Otago Central Railway.

Otago Witness, Issue 1672, 8 December 1883, Page 10

Otago Central Railway.

A public meeting was held in the Queeu's Theatre on Thursday evening for the purpose of protesting again&t the action of the Government in withdrawing labour from the Otago Central railway. About 300 persona were present. t

His Worship the Mayor (Mr J. B. Thomson) presided, and the following gentlemen occupied seats on the platform : — Messrs V. Pyke, H. S. Fish, jun., T. Bracken, M. W. Green, T. Fergus, and J. Batbgate, M.H.R.'s, and Messrs R. Wilson, Murray, Hudbou, Bolt, Carroll, and Munro.

His Worship said that the object of the meeting was to consider a matter of vital interest to the prosperity of the Ofcago Provincial District. He desited, however, to call attention to the fact that the meeting was not of a political character, but was simply to consider matters in connection with a piiblic work that was necessary for the welfare of the country.

Mr T. Buackkn, M.H.R., said it required no elaborate argument to demonstrate tho faot that the opening up and speedy settlement of the interior of the province affected every inhabitant of Otago, and the citizens of Dunedin more especially ; for, as they all knew, the prosperity .of the town depended upon the progress of the country. — (Hear, hear.) Of late there had been many complaints of dull times and of serious depression. Several causes had been assigned for the commercial depression, but to his mind the simple and apparent cause of depression in this fine city was the sparseness of the population in the country districts. The merchants and tradesmen of Dunedin were capable of supplying the requirements of a population ten _ times as large as the population settled in the country districts. Of what use would merchants and enterprising shipping companies, and efficient tradesmen and mechanics be unless there wab also a hardy and industrious yeomanry. — (Applause.) Otago contained 15^ million acres, of which nine million acres were suited for agricultural purposes. In this magnificent territory, a territory of about the same area as the Kingdom of Belgium, there were only 136,000 persons, more than one-half of whom lived in the towns, so that there was a mere handful of people scattered over this magnificent country. The way to remove the evils of which they complained was to tap the country by the speedy construction of lines of railway. It was now three and a-half years since the Ofcago Central railway lino was commenced, but not a single mile of line was yet open for traffic. Many people said |that the Government was to blame for this, and no doubt the Government was to blame in the matter, but primarily the people themselves were to blame. His observations in other parts of New Zealand led him to believe that the most apathetic people in the Colony were the people of Otago. In lite opinion, it was time a healthy public opinion was evoked in this portion of the country, and that some of the old and tried public servants who had stood fast by Otago in days gone by should again come to the front. He thought that such men aa James Macandrew, Donald Reid, and Robert Stout should come forward and protect the interests of Ofcago. — (Applause.) In his opinion it was also time that Ofcago and Canterbury, haviug so many interests in common, should let the Northern gentlemen know that however well-intentioned they might be — and many of them were well-intentioned — they (the Northern members) were ignorant of the requirements of this portion of New Zealand. It was time that Otago and Canterbury went shoulder to shoulder and claimed what they were entitled to ; and he trusted that before the next general election a Southern defence league would be established that would make itself felt throughout the Colony. There was no need to say that the Centralising system was not suited to this Colony, and that it could not be satisfactorily governed from Wellington. The motion he had to propose would commend itself to the good sense of everyone present. He moved— "That the continued and vigorous prosecution of the works on the Otago Central railway is vitally necessary to the prosperity of the Otago Provincial District, and especially needful for the promotion of settlement in the interior."

