CATLINS OR WAIMAHAKA?

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14499, 16 April 1909, Page 5

CATLINS OR WAIMAHAKA?

SFEED OF RAILWAY CONSTRUE

HON.

A SYMPTOM OF RIVALRY.

Tliis DuttKlm-C'atlins-fnvcrcargiil railway is being slowly luiiitnictixl through broken heavily-timbered country,and to it, largely', tl"> fioiii-li Island looks tor its future su'npiy of limhur. That portion of tliis railway that was, some yeare a.jo, built cut from liiuTKirjjill as lar as Waimalraka lai>r,rtl tho Saaward liiuli, which proved a veritable min9 cf building material. But Seaward liusli is no\y almcftl, worked out, and the railway is b?mg pushed on front 'tt'ai-mahuk-a. towards tho dense /oivsf.s tiiat lie 0:1 tho oilier «i(b of Tokomii. Dunediii also hunjivm [ ()r an abundances of tinikr, ar/J tho railway from Mclulha. through Cathne, must, to connect up with that "sit \\ uimahaka, go through tho.;e forests that lie on lx;in].'laiy between (itago and Sotilhla'vJ. Considerable advantage must therefore flccvuo to tho railway tlmt fust, gets into tho timber reentry, and Dunidiu or fnvereargill nm-.-t benefit accordingly. Tha matter was inferred to at 01 clay's meeting of the. Catlins-Taiiu-kor.a ilrtilwii.y liagtta, when the' secretary (Mr .1, ]i. Waiots) read a report fiom tha league's rorrcspomlsut, at Oatliue. Tho Chairman (Mr It. Uiiisholm) asked if it was stated how many men were employed on tiio works.

The fi«.rotary said it was not.

The Chairman .aid it would bo very intere;fcg to know, in view of the statement that men had been tramferre<l to those worlfs from tha I.awrenK-Koxbttrgh line, lww many had boon put on to the Cafliw end, and how many on to (lie Vainiahaka. end. Very strong stricture had been ma<lo regarding the Oovernment's action in stopping the l.tnvronro wc.t'k-, and the suggestion tod leon made that tha Prima Minister had been influenced in favour of Mia i'h'.t. A nil it mid I,"in said, in iefcrenae to the ('aliiis railway: "Oh, you fellows aro being hoodwinked. They are Intiiding two milts at \Ya:iimthakii for every one mile at your end." which, if it 'were true, would mean that Invercargill would get the irado from this line fust. If this were eo it verv lwt-Nsary that the league should have some explanation of it. 11a suggested thai, tha -.-acretary and himself wait, upon the engineer in Uunediiiand obtain seme statement from him regarding ilie matter. If men v.ere being sent to V.V.iniaii.ika, tlic:- lie thought it gave Mine colouring to tlie report that ho had board. and ,iio league should at once sk what, reason there was for the action o l ' the (icvoriimont. There was every reason why the line should not be pushed on faster at that, end than at this. luvci'cargill was already .well supplied with timber country converged on ilie town. They in Otago, on live oilier hand, wanted timber, and there was every reason why the line at Catlins should be pushed en more vigorctslv. Mr AY. l'ea niove.l th;,t the chairman and secretary wait on 111? engineer and learn if po.-;ible the truth about tho Waimahaka c.vi-li-t'.etloii works, ami also ascertain if pe-'iblo the position of the whole of tho vorls up to dale.

Mr Wil.on seconded the motion.

The SfeiVrlary stale.;! Ih.it, in conversaiwi .Mr .1. ('rcsby-Smith, lite secretary of the Invercargill League, had referred to the Tokonui extension of the Seaward liush line as a liugo blunder, which they i'i fnvercargill had never s-ked for t'r (':viicd. 'jhey fought tlio extension of the Urepuki-Waiau railway. Mr Smith had

.-aid at flit* same linui that they intended lo onpo?? (lis l.uvl'cneo-lioxbnrgli line tcoih and nail.

The Chairman i-aid it was <lue lo members of tin Ministry thai ihey find out the iriuh about the Waimahaka. lino, lYrsqually, he did not allaeli any importance to the I'cporl. Trio Hon. Thomas Mackenzie v.':is a. member of the Minisirv and of I lie league, and lie could hardly ccnceivo of his allowing him.-.'lf lo be swayed by local intiu.Micc.s in ihe direction of supper! ing Waiuiahaka a; against Catlin.s. The motion was carried. Tim members prwew at ilie meet in" v.e: ■: Me.-ers 1!. I'hieliolm (cliainuan), Wif. •••on, \\". li. M. Fea, W. ,1. Jlolt, and Waters (secretary). Apologies fcr ncnuttenda'ice wore received from Mee.-re I). M. I'Vn, Etlmoml, Taylor, Moss, Fonwick, (' »he:i, and T. K. Sidey, M.P., and G. M. Thomson. M.l 1 .

— Seventy thousand people are employed in the linen industry; in Ireland,