23

E.—4b,

No. 57. The Hon. the Colonial Secretary to His Honor the Superintendent, Otago. (Telegram.) Wellington, 16th March, 1875. Re Correspondence, Peninsula and Ocean Beach Railway, —We have no objection. Copy of correspondence may be supplied to Company if your Honor desires to do so. His Honor the Superintendent, Dunedin. Daniel Pollen.

No. 58. His Honor the Superintendent, Otago, to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary. (Telegram.) . Dunedin, 17th March, 1875. I hate no desire to supply Peninsula and Ocean Beach Eailway correspondence, and should not have done so without your permission. I see the whole correspondence between General Government and Company is published. The Hon. Colonial Secretary, Government Buildings. J. Macandeew. ■

No. 59. His Honor the Superintendent, Otago, to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary. Province of Otago, New Zealand, Sib, — Superintendent's Office, Dunedin, 18th March, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 181, and date 12th March, 1875, informing me that the Government have been advised that it is their duty not to allow the Dunedin, Peninsula, and Ocean Beach Railway Company to proceed with their undertaking without proper legislative authority, and that the Company have accordingly been warned that, if necessary, the Attorney-General will move for an injunction of the Supreme Court to restrain them from such procedure till they have procured an Act of the Legislature. In reply, I have to express my regret that the Colonial Government has been advised to interfere in the matter, seeing that the undertaking is of the utmost importance to a large section of the community, and might, I venture to think, have been allowed to proceed in anticipation of legislation, should such be necessary, without detriment to either public or private interests. I have, &c, J. Macandrew, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary. Superintendent.

No. 60. The District Engineer, Dunedin, to the Engineer-in-Chief, Wellington. Sir,— Public Works Office, Dunedin, 3rd June, 1875. In accordance with the instructions of the Hon. the Minister for Public Works, I have the honor to forward herewith a plan of the district between Dunedin and the Ocean Beach, showing all the townships, the railway begun by the Peninsula and Ocean Beach Railway Company, and another line (in red) which, I think, would give the necessary accommodation at a much less cost. The plan would have been ready at the beginning of last month, but for the difficulty of getting information about the townships, and I was anxious to make it as complete as possible. The Company's line terminates at the main entrance to the Eacecourse, which is also the end of the only metalled road now open to the Beach, and the place most resorted to by visitors. The distance from the Dunedin Station to this point, by the Company's line, is 3 miles 2i\ chains, by the red line 2 miles 40j chains, leaving a balance in favour of the red line of 64 chains. The amount of new railway to be constructed by the Company's route is 2 miles 40 chains, and by the red line 1 mile 24 chains, leaving a balance in favour of the red line of 1 mile 16 chains. About 10 chains at the commencement of the red line is under any circumstances required to connect the Railway Workshops with main line; consequently the amount of new railway by that route is reduced to 1 mile 14 chains, and the balance in its favour against the Company's line increased to 1 mile 26 chains. Some years since another private company purposed making a railway to the Ocean Beach. It left the main line at the Caledonian Society's grounds, and ran alongside the St. Kilda road till opposite the Grand Stand, where it turned off at right angles, and terminated near the same point as the lines now proposed. One of the greatest difficulties the Company had to contend with was acquiring the necessary land, which difficultyis now very much increased. I tried to get a line somewhere in that direction to cross the townships at right angles, but nothing like a direct line can be got without interfering with numerous buildings. The bulk of the population at present in this district occupies the sections facing St. Kilda road in the townships of Hillside, South Dunedin, and Forbury; but I have no doubt a few years will show the whole fiat covered with houses from St. Kilda to Kew. Even in the present state of affairs, the red line accommodates the locality much better than the Company's one, which is quite outside all settlement. The strongest argument that can be advanced in favour of the Company's line is that a portion of it will be available for the Peninsula branch. Any line down the Peninsula must leave the Ocean Beach Railway about peg 1-30, which is only 45 chains from the junction with the Clutha line. To utilize this length of 45 chains, it is proposed to construct 106 chains more line than is absolutely necessary to connect Dunedin with the Ocean Beach, and the public who use the railway are