MrT. Fergus, M.H.R., had much pleasure in supporting the motion. ' He thought his friend the member for Vincetit would allow that he (the speaker) knew perhaps as much about the work in the interior of Otago as any man in the community. He did not intend to treat the meeting to any claptrap, but would simply lay before them a plain, unvarnished tale. He was exceedingly sorry to have to agree with the statement that apathy had characterised, and still characterised, the people of Ocago. They had to come down from the interior and beg of the people of Dunedin to rouse up and support them, and they went up to Parliament year after year begging and praying the Parliament to help them, with what result they know, for an indication of it was now brought before them. If the people of Dunedin wore alive to their own interests, instead of the meeting being such as it was, there would not have been room in the street before the theatre for the concourse of people that would have assembled to demand that they should at last receive some' substantial justice. He thought that a new era had dawned in the state of public affairs when he bad the pleasure of being present, a number of years ago, at the turning'of the first sod of the Ofcago Central railway by Mr Pyke, but that railway was still dragging its weary length along, and he had very little hope of seeing it anything like completed until his bead had become more hoary than that of his friend. Certainly in the' interior they got very scant justice indeed, and he blamed Dunedin for it. — (Hear, hear. ) He particularly blamed the Dunedin merchants ; but he also blamed the professional men and the citizens generally for the treatment the people of the interior had received. They might blame Centralism/Provincialism, or petty jealousies, but he blamed the people. The Otago Central railway instead of being the last work undertaken in the Colony, and especially in the Province of Ofcago, ought to ha,ve been the first, because the region through which it would travel had contributed more in proportion to the revenues of the country and had received less than any other part of tho Colony. To-night he asked and besought them to stand shoulder to shoulder in urging forward this very necessary work, which was of vital importance to the town, and was the very life-blood of the people of Central O{*go. He had had within the last fortnight or most lamentable proof that there was a very considerable amount of distress and misery in our midat, and that there were far more unemployed than tho general public would a<3niit.— (He&v, hs*r.)

He had advertised for a number of men to go I to Tasmania, and ho was ho bebiegud by applicants at his office and hou«e that no 'had to get oue of his foremen to receive some of the applicant-:. He had received no lots than 350 appli cations from good and fcruo men in Dunedin, who wore willing to shake tho dust of Otago off their feet and go to a now land, whero they would be bettor appreciated than they were here. This was an unhealthy condition of affairs, and one that ho waa very sorry to see. In connection with this matter he might be permitted to pay that he had seen that one of the papers stated that he (the speaker) had been instrumental in ■ getting the services of the unemployed at Mullocky Gully dispensed with, in order that he might get cheap labour for Tasmania. He need not say that there was not a vestige of foundation for that statement. The fact was that he had been ono of the very first to remonstrate with the Government for the step they had taken, as he held that the Government should retain the services of these men until tho contracts advertised were let. In_ conclusion, ho seconded the resolution which' had been moved by the member for Dunedin Central.

