NORTH ISLAND RAILWAY REQUIREMENTS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 83, 27 March 1908, Page 2

NORTH ISLAND RAILWAY REQUIREMENTS.

DEPUTATION TO THIS PREMIER.

THE STRATFORD-OXGARI'E 1.1.\1<

I'ei' Presa Association. Auckland, Last Night. A deputation consisting of ncariv one nundrcd nu'mliers of the Auckland Rail-

ways League waited upon the Premier to-day to uvge the claims of the provincial railways. Mr. (i. 1,. Peacocko, touching on the Main Trunk line, said, that they all recognised that. tl;ie Government was doing 1 all ill its power to complete the connection between Auckland and Wellington bv the end of next year. Efforts, however, should be made to liurrv on the contractor for the Mnkatoto viaduct. He mentioned that with regard to the proposed connection with the main lino to I'aranaki, there was a suggestion to deviate to a point further south than that originally intended. It waft felt hero that the Ongarue connection was the most advantageous. lie thought work might be commenced from the Ongarue end as well as from Stratford. Coining to the North Auckland line, everyone fully appreciated the efforts of the Government in pushing 011 this line. The non-completion of the Main Trunk, however, prevented thf Government from spending as much af they would otherwise desire. lis com 1 pletion, however, was au urgent, neces sity, for when the line reached M&nngti turoto, it would become much more pro fitable, and for this reason he urjjed thvv the vote for this line should be as largi j as possible. Kefe.rring to the East Coas rail-way, he said that this line, wouli open up large areas which were sinipl; (hold back by the lack of eonnnunica lon.

Sir Joseph Ward, in reply, said that i the first place he wanted to siy that lere could be no doubt that the North

Island Main Trunk line would be carried through in t'lio time Htated by the Government, unless there was a very bad winter, which would make, it impossible for work to be carried on, but even in

this caeo the delay would be but a short one. Tho lino should be connected with Aucklaud before Christmas next. (Applause). There was £330,000 in course of expenditure now. and another ,C(>7,000 would be spent by the Government before the completion of the railway. An expenditure of £500,000 upon railway construction within this period was unprecedented in Neiv Zealand. Continuing, Sir Joseph Ward pointed out that they had to mako railway appropria.-

tionfi for a great many part.* of New Zealand. One railway in the North Island which' should l>o completed, ami he had not heard its claims urged that day, was t/hc closing of the crap between

Ktnvakawa and Hukerenui. Here were two ends of a railway line which were not paying, hut which could be doing far better when completed. One of the dinabilities which 1 the North had sull'ered an compared with the South in railway construction, was that when Sir .Julius Yogel's public works policy was in progress, the lilies in the North were delayed by the fact that the lines could not bo made through a portion of the n/itireowned country, but the Government was doing its best to overcome the disparity. Regarding the rumor that the StratfordOngarue route was to be changed, he said that nothing definite had been decided. The line would receive the fullest consideration of the Government, which was doing all in its power to thoSo la the North to obtain facilities which they recognised were required. They would try to treat the country as a whol# fairly, and there would be no "political" lines.