THE Wairarapa Age FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1936. OUR MOUNTAIN RAILWAY.

Wairarapa Age, 9 October 1936, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1936. OUR MOUNTAIN RAILWAY.

Yesterday’s rail-car mishap at Pigeon. Bush, in which some passengers unfortunately were injured, obviously was caused by an extraordinary force of wind. So far as the part of the line in question -is concerned, it seems likely that a safeguard against any repetition of the misadventure may be found in the extension of an existing wind-break, which the General Manager of Railways (Mr. G. H. Mackley) has stated will be considered.’ The in-

cident is hound to revive and quicken public interest, however, in the question of the radical improvement of the Rimutaka railway. Following on a representative conference over which the Mayor of Masterton (Mr. T. Jordan) presided in May last, a district delegation interviewed Ministers of the Crown in Wellington and urged, the claims of this district to have the Rimutaka deviation put in hand at the earliest moment. A promise was then made that a report on the whole question would be called for from Public Works Department engineers. That promise has not yet been honoured, but it plainly ought to be honoured as soon as possible. It is for the Government to act upon the indicated facts and merits of the position. Whether a particular method of improving the line should or should not be adopted is for the Government to determine in light of the best expert advice obtainable. What the people of the Wairarapa are entitled to demand is that their district shall be given fair consideration and treatment in relation to other parts of the Dominion, and that all the facts shall be taken into account. It greatly affects the position that the country is committed, under the present Government, to the extension and prosecution of public works on a scale that would hardly have been contemplated not very long ago. What has to be considered is whether the improvement of the Rimutaka railway, in the best conditions that can be devised, should be neglected any longer in view of the national works that are being undertaken and- the amount of money that is to be spent upon them. An undertaking held over at a time when public works were being curtailed to a minimum may have excellent claims to immediate and practical attention now that a big and ambitious programme of public works is being opened out. Certainly there should be as little further delay as possible in producing and making public the report that was promised by Ministers months ago.

THE OPERA HOUSE. Practical prospects of an early beginning upon the restoration, of the Opera House appear to be raised by the negotiations in which the Trust Lands Trust is now engaged with the Government. The terms on which the proposed loan is obtainable have yet to be made known\ but if these terms are reasonable the immediate financial problem will be solved. It is plainly very desirable that the Opera House should be put into a thoroughly safe and satisfactory state. The loss of this once popular house of public entertainment has been felt grievously by a number of community organisations and has restricted the activities of these organisations, or even ended them for the time being. A first-class case is thus made out for the restoration of the Opera House, but it needs to be recognised also that it is very necessary that the organisations concerned should loyally support the Trust in the enterprise it is undertaking. This implies primarily that full and effective use should be made of the Opera House when it is restored and that every effort should be made to recoup in this way the outlay entailed in restoring the building and maintaining it in good order. The very fact that the restoration of the Opera House is needed so urgently should mean that the cost of restoring it will not be allowed to impose a drain on Trust revenues which should be available for other purposes.