Mr John Bathgate, M.H.K., wished to say a few words in support of the motion. He felt they were not getting justice done, and he trusted the people of Dunedin and Ofcago would raise such a gale as in the end would bring about the due measure of justice to which they wore entitled. The resolution before them spoke in forcible terma of the vital necessity of the Otago Central railway. From deep and strong conviction ho said that no language could be strong enough to assert the vital necessity of that work for the prosperity of this city. He would have liked to have seen ou an occasion -like this not an inch of standing room, but he apprehended a telegram that appeared in the rftar — laying the blame of course upon some Dunedin person— of some mistake might have misled many to the conclusion that their presence here was not required. Still the meeting was a respectable one, and he was delighted to see a little of their apathy shaken off. If they were to get rid of the depression already alluded to, they must be up and doing, and test the truth of the proverb that God helps them who help themselves. — (Applause.) He trusted that the ventilation of this question to-night would be taken not only with a view to those unemployed men who were to be summarily dismissed and thrown upon the world at the verjr time they should ba kopt on, to prevent them from being abstracted from the labour market and carried away to Tasmania under the wing of Mr Fergus. But there was a broader view. They must take up this question of the Otago Central, which he had urged ou the public for fully two years, in regard to the prosperity of this city itaelf. As Mr Bracken had said, they knew that as a seaport they wore largely dependent for their prosperity upon the proper use of the interior, and fie was perfectly satisfied that the citizens of Dunedin had not the remotest idea of the magnificent estate they possessed in that inland territory stretching away to the West Coast which was known as the province of Otago. Even at present, although they had no proper means of communication, there wore 10,000 persons there pursuing various occupations, and that portion of the Colony yielded at this moment £200,000 a year in gold, and also, in wool and other pastoral productions, £2Sl,000 ; so that nearly half a million at this moment was poured from that country into the coffers of the Dunedin merchants. But was that anything like the tide of wealth that would flow towards Dunedin if the capabilities of the country were properly developed ? If this Central line were pushed on, as it ought to have been long ago, they would have seen ere this a very different state of affairs from that which presented itself to their sight at this moment. The delay that had taken place was unfair to the community at large. This part of the Colony contributed one-third of the revenue from customs, and, along with Canterbury, paid the larger amount of the revenue of the country. Yet their best interests were neglected, and were allowed to get into a state of depression, without a little finger in the North being lifted to help them. Two hundred thousand pounds had already been spent on this line, and each year that this sum was not made productive tliey sustained a loss of £10,000 a year for interest. They could not afford such a loss, and the heavy interest the Colony had to remit to England for unproductive works was undoubtedly one of the causes of the present depression. It shpula be remembered that when this line was finished to Lake Wanaka there was an easy and natural route — which had been pioneered by Mr Vincent Pyke — to the West Coast. He did not grudge the Canterbury people their line to the West Coast, but the extension of this Central line would reach the West Coast toy a cheap, easy, and natural highway ; and then the people of this district would get their share of a traffic of which they had very little at present. He would just end like an old Scotchman, by giving them chapter and verse for what he was urging on them. He had told them that the prosperity of the trade of Dunedin depended on the interior. They would find the whole theory of that fixed and settled in the 12th chapter of the Acts, 20th verse. The people of Tyre and Sidon— that was Dunedin and Port Chalmerst-had offended King Herod, Now Herod was King of what was called the Hill Country in Scripture. He was like Mr Yin cent Pyke, who is king of Clyde, Cromwell, and all the hill country. The verse says that these people were anxious to make peace with the King, and they engaged Blastus, the King's chamberlain, to make peace for them, because they were nourished by the King's Rountry. In Dunedin, if they were alive to their own interests, they would neither sleep nor eat night or day until they had done something to promote ready communication between the source of wealth now lying dormant in the interior of Otago and their own pockets, because, depend upon it, they were nourished by the king's country. After referring to the way in which Wellington succeeded by agitation in getting practically £700,000 spent upon two trunk railways, running through the same narrow strip of country, Mr Bathgate said he was confident that out of the sum voted for the Otago Central they would not get this year more than £30,000. The money went somewhere, but it did not come here. With regard to Ofcago it was a case of " dawdle and diddle." If they wished prosperity to come back to Dunedin, if they wanted to see the city flourish and all their brightest hopes and anticipations revived, if they wanted to advance the interests not only of the interior but of the Colony as a whole, they should agitate to the utmost of their power for a vigorous and immediate prosecution of the Otago Contral Railway. — (Applause.) Mr John Graham thought that the proper place for their members to urge this question was in Parliament.

The resolution was carried unanimously Mr Vincent Pykk, M.H.R., did not know whether it waa nice to be compared to King Herod, but, at any rate, there would be no elara^bter «f vfae ittnwjaitei to-niyht o$ fate patty

