THE COLONIST.

Colonist, Volume VI, Issue 598, 17 July 1863, Page 2

THE COLONIST.

NELSON, FRIDAY, JULY 17, 1863,

THE RAILWAY QUESTION.—REFUSAL OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT TO SANCTION A LARGER LOAN.

Last night a Message was received in the Council from the Superintendent, transmitting a copy of the correspondence between his Honor and the Colonial Secretary respecting the extension of the Railway Loan. It will be remembered that the assent of his Excellency the Governor had been signified to a proposed loan of £50,000 for forming a railway connecting the West Coast with the Grey and Buller coal-fields. In April last the Superintendent applied to the Colonial Secretary for leave to increase this loan to £170,000, with the view of constructing a line from Nelson to the Wangapeka, if the reports on the coal should prove favorable. In this application the Superintendent speaks of the discovery of: the coal at "a point half way between Nelson and the river Buller," and that it is "probably accessible by a road not exceeding, and perhaps less than, sixty miles long. The advantages of opening up this part of the field are," he says, "very great;" and he proceeds to enumerate tnem. : Firstly, Nelson is "incomparably better as a port of shipment than any of the rivers on the West Coast," the Buller itself being only "a third rate harbor." Secondly, " The population of the province is principally in that part of the country of which Nelson is the natural outlet, and any road for the conveyance of coal would be a great convenience to the district, whilst a road made for the coal-field adjacent to the Buller would be in a country where, as yet, there is neither population nor investment, and would accommodate little at any time except the .coal-field itself." He then mentions that such a road as that projected would also "facilitate settlement," and continues :—

" For these reasons I hope it may prove on fuller examination, that the newly discovered coal field is, in quantity and quality, deserving a large outlay to bring it into market, and that the intervening country offers no serious difficulty in the way of constructing a narrow guage railway from its site to the port of Nelson."

The letter encloses an approximate estimate of the quantity of saleable land that would be opened up by the proposed line of railway, extending in all to about 235,000 acres, and, referring thereto, his Honor closes his letter thus :—

" I think this land will be considered an ample basis for.the additional credit lam now asking beyond the £50,000 for which I have his Excellency's approbation."

