MIDLAND RAILWAY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7163, 14 May 1891, Page 4

MIDLAND RAILWAY.

Correspondence with tlie

Minister.

The following documents have been handed to us for publication : — The Chairman of the Eailway League,

Christchurch.

Since the Railway League desires the Company's views as to the Minister's reply to their last telegram, I shall answer each paragraph in order, quoting the Minister's words at the risk of length to save reference and gain clearness. "Your telegram to hand in regard to the Midland Railway deviation. You state that the Executive cannot see how the Company can be compelled to pay more than £2100. See Section 2, 'Midland Railway Contracts Act, 1890.' Therein it is enacted that the Governor must be satisfied that the Company has, by contracts, entered into an obligation with the Grey Council to provide not lobs than to defray the expense of widening the road, bridges and culverts between Ponanui and Lake Brunner. I wish you to mark the words ' not less than and the decided wording as to the works—road, bridges and culverts. Further, that a ferry boat is to be maintained and to ply between the railway on the East side of the lake and the road on the West side. The Government is not satisfied that such contracts have been made, and the Grey Council has notified me that the bridge across the Hoponui river is to be omitted." The accompanying copy of the agreement with the Grey County Council will enable you to judge whether or not the Company has complied with the Act. Although the words of the Act are " not less than £2700," you will see that it does not provide for the road, bridges and culverts being of special width, and the sum of £2700 would be ample to make an Bft or 9fb road, whioh is ample for the traffic; but the Council wish to have a road 12ft wide metalled. They omitted the widening or making the Hohonu bridge, deeming the present bridge sufficient for any probable traffic. This was stated by their members at a public meeting in Greymouth, and the Company had no desire to interfere with the way they wished the work to be carried out. Compliance with the Act was complete when both parties entered into the deed, which accords exactly with the Act. The Act, you will see, does not contain any wordß compelling the boat "to ply, &c," as the Minister says it does. " Mr Wilson promised to the Mayor of Kumara and a deputation from Greenstone states that up to .£3OOO the Company would contribute. Mr Wilson does not deny this, but claims that the contract having been signed by the Council, the Company iB not further liable, forgetting that the law enacts that the Governor must be satisfied."

In answer to this I enclose copy of the agreement entered into by me with the Mayor of Kumara, from which you will see that the agreement lapsed unless all opposition was withdrawn. As this condition was not complied with, I subsequently sent a telegram, copy of which is also enclosed, giving another opportunity for withdrawal of opposition. I received no reply to this, and the opposition has been continued to the present day. My object at the time in agreeing to give the JS27O0 — and it will be seen by the agreement that no more was contemplated — was that it was then of the greatest importance to the Company to commence the work at once. That is, nine months ago, and had we been able to do so, a large portion of the line towards Jacksons would now have been made. The agreement was then to be a private arrangement, and was made to save delay and avoid reference to the Legislature as much as possible. I had not forgotten that the Act of 1890 provides that the Governor must be " satisfied," but by the Act His Excellency has only " to be satisfied " that the making of the deviation " will render the line more efficient for traffic purposes/' and that the.

"obligation has been entered into with the Grey County to provide the sum previously mentioned, &c." " Further reference to Section 2 of the said Act enacts that it must be shown to the satisfaction of the Governor that the making of the deviation will render the railway more efficient for traffic purposes. This has not been shown ; but, on the contrary, the responsible engineering officers of the Colony say that the original line is the moßt efficient for traffic purposes. To make the deviation anything near the original line certain grades require to be flattened. Even if this is done the deviation is one-and-three-quarter miles longer than the original line, with the gain entirely on the side of the Company. Pair compliance with the conditions is absolute." The information supplied to the Governor by the Company Bhows that, notwithstanding the increased length, there would be a heavy saving in the train mileage, and, therefore, in cost of working, by the adoption of the deviation. The money computation of the value of a train mile may be , variously estimated by engineers, but in my opinion the deviation mußt produce a considerably greater saving than .£SOO a year. That the engineering officers of the Colony state that the original line is the most efficient for traffic purposes, I can- | not believe, the reports by the Government officers which I have seen being of exactly the opposite effect ; and I challenge the Minister to publish in extenso the official reports and calculations on the subject, and especially those of Mr C. Y. O'Connor, which he has lately quoted in public as being adverse. "Again, the Executive Committee says the Government cannot compel the Company to let the work by public tender. It is quite true. The Company claims the right to make private bargains with any contractors it thinks fit, and I have been credibly informed that arrangements have been bo made. This course, it may be fairly assumed, will increase the cost of the work. The Colony will have to give more land, and if the railway is taken over it will coßt the Colony so much more, the basis for fixing the amount payable being the cost of construction. It was, at the time the contract was made, understood that the work was to be done by tender in the open market."

I am glad to see that at length the Minister admits that the Company is right in maintaining that its contracts can be let privately or otherwise. No private contracts have, however, been let by the Company except the first, which was let in London, and I personally informed the Minister, in presence of the TJnder-Secre-tary, when in Wellington some three weeks ago, of this fact, and that no arrangement to do otherwise had been made.

Whether letting contracts by private instead of public tender would increase the cost of the line is at most a matter of opinion, but it is manifestly much more to the interests of the Company, who will have to work it for many years, to get the line efficiently made in the cheapest possible manner than it is to that of the Government, who may possibly purchase the line some fifteen or twenty years hence.

It is not the case that any extra cost of the line would increase the land grants to be given to the Company, the amount of the land grant being already a fixed amount of .£1,250,000, and a proportion has been allocated to each portion of line. The cheaper therefore the line can be made the greater will be tha comparative value of land grant to the actual cost. There was no understanding of any kind ai the time of the contract being made that the work should be let by tender in the open market or otherwise, and the Minister has no ground for making such a statement.