except it waa those innocents who ought to have been slaughtered long ago — these were the ni3ii who would not and. did not do their duty. He was thankful to say this was not a meeting for any party or political purpose. It waa a meeting convened in the interests of the whole people of Otago, and primarily of Dunedin, to protest against the stoppage of railway works upon a line which he — and he hoped all of them — conceived to be tho one great safeguard for the prosperity and interests of Dunediu. He was not there to abuse Mr Mitchelson, the new Minister for Public Works. He was quite satibfied — in fact he knew — that the hon, gentleman had but put the last finishing touch upon the policy initiated by his predecessor. Therefore, it was not a question of Olago or Dunedin against Auckland that uad to be presented to them to - night. The question was this : Whether they would remain for another period — Heaven knew how long — blindly indifferent to what he held to be the most important work Dunedin people had to conaider. The new railway-station or bridge over Vogel street was a matter of comparative indifference. He questioned if some of these contemplated works were not a waste of money. — (Applause.) But here was a line that went directiy into the interior, which put Dunedin, as it ought to have been put at the outset, into immediate and rapid communication with that great and fertile country which lay beyond their ken, because it was at" the back of Saddle. Hill, In July 1879 the first sod of this railway was turned, and now in the last days of November 18S3 they had not a single mile of the railway opened. The present plan that was followed of leaving great gaps between the different sections waa most wastetul. If the line were opened as the work went on, they would get some return from the money already expended, and they would save an immense sum on the contracts that were about to be let up country* because the contractors' material could be conveyed by rail, and they would naturally tender at a lower price. The men who were now being discharged were not street - corner loafers. They were pick-and-shovel men — navvies — who knew their work 1 : who were fit for that, and nothing else. The Government said : " Discharge these men. It is time. We are going to put contracts on the market ; but we do uot care how the discharge of these men may influence tho prices of those contracts. We do not care whether these men are thrown out of employment for six weeks or two months, or driven away to Tasmania. Discharge them now, and then we will call for tenders." Was that wise or statesmanlike? A more foolish, stupid, ignorant thing was never done than to discharge these men at the present time. They had been told that Mr Blair made the mistake. Well, if lie did ha (Mr Pyke) thanked him for it, and he thought the whole population would thank Mr Blair for it. He was told to dismiss them gradually: " Dribble them off, dribble them oif, until you have got the whole of the men discharged from the work, and tho public will never find it out until the mischief is done." That was the Government policy; but Mr Blair dismissed half of them at once, and he thanked Mr Blair for it, because his action had brought the matter fairly before the people of Dunedin, and they knew that what was intended was that this work was not to be continued, but was to be left a hideous gap. From a Government return of arrivals and departures he found that last year 3000 of our people went to New South Wales more than came from there, and 1000 more . went to Victoria than came from that place to this Colony. Thus 4000 of our people had been lost. Tho fact was that the Government was bringing people to the Colony on one hand, and was kicking them out of it on the other. It was one of the most absurd fallacies to contend that this section should be kept for the unemployed. They had no right to delay a great public work for the unemployed, and work might be found for them without delaying the construction o£ a line that was required for the general welfare of the country. They had been iold truly that the people of Dunedin knew ncihing at all about Otago ; they knew nothing at all about the magnificent estate at the back of the barren hills that faced the bay, where there was an inheritage, he would go so far as to say, for unborn millions. There were some , gentlemen who knew the value of that country, and they were the dummies. — (Applause). These men, like the spies mentioned in Scripture, had gone forth and viewed the fatness of the land, and had endeavoured to possess themselvesof it while the citizens generally were walking up and down the streets without the slightest idea of the magnificent profits the dummies were trying to deprive them of. He did not believe there was any place in the world equal to the interior of Otago for fruits above the earth and below it. The facts were so amazing that he was afraid to tell the truth about it. — (Laughter and applause.) The men at work on the Hindon section could not be absorbed by the farming industry, as they were merely pick and shovel men, and though it was found that other work could not be got for them, the order had been given to get rid of them. Since the abolition of Provincialism, the people of Dunedin had been more like mice than men.—(Applause.) They seemed to have lost all heart in consequence of the removal of Provincial institutions, but they might be sure that something of the sort would come back again. They could not always stand being governed from that wooden city across the Straits, but that was no reason why in the meantime they should allow themselves to be kicked until the people of Wellington thought the people of Otago liked it. — (Laughter.) He invited them to regard the present time as the birthright of a new era in their history ; to determine to assert their position ; and to resolve that, as they were the contributors of one-third of the taxation of the Colony, they would not be treated with ignominy and contempt. Without further trespassing upon their time, he would move — "That this meeting most strenuously protests against the discharge of the men employed on the Hindon section, deeming it to be a wrongful and impolitic procedure, calculated to bo highly detrimental to the "general welfare of the community at the present time, inasmuch as the early completion of that section is necessary for the opening of the line to the Deep Creek and Nenthorne sections."

Mr H. S. Fish, M.H.R., rose to second the resolution, but remarked that he was not sure that they had a right to interfere between the Government and the employment of labour. The policy of the Government was that so soon as other channels of labour were open to the men who bad been temporarily employed they should be taken off the works, and he thought that policy was a right one. He had, however, much pleasure in expressing his strong desire, in common with the gentlemen who had proceeded him, that the important work of the Otago Central railway should be pushed forward without cessation, and ns speedily as possible. He did not care whether the work was done by contract or not so long as it was carried to a successful completion. He knew that there was a groat country to be opened by this Hno, and that the welfare of the tfty depewial won tbe twetterity o* the

