PROPOSED OTAGO CENTRAL JOB.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 344, 29 August 1889, Page 3

PROPOSED OTAGO CENTRAL JOB.

DEBATE IN THE HOUSE. The special Wellington correspondent of the Lyttelton Times gives a very racy and interesting account of the debate on the proposed Otago Central Job. Under date August 22nd he telegraphed A big house at half past seven this evening bore witness to the general interest felt in the fata of the Otago Cenrral, and the prospect of smart, hard-hitting speeches on both sides. The Otago members, with their backs to the wall, were bound to fight well, and it was expected that the members from the “neglected districts’’ wonld press home on the favored Southerners with an abundance of vigor. After the pleasant little episode of a vote of congratulation to His Excellency on his son’s recovery, hon. members prepared for business.

Mr Smith, of Waipawa, and Mr GrimMONO (two of the neglected), moved and seconded that the Bill should be post poned till other deserving railways could be put on the same footing, With that fervor of conviction always shown by a country member when descanting on the special natural advantages and unequalled resources of his own district, Mr Smith told the tale of Woodville’s capabilities and cruel treatment. We heard all about the number of its settlers, the fertility of its soil, and the absurdity of supposing that a railway through it could possibly injure the Manawatu Company’s line. Why, the Manawatu people themselves laughed at such a preposterous idea, Mr Smith was followed by— Mr Gbimmond, with a moving account of the deplorable state of twelve thousand Westlanders defrauded of the HokitikaGreymouth lire, and left with no railway whatsoever. Not content with appeals, Mr Grimr'ond angrily inveighed against what he termed Otagonian influence. Otago always got everything—Electoral Commissioners, Bail way Commissioners, Judgeships, Exhibitions, and now this railway. Mr Grimmond wanted fair play all round. Then uprose— The bearded Fergus, of the mighty voice, and gave us the other side of the story. Though I like not Mr Fergus’ peculiar style of oratory, it must be confessed he made an effective speech, more in ths platform than the debating mode, perhaps, but still strong and clear, and full of facts and figures marshalled in telling form. There were too many adjectives perhaps, of the "great,” "vast” "rich ” " mighty,” "immense,” "wide,” "far stretching” sort, and I myself am rather tired of such quotations as "There is a tide in the aff irs of men,” drc. But still Mr Fergus made the best speech I ever heard him make in the House. It was therefore a remarkable proof of the House’s want of sympathy 'With the Bill, or possibly with the speaker, that rolling periods which would have drawn ringing plaudits at Queenstown -or Naseby, fell on hon members amid freezing silence, broken only by vehement "hesr, hears”

from Mr Vincent Pyke, and much less frequently from Mr Fish. Mr Fergus, with much force of language, depicted the route of the railway, and the fertility and extent of the surrounding country ; the vast table lands on one side of the Taieri river, the wide Strath Taieri plain-the vast Maniototo plain, the most valuable estate now left in the of the Government of the Colony—its F endless pastoral lands, which now yielded annually £60,000 in rents ; the two million acres to be opened by the extension to Eweburn, and the three million to be tapped when the line reached Lake Hawea. Nine hundred thousand pounds of money had the Otago Central noured into the coffers of the Colony altogether, and nothing had it got in return, The goldminers, who only last year produced £150,000, got no proteation, no bonuses, no anvthing- T ~ M va»t country not a Bt i ok of grew, except, perhaps, a chance tree by the lowly hut of a (Hager. All timber had to be carted, consequently enterprise was cheeked and hampered. The North Island Trunk pas-ed through lands not owned bv the Onlonv, The Otsgo Central, from one end to the other, went through lands owned bv the Crown, The Otago members had always been just and generous to other districts, and it members from other districts would only help the Otago Central, they would in turn ba treated with ” the utmost enurta-y and consideration ” when their own railways esme tn he in question. (Cries of ” Oh, oh, 1 ’) Needless to

