The Midland Railway.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XIX, Issue 1875, 25 August 1886, Page 2

The Midland Railway.

A coNsjiiEßAßLii time buck it was stated that the Company, for constructing the East and West Coast Itailway had been formed all right and that the work of constructing the lino would he commenced forthwith, L iter cable messages, however, show that the formation of the Company has not yet been accomplished. One of these dated London l!Hli inst., is to the following effect:—" The syndicate who undertook the construction of the Midland Hallway, Western Australia, will be formed into a company with a capital of half a million. Half of the shares will be issued immediately. 1 ’ But a serious hitch ia the affair is also hinted at. The London correspondent of a southern paper, writing on 2nd July, says:—" The contract with Messrs M'Eeone <fc Robinson for the first thirty miles of the New Zealand Midland Railway has not yet been signed. News appears to have been received of a difficulty which may, it ia ieaied. tutu out to be of a somewhat serious character to the enterprise. It is said that the objections raised by the West Coast dkvnrs to the employment of Chinese labor in ill* execution of the contract is likely to molt in an obstacle which may wreck the

concern. It was never anticipated that such an objection would be raised, and it is to be Imped that some solution at the difficulty may trauspiro.”

We never had any faith in the great East and West Coast Railway project. We do not believe that the project will pay the Company, should it be carried out. The natural difficulties of making a railway through such a terribly rough country would be enormous, and the greater portion of the land which would be opened up ffiy the line is almost valueless for purposes of settlement. It would be time enough to undertake such a work some twenty years hence. It has, however, to be said that the question of whether or not the construction of the line will prove profitable is entirely for the consideration of the Company. Let them go on and prosper - if prosperity be possible. Which it isn’t.