Correspondent.

Otago Witness, Issue 1555, 27 August 1881, Page 19

Correspondent.

site with.but, very little formation, to make; and the lical engineer ,in charge o* the construction 'of, the line strongly recommended the site' as'being the best, and cheapest too'; but will it be believed that, the eh'gin'eer'-in-chlef, Mr Blair, would' not have the station', built there. After this , , 'don!t 'say that the Government rule the country. No, it is nothing ' of the ' sort ; it is ' 'the Civil servants who rule and direct our public affairs, or we should never have railway-stations and townships built and surveyed on swamps and low-lying land subject to flood*. Now I.Vydll just show what a smart thing the Government,', through their engineer, have done for the taxpayers' in' this matter. In the first place, 1 they havo, had to pay a very large sum of money extra to the contractors of the line to raise it '■ to its present height ; next, they have . had to pay a ' large sum' of rhoneV to the contractor for the direction ; of the cattle yards) owing to the large amount of extra filling up required ; and lastly, they have had a gang of men; and an ' engine burning coal all day, and a driver arid a fireman at work for a long time ' forming; a wider, siding at the station. Taking all these matters together, I find that the Kelso station has cost the' country something like £4000 more money than if the , station hnd been built on the proffered land. If there is not the material in the present House of Representatives to' not only rule the affairs of the country, but also to rule the Civil servants, tlwn it is high time a large quantity of new, blood «as introduced into the House.— l am, &c, Kelsoman. '

August 20th.