say— Mr Ballanch made the most of the last unfortunate remark, which he stigmatised as an argument founded on bribery, He then explained his objections to putting one railway on a special footing, and excluding others equally deserving, and to borrowing from Trust funds when we had promised the London creditors, when.the last loans were raised in London, not even to borrow locally for three years. Mr Ballance strongly condemned tampering with the Trust funds as being underhand borrowing. Unlike Mr Fergus, he was well applauded. Then the usually silent Colonel Fsusnn danced a Highland fling, of the moat spirited order while lamenting the base desertion of his little chick, the TbamesTo Aroha line. Had not that been begun in 1878, and after eleven weary years where was it ? As for the natural advantages and claims of Central Otago, pooh, pshaw, bah I what were they when weighed in the scale against the fertility and mineral wealth of the earthly paradise of Tham«s Te Arohs ? Words could not express it, Nor oonld they express the Colonelanntempt for the Economists, who were pledged to the hilt against borrowing, and yet wanted to trade in ths Trust funds. To him succeeded—•

“ Our Vincent,” drawn, he sorrowfully explained, unwillingly to hie feet by ths extraordinary, extravagant, and outrageous statements of hon. gentlemen who bad attacked bls railway. But for these he should not have spoken; no, not one little word. And then Bt. Dunstan essaved to catch the devil of Interprovincial jealousy by the nose, with the tongs of argument and pathos. What did the Hoose mean? Had they not passed his Bill time after time, granting far more than this Bill, granting 220,000 acres to a Company ; and now they strained at a wretched gnat of fifteen thousand a year. Why, he stood aghast at his own modesty in not demanding more. And then he gave ua the time honoured picture of the glories of Central Otago, As for these, why need I rehearse them 1 Are they not Written In Hansard, in the epeaohee of the prophet Vlnoent ? As a little corrective of Mr Pyke's brilliant sketch of the endless expanses of flat arable plain, which he gave ns to under* rtwd ehiofiy Central

Mr W. P. Beeves cruelly read certain equally brilliant word pictures from “ Wild Will Enderby,” by one Vincent Pyke, which word pictures painted the land as a collection of stupendous Alpine peaks, rugged precipices and towering mountain ranges. The House laughed consumedly at the joke, as did friend Vincent, the genial, himself. Mr Seddon spoke at some length against the Bill, his principal point being that the Government should come down with a complete scheme dealing with all these lines. He was also very strong on the GreymouthHokitika Bail way, and the general misfortunes of the West Coast. Mr Buchanan spoke briefly but expressively. He was surprised to see a Government which went in on pledges of retrenchment bringing down a Bill like this, and ha was certain the railway would not pay, Mr Scobie Mackenzie charged Mr Ballance with changing his front on the question, because his party wished him to do so. He pointed out that the member for Wanganui, at a meeting of members last session, subscribed to a motion in favor of carrying the line to Eweburn, as also did Mr Seddon.

Mr Menteath, who rose after the supper adjournment, started as usual on the Public Works policy and its evil influence on the Colony. He declared that he saw no hope for the Colony except in national disaster—a disaster which would bring home to the people the evils of the system by which they are now governed. Being reminded of the Te Aro railway, wnich he asked for several times, Mr Menteath said the Government practically off red him that work as a bribe if he would support the Otago Central. Mr Fish twitted Mr Menteath with pessimism, and assured him that the people of Otago would have this line. Mr Fish continued speaking for half an hour, and was pulled up by the Speaker for quoting Mr Ballance’s speech, apparently from Hansard. As, however, the member for Dunedin said he was not quoting from a literal transcript of Hansard, the Speaker said he would keep only to the strict letter of the law, and allow him to proceed. Dr Fitchett pointed out that Mr Fish last year assisted tQ ni'event the line being made, to which Mr Fish replied • We will leave that to our constituents to decide. ’ Dr Fitchett, proceeding, acquitted th© Opposition as a party of factious opposition. He expressed himself willing to support any line that could show as good claims as the Otago Central, and asked whether any line could show as good prospects of revenue as this one. Half a million of money had been spent on the Otago Central, which was not yielding any return, and could not do so until this extension was made. He disapproved of the proposal to make the line out of the Trust funds, and held that the money could be raised in Dunedin.