The Christchurch Star. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1929 MR COATES VERSUS PROGRESS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18909, 6 November 1929, Page 8

The Christchurch Star. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1929 MR COATES VERSUS PROGRESS.

T» EFORM’S LAST EFFORT to stop work on the South Island Main Trunk railway failed miserably. Mr Coates yesterday moved an amendment to the Railways Authorisation Bill that, if carried, would have had the effect of holding up the construction of lines that are vital to the progress of the country, and, as a result, throwing thousands of men out of employment. The reasons he gave for this attitude were paltry in the extreme. Mr Forbes had little difficulty in disposing of them, and a piquant diversion was caiised by Mr Ransom asking whether the Leader of the Opposition had himself never promised while in office that the railway should proceed. To this question there was no reply. If there is one line in New Zealand that ought to be completed it is the South Island Main Trunk line, the only uncompleted line in New Zealand marked out by Sir Samuel Fay as a desirable link in the national railway system. Mr Coates, of course, knows that quite well. He feels the need, however, of attempting to please his friends and, therefore, the main iteqi in any policy he may have seems to be that public worlds in the South Island should be stopped so that more money may be available for the North. Two of the latest excursions of the Reform Government into railway building were of a character that established confidence in neither island for they proved, as far as railway construction was concerned, that Mr Coates and his Cabinet were extremely poor judges of what was worth while. Sir Joseph Ward and his Ministers, on the other hand, have won a high reputation for tackling problems in a national spirit. That is why the completion of the South Island Main Trunk is going to be pushed ahead regardless of parochial opposition and pettifogging criticism, and that is why Parliament, by 42 votes to 25, threw out Mr Coates’s futile amendment. WHY NEW ZEALAND HORSES WIN. 'P'OR THE FIFTH TIME, Australia’s greatest race has been won by a New Zealand-bred horse. Nightmarch, who carried off the Melbourne Cup yesterday, was born and bred in the South Island. Nearly two years ago he was purchased for 1000 guineas by Mr A. Louisson, a well-known Christchurch sportsman, and since then his headquarters have been Riccarton. A further fact, and one that makes yesterday’s contest all the more remarkable, is that all three of the placed horses are Dominion-bred. Not only is Nightmarch owned in Christchurch but so is the second horse, Paquito. The third horse, Phar Lap, was bred in Canterbury, and, though now owned by an Australian, he is trained by a former New Zealander. Naturally many people on the other side of the Tasman, while congratulating the winner, are now asking the pertinent question: “Why is New Zealand able’ to breed so many good horses?” The answer has been known to shrewd breeders and owners for years. In New Zealand, young horses thrive better than in Australia. The climate is more equable and foals in summer time can run about in the sun without being troubled by excessive heat or pests of flics, while the superiority of New Zealand feed is well illustrated by the fact that many Victorian and New South Wales owners obtain their supplies from this country. Some day, wealthy Australian sportsmen will take this lesson thoroughly to heart and buy broad acres of Dominion land for use as stud farms. In the meantime, Canterbury can congratulate itself on the very excellent advertisement earned for the province in Melbourne yesterday by those three idols of the turf, Nightmarch, Paquito and Phar Lap. “IT’S AN ILL WIND—” UNEMPLOYMENT has blown an unexpected bit of good fortune Canterbury’s way in the early completion of a new and somewhat difficult section of the Summit Road track. Between Morten’s Bush and Gebbie’s Pass, the somewhat difficult Ngaio Bush Cliffs have been negotiated by an easy path, and Mr H. G. Ell, who delights in picturesque place names, and not less picturesque prospects, hopes to have a track made through the rough country beyond the Sign of the Packhorse on the Kaituna Saddle, so that an interesting walk will be opened up for Christchurch people from the point where the trams land them at the Sign of the Takahe right on past the Sign of the Kiwi at Dyer’s Pass, the Sign of the Bellbird at Kennedy’s Bush, and Gebbie’s Pass, the Devil’s Staircase beyond Gebbie’s Pass. One may endorse Mr Ell’s belief that this track, winding around the summits to Akaroa, will provide the finest walk in Canterbury. Whether it will ever rival that Finest Walk in the World, which lies down in the direction of Milford Sound, may be debatable, but this much is certain, that for one person who traverses the Milford Track a hundred will enjoy the charm of the Summit Road, and in. doing so will pay attribute of gratitude to the man who had the vision to work—and fight—for its completion.