D.—No. Gb.

42

PAPERS RELATING TO THE

No. 38. His Honor "W. Eolleston to the Hon. J. Vogel. Sic, — House of Eepresentatives, Wellington, i)tli September, 1870. The termination of the financial year of the Province of Canterbury on the 30th instant, and the consequent cessation of appropriations for the public service, have rendered it necessary that I should call the Provincial Council together on that day. I am therefore reluctantly obliged to trespass upon your time, before leaving Wellington, to request you to afford me such information as you are able on those points in which the action of the Provincial Council will be dependent upon or affected by the proposals of the Government which have received the sanction of the Legislature. The first matter to which I would call your attention is that of the Canterbury Northern Eailway, for which you are aware engagements have already been entered into and liabilities incurred ou account of rails and bridges, and for which, in respect of fencing and some other matters, tenders have already been invited and every preparation made for proceeding with the work. As stated to you in a previous letter, the Provincial Government has entered into engagements, presuming upon the uninterrupted progress of the work, under which engagements immigrants will arrive at certain intervals during the next four months ; and the Government will no doubt recognize on other' grounds that it is desirable that no interruption to the work should occur. I presume, therefore, that the Government will be desirous of arranging to take over the construction of the line without delay ; and I shall feel much obliged if you can inform me how soon the Govornment will be prepared to commence the working out of their plans in respect of this as well as the other lines in Canterbury. The question is specially important in regard to the Northern Eailway, where the interruption of the progress of the works would be productive of great inconvenience. I presume that the engagements in respect of rails, bridges, &c, which have been made up to the present time, will be adopted by the Government; and as the action to be taken by the Provincial Government depends so largely on the future intentions of the Colonial Government, I shall esteem it a favour if you will inform me whether the Province will be indemnified for such further expenditure as may be incurred in the promotion of the railway works pending the time when the Colonial Government has matured its arrangements. No actual expenditure is being incurred in respect of any of the lines except the Northern Railway, but it would be very satisfactory to the Provincial Council if I were enabled to acquaint them with the intentions of the Government as to the time and manner of proceeding with those lines ; and I may state that no effort will be wanting on my part to promote the wishes of the Government in any action which may be determined upon. Another point on which 1 should feel obliged to you for your guidance is as to the action which should be suggested to the Provincial Council under section G of the Immigration and Public Works Act. The Act appears to me to contemplate an indication on the part of the Government of the points on which the recommendation of the Provincial Council should be given. In the case of Canterbury, the principal question which occurs to me is, whether the Government would entertain proposals for other lines than the main trunk line North and South. I may state that there are lines of considerable importance projected, as shown on the map I have had the honor to lay before you, to the Malvern Hills, Oxford, and Leeston. On this, and any other points you may desire it, I shall be glad to give you every information in my power. I have addressed you in a separate letter on the subject of the existing arrangements with regard to immigration in the Province. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Treasurer. W. Eolleston.

No. 39. His Honor W. Eolleston to the Hon. J. Vogel. Sic, — House of Eepresentatives, 12th September, 1870. Understanding from you that, under existing circumstances, having regard to the intelligence which has recently arrived from Europe, it is improbable that the Government will proceed with railways, under the authority of the Acts of this Session, in the present state of the money market, I shall be glad if the Government would inform me whether it is prepared to enter into any arrangement with the Province of Canterbury by which, in the event of the Provincial Government being able to proceed with any of the railways indicated in my previous letters, the Colonial Government would take the works over whenever it considered that the altered state of the money market justified it in raising funds under the Loan Act; and whether the Colonial Government would then reimburse the Province for its outlay, provided such outlay, together with the cost of finishing the works if incomplete, did not exceed the cost authorized by the provisions of the Railway Act. As I previously pointed out in my letter of the 9th instant, the matter is one of considerable urgency in respect of the Northern Railway, the bridges and portion of the rails for which are already ordered in England; and the monthly arrival of immigrants during the ensuing summer renders the proceeding with public works very desirable on other grounds. I have, &c, W. Eolleston, The Hon. the Colonial Treasurer, Wellington. Superintendent.