country, and that they must work together in order to develop the resources of the. country. He wished to point out that when the last £3,000,000 was authorised the amount apportioned for the Ot^ago Central railway was £300,000, and that was to extend over three years. This was the second year of the loan, and there! ore there should have been voted for the line £200,000. All that was spent upon the line last year was £17,000, and this year there was voted £130,000, making in all £147,000. Supposing all that was voted was spent on the line, there would still be £53,000 less expended on the line than ought to be ; , but it would not all be expended this year, and they would not get' a shilling more for the Otago Contral line than was now voted for it, because the Government would not have the money to spend. The expenditure would be found to be in excess of the £3,000,000 loan to the extent of £700,000 or £800,000, and the Otago Central railway and other works in the South Island would go short. He would not ca.re to make a noise because a few men were sent off the works, if it were not for the broad fact lying behind it that this great national , work would be delayed. Ho seconded the resolution because it would be the means o protesting to the Government and to th country that Otago was badly used with regard to public works, and he hoped it would be the means of causing the Government not to ' neglect this important work. Mr R. K. Murray spoke strongly in support of the motion, regretted the half-hearteduess displayed by Mr Fish, and remarked that the people of Otago were the most patient and long-suffering he had ever met with in his life. Mr VVklls spoke of the want of union among the Otago members, and proposed a resolution urging upon them the necessity of united action. He asked that some gentleman of position and standing should step forward from amongst the audience and second his resolution. V Mr John Graham rose amidst much cheep' ing to second the motion, but the mover elected to withdraw it. , •

Mr J. G. S. Grant spoke of the want of unity amongst members, made some remarks of a personal and offensive character, and wasproceeding to tender a new motto for the Ofcago Daily Times, when the patience of the audience being exhausted, his voice was drowned by expressions of dissent. Mr Gray objected to the phrase in the resolution " detrimental to the general welfare of the community." That* did not appear to be the ca>e, because they did not see among those present their mercantile men— they did not see the members of such firms as Bing, Harris, and Co. ; Dalgety and Co. ; or Sargood, Son, and Ewen. The resolution was carried. Mr M. W. Green, M.H.R., said he had very great pleasure in moving the followingresolution :—": — " That his Worship the Mayor be asked to telegraph copies of these resolutions to the Hon Minister of Works, the Hon. Mr Dick, and the Hon. Mr Oliver, with a request that the works on the Hindon section may be resumed and prosecuted without cessation, other than may arise from ■ a natjiral demand for labour elsewhere." The gentleman who last spoke referred to the fact that many of the great merchants of the city were not to be found showing that they considered this subject to be one of vital interest to the welfare of the Colony and city. But he had overlooked a very important factor, which explained, at least in some measure, their absence. That was that unfortunately many of their merchant princes — if he might apply the term to them — were interested not merely in mercantile pursuits, but in squatting pmsuits as well — (hear),— and those interested in squatting pursuits were not interested in seeing that country opened up by railways—(applause), — because that would mean the subdivision of the country, the settlement of an increased population, and their deprivation of facilities for easily increasing their wealth, which facilities deprived the great body of the people of the means of increasing their prosperity that legitimately belonged to them v He was very sorry not to see present a larger body of the bone and sinew of the city of Dunedin. He was able to give this resolution a hearty support, notwithstanding the position he might occupy in regard to the Ministry of the present time, because he looked upon it that the wolfare of the Colony was before all party government, and that whatever party was in power, if it was found not to be doing justice to the various districts, these districts had a right to raise their voices and demand that justice should be done. He would point out that Governments were only human beings, and unless pressure were brought to bear upon them they would take matters easily. If the people of Otago did not get what they considered just in connection with the Obago Central, they had themselves largely to blame. He did not think this meeting ought to be regarded as fairly representative of the interest such a subject as this would be likely to excite. Meetings on this subject bhould be held not only in Dunedin, but throughout the Provincial District. The members for the city as well as for the suburbs had given most hearty support to every effort to push on this railway. He would give his hearty support to both the first and second resolutions.

Mr Robin, in seconding the resolution, said he thought that, considering the short notice, the meeting showed that the people of Dunedin felt largely interested in the question. He blamed the Government a good deal for^ not having a great deal more of this railway^ made. He also blamed, to a greater extent, "~ their Southern members for not looking after their interests so attentively and energetically as they might. They should take a leaf out of the book of North Island members, and join heartily together, laying aside all personal differences where any great work of this sort was under consideration.— (Applause.) The resolution was carried.

