LOCATION OF THE COMMISSIONER OP RAILWAYS FOR THE MIDDLE ISLAND.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 3597, 21 October 1879, Page 3

LOCATION OF THE COMMISSIONER OP RAILWAYS FOR THE MIDDLE ISLAND.

♦ The following is a copy of Mr Conyers' report on this subject : — The Hon Minister for Public Works. With roference to the annexed memorial from the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce, advocating the location of the headquarters of the Commissioner of Railways for the Middle Island at Dunedin instead, of Christchurch, I have the honour to submit the following statoment of facts for your consideration. For the sake of convenience, I will deal seriatim with the fivo numbered paragraphs into which the Chamber divides the arguments it employs. The Chamber alleges in paragraph 1 : — " That howover desirable it may have been before the completion of the main trunk railway that the Commissioner should ba located in Christchurch, the necessity for such an arrangement is now ontirely done away with," It cannot be denied that when I was removed from Dunedin to Christohurch the arrangement was avowedly a temporary one. At that time, when the Canterbury railways were divided by a wido gap from tho Otago railways, tho Canterbury railways — in point of mileage, traffic, and revenue — formed the most important section of the Middle Island railways. Whether that circumstance afforded sufficient ground for locating the headquarters of the railway administration in Canterbury, it is not, perhaps, worth whilo to enquire, that having apparently had no placo in tho considerations which led to my being sent there. Tho duty assigned to hio was simply the reorganisation of the business and arrangements of the Canterbury railways, and, that accomplished, it might be assumed that my special duty wa3 at an end. Paragraph 2. — "That Dunedin is now as nearly as possible the geographical centre of the railway system of this Island, and that all that portion of the line, the traffic on which requires tho most vigilant supervision, on account of tho sharp curves and heavy gradients, lies in the vicinity of Dunedin." Christchurch is 3'l mile 3 from the Northern terminus of tho system (Ainberley), and 455 miles from tho Southern terminus (Kingston), and cannot, therefore, be considered tho centre of the system. Dunedin, on the other hand, is about 263 miles from Amberley in the north, and about 226 miles from Kingston in the south ; and it is, therefore, indisputi able that it is at present very centrally situated. A time may, and probably will arrive, when Christchurch will, by tho extension of the railway syßtem to the extreme north of the Island, assume a moro central position in the system ; but that is too remote a contingency to be a proper element in tho consideration of the question at present. Taking tho system as it exists, it is undoniable that Christchurch is at one extremity of tho syatom. The other assertion in this paragraph by the Chairman, viz., that the traffic on the Dunedin section, owing to the sharp curves and heavy gradients, requires vigilant ' supervision, does not admit of refutation, but it doe 3 not necessarily follow that this is a reason why tho administration should be located in Dunedin. Paragraph 3. — "That the creation of proper station accommodation at Dunedin and Port Chalmers is one of the most important of the works at present requiring tho attention of the Commissioner, and U one which is of vital moment both to the business community of this Provincial District, and to tho success of the railways themselves." That increased and improved station accommodation is urgently wanted both at Dunedin and Port Chalmers, and that tho question is of urgent importance to the business community of the Dunedin district, cannot be denied. It may aho bo admitted that the question has a more or loss important bearing upon the working of the railways. But how the presence of the Commissioner in Dunedin would tend to the promotion of thoso necessary works it is not for me to decide. When I first came to Canterbury the Christchurch station, in point of convenience of arrangement and scantiness of accommodation, was pretty much what Dunedin is now. In all these points Christchurch is at the present moment superior to anything of the kind in the Colony, and equal, if not superior, to tho best in tho neighbouring Colonies. The same thing may bo said of Lyttelton in comparison with Port Chalmers. "Paragraph 4. — " That the lines now opened for traffic in the Provincial District of Ctago exceed 422 miles in length, whilst there are only 318 miles within the Provincial District of Canterbury, and it is thorofore not proper that the headquartors of administration should bo so far removed from this district." Tho statoment that the mileage of the Southern railway is in excess of tho mileago of the Northern system cannot bo disputed ; but I am not prepared to express an opinion upon the deduction which tho Chamber of Commerce draws from this fact, with referenco to tho location of the headquarters of administration. Paragraph 5. — "That the public feeling

hero in the matter ia very strong, and has been intensified by the recent removal of the local paymasters, a step which seems to indicate a determination to centre all the management permanently in Christchurch." It is no part of my duty to deal with the expression of " public opinion" in submitting to you my views upon a question of this nature. I would, however, state that the loca'isation of the pay-office in Christchurch was no part of a system of centralisation. It had long been felt that tho local paymasterships were unnecessary and wero simply a burden on the department, and advantage was taken of a favourable opportunity to abolish those appointments. The concentration of tho pay- business in Christchurch is the natural and inevitable outcome of existing circumstance?, and it would have been effected long ago had I not felt a natural disinclination to take a stop calculated to prejudice tho interests of old servants of the department. As a fact, wheraever the headquarters of the administration are, thero the paymaster, thn accountant, and the stores manager, with their respective staffs, should bo located, and any departure from this arrangement, a 9 has been found in practice, is attended with grave inconvenience. I have thu9 placed my views before you in reference to tho allegations of the Chamber of Commerce in, I trust, an honest and impartial spirit, and it would not become me, I submit, in a question of this nature, to venture upon a recommendation ; but I beg leave to assure you that wherever the Government may be pleased to locate me, my best energies will be devoted to tho business and interests of the department.

Wji. Contbbs, Commissioner of Eailways, Middle Island.