OTAGO CENTEAL RAILWAY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10263, 22 January 1895, Page 7

OTAGO CENTEAL RAILWAY.

Tiia following letter was tbis week forwarded to tl'e Premier by the chairman of the Executive ef the Ofcago Cuutrnl Railway League :— January 15,1895. linn. Mv Sflddon, Wellington. 3>ar Sir,—l hp.vi; the honour to acknowledge receipt of your telegram of lltli inst., in which you rr,y you are sorry the Otago Central Railway ii-pgnc "'should ico (It to protest against that v.-liiuk is an admitted fact—namely, that tha league is a semi-political body." It i; difficult to refute such a charge when co made as a mere individual (statement unsupported by proof of any kind, and I may fairly ask you to he koml enough U> cits r,ny action or utterance of the isaguu which would justify the admission or trove the fact you assume. Meantime, it may be as well to remind you of the r.ntur.s nirJ duties of the league, as a help to retnovin;.; tliu false impression you haveevidently sceivcsl U'iiu Oiagf) Central Railway League wa3 brought into existence :it a public meeting, convened by the late Hon. Vincent Pyke, and held in Dunqdiu on 9th June IS3?, for the purpose of determining v/h.it str:p.< rhuiilil be taken to secure the more viirormn prosecution of tha Otago Central railway. At that meeting it- was-resolved to form a licrmaiieut league to watch over and urge on the construction of the line. Any citizen (with the exception of members of Parliament) may become n member of the league on payment of a minimum subscription oc half-a-crown. An executive countil, fur which members of the league are equally eli-iHe, is elected at the annual meeting of the It a^'ue, and attends to its business throughout the This year will sec that the duties of the league L'H clearly defined, and. that it ess been created.

liy and U completely under the control nf the ritiKuns, and is empowered to speak ami to act f<r thorn iv connection, with the work which ha.-) bs«n uutrusteil to it. by them. That tho pi-fi'Sress (1 f tkat work lias uufortmmtely ahvuyn bean, and unfortiitiiitc.ly ttill in, inatarially intorfereU with by thu isxiiieimiea "f jiarty politics is iis well known to yourself aa to anyone. That U>e lvivainoiml consideration with the le-iE[iifi must be the completion (if the Otsao (JiMitnil railway m speedily us pessiblfi, tn ■"vhich all individim! pniiUo.il priidilertioiiß of whatever kind iim«t yield wlrai. its moiubera ate uctiiig to),-«ther as a bndy, will, i hope, lis also lecoKuised by you as uuo of the unavoidable uecessltiss of its position. lint tho lcasue deMrei to maintain friendly relations with the Uowrmneut and with members of I'arlirinient, and to ilo what it can to stronuiuen their efforts to noouro iiislica for tho railway, and it regrets that it has recently been met iv a spirit of hostility In- th- J (i..vor,uuont and members suppnrtina it, and that, tbare should have lisnu ally obstacles tlivnvu in thu way of its obtaining information for wnirh it. was fairly entitled to ask. Any antagonism that has been shown has not bein on thu part, of the league towsnls the Government, but on the part of the Government towiirds tho le^uu. Verniit me to add that it in hard to uudciMtnnd w):,ya Coverninout yr.-iwieil to incur any expenditure necessary to acnuire lauds for t.he people qna U assist them in takiTij; up and profitably occupyi«K suitable holdings should not bu morn eni?or to hastoa on tho fltiißO (Jontral railway, the construotion of which would make available for close settlement, at so com para lively litt.lo cost, tin) lar<i!st anil most valuabls estatu of Crown lands in'the oniony, and that the leasue would be nOiiU'Ctiag the duty it luw been entrusted with by the citizens if it failed to take every opportunity, and to use all legitimate means, to urge the m"rit9 of the work, aud to sec that, so far as lay within its power, no removable obstacles were permitted to stand in the way of its completion.—l am, itc,

WIM.IAM 15.UIH0N

At a special meeting of the Amalgamated Society of Hngineera, Millwrights, Smiths, Pattern Makers, to. the following resolution wan carried unanimously :— " Thij meeting' etroDjjly urge upon the Government; tho necessity of pushing on tht; Ottigo Cet.tral railway, at; least to the extent of the money voted last spßsron, bslicvjng that it is in the best interests of the colony to do so ss quickly as possible."