THE MIDLAND RAILWAY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10193, 30 October 1894, Page 3

THE MIDLAND RAILWAY.

In the House of Representatives on the 16th inst., The Hon. Mr SEDDON moved the second reading of the Midland Railway Contract Bill, to empower the Queen to cancel a certain contract with the New Zealand Midland Railway Company, and to enter into a new contract in liea thereof. He said the Government was asking the House to deal with a very difficnlt and complicated subject, and as there were very few of the present members in the House when the original contract was initiated, it would be necessary for him to inform the House what the circumstances were which led up to the railway being started. After detailing the whole circumstances connected with the formation of the railway, he said the line was finished now as f«r as Jackson's, which shortened 6ie distance between the East and West Coasts. The Public Accounts Committee went into the whole matter very fully, and ultimately reported that the company receive £618,000 in lieu of land grants, and that the old contract should ba maintained. These conditions were referred to the Midland Railway Company, and they replied to the effect that they wished to be relieved of the portion of the contract known as the Motueka-Reefton connection. After making the fullest inquiry, and knowing all the circumstances of the company, he (Mr Seddon) was in a position to cay that the company could not carry out the original contract. It was a most painful and humiliating position to be placed in, as the people of Nelson and Keefton had for years past been waiting for this work to be proceeded with, and there had been no settlement or expenditure of any kind in consequence of the work not progressing. This bill proposed that in respect of the incompleted Springfield and Jackson's line the company shall, in lieu of land grants, receive 3£ per csufc. bonds in debentures to the amount of £618,250. Debentures would be issued in one year to the extent of £200,000 and a further sum of £200,000 withia two yearn, and debentures to the value of £218,250 ou the completion of the railway between Springfield and Jackson's. A proviso was added, however, to the effect that no delivery of debentures should take place till at least oue-fourth of the total amount or value of the works under the new contract was completed in terms of the contract. It might bo asked what advantages the colony would gam by the construction of this railway, but he would say that it would prove of immense value as encouraging the tourist traffic to the colony, and he thought no honourable member would deny that this traffic was of immense advantage to the colony. Another great advantage would be that it would facilitate the carriage of coal and other minerals, and in that respect alona the arguments in favour of the construction of the line were as sound to-day as when the project was first initiated. The construction of the line would also find employment for i about 2000 men, and that was a great con- ! sideration in the face of the drain that was i now taking place in our population. He would j now tell the House that if it passed this bill they would shortly find that the Ofcira Gorge would be a second Coolgardie, and there would j be no necessity for our men leaving the colon;. {

Another matter of paramount importance was that if they passed thin bill they wonld set free five million acres of Crown lands for settlement purposes.—(An Hon. Member: "That land is useless.") It was not usrJcss, but was fit for settlement. The people of Canterbnry and Nelson had had their lands locked up for years, and it was not fair to them not to allow their lands to be opened up in this way. He had already told the Honsc that an extension of time was asked for by the company, and he felt that extension should bo conceded. If they did not treat the company fairly it would be a bad thing for ths credit and honoar of the colony, aDd he thonght that if at all possible litigation should be avoided, as the Government generally came off second best in disputes of this kind. Several deviations had been made iv this contract, but he was convinced that the present proposals would Fettle once and for all this difficult question. Those who supported the Government in their self-reliant non-bor* rowing policy must support this bill. Sir B. STOUT did nob know that he ever heard a more misleading speech than the one they had jnst heard, nor one more full of blunders:. He also detailed the circumstances attending, the initiation of this railway, and s&id the company having now got ths best of: the land picked out they came to the House and asked for £618.250 in cash, and they were to set aside the Neliion portion of the contract *Hogebher. He asked why they should allow tiiis company to violate their contract, and he asserted that the honour of the colony wa3 junlj as much concerned in seeing that they carried out their contract as in helping thecompauy to complete the railway. They were asked to borrow money to the extent of £618,250 to allow ibis company to make a million pounds' worth of railway, which was not to be the property of the colony after all, but of the company itself. Mr Socldon spoke of litigation, but if be had done his duty as Minister for Public Works he would have seen that no litigation was likely to ensue. Besides he (Sir R. Stout) was under the impression that by tha legislation of the present Government everything was now to be settled by arbitration and conciliation, and surely this was a matter that could be settled by arbitration, He did not deny that the tourist traffic should be developed, but he had yet to learn that in order to develop that traffic a railway should be made to the West Coast. The Premier had also spoken of the beauty of tha Otira Gorge, but it did not excel that of the Buller river. They were asked what should ba done if the Government proposals were not assented to, but if the company were unable to fulfil their contract it would be time for the colony to say what it would do. It the land were so valuable as they were led to believe, why not set tbe laud aside as an endowment for making the railway, and he (Sir R. Stoat) should not object to that. He expressed file opinion that if they gave the company £618,250 it would not end the matter, and they would again come on the colony for further concessions. He asked the House how it could consent to a borrowing policy of thia kind, and ridiculed the assertion of the Premier that it was a self-reliant and non-borrow-ing proposal to hand over £618,250 to this company. ■ ■

Mr GRAHAM said Sir R. Stout's speech on this bill was one of the most brilliant utterances he had ever heard in the House, and contrasted most favourably with the speech of the Premier, who evidently knew he was fighting & losing game.

