The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 1929. THE WISE COURSE

Southland Times, Issue 20662, 18 April 1929, Page 6

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 1929. THE WISE COURSE

The Government has had the courage to abandon the Palmerston North deviation, and it is to be congratulated on the stand it has taken. An investigation of the deviation and of all the surrounding circumstances showed that the conditions which justified the expenditure on this work no longer exist and the only sound course open was the cessation of work to “cut the loss.” Sir Joseph Ward in his statement on this matter shows that the chiefs of the Railway Department are convinced that the deviation is not now required and that with a comparatively small outlay the present station and yards can be made to meet all the demands likely to be made on it for a number of years to come. A considerable sum has been spent on the deviation, but this expenditure will not be altogether lost if in the future it is found necessary to put the deviation in. It is tolerably clear that when the Palmerston North deviation was authorized the marked development in the volume of trade justified this action, but in later years the improvement- was not sustained, and bo the need for this outlay vanished But when the present Government was faced with new situation, it also had to consider those local interests which are sure to protest against the abandonment of the work, and it also had to overcome the disinclination to follow a line of action which might easily be construed as a piece of political spite. The railway experts to-day are convinced that the work is unnecessary, that it will not justify the heavy expenditure it will require, and armed with this information the Government has taken the onlysound course. The transfer of the Public Works men to the Gisborne-Wairoa section is being carried out expeditiously, and it seems to us that the whole business has been handled in a manner that reflects credit on the departments and the Ministers concerned. Some objections from Palmerston North may be expected, but it is not difficult to understand their origin and to outweigh them with national needs. At the same time other districts must read from this situation a lesson for their own consumption. If the Government in the course of operations designed to cut down unnecessary expenditure runs counter to local ambitions it must be met, even if there are protests, with an appreciation of the broad question of the Dominion’s requirements. Too often campaigns to effect economies are halted because local demands, backed by political expediency, instal barriers. Palmerston North may feel aggrieved at this decision to abandon further work on the deviation, but it should remembered that the circumstances of the day justify the decision, and other districts will be required to accept decisions equally unpalatable in the interests of the country. Sir Joseph Ward may be asked to extend the same searching examination to other railway propositions. We hope .he does, particularly in connection with the South Island Main Trunk line because so far there has been produced nothing to justify the heavy expenditure required to complete the connection between Picton and Christchurch. The claim that time will be saved is not sufficient in the face of the other disabilities, amongst which is the fact that the travelling will be more expensive than it is at present. If the Government examines the Picton-Christchurch project as keenly and as free from political influence as it did the Palmerston North business, it will come to the conclusion, we think, that the expenditure required for this line is so much lost money. The manner in which the Palmerston North question was handled gives rise to the hope that the South Island blunder will not go far enough to involve the country in heavy expenditure, and we hope the political organization of the South Island will accept such a decision as one based on the assumption that national interests should over-ride local.