EXTENSION OF THE WESTERN RAILWAYS.

Western Star, Issue 66, 13 February 1875, Page 6

EXTENSION OF THE WESTERN RAILWAYS.

The public meeting, convened, by his Worship tho Mayor, in compliance with a requisition, for the purpose of urging on the Provincial Government the necessity of taking steps for the accomplishment of the above matter, took place at the Courthouse, on Saturday] evening. ' About an hour after-the time appointed for the meeting a good number of townand country settlers mas* tered; : ahd;tbe. Court room was well filled, Hia Worship'the .Mayor was unanimously voted to and briefly stated the objects of the' meetifig, which were to” endeavour by every possible means .to push Ori the further extension of the Western Railways’to Orepuki and the Nightcap Coahfields. It was* (he said) the duty of every resident'to fake steps for the carrying out of snch a desirable’measuru/' IE Riverton was ever to attain anv importance it niuSt have the interior of the country opened, up, when it wpuld. be able to export large quantities' of timber and coal, as well as'supplying the steamers visiting the port with fuel. He concluded by hoping that those present would' fully express their views on the shbject. ’ Mr T. Daniel, M.P,C., said, as representative of the district in the' Provincial Council, he considered it his duty to move the first' resolution. Three rears ago the 'matter was brought forward as a message hy hiaHphoiir. the Superpiti?.ndent in the Provincial Council; but, for Sofhe uhac : countable reason it had been shelved. His Honour fhe Superintendent had stated, at a public dinner at Invercargill a short time agoj in referring to Public Works at Oamaru. ' that lie saw no. reason why there’should hot be a South as well as a North Otago Loan. v ' There was no part of the Province where the money voted for public works was so much needed as in the Western District. One great point in carrying out the works in this district was that there was no compensation to pay to the runhoUler,' as all the land westward belonged'to the‘ Crown. To use an old Scotch phrase, and one which he thought very appropriate, he would recommend all the settlers in the Western'District to go “ shouther to ahouther then there would be no fear of their being able to carry out their works. All,the trade westward must come tbrovgh Eiverton. What they asked for this district was an extension of the railway to Orepuki. The party who surveyed that line had got too far up into the hills, which necessitated going "over about six times more ground than was required : the consequence was'the Government did not see its way clear to carry out the proposed line. The time was drawing near when the Council would meet, and, if something was not done, the vole would lapse.' Ho would therefore move, —’

“Thatthis meeting respectfully urge upon the Provincial Government the necessity of continuing the survey of the line of railway from termination of .pres'ht contract' to Orepuki, with a view of inviting tenders for its completion.”

There had been a great deal said in the Council about land for the people and people for the land. If the country westward were opened up it would present a glorious opportunity for carrying out that policy ; in fact those whb opposed the fWepuki lino would, be opponents to the public work's scheme at present! in" progress throughout ‘ the colony. There - Were thousands'of acres there for sawmillers worth £1 per acre, the best timber in the province. Hundreds ■would be only too glad to take up that land for £1 per acre for the timberalone. The money for the extension of the western wqg voted", when his Honor’s message'was brought down to the' HoUse'with' a rots of £40,000 as an estimate of the continuation of the line to the Waiau. He hoped the people would stir themselves and express their opinions on this matter, as he considered.it the duty of every resident to support the resolution. " Mr J. R. Watson said he had much pleasure in seconding tho resolution. It was well known to most of those present that he had been a long time in Orepuki, and was intimately acquaintad with all its requirements. There' was a population of about 400 there at present, and he was happy to say they were in a prosperous condition. All the parties were on gold, and most of them doing well. The present railway in course of construction might be said to terminate nowhere, as there was nothing in tho shape of settlement for some distance 011 either side of 'its termination, anduuless it was- to benefit the tuis, mopokes, and Maori hehsj not know what it was good for. Beyond £hat point was the best of the timber. To have given every man an acre of those magnificent groves for the construction of every mile of railway would he simply robbing prosperity. Be .again expressed ' his gratification in seconding the resolution, and would like to see all the, Western district railways completed. The resolution on being put, was carried unanimously.'- ;‘ / - ’ Mr L. M'Gillivray, M.H.R., said a resolution ■was put into hia hands that evening to propose, butlefdre’ doing so, he'wislied to alter the wording of it slightly. Instead'df the Word “ desirability,” which he did not think uas strong and decided enough, he would .substitute that of‘“necessity.” The resolution which he then proposed, would read as follows :

