THE EAST COAST RAILWAY

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 11933, 13 September 1924, Page 4

THE EAST COAST RAILWAY

It may be said that the danger of high public life is the tendency to make rash promises. The deputation that waited on the Prime Minister and his j colleague of Public Works did not j stress that point. But they reminded j the latter Minister ef a promise they | alleged he had made some years ago to take up vigorously the construction of j the East Qoast railway as soon as cer- ) tain other works of obligation had been put through. They might also have reminded him of his acceptance of the salutary principle of concen-! trating on main lines. This is against tliQ diversion of expenditure in drib- ; lets over many works which never get substantially forward, which had condemned for wasting loan interest and delaying railway profits. When he announced this view, there was general rejoicing throughout the Dominion, j But without going into this side of | the, subject, the deputation declared that the works which engrossed attention in the past have now been completed, and claimed that the time has come for bending the greater part of the public financial strength on \he vigorous prosecution of the East Coast railway. The Ministers quite agreed that this is a work which deserves immediately *increased attention. But they pleaded Che old argument of mul- 1 tifarious obligation. At the same time, they promised . that something will be done, as the Public AVorks Statement will show, .for the East Coast railway. We trust that something will be substantial. The claim of this work standsvery high. In the first place, it is a trunk line, the most pressing of all the trunk lines authorised but nqt yet constructed. The rival tracks are the Glenhope big section of what was once known as “the West Coast railway,” j and the completion of the East Coast trunk line of the Middle Island to Blenheim. ‘ With all respect to the advocates of these lines, we cannot see any such resources for development by them as there are for the Northern Bast Coast line to develop. The superiority of the country for settlement gives first place on the list of new lines, to the line which win connect Napier with Auckland through Gisborne. That large completing link in the East Coast line > will give direct profit mere rapidly than any other line in -New Zealand in the same position. That fact gives it precedence. The deputation, relying on it, refrained, from confusing the issue hy any talk of rival routes—the fixing of the line they left to the officers of the Public Works Department. Therein they showed a good sense, which railway deputations have not always shown in the past. The reliance of the deputation was entirely on the merits of the country to he served, with, of course, the collateral advantage of the linking with one another of such important growing centres as Napier, Gisborne, and Auckland. Here the need of Gisborne is* very prominent, as a rapidlydeveloping district which cannot afford to be at times cut off from the world as is the cdse at present. We observe that some of the preliminary surveying in difficult engineering country has not, according to the Minister’s statement, been yet completed. We trust the work will be hurried up, and that the completion of this great, important, and most certainly very profitable trunk line will be taken in hand with as vigorous concentration of effort as the country’s credit will permit. Every man' of sense must recognise that the. Government must cut its coat according to its cloth. We trust that a substantial piece will be- cut for this line in the Public Works Statement. It is no more than justice and sound finance require.