Mr R. Wilson said he agreed with a great deal that had been said by Mr Bracken. A great deal of apathy was shown in this community, and a great many had heard him (the speaker) abuse the merchants in the Chamber of Commerce for net taking a more active interest in matters that concerned the public interests. Mr Bracken, .and Mr Green also, had said that the citizens generally were to blame. He agreed with them in that, too, but he considered that the greatest fault of the citizens was that they sent men to Parliament who did not agree. He (the speaker) had just returned from the North, and he found that in Auckland the people were delighted with the Southern members, and considered they were splendid fellows, because about one-half of them were sure to back the Northern men, and that suited them admirably. There would not be an election within the year, but he hoped that at the next general election they would seek to return men that would pull together in everything affecting the interests of Otago, and not be like dogs snapping at each other. He moved— "That a Vigilance Committee be appointed to- watch over the Central Railway and other works within the Provincial District of Otago, and all other matters and things pertaining t" 0 tba general wdfa*a di the

community, such Committee to consist of the Hon. W. H. Reynolds, Messrs R. Wilson, his Worship the Mayor, Messrs Mackerras, J. M. Ritchie, K. Ramsay, G. L. Denniston, K. Glendining, D. Reid, E. JB. CargilJ, A. Burt, J. Robin, V, Pyke, Captain Scott, R.N., and Captain Baldwin, with pwtver to add to their number. He supposed that most of them were aware that he was a strong supporter of tht. present Government, but he must say that he was not at all satisfied with the way they had been spending money during the last year Instead of spending money in finishing lines, and obtaining a return on previous expenditure, a vote of £5000 was gi anted for a line from somewhere to Switzers, and other votes of £5000 and £10,000 were expended that would not bring in any return for 20 years, if ever they were of service. Until they got a strong Government that was able to put its foot down and say, Mr Driver, you shall not get £10,000; MiBrown, you shall not get £20,000, they would never have fair play. The fact wuh that money was being squandered, and the £3,000,000 would be frittered away without one half of the projected works bring finibhed, and it would be some years before they coula borrow again. Mr W. M. Bolt intended to second the resolution; but could not do to as the C'un raittee was not a fairly representative ono. He would, however, second the motion if tin following four names were added : — Alessis R. Stout— (applause)— R. Hudson, E. Wilson, O. J. Hodge, and C. Thorne. Mr Wilson said he would have no hesitation in accepting the names, but he would like to consult those he had arranged with before. The names suggested were added to the motion, as was also Mr Bolt's name. Mr Bolt would say very few words in seconding the motion. He thought they would all that a Vigilance Committee such as w^ mentioned in the resolution was of para£4pnt necessity. The utter want of political life in Dunedin during the last seven years proved the necessity. If the Otago Central had been a line running through large private estates it would have been made long ago. He was rather amused sometimes in reading their professed free-trade journals. They maintained that a protective policy in commercial matters was pernicious, but at the same time they advocated a policy that simply bolstered up apart of the Colony that was nonproductive at the expense of another part that was productive. That was simply a policy of protection in political matters. He did not wish to raise bad feeling, but lac was confident that Abolitionists were equally as dissatisfied as Provincialists, and that they felt they had not got what they expected. It was time they sank these differences and went in for a thorough reconstruction of their local government.

Mr Edward Wilson thought the meeting, like the construction of the Central railway, had begun at the wrong end. It should be pointed out to the Government that an immense saving would be effected in the work of constructing the railway if the sections at the Dunedin end were completed and the rails laid, so that contractors' material could be conveyed by a locomotive instead of being carted. The resolution was carried.

Mr A. C. Kisibkm, wished to move the following resolution : — " That as a quarter of a million of public money, for which the Colony is paying interest, has already been expended on the Otago Central railway, which sum will remain wholly unproductive until the line is completed to the nearest point of freight and traffic — viz., the Strath-Taieri — the vigorous prosecution of this great work to a productive point vitally concerns the welfare of the whole Colony." He explained that he wished to move it after Mr Pyke's motion.

The Chairman expressed the opinion that this resolution was clearly contained in the first two resolutions, and

Mr Kimbell, after some objection, withdrew

Mr Bracken strongly protested, on behalf of the Otago members, against the derogatory remarks made by gentlemen who had no knowledge of how those members acted in the House of Representatives. On the motion of Mr Pyke, a vote of thanks to the Mayor was passed by acclamation.