Captain RUSSELL said the Premier had told them they. mast deal fairly with this company, but he would ask whether they should . not deal fairly with the colony also. The Premier had scarcely referred at all to the interests of the taxpayers of the colony, and his speech was more like that of an advocate for the company than of the Premier o£ the colony. The strongest argument Mr Seddon had advanced for this bill was that the railway should be completed in order to encourage tourists to the Ofcira Gorge, but there were plenty of other portions of the colony that had quite as good scenery as that part of the country. He pointed out that it had been most clearly shown that from the first this company did not possess sufficient capital for the construction o£ this railway. Speaking as a layman, therefore, be did not think on that ground the company would have a case to go to the law courts on if the House refused to agree to the proposals; in the present bill. He held also that in abandoning the system of land grants, they would abandon the original intention of the Housenamely, that the railway should ba constructed on the land grant system, and that settlement should proceed along the line as it was con-, structed. He was opposed to Nelson being! thrown overboard as proposed in the bill, and said it was not fair to that part of the colony that it should be treated in that way. They were not told how the colony would benefit in any way by the alteration in the contract which; the House was now asked to agree to. Thai Premier had referred to the probable employ-, ment of 2000 men in railway works, but whilst that would undoubtedly be good in the interests of the unemployed, it must not be forgotten that this would only be secured through the expenditure by the colony of large sums of money from which the colony would derive no benefit whatever. He considered it the highest; unwisdom that the House should consent to the payment by the colony of £21,830 a year foe ever and ever in order to benefit this company at the expense of the general taxpayers of <the colony.

The Hon. Mr REEVES cotiia not accspfe-tha arguments advanced against the bill as relevant! or weighty, and Captain Russell seemed 'ta imagine that the railway should never have! been commenced at all. It had been stated; that the Premier had advanced as the principal argument for this railway that it would encourage the tourist traffic, but the fact was! he had only quoted this as one of the reason* in favour of the railway. The employment oE, a large number of men was also a good and' sufficient reason in the present state of the; labour market. Nobody had ever suggested) that the company had undertaken the con-j struction of the railway from purely philanthropic motives, but the colony had also; entered into a contract as a businesaj affair. Circumstances seemed to show that unless a variation of the contract were; agreed to the line would have to baj abandoned, and the alternative, therefore, was; that unless they agreed to the present proposals; the railway wonld be stopped. If this bill were; not agreed to the line would be hung np for; some time- to come, and there would be an enormous amount of litigation in consequence.,1 In addition to that the Canterbury district would sacrifice an immense quantity of land without getting its railway, and the land thafc was expected to be opened up by the line would! remain utterly closed as far as settlement waaj concerned. Their business was to get the whole; line made if possible, but when there was no; chance of that they had to got as much of thej line made as was possible. He was not sur* prised at the speech of the member for Nelson! on this bill, but when he remembered that they, had been fighting for this railway for the lasfcj 12 years, and that if it were not constructed; 300,000 acres of Canterbury land would baj j sacrificed all for nought, be was bound taurga; the passage of this bill. He asked the Housa to remember that it agreed last session to the,' terms asked for by the present bill, and ha hoped they would pause before th-ay departed; from the agreement made last session to assist' the construction of the line, for which Canter-; bury people had beea waiting without complain" ing for 12 years past. Tha motion for the second reading wasTosß by 32 to 26. The following is'the division list :— ■ Ayes (26).—Messrs Buddo, Carroll, Coffinsy Guinness. G. Hutchison, Joyce, W. Kelly, Lari nach, Mackintosh, M'Gowan, J. M'Kenzie^ M'Lachlan, Mitchelsou, Meredith, Montgomery* O'Regan, Parata, Reeves, G. W. Russell, Saundersj Seddon, G. J. Smith, Stevens, Steward, Tanner, Ward. | Noes (32).—Messrs Allen, Buchanan, Buick;' Button, Carnoross, Carnell, Crowther, Earnshaw^j Fraser, Graham. Hall-Jones, Harris, Heke, WJ Hutchison, J. W. Kolly, Lang, T. Mackenzie^ Massey, M'Guire, M'Nab, Millar, Mills, Morrison,! Newman, Pinkerton, Pirani, W. R. Russsell, Ei M. Smith, Stout, Te Ao, Thompson, Wilson. < Paibs.—Ayes : Messrs Cadman. Duthie, andvWJ Pere. Noes: Messrs Green, Maslin, Lawry.