“That this meeting would also respectfully urge upon the Provincial Government the necessity of carrying out the survey of the projected lines of railway in this district, viz., t’fom Otautau tp. Night Cap coalfield,' 'and from Orepuki to the Waiau River, in order that estimates may be prepared previous to the next meeting of Council." Ip supporting that resolution he wished to make a few remarks. In order for the railways at present in progress and in contemplation to be reproductive they must be completed. If ihere was a good coalfield at the Nightcaps, as was alleged, it would be amply reproductive, and it appeared to him a necessity that the survey b ould be carried 'to the Nightcaps and to the "Waiau River. The district was now clothed with thick forests, put he hoped in a very short time to-see an industrious',arid thriving population nettled there. Be considered they were not there in’tjie position, of petitioners to the Government, hut rather as those who Bad:a right, to' d’fririavd that they, should have their' rights, and.they vtpuld he doing very wrong if they stood tamely by and did not see important' works Carried out. a great, deal,had - been lost to., the district for want ‘bf 'lUrittrifs' heing properly‘agitated and brought continually before the notice of the Government, while other ’ less important districts stepped in and got all they wanted. He stated, as an instance, the trouble he had had to get the Chief Engineer to report on Riverton i- .. . . ■ *

Harbour at the last session of the Assembly, as ■ the session was nearly before he could, gel 1 the report laid bn the table.' He felt persuade I that' the .resolution’ which he had moved, if passed, would be of groat benefit not only to the town of hirer ton But to the whole of the Western District'.’ ' !

