CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAYS.

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■No. 6b

I also transmit copies of the plans and other documents which accompany that report. The Government concur in the recommendation made by Dr. Hector and Mr. Blackefct, but of course, the question of the adoption of one or other of the alternative lines will be submitted for decision of the General Assembly. I have, Ac, The Chairman of the County Council, Hokitika. W. Gisboujte. Note.—A letter similar to the above was also forwarded to his Honor the Superintendent of Nelson.

111. WESTPOET TO MOUNT EOCHFOET COAL FIELD. No. 19. His Honor Oswald Curtis to the Hon. W. Gisboene. Superintendent's Office, Sib,— Nelson, 7th July. 1871. "With reference to the proposed line from "Westport to the Mount Eochfort coal field, I forward, for your information, a copy of a report by Mr. Henry Wrigg, of a hasty examination of the country by him in 1868, and I further refer you to the same gentleman's report upon the proposed line from Nelson to Cobden and Westport, of which I also furnish you with a copy.* By the accompanying copy of the report of the Select Committee, upon which the resolution of the Council, in favor of the construction of a railway from "Westport to Mount Eochfort was founded, you will observe that the impression appears to have prevailed in the mind of the Council, that, on more complete exploration, a less expensive route than that indicated by Mr. Wrigg may be discovered and, also, that by the adoption of the wire tramway, or other less costly means of conveying the coal to the port, a large reduction may be made from Mr. Wrigg's estimate, which, including rolling stock, amounts to about £120,000. I think, also, that some further and more complete scientific exploration of the Mount Eochfort coal field would be desirable before the precise route and terminus of the line are decided upon, as it appears to be not improbable that workable seams of coal may be discovered in a more accessible posision than those hitherto examined, and that the cost of the line might thereby be brought largely under the sum estimated by Mr. Wrigg. I have, therefore, to suggest that in the event of the Colonial Government and the Assembly consenting to the execution of this work, its actual construction should be preceeded, not only by additional exploration and survey beyond that made by Mr. Wrigg, but by a careful examination of the Mount Eochfort coal field itself, by the officers of the Colonial Geological Department. I have, &c, Oswald Cttetts, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary Wellington, Superintendent. * Nelson Gazette, No. 20, of 23rd April, 1868.

Enclosure 1 in No. 19. Resolutions passed by the Provincial Council of Nelson on Tuesday, 2nd May, 1871. 1. That in the opinion of this Council, it ie highly desirable that the line of railway from Cobden to the Brunner coal mine should be constructed without delay. 2. That in the opinion of this Council it is highly desirable that the line of railway from Nelson to Foxhill should be constructed without delay. Eesolution passed by the Provincial Council of Nelson, on Friday, 26th May, 1871. That in the opinion of this Council it is highly desirable that a line of railway from Westport to the Mount Eochfort coal field, should be constructed under the authority of, and in the manner provided by the Public "Works and Immigration Act.

Enclosure 2 in No. 19. E'epoqt of the Select Committee of tlie Nelson Provincial Council on the best means of developing the Mount Rochfort Coal Field. Tors Committee, ia dealing with the subject smbmitted to them for enquiry, have done so with an eminent sense of the extent and value of the enquiries which have already been made in connection with the same subject by Select committees of the Council, and by scientific men, who, at different periods, were specially selected for the purpose by the Provincial Government. Acquaintance with the recommendations of these several committees and commissioners considerably relieved your committee from the necessity for carrying out any close inquiry as to the characteristics of the coal field, or as to the description of works best calculated to promote its development. According to all the reports furnished to the Council, and according to the now very generally distributed information on the subject, the coal field in question is quite exceptional in the Colony by its vast extent, and by the superior quality of the coal; and the one desideratum in connection with its development seems to be the construction of a line of railway from the most conveniently