LINKING CANTERBURY AND MARLBOROUGH.

Colonist, Volume LVI, Issue 13455, 29 April 1914, Page 7

LINKING CANTERBURY AND

MARLBOROUGH.

MOTOR SERVICES REQUIRED

MR R. McOALLUM'S VIEWS

(Special to "The Colonist.")

Christchurch, Apr:l *8. Mr It. McCallurn. (nember for Wairau, speaks with pleasure htuYenthusiasm of the West Coast tour ho has jiist completed. He went with the party of Liberal members, including Mr. J. A. Hanan, M.P., and Mr H. Atmore, M.P., and visited about ten centres from Westland to Hoss, sixjaking in six of them. Chatting in Christchurch of his tour, he said that his observations .convinced him that the prospects of the Liberal Party on the West Coast wore exceptionally bright. He believed that in spite of the Rt. Hon W. F. Massey's optimistic reports, the Reform party on the Coast had nd' standing whatever. At Westport, Reef ton, and Groymouth tho Liberals had specially good meetings, and the. speakers received almost 'unanimous-votes of thanks, and vot.e.3 of confidence in tlie Liberal Party, led by Sir Joseph Ware!. In every centre in which the visitors spoke there wore . marks of appreciation of the good work ' done by Sir Joseph Ward in the past. * Perhaps the best evidence of the popular feeling in. favour of th© Liberal party was tho virulent tone of the Conservative newspapers on the-coast, vilification and personal abuse seeming to bo their weapons. An illustration of that was found in the attacks upon Mr Vigor' Brown, member for. Napier..That gentleman visited the district- with his wife, three daughters, and a friend, for he wished to help the local'members irrespective cf their political opinion. It might be' thought that Mr Brown would be received with ■demonstrations of the hospitality that had made the West Coast famous, but as a matter of •fact ho wan tlie victim of the bitterest possible attacks: Apparently his very presence in the district was resented. Mr McOallum.added that he belieyed tho political feeling on the West Coast represented the feeling throughout the Dominion. He was confident that .at the general elections the Liberal Party would be returned with a large majority, as'there was a strong opinion in tlie country that Mr Ma-ssey and his Government had been given a fair trial, "but had utterly failed.to "make good. Dealing with other questions, Mr.MeCallum said that his visit had deepened his impression that the Midland railway should be completed as soon as possible On the Coast he had discussed with -representative men the necessity for establishing a motor connection between the Coast and Blenheim via the Tollhouse route,'and this could be done by" the expenditure of a few thousand pounds for tho bridging of two streams, and .improvements to the aoad. He aiso was agitating for Government motor services, or at least subsidised services, between tlie : railheads at 1 arnassus and Ward, and between the rail-heads-at Inangalnia Junction and.Wenhope, in order that passengers might he carried at railway- rates along those routes. In the' latter case, also, it would be necessary to build bridgesand improve the roads. .He hoped that tho services would be running in two or three years. When that was so he would look forward to the time when a similar service connected the Hope branch of the Buller with Blenheim, and in that way link up Marlborough, tlie West Coast, and Canterbury.