Mr H. Lyon begged to second the resolution. He felt assured all those present would be inclined £0 support it. They should endeavour, by everv means in their power, to urge the extension of the line as far through the Lougwood’ as possible.’ If they lookel round'the Colony, they would find’ that every town and district, was striving to'get its share of the borrowed money. Let them do all they could to get the Orepuki; line extended as far as possible, and'Riverton would always bo an important place.’ The magnificent forests of Lchgwood would supply timber that would last for "centuries'. He had much pleasure in seconding fake resolution, and hoped to see everyone present favourable to it. ' ‘ ‘ Mr E.'Simpson, sen., said 1 the meeting, must fully see the necessity to do all they could to press this matter upon the notice of the Governments 1 He most certainly concurred in every respect with what had been said regarding the extension of the line. V/ere they to get the projected railways properly finished,' Hivertaq would be a terminus to three different lines, ah advantage whieh was not possessed, by many towns in the Colony. He hoped those persons who had been appointed Trustees of the Harbour would do their duty, so as to enable the railways to be feeders to the shipping trade of ,oar own port, instead of the Buff; The first tliing they wanted for the use of the railways was a good Wharf and shed accommodation. ' Mr Daniel, would strpngly support the resolution.' ' They were Well aware certain lands were allocated in that district under the'deferred payment system. If the hind to the west of thdm was taken up, it would be a great inducement' to go on with the extension of the Opcpuki line. They had forests of timber that were nob to be surpassed in New Zealand. They had a rich gbldfield,’ which compared favourably 'With arty goldfield in the Colony ; and, if water could be brought iri from the Waiau to work the ground thoroughly, it would be the richest field’yet discovered in New Zealand. If that line were extended, the trade of Riverton would'increase bo rapidly, and the town would grow to such dimension! that, in a very short time, they should see cars flying in every direction, and wharvak run up bn each side of the river from the pilot station as far as the boundary of the municipality extends. The second resolution, on being put, was earned unanimously. Mr Ireland said a resolution had been put into his band to move ; bub as it was bearing 'on question on which so nuiC'cT had already been said, there was not much left for him to say, and with a few remarks he would simply move the resolution, — “ That this meeting elect a Western District Public Works Committee, to watch the interests of the district, and that the following gentlemen be appointed, with power to add to their number.” He thought it required very little to be said to show the necessity for that meeting aad the resolutions brought forward. Let them delegate the work to a committee, who would take the initiative in any matters that were wanted to be brought forward, and there would be some certainty of their being carried out. Mr E. Simpson, sen, seconded the resolution. Mr Daniel said, that during the time he had been in Riverton, he had always found, until late’v, that Riverton took the lead in all public matters. When the Province of Southland was separated from Otago, it was foremost, and took the most active part in that scheme ; and again, the re-union would never have been accomplished had it not been for Riverton. But now a change h&d,comp over the scene. Riverton had fallen asleep, but Invercargill had woke up to something like action, and the residents there, with the assistance. of their Immigl’atio'n aild'Public Works Committee, were working hard and pulling together, and getting all tney asked. He sincerely trusted that Riverton would now move together in the same Way, and see that they got their rights. The resolution was carried unanimously. The following gentlemen were then elected members of the Western District Public Works Committee: —Messrs John Gumming, M.P.C.; T. Daniel, M.RC-; L- M.'GUUvray, ;' H. Lyon, James Ireland, E. Simpson, sen, J. Watson, D. Murchie, James Mackintosh, John Bell, Alexander Galloway, jun, and George Proudfoot. The names of Messrs James Taylor, Round-hill, and H. Howell and D. Hunter, Orepuki, were added to the list; but, on the motion of Mr J. W. Matthews, and with the consent of the proposer, it was thought advisable to strike them off, and call a public meeting at Orepuki, when they would elect their own Committee, who would be able to work with those gentlemen appointed in Eiverton. ; M'r Ireland asked whether they should get up a petition, or merely send the resolutions to the Government. Mr M'Gillivray said he did not think there was any necessity for a petition. A petition merely asked, while the resolutions demanded ; and he thought the latter course should be adopted. Mr George Reid moved, — “ That this meeting respectfully requests the members for this'district in the Provincial Coun cil to endeavour to get a valuabjh endowment for the Riverton Harbour Board.” The present endowment was almost valueless —an estate for winch only £lO per annum had been offered. Before the Harbour Board could be of any use they must have an endowment of greater value than that. It was quite evident that something must be done to improve the harbour, if it was only wharf accommodation. Mr Matthews suggested the addition of the words, “ or money vote," after endowment. The Bluff and Winton line was about to be purchased by the General Government, and he was inclined to think it would bo thrown out as a sop to abolish the Provinces. There was no doubt if the harbour was improved, the position of Riverton would be much stronger. So he thought they should not be limited to a mere endowment, but ask for a money vote as well. By the consent of the .mover the words were added along- with--other, amendments, and the resolution read as follows : “ This meeting would respectfully solicit our members for the Provincial Council to use every endeavour to get a money vote or valuable endowment of land for the Harbour Board, River-

ton, and that a petition bo drawn up to embody the above resolution.”,.' ‘ ‘ “ ’*