The case, we think, is here put as strongly as the warmest advocate for this railway ( could desire. The following is Mr. Domett's ] reply: — Colonial Secretary's Office, Auckland, 3rd July, 1863, Sir—ln reference to your Honor's letter of the 17th April last, I have the honor to state, tliat the Govern- , ment has every desire to sanction any measures fpr ~ the development of the mineral resources of the Prq-,, ,[ vince of Nelson, especially of its coal-fields, which r ' from all information that has been obtained, appear to be by far the most valuable in New Zealand. I am not, however, at present able to promise your : Honor that Government will recommend for his Excellency's assent a Bill to raise a loan for the construction of a railway to Wangapeka coal-field, for the following reasons: — From the very clear and sensible reports of Mr. Burnett and Mr. Blackett, lately published in the ' Nelson Examiner, the following facts appear to be established:— 1. That if a railway were made from this part of the country to Nelson, the principal return for the outlay upon it would have to be looked for from the transport of coal to Nelson, and that this must be T considerable to give such returns as to make the railway a profitable undertaking." 2. That if a considerable coal trade spring up, then the coal could and would be imported into Nelson from either the Grey or the Buller River, at a much less cost than to Nelson by railway from Wangapeka district. Consequently, that the chief source of return for outlay on the railway would be cut off. The well known experience arid good sense of the gentlemen who drew up these reports entitle their opinion, I think, to great weight. It is true they do not, as they were not required, enter into the question how far the opening up of a new country for settlement, and the amount of ordinary traffic between the agricultural districts and the town of Nelson, would justify the very large outlay required for the railway to Wangapeka, .which is estimated at £231,000, beside^ heavy expenses for working. But I scarcely think there is sufficient evidence of the value and quantity of the lands to be made accessible, and the amount of traffic in question, at present before Government, to warrant the assumption that such an outlay would be a profitable investment of the provincial funds, if the returns in money or other material advantages were derivable from these sources alone. I shall receive with great interest any communication from your Honor, conveying the opinion or decision of the Provincial Council, or your Honor's Government, on the point last referred to. I have, &c, (Signed) Alebed Domett. . His Honor the Superintendent, Nelson. The question is argued by Mr. Domett with a business-like tact which contrasts strongly with the vague generalisations which have Jrom time to time inundated the Council on the railway question during the present session, both before and since those reports of Mr. Blackett and Mr. Burnett, of which the Colonial Secretary speaks so highly. This journal has been accused as an obstructor to progress in the direction of railways, because, repeatedly within the past three months, it has asked for tangible, demonstrative proof that the railway would yield fair returns. So long ago as April last, and before either of the reports of Mr. Blackett or Mr. Burnett were written we pointed out the objections to which Mr. Domett now refers. We asked then " where would the coal at Nelson port (brought from the Wangapeka) be in the market with coal from the Buller being conveyed by sea in ordinary coal craft such as are used at home?" Mr. Blackett's report supplied us with a reply, and that was, in brief, "No where." The tone of the extreme railway side was thereafter changed, and the argument of "settling the country" was used/ But an approximate estimate of returns, of; traffic, of probable population, such ■as jalw^ys accompany pros^' pectuses of such schemes at home, was.never once offered or attempted amidst all the talk which took place. We can understand why Lyttelton and Christchurch should be connected by a railway. The former is the seaport of the latter which is a T growing and flourishing city. There is traffic, population, power of expansion. Here the population has to come to the district of the proposed railway, which is through a wild and mountainous country. Can any one tell us what the population will be; and state in something like a defined and understandable manner the benefit the province would receive in return for the swallowing up of its revenue by a railway at a cost of a quarter of a million ? . . We have just been told that "at present Nelson is virtually better than free from taxation," and therefore it is argued that without legitimate data we ought to run into debt, the interest of which would cripple the province, if there were no proper return, and bring on an immediate and heavy taxation. ■''■•.-/ .\ Few are likely to know better than Mr. Domett, who for many years was Crown Lands Commissioner for Nelson, the condition of this province, or what would be " a profitable investment for the provincial funds ;" and the cold water he throws pn the scheme which some of his warmest friends and supporters here advocate, shows that, in his opinion there are strong objections to its fulfilment. The onus of proof as to returns is now thrown on the Council or the Government, and like Mr. Domett "we shall receive with interest the opinion" of the Select Committee now sitting, on this very important point. Boundaries of New; Zealand.—A bill has passed through the House of Lords at home defining the geographical boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand, about which it appears some doubt has arisen. The bill as printed assigns the following limits to New Zealand: —Latitude, 33 deg. to 50 deg. S., and longitude 162 deg. E. to, 173 deg. W. The Gazette intimates that the jurisdiction of the Resident Magistrate of New Plymouth, in civil debt ■ cases, is extended, by proclamation, to debts of not exceeding £100. ' <■■■■ New Justices op the Peace.—We learn from the Gazette that Colonel Charles Thyhne Thomas, of Riwaka, and James Roger Duttori, of Motueka, Esq., both in the Province of Nelson, and John Allen, Esq., of Picton, and Alexander Wighton Inglis, Esq., of Kincaird, both in the Province of Marlborough, have been appointed Justices of the Peace for the Colony of New Zealand. Registby of Deeds fob Mablbobough Province. —A General Government Gazette contains a notification that a Registry of Deeds has been established at Picton for the district comprised in the Province of Marlborough. William Jeffrey, Esq., Picton, has been appointed Registrar. Marlborough has hitherto been included in the registry district of Nelson. The Gazette announces that Henry Robert Richmond, Esq., J.P., has been appointed Receiver of Land Revenue for Taranaki. The Genebal Assembly of the colony is again prorogued till Monday, 27th July current; but as the words " for despatch of business "do not appear in the Proclamation, there will be a further, prorogation. ~•'.;..' ! The Otago Daily Times says—"We understand that Mr. Fitzgibbon, the resident engineer ofthe Dun Mountain Railway, in the Nelson Province, and who planned and carried out that triumph of engineering skill, has, during the temporary suspension of the operations at the Dun Mountain mines, accepted an engagement under the Queensland Government to make preliminary surveys and estimates for a line of railway 120 miles long in that colony."

