THE WEST COAST.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6411, 7 January 1908, Page 6

THE WEST COAST.

[’OTICNTIAT/ITK-M Ol' TUI 1 : I>TSTIUCT. DfPIM'KSIONS AND .SI’GGI'STTONH. ‘■J fmri (V wUlook mi Mir Wrst CW (/mill,” ai<l. Air I*. J. O ■ >'• 1.0 lu.n j»»t rr-f.irr.—l fr,,m , visit, llirr to 11 rrprrsM’iitnlivi" 01 Mils n:il vrst.rril.-iy, -‘lmt it. is to in- rrorrl.t i’ll Mix I IIK.Vr. ill I i n I ion H'H -'fioivll In till* lllinrl ill l i'.-olin.i .s of Ihr GllillA. ]i! v c;, I ore hire- m, (lonht I,mi. us it v.rrr. sriirnl hv I hr iiii;-;(:ni|.uloiis rou;(111:0 of (iromofi is in Ihr [.are, :i.h a ,;i uiiL amount, of ni|iil:il lias hn-Ji unstrrl ill ivorlhlr.s., Hjimailution. At hr same time, ihr inim rnl potcntiiiliirs of Mill W.sl Go; is I, arr very grrat nnlrrii. i''iir installer :1 hr Purloins 'Nrlsoii Crrrk Ifi-r'i.r'iii't ( onipaii.v) have, insl ilrchirrd a As ilividnnl ami fhrrr :.j plinily of ground yrt ahoinl lo ho workr.il. Thru lhr lii“ ISivrr Comp.iny at, llrrfton Imvr j list circluml a Is til iliviil I, hirem- ohlainnl lor the in rlirislinuK rlranin;/. lip T>!7 ounces tlf purr gold. 'I hr output, lit gold fiom Ihr quartz minis at P.rrfton just non is grralrr tlum over, hut Mm fact that Mm lirkl is practically in Mm hands uf one romiiuny, the headquarters oi ii'hieli is in lyondr.n, pfedudrs the bunolits from being as appreciably fell as if Urn headquarters aero in Mm Dominion. After wages and working expenses are paid the balance oi the money goes ifome. •‘The coal milling resources of the Lionet are simply inconceivable, i and for that reason the harbour hiciiities should ho improved. Of course the belter of the tun harbours, comparing Vv estport and (.ireymom.ii, is unUoubtadly Westport, first because the iluiler river throws a greater velunm of water Mian the Grey, and secondly because tini sonjjusrly weather is kept oil by t’upo k’onlwind and the Steeples lloeks. On Mm other hand, Westport Inis not Mm railway communication with Mm back country that Groyimnith has. When the railway is completed through to Keeitou them will lie a great development in the coal and timber trade, as there is an excellent supply of timber in the Inangahua Valley and iiimmlmit coal measures as yet untoueliod. Pur domestic )>nrposcs the Inungannii coal is equal to Mm best, in proof of which I may say considerable quantities are now sent from Ueeftou by rail to Greymouth, a distance of 50 miles. Ilegarding the railway from Jieefton to AVeslport. The line is now practically ci.mploted down the Imuigahiia Valley from Uuefton as far as (. uruadun, a distance of seven miles, and very little time should see it completed as far us the luangahua junction, twentyone miles from Ileefton. Prom the junction to Westfiort the most difficult country has to bo negotiated. Hero lot me point out where I consider a great blunder has been committed by someone: yV line lias been surveyed to cross the Innngahna river by a combined railway and trallic bridge at the Landing. Tim proper route, in my opinion—and I speak with au accuratu knowledge of the locality—would be to follow the east bank of the Inaugaluia river all the way to the junction, cross tho Hullor river there and follow the northern bank of tho Duller all the way to Westport. That was the route originally surveyed in 1875, but for some inscrutable reason it lias since been departed from, with the result that the line, if tho present route is persisted in, will bo taken along the ‘toe’ of a limestone landslip for some miles below the InangaInin junction. With every flood this road sinks and slips in various places and has to bo continually repaired. How it is anticipated to take a railway through suuli country I will not venture to say. Moreover, it the prurient route is persisted in a largo belt of timber between Inaugaluia junction and the Landing will be completely cut off from the railway. The matter is one that should bo looked into by the Government before the fatal mistake is commit ted of taking tho lino by the route at present contemplated. “W'ithin tho past two or throe years a great amount of laud has been thrown open for settlement chiefly in the Murchison district, and has been eagerly applied for. yU tho present time settlement is proceeding at a very rapid rate. It is a great mistake for people to conclude that land in Westland is not suitable for settlement its there is abundance of land quite as goixl as that cultivated with capital results in tho Nelson district. I noticed one regrettable fact. In tho Inangalnia Valley some valuable timber is being destroyed. Surely it would have boon a wiser policy for tho Government not to have thrown this land upon for settlement until tho railway Iml boon made. Tho timber would then leave become a valuable asset. As it is Mu' railway will now come along just as tho timber has been destroyed, and I cannot help thinking that a most unpardonable blunder is being committed in allowing what is certainly tho best crop tho land can produce for many years to come to be destroyed in this reckless fashion. Having regard to the potentialities of Westland ns a field for mining enterprise, I wonder why advantage is not taken of toh provisions of tiro Mining Act to form mining partnerships for prospecting purposes. There are less ambitions undertakings than companies and sboidd enable small numbers of men who have confidence in each other to act together for tho purpose of prospecting, as tho West Coast offers an admirable field for such enterprise. yVltogether, what with its gold, cool, and timber, to say nothing of its agricultural possibilities, tho Coast lias got as brilliant an outlook before it as any part of tho Dominion.”