' Mr Daniel, quite agreed with the mover and seconder of ths’lasfc resolution, regarding the harbour endowment. When the endowment w?s first reserved it included tlie whole of that valuable tract of land along the Wallaeetown road extending'for several utiles. 1 Two months after lie came dpwn from the session of Council at which this land'was reserved, lie happened to go into the Land Orlieo for a sketch of the reserve, and found there tiad been twenty applications for the land, the Chief Surveyor kindly being amongst the number of applicants. ’ He wanted, to stop this valuable 1 endowment" getting * into ‘ private * Hands; but, found he cduM do nothing,‘as the necessary forms had hot' been gone into'in making over the reserve for the endowment of the 'overton Harbour. On the first day of that session Mr Reid brought, up all the reserves arid, passed them. 1 A. few days after Mr, M‘Arthur tabled a motion against the"passing .of several Of the reserve's, which he understood had. not been entertained. 1 But the next that he heard of it was that all the best o£. the land' had been applied for, leaving nothing but a lot of barren sandhills, } Mr M;Q-illivrav wished to sa} r a few words on that subject. Before the Harbour Board was constituted, he, wroth a corfifnunicatior. to the,' WSSTEEN giving an account of th’d assistance the other parts of the colony had ,received by loans and land endowments.' The North Otago Loan was a loan‘ of £70.000,* of which "£54,000 was for the harbour of Oamiiru, £.5000 for Ivakanui, and £3OOO for Moeralii. ' The' Lyttelton Harbour Act authorised debentures to the yafiie of £IOO,OOO chargeable on'the wharf dues; The debentures in the ease of the Auckland harbour to the amount of £150,000 were a first charge on certain specified lands ’as well as on the harbour rates." l At (Weymouth the 'Colonial Government lent £100(3 to the Corporation on mortgage of the rates and dues, being payable by six pearly instalments at 6 per cent. The Harbour Board at New Plymouth was endowed with one-fourth of the land revenue.' The Napier Harbour Board Act of last Session endowed tlie Hawke’s Bay Harbour Board with eleven parcels of land in the town of Napier arid 1000 acres of valuable rural land. 5 The Act for improving the navigation of the Clutha river' provided an area of 50,000 acres tb ' be 'invested' in a Board of Trust. Hg could, n6t see’ why the Provincial Council could not come down with £20,000 dr £30,000 on the security of the Crown' lands of 'the district, which, according to the Chief "Engineer’s report, would,be Amply sd’fifcient to make the port of Riverton available for vessels of a large tonnage The CkafCmah said he might say his position as Clmirhian of the Harbour Board had been comparatively speaking almost, a sinecure. ’ He asked what likolih,cod there was of’ sectirilig a loan on the presbnt ChdowmeutVThe Board had already incurred'“'abmc - slight expense ifi the matter of stationery, (hey would have to puzzle their’bfaliis to,liquidate. ’’ The port of Riverton was undoubtedly ■a' natidnatorie/as every port in tlie colony was considered a chain work of public iVoyks.' ‘Seeing.'that £IOO,OOO had '‘granted as a' loan 'to the Oamaru Harbour Lrhst, where jetty after jetty bad been wailVod 'a'\vay,%nd there was vory littie tb show for the large sum of rndn'ey which had* been*' expended’ there; and Svlieh Mr Carruthcrs reported'oh KircHon harbour he edid„, that with a small outlay the improved, ho' (the Chaifman)’ 'thought- they were' fairly entitled to a v'dte from the Provincial, Government of a like amount to that bathed bv' the Chief Engineer as the' probable ’ebsfc of harbour improvement. If that was hot done atontfe the Bluff would command all their Shipping and trade, and they might only look to" the future Riverton as a very pretty watering place. '' 1 Mr Daniel explained it was his Honor’s intention to ask for a South as well as a North Otago loan of £50,000, but he believed pressure had been brought to bear to shelve it. The Chairman said that he had recently visited the port of Lyttleton on which about £50.000 had been expended in the construction of a breakwater, which was only got by the manner in which the representatives of that district had brought, the matter before the Government. He concurred in every respect with the resolution. Mr Daniel was greatly in favour of the clause regarding the petition being added to the resolu-' tion. Ho thought nothing would strengthen tHeifc representatives in the Council more than a petition. It showed there was some outside pressure, and that it did not come from the members alone. It was quite a frequent occurrence when matters were brought forward in the House for members to pooh-pooli them and say it was “ some hobby the hon. member had got hold of, which nobody was interested in but himself,” but when they were backed up by a petition, it silenced,all such deprecatory remarks. The resolution was seconded by Mr J. W. Matthews, and carried unanimously. A vote of thanks to the Chairman terminated the proceeding '