THE TRAM ROAD.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume I, Issue 43, 28 October 1867, Page 3

THE TRAM ROAD.

If Wellington is to continue to advance she must develop her resources. There is no trade which employs so large a population in proportion to capital as the timber business, and the Wairarapa valley is the district of the Province of Wellington in which a large population could be supported by such a business. The drawback is the absence of water communication, but this can be met by forming a cheap tram road.

Messrs Ben Smith and Charles O’Neil addressed a letter to the Mercury which appeared in our last issue. The cost therein estimated for a road from Wellington to Masterton appears large, and we should like to know what roads of the kind have cost at Hokitika and elsewhere, under somewhat similar circumstances. We have read that the railroad at Nelson cost £1,700 per mile. A rate at which roads which would suit us are being made in Scotland now that they are regarded for their usefulness rather than a skilful mode of swindling the public. There can be no doubt that a tramway would pay a handsome dividend if constructed with due regard to economy and by experienced engineers. The day cannot be far distant when this subject will lead to a public meeting in Wellington. The shares shouldbe small, not exceeding £lO, and all paid up so that the shareholder would know exactly his liability. The town and country should be canvassed to get parties to take shares which we believe would yield a steady dividend and larger returns than most shares now held in other undertakings. When the amount that could be obtained from local shareholders was ascertained, if not sufficient, aid might besought, in Melbourne or elsewhere; but first the Wellington Province should show by the shares taken in it the belief the people had in the work. There is now an Act of the Provincial Council for a railroad in which a guarantee by the province of 7 per cent is offered, and perhaps the promoters of the tram road might avail themselves of it, so far as securing a dividend for a certainty to that extent.