The Inangahua Times, PUBLISHED TRI- WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1882.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1181, 11 October 1882, Page 2

The Inangahua Times, PUBLISHED TRI- WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1882.

The. correspondence received from Christchurch at the last meeting of the Railway League Committee, we regret to say was by no means of the hopeful tone that could have been wished. It rather conveyed the impression that to divert the proposed eastern route was hopeless, and therefore that the only course remaining, was to rely on an English syndicate being formed, and, in consideration of certain concessions, constructing the required railway. It was stated tha,t already representatives of capital.haiibeen comnMinidated with, and that' the project was^favorably entertained by them, and we were further informed that the (government would render every assistance, and oven sanction a little illegality in furtherance of the scheme if it could be carried out. As a condition pi*ecedent howeve-, to any English company determining whether they would or would not embark in the speculation, they very naturally wanted a thorough survey of the proposed line made, with reliable estimates of cost, and full information relative to the class of country through which it would pass. This difficulty is proposed to be -met by the formation of a company, with' a capital of.- £20,000 or so, a portion of .which would bo devoted to the survey required a portion to the expenses of ii delegate to England to confer with capitalists, and explain matters there, arid the balance we presume for general expenses in the colony. Here's a trouble to start with. It is hardly likely that people will take shares in a company whore there is not only no chance of profit, but a very faint one of ever seeing even their invested capital back again. In case of a syndicate being formed, and the work being undertaken, it might be stipulated that the' company's outlay should be recouped to them in some form or other, but — and the but here is full of significance — that would entirely depend on the favor the scheme found in the ejres. of ihose appealed to. Notwithstanding the favorable manner in "which, they are at present said to regard the enterprise, it strikes us that they would be very chary of laying out at least a million of money, unless, they obtained such concessions as no Ministry would dare td *make, "and no Parliament would ever ratify. VV ithout doubt if a .railway cErf bo- obtained, no matter ■ how or by what means, it is- the interest of every one to go in heart \ antt soul . f or yit. "But the English idea we v -muoh ;fe#E is a fallacious "V.orTe, anct v the ;surroundiug difficulties too .'great eter to, be surmounted. -At the same time, possibly more light may yet be thrown on the subject by t-he Chrfetchurcb correspondents; and' the ' obstacles ihat now present then isel ves tau^fajay.l: $ j>rp v e d to be capable of being overcome, in which case, by all means let us have the line, through a syndicate or any other means that is feasible. Further and full enquiry should certainly _ lie made, and the fullest particulars obtained in connection with the matter. In the meantime it is to be hoped that the League will not be led from their original object, and that tlipy will do all that is possible to arm them selves with the strongest and best evidence available in favor of a western route, for submission to the Royal Commission when it sits. "With rcspoct to the line that our Nelson friends arc agitating for by way of Top-house, it is utterly absurd to suppose, that it will ever- be adopted, for a series of snowsheds, variously estimated at from ten to thirty niilea in length, would be required in such a case. The Inangahua line will suit them nearly as well. In our route a heavy cost would be incurred it is true, but we should at least be able to guarantee both large passenger and goods traffic to meet it with. But, whilst still adhering to the line marked- out, and in no respect allowing it to flag or falter till the ultir , mate decision be come to, why not in ithe interim turn attention to the coih Istruction of a- -road to the nearest point ;to: which the present railway is being ