VISIT OF THE HON. C. W. RUSSELL

Colonist, Volume LX, Issue 14869, 18 September 1918, Page 2

VISIT OF THE HON. C. W. RUSSELL

DEPUTATION FROM NELSON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. _____ *

VARIOUS MATTERS DISCUSSED

A deputation from the Nelson Chamber of Commerce, introduced by Mr T. A. H. Field, M.P., waited upon theHon. G. W. Russell, Minister of Internal Affairs, in the Mayor's room1 yesterday morning. The deputation '< comprised Messrs C. R. Fell (president), P. Bond, A. A. Lucas, T. Neale, and W. W 7. Snodgrass. MINES IN COOK STRAIT. ! Mr C. R. Foil, who wr.s the chief: spokesman,' said ihwc the nr&i: matter! they desired to being v,uucr the notice, j of the Minister was the interference' with steamer traffic between .Nelson and Wellington owing to the presence of enemy mines. Although not in Mr Russell's department, they thought' when the matter came before Cabinet as the result of the conference being held in Wellington, he would know their views. Nelson, Mr Fell pointed j out, -was entirely dependent on its j steamer seryice to keep jn touch with ( the outside world, and now that night] running had been abolished farmers, | shippers of produce, and importers j were being seriously inconvenienced. : The Chamber urged that vigorous steps should be taken by the Government to get rid of the mines as far as possible by increased sweeping. He suggested that experiments should also be made lin regard to the currents. If the restrictions were continued during the 1 busy season coming on, it would be a [ very serious matter. .

EXTENDING THE RAILWAY. The Stoke Progressive Association had mado a suggestion that if the loan for the purchase of the wharves was carried the purchase money, something over £100,000, should be used for extending the railway in the Nelson district. Mr Fell pointed out that Nelson really originated the idea; of the Midland railway, and it had been left out in the cold. In fact, neither the Mayor nor. the member for the ! district had been invited to the opening of the Otira Tunnel, which was part of the Midland railway system. He also pointed ou,t that when the abolition of the provinces was broitght about | Nelson was one of the few provinces that had a credit balance, and that nothing like the amount received by the Government had been expended on its railway. The Chamber of merce strongly supported the -proposal tjiat the wharves purchase money should be ;iit'ilised f or railway-extension in the, Nelson district. •.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | APPOINTMENT. During the year the Hon. A. T. Maginnity M.L.C., the only representative of this part of the South Island in the Upper House, had passed away, and although appointments had been made to the Legislative Council since his death, no person from the Nelson district had been included in the number. The Chamber urged that the matter should be remedied without delay.

ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES. Mr Fell also pointed out some of the anomalies in the .electoral boundaries as proposed by' the Boundaries Commission. A.large number of petitions and objections had been lodged, but nothing had been done. As an instance he pointed out that Murchison was in the Motueka electorate, but from Glenhope nearly to Wakefield was in theWairau electorate. What they asked

for, having regard for community of ■ interest and facilities: oiL connection, was that from Glenhope to "Wakefield should be included in the- Motueka electorate. When'they placed these suggestions before "'the Boundaries Commission they were told that they were impracticable, but'there was nothing more impracticable than the Commission's suggestions. Mr A. A. Li:.cas emphasised the importance of extending the railway in j the Nelson district. They had been waiting many years for their railway. He would be pleased if the wharves purchase money could be set- aside for railway extension, even if it was only carried to Mtirchison. ; Mr P. Bond pointed out that if the , representative of the Wairau electorate resident in Blenheim, the only way he« could reach the Glenhope portion of his electorate would be through another j electorate, either Rurunui or Nelson, i It was just as detached from Marlborough interests as if ib were on an island, i and practically disfranchised the people' of .Glenhopo. 'Wakefield, DovecUile, Ta- } , pawera, and adjoining districts'. ! THE MINISTER'S REPLY. i The Hon. Mr. Russell said that in ! regard to the steamer traffic it was most important that their perishable products, including fruit, should reach the I city markets as easily as possible, and I in. his opinion, if the fruit industry was jto bo put on a proper footing, they j would have to get cool stores made | available at Wellington for their, perishable products. Under the Cost of Living Act power was given the Minister |of Internal Affairs to enable every borough to establish cool stores, and he suggested that the fruitgrowers should get in touch with the Wellington Harbour Board, where there was cool stqrage available, for the use of their cool stores to hold fruit with a view to its being handled for the market in a proper way. As to the question, of mines, the Government must act on the advice of its expert advisers? Captain Hall Thompson was the representative of the Navy in New Zealand, and the Government naval adviser, and all precautions that were being taken, were being taken at his instigation. Whether anything could be done to help them he did not know, but he suggested that they should communicate direct with the Minister of Defence.. If the deputation could suggest anything by which the public safety could be secured and trade maintained the Government would be glad to give it consideration. He wou,ld do his best to! see that every possible consideration was given to the interests of the Nel-son-district. • -

As to the utilisation of the money to be paid for the purchase of the wliai'ves for railway extension, he imagined that the railway authorities, being owners of the wharves, would use the money for their own purposes. He pointed out that railways were built out of the railway construction vote, which was ! entirely under the control of the Miniister of Public Works. The question |of railway access was a very important j ! one, but from what he had seen the! I day before when coming through they j ' had reached the end of the open'country. jlt did not seem to him that from Glenjhopo onwards they were going to open; jup much farm country until they reach- i !ed Murchisoh. He favoured pushing j Jon the railway from Westport to Reef-! jton in order to open up the- great seams j |of coal on the Buller riverj' which hei ; had seen for himself. He wished to Ijsee the coal industry in New Zealand ■'developed. However, he would repre- ; sent their views on the matter to those : wlio were responsible, and would leave . ;it at that. | ;As to the- appointment to the Legisla- j ;tive Council, Mr Russell humorously! suggested that as there were so many j

gentlemen in Nelson willing and able jffT-occupy the position the Government had had difficulty in coming to a decision. (Laughter.) He suggested, however, .that on the return of Mr Massey and Sir Joseph Ward to the Dominion the matter should be represented to them as one of urgency. It was, he said,, a matter for regret that such a large ' and valuable district as Nelson should not ■ have a representative in the Legislative Council, and he would lye prepared to support the appointment of a member. In regard to the electoral boundaries,' he suggested that a strong deputation should interview Mr Massey and Sir Joseph Ward on their return, and placo the position before them. j Mr Bond explained to the Minister' that there were considerable areas of good country ,between. Glenhopo and Murchison which could not be seen i'roni the road, and which would be served by the railway if it was extended. There was also a large amount of, open country ouLsklf of Murchison. j Mr Fell s;;i<! chat there was also eon-} siderable settlement in some of the valleys off the Bi;ller road which could, not ibe seen coming through. .. i Mr Russell said it was. evident he had not' seen the" whole resources of the , district. He suggested that they should; establish a progressive league for the purpose of pushing the district ahead, as had been done in Canterbury. He foreshadowed legislation providing for local bodies to subsidise such leagues. ■ Mr Neaie remarked that Mr Flana-: gan, the Valuer-General, who was for-merly-Commissioner of Crown Lands at-Ni&lson, had spoken in glowing terms . of tlie land in the Murchison district, \ and had said a large proportion of the t people of Nelson did not realise the pos-l sibilities of the district. I The deputation- then "thanked the ! Minister and withdrew.