THE MIDLAND RAILWAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2685, 30 August 1905, Page 11

THE MIDLAND RAILWAY.

SHOULD NEVER HA.YE BEEN STARTED.

(From Otjb Own Correspondent.) CHRISTCHURCH, August 16.

j Canterbury farmers are not at all enthu- ■ siastic over the Midland railway. At a . recent meeting of the A. and P. Associa- , tion a letter from the Chamber of Com- " merce inviting the association to co-operate ! with the chamber in pressing upon the ' Government the necessity for going on with I the summit tunnel wa3 simply received. To-day, at the annual meeting of the Sheepowners* Association, a similar letter was received from the Chamber of Commerce. It was moved and seconded that the association should take no action in the mattei 1 . Sir John Hall said that he held an entirely opposite view. He had had something to do with the Weat Coast railway, and was sincerely of opinion that its completion would be of great benefit to Canterbury and the West Coast. He had recently been over the whole line, as far as it had , been constructed, and he felt satisfied that it was no use pushing- on the railway to each end of the tunnel unless the tunnel itself was gone on with. If tho railway was to be completed, the first step to be "taken should he that of constructing the tunnel, and the best way of doing that would be by letting a contract for the work. Hewould move as an amendment — " That in the opinion of this meeting it is desirable that the completion of the West Coast railway should be proceeded with, and that the construction of the tunnel should be carried out by contract." The amendment was seconded. The Chairman said that the railway would ! only be completed as" the result of agitation, and unless there was agitation in favour of the completion the work would certainly not go on. His own opinion was that the railway should never have been started, and he thought that it should be taken only as far a3 Broken River. It would then be possible to ascertain whether there was sufficient coal there to pay for the whole cost of the line as had been claimed, and if it were proved that the coal was of no use it would show that the other arguments put forward in support of the completion of the line were on the same basis. He did not think the line would pay, and he did not think the tunnel would be finished in less than 10 years. Sir John Hall pointed out that if the work were not gone on with, an enormous

amount of money would te absolutely s | wasted. i i Mr T. Teschemakcv said tiio railway, it j completed, would novor bo able to compete j ; with water carriage, arxl for the sake of cutting n little coal or timber from tl © j Coz>=.t a large amount vvoukl be added to I that already expended on the line. He cou'd understand the Christohurch people agitating for tho completion, but as far as the colony was concerned tho lin-o would bo a thorough failure Th<j only argument that could he brought forward v,as that as so much money had boen srent-on the line more should be spent in order <o complete it, but ho con=:d<?red that that was a ridiculoiib argument. The amendment was lest and tho motion carried.