OUR RAILWAYS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11857, 22 May 1909, Page 5

OUR RAILWAYS.

THE GISBORNE-MOTLT LINE. « (Special to Herald.) . '; AUCKLAND, this day. 'The Minister for Public Works (the Hon. R. McKen/Je), who has completed an inspection of the railway works m the North. Island, made some interesting remarks oh the subject of his, "in-' vestigations at Wellington. "We have four lines of railway m the North Island mow under construction," said tlie Min> ister. "The line from Karaka te Motrt, Poverty Bay, will be • through m about four, years. * -The Helensville jJorthwartl line will take about 20 years to cciiriplete. There are .something-- like, 300 miles yet to construct. The Graham^ town-Kawakawa line is rapidly approaching Grahamstown, but then it will. have to go on to Kaikohe to connect with the North Auckland Main Trunk line. There is also the extension of the line from StratMd to connect (at a point yet to be; iletermined) with the. North Mand Main Trunk railway. : There are 742 men now employed on these works, anil good progress is being made.'* "All these railways made, I am sure, will be tapping profitable country. The North of Auckland line is getting into country which will render it profitable. The SitratfonV line is not yet extended far enough to render it profitable. It is going 4 tlirough a big gorge, and cannot be made ■profitable before that is left behind. The Helenßville Northward lind is getting into the sottled parts, of the North of Auckland peninsula. It has been completed to about 82 miles north of Auckland^ and is just about tapping profitable country. The Gisborne- Motu line will be one of the best paying lines that we have when it gets into the bush. There is an enormous extent of splendid bush country there, but th# construction works are very expensive. They (as on the .Stratford lirie) are m a gorge i but when they have been carried on for about andther eight miles we wijl get into profitable country. On the Ywhole, I am very well satisfied With the prospects of the 'railways now under construction." '•The G6vernm^ht," added Mr MoKenzie. '"has no intention of curtoiling, expenditure pn railway construction. We want to get railways and roads to open up , country which is- lying idle. Every one of. 'these railways m the North Island is going to open an enormous, extent of country for settlement, and good country, too. Between Waihi and Motu, through* which I ha^e just passed, you could put half a million settlers to-morrow, and they would all make a good living. To-day the total population spread over that area does not exceed 10,000." >