North Island Trunk Railway.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 227, 5 November 1887, Page 1

North Island Trunk Rai lway .

Theke is an increasing- feeling amongst the Southern members tliafc it would be advisable, in the interests of the colony, to re-open the question of the route of the North Island Trunk Railway. This view is strengthened by the fact that much of the land which three years ago was representedas good limestone country now proves to be pumice land, wholly useless for agricultural purposes. No steps have yet been taken to call a meeting of Auckland and Tarauaki members, but this will be done and a petition from Auckland in favour of changing the route will be presented today. Inquires which have been made into the question of the proposed diversion go to show that the money which has been spent on the" engagements entered into afe the North can be utilised without any disadvantage or loss in connection with. the altered routs, while experts give it as their opinion that the 12 miles of line made from the Marton end will prove useful in settling that part of the country, and will be a pioiitablo branch lino. Some information with respect to the present position of the lino should be interesting to your readers at the present time, and I I therefore append the following facts, for which lam indebted to Mr Peacock. The ■ contracts entered into at the northern end since the beginning arc as follows :—: — Punui, 15 miles, £28,290 ; Te Kuiti, 10g miles, £17,273 ; Poro o Taioa tunnel, £46,849; Waititi, 8? miles, £57,858; station buildings, £647 ; or in all £151,547. Between the Waititi and the tunnel contracts there is a section not yet let — Mokau — estimated to cost about £60,000. About fifteen miles south of the tunnel, and 60 miles from To Awamutu, there is a point from which the junction can be made with the line surveyed via Stratford, by bending 11 miles to the m cst, and there is reason to believe that there is a practical loute "without any engineering difficulties. The joining line'would be at the upper parfc of the Ohuia River. The contracts really lob at the southern end are two — I'awera, £27,300, and Hunterville, £14,242. These sections open up good land for settlement, and the line might be extended a few miles further with that object. The expenditure by the late Government of upwards ot £39,000 in making roads to the central route and opening the Wanganui River to traffic is charged to the main trunk railway, although it is open to question whether the expenditure ia legally chargeable to that loan. It must also be borne in mind that more accurate surveys of the central route have shown that instead of a ruling grade of 1 in 70 which was made so much of at the time the routes were discussed, the grade *> one point, and that a long one, will be 1 in 50; Moreover, much of the country on the central route, which at a cursory glance was pronounced to be limestone country, is now found to be a species of pumice stone, which will entirely alter the opinion entertained of it 3 value, and judgii q by a map issue I by the Survey D parb nent and compiled by Messrs Skeefc ana (Jussen, showing the class of land in the vicinity of the central route, by various colourings, the amount of land fit for agriculcural settle ment is very small indeed. On the other hand, there are several blocks of land on the route of the Stratford line, notably Toko, Hurakawa and PohoIcura, which aro on the Native Land Couifc, and over which Europeans have a right. Care would require to be exercised to see that private owners should nob benefit} to the detriment of the State by the enhanced value given by the railway. Of the whole amount of expenditure and liabilities charged to the North Island Trunk Loan, £318,884, tho sum of £193,098 is for the construction of the railway proper, leaving £125,755 made up of expenditure on railway plant, on roads and river- clearing, etc. Then, on the purchase of native land there was spent £70,000 out of the £100,000 unwisely set aside for the purchase of land by the Acfe of 1886, much of which could not be justified as likely to be of advantage for Mail* Trunk Railway purposes.

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