Mercantile Assessors under thb Debtors aud Cbeditobs Act, 1862.—The following official document under this Act was published in a recent Government Gazette.—" Colonial Secretary's Office, Auckland, 9th June, 1863. His Esrifency the Governor has been pleased to appoint'lne undermentioned gentlemen .to be Mercantile Assessors under 'The Debtors and Creditors Act, 1862,' for the . respective provinces set opposite their names: — •Auckland —Walter Grahame, Esq.; Richard Ridings, ; 'fEsq.; David Graham, Esq.; John Anderson Gilr'fillan, Esq. Wellington— James Kelham, Esq.; Jonas Woodward, Esq.; William Best, Esq.; John Yule, Esq. Nelson— George Bennett, Esq.; Oswald Curtis, Esq.; John Johnson Fletcher, Esq.; Arthur William Scaife, Esq. Canterbury —George Buckley, Esq.; D. Drummond Macpherson, Esq.; Thomas Ritchie, Esq.; William Day, Esq. Otago —Arthur William Morris, Esq.; Charles Henry Street, Esq.; Martin Sholl, Esq.; George Septimus Brodrick, Esq. (Signed), Alfred Domett. On Ist January. 1864, the chief post-office of Canterbury will be removed from Lyttelton to Christchurch. New Zealand Turf Matters at Home.—The London correspondent of the Lyttelton Times say* — ;" One of Mr. W. Robinson's (of Nelson) horses ran a very good second at Newmarket the other day, as will be seen by the papers. What that gentleman has got ready for other events is a mystery which I cannot fathom. His success at Newmarket leads me to suppose that he has something good for the Derby, to which we know that he once looked forward ; but if he has, he keeps it extremely dark, though, of course, Mr; Harris, and one or two equally well known gentlemen from the New Zealand turf could, if they chose, tell the true story. The betting is headed by Lord Clifden, at 9to 4; Maccaroni, the winner of the Two Thousand last week, being second at the greater odds of 7 to 1; Saccharometer, the second in the Two Thousand, is third on the list, at 9to 1. The day is : the 20th May, so the result will reach you by next mail. The betting in the North is less in favor of Lord Clifden. Last Bell's Life gives a neat report of the Canterbury-meeting." Abbival of the Aibf/dale.—Severe Gale ojj the Bth.—The I.R.M. Co.'s steamer Airedale, Capt. Kennedy, arrived yesterday morning at nine o'clock. ; Her detention has been occasioned by a continuation of bad weather since leaving this port. She left Nelson at 7 p.m. on the 30th ultimo, and arrived at 1 Picton 7.45 a.m. the following day. Left Picton the same day at noon, but had to bring up inside Tory ' Channel, in Okokari Bay, owing to a heavy Bouth-east * gale, which rendered it impossible for her to get out. 1 She left Okokari Bay at 7 p.m., and arrived at Wellington 4 hours afterward?. Left Wellington on- the 3rd at 3 p.m., and arrived at Lyttelton on the 4th at noon. Left again at midnight and arrived at Port Chalmers on the 6th at 1 a.m. Left Port Chalmers j. the following morning at 7 o'clock, and arrived at the Bluff on the Bth at 11 a.m. Sailed from the Bluff the same day at 4 p.m., nnd about two hours later 1 was caught in one of the severest gales that Captain 3 Kennedy remembers to have experienced on the New 3 Zealand Coast. It blew from north-east, Ruapuke 3 and Stewart's Island forming a dead lee shore. The /. .night was intensely dark and the sea ran mountains high. One sea struck the ship, carrying away port 5 quarter boat, smashing after skylights and doing other 8 damage. The barometer, during the early part of . the gale suddenly fell from 30.4 to 29.5. All night the gale continued with unabated fury. ' About 8 in the morning it began to moderate, but a high sea 8 continued running throughout the day. The Airet dale reached Port Chalmers at 3 o'clock on tbe morn--3 ing of the 9th, and came to an anchor at the heads, f She sailed irom Port Chalmers on the 11th at 4 p.m., {- and touching at the intermediate ports, arrived here as above. Her late arrival at Port Chalmers from the 8 Bluff precluded the possibility of her catching the I Prince Alfred; all efforts to expedite-her passage t thence to this port were therefore abandoned. q The Airedale brings a mail from Auckland via Wellington, to wliich place it had been taken by the Claud Hamilton. The Airedale - leaves for Taranaki and 8 Manukau on Saturday evening, at nine o'clock.