to the price; and it therefore is evident that the Ministry must deal with the matter at one© and not wait until Parliament meets. It may he necessary, as the Premier •stated, that the final decision should be come to by Parliament; but a 'pre-requisite is that the Cabinet should resolve upon what is to he done, .and if the determination is to acquire the line, notice would have to he served upon, the company prior to the meeting of Parlia-

merit. It is therefore to be hoped that i at the earliest possible date a full meei- | iug of the Cabinet will resolve upon the : policy that is to be pursued.

Palpably, the Premier was-.omy cm-, ploying words to conceal his want oi a policy oi: this important subject when he stated, by way of objection to the acquisition of the. line, that to do so would involve an increase of the public indebtedness by three-quarters of a million sterling. , As.'. Colonial Treasurer, Mr Sodden lias, of course, to weigh the financial aspect of the question; but in speaking as be did about objections being raised to tho increase of the debt, he was acting more m tho character ox a temporising party leader than as the -head of the Government, actuated by u patriotic desire to, do the best possible for the country. Nothing, we think, c:m be clearer than the fact that the M:~u railway would return to tho Government a, considerable protit, over .and above tho interest on the purchase price.. It is, therefore, of no consequence that tho gross public debt of the colony is increased, if thereby a paying asset is ac- . quired that would lighten the public burden rather than add to it. Mr iSeddou has not shown any timidity about increasing Uio debt in order to providjp advances to settlers, to open up back country and to re-aequire large estates for close settlement. There is no reason at all why bo should hesitate about incurring the necessary monetary responsibility to pursue a railway policy that would.yield as good financial results as cither of the bom and original departures mentioned.

It is essential for the proper working and development of the railway traffic of Wellington district that the Manavvatu railway should pass under State control. The complaints of'inability to overtake heavy goods traffic would not arise if ponderous trains could he brought down from the bush districts by the Coast line, instead of being broken up into sections and dragged slowly and expensively over the mountains. There would be no necessity for the heavy expense of a Himutaka deviation if the Manawatu line vyero in iho hands of the Government. The ruinous competitive rates now in vogue on the State lino would be abandoned. Were the private line taken over by the Government, a policy of workmen's settlements between Croftou and Johnsouvillo could he carried into effect. Above all, the interests of country settlers and city merchants would bo iulinitcly better served if the two lines of railway out of Wellington were worked under one management. If there was any design—which we doubt—to coerce the Wellingtou-Mauawa t u Hallway Company into offering the lino to the Government at a lower price than is fixed by Act of Parliament, it has utterly failed. The company is able to make dividends despite Government opposition, and it, is iff its interest to keep a hold of the. line and receive a higher price for it. It is undoubtedly in the interest of tho whole colony that the lihe should bo acquired by tho Government before June next, for if decision is delayed it will mean that tho colony will make a present of £4o,opp or so to the company, besides losing the profit that would come from working tho, line in conjunction wxui the State lines. To talk of leaving the. rail way in the hands of the company for a further period of ten years is to palter with the people’s interests. There is, wo are assured, no financial “lion iu the path” to frighten tho Colonial Treasurer. Wo trust tnat Ministers will extexld the principle of State control, of the means of transit,, so as to embrace this important railway, before they embark on a scheme of Government cargo steamers.