Wayside Notes and Comments

Southland Times, Issue 11654, 7 February 1891, Page 3

Wayside Notes and Comments

LYTTELTON TO NAPIER

[BY WINCHESTER.]

A run of 13^ hours in the Penguin brought us to Wellington, and after the quiet appearance of all the towns from the Bluff to Lyttelton one could not but be ■truck with the appearance of prosperity And growth that met the eye. A closer examination comfirmed first impressions ; there is no doubt that in the midst of all our depression Wellington has been steadily going ahead. Many forces contribute to this. The two New Zealand ports which command Australia are essentially the Bluff and Wellington ; the former being 1200 miles from Wellington, the latter 1239 miles from Sydney. The heavy import duties put upon our southern produce by Victoria and the comparatively small duties imposed by New South Wales have oaused a great increase in the trade between that colony and ourselves and to command this trade Wellington has special facilities among which one of the least is the shorter distance from Port Jackson. Its harbour and its central position, which command the East and the West Coasts of both islands, enable it to far excel any other port in the colony as a distributing centre. It was noticeable in this connection that some of the Dunedin merchants in whose hands until lately the greater portion of the distributing trade of the South has rested are now, to retain their held, erecting large warehouses here. Prominent among these are noticed Sargood, Son and Ewen, Ross and Glendining, Bing, Harris and Co,, and the D.1.C., and their large warehouses, W«ot«d n«ax the oew wharvea which extend

1 in the direction of Te Aro give a Flinders Lane appearance to the New Zealand capital. Our journey takes us by the Manawatu railway along the western coast of the island. This line, owned by a private company, runs for a distance of 84 miles to Longhurn, a station on the Government lino." The Manawatu railway, built by private enterprise, owes its existence to a Royal Commission which reported adversely to its construction on account of the great difficulty I of formation and the stated poverty of the land along the route. The Wellington people thereupon took the matter in hand, received a Government grant, raised money by debentures floated on the Home market, and at great cost constructed the line. The immediate result was to raise the taxable value of the land along the route about 200 per cent., and by way of encouraging this form of private enterprise the Government have clapped on the Property Tax on the constructed value of the line itself, while all Government lines are exempt. The latter action puts this company at a serious disadvantage when compared with the Government and has doubtless beeu an important* factor in delaying the distribution or dividends. Although the management have been unable to declare any dividends still it is most economically conducted, and the confidence of the public is shown in the steady rise which has of late taken place in the shares, havingVisen from 12s to 17s during the last twelve months. Following the American plan a dining saloon is attached to the train, and the platforms being connected throughout the entire length passengers can have their meals at their leisure at al hours, while the vexatious delay which takes place at the 20 minutes stations is avoided. The whole journey of 84 miles, some of it over very steep grades, is done in 4 hours 40

minutes.