"The complications existing, and fair compliance with the law refused, all point to the necessity for referring the matter again to Parliament. The Government is most anxious to promote the work and to assist the Company in its undertaking ; therefore the responsibility of any delay reßts with the Company and the local authority. I hope, therefore, that public opinion will be guided in the direction of requesting the Company and the local authority to comply with the lawful and reasonable requests of the Government, that being the most likely and speedy way of settling the difficulty."

I am quite willing to believe that tho majority of the Government are anxious t, assist the Company to promote the work, but the Minister for Public Works has shown no wish to do so, otherwise so much time would not have been wasted in groundless objections to a deviation benefiting the public and the Company; and the settlement of the land, which is a most burning and important question to the Company and the western districts, would not have been absolutely prevented, had the Minister gone into the regulations which have been waiting his approval since January last, while at the same time he has been blaming the Company in hiß public speeches on the West Coast for locking up the land. Though frequently asserting that the Company and the County Council have not complied with the Act, the Minister has entirely failed to point out in what respect they have not done so, though he has been publicly asked to do so, and I would suggest that he Bhould communicate to you the Crown law officers' opinion on the matter, as any legal opinions I have hitherto seen have been to the effects that the law haß been fully complied with.

Bobhrt Wilson, Engineer-in-Chief and General Manager.

May 13, 1891.

AGBEEMENT WITH GREY COUNTY COUKCIIi.

This deed made the sixteenth day of March one thousand eight hundred and ninetf-ono between the New Zealand Midland Railway Company Limited a Company duly incorporated in England under the Companies Actß 1862 to 1883 and carrying on business in the City of Christchurch in New Zealand and having its registered office at Gracechurch street in London hereinafter with its successors and assigns referred to as "the Company" of the one part and the Chairman Councillor and inhabitants of the County of Grey hereinafter with its successors and assigns referred to as " the Council " of the other part Whereas the Company has contracted with Her Majesty the Queen to construct a certain line of railway from Springfield to Brunnerton along the western side of Lake Brunnerton and whereaa the Company has requested Her Majesty the Queen to consent to a certain deviation of the said line of railway to be so constructed by the Company such deviation being by a route on the eastern side of Lake Brunner and more particularly described in the Schedule I to " The Midland Eailway Contract Act ■ 1890" And whereaa Her Majesty the Queen is desirous of consenting to such deviation in accordance with the provisions of the said "The Midland Eailway Contract Act 1890 " on the Company entering into and executing these presents Now this deed witnesseth that in consideration of the premises the Company doth hereby covenant and agree with the Council that as soon as the Governor has authorised the Company to make the said deviation in accordance with the provisions of the said " The Midland Eailway Contract Act 1890" the Company will provide the Council with the earn of two thousand seven hundred pounds to be expended in widening the road bridges and culverts between the township of Pounamu and Lake Brunner at a point known as Mitchell's accommodadation house the said Bum of two thousand seven hundred pounds shall be paid by the Company into the National Bank of New Zealand Limited to the joint account of the Company and the Council and shall bo remain until the Council is desirous of expending it as provided by these presents at which time the Company will cause the said sum to be paid over to the Council and the interest on the said sum of two thousand seven hundred pounds shall be paid to the Company during the time it remains deposited in the bank as aforesaid and the Company hereby further covenants with the Council that as soon as the construction of Buch deviated line of | railway shall be completed and the said ■ road bridges and culverts have been widaned as herein provided it will provide and maintain in good and efficient order on Lake Brunner aforesaid a steamboat of euffioient size to ply as a feiry boat on the '

said lake between the terminus of the said road and the said line of railway on the eastern Bide of the said lake.

In witness &c. j (Executed under seal both by the i Company and the County Council.) ; AGREEMENT WITH THE MAYOB OF KUMABA. Kumara August 28, 1890. J. S. Benyon Esq., Mayor of Kumara. Dear Sir — The New Zealand Midland Railway Company, Limited, will undertake to provide the amount of .£2700 to be expended in widening the eight miles of existing road between the Greenstone creek and Mitchell's accommodation house on Lake Bmnner, on condition that all opposition is withdrawn to the Deviation Bill, which provides for the Company's line being constructed on the East Bide of Lake Brunner, and on condition that the Bill is passed this session and the Company is authorised to construct the line in accordance with the proposed deviation. After the contracts are let for the deviated line proper detailed specifications are to be prepared by the Engineer of the Grey County Council, free of charge, embodying the works required for widening the road mentioned in general accordance with the existing plans. These specifications are to be submitted for the approval of the Engineer-in-Chief of the New Zealand Midland Bailway Company, Limited. After the same are approved j tenders are to be called for the work and the offers received are also to be submitted for the approval of the Company before the work is let, antl it may make such alterations to the schedule of quantities as to keep the expenditure within the amount of .£2700. The road to be maintained by the contractor for six months. After this period of maintenance the road to be taken over and maintained fit for traffic by the Grey County Council. Should the member for Kumara offer any further opposition to the Deviation Bill, or should the Bill fail to pass the House of Representatives or the TJpper House this session, or the Company tail to receive proper authority to carry out the works on the plan of the deviation, this offer made by tho Company is cancelled. — I am, dear sir, Tours truly, Robert Wilson, Engineer-in-Chief and General Manager. (Copt op Teleguab]:.)

J. S. Benyon, Esq., Mayor, Kumara. Seddon's opposition reported this morning's paper cancels our agreement, as opposition not withdrawn} notwithstanding Company will adhere to conditions contained in written promise if opposition is now withdrawn and support given instead. Eobkbt Wilson.

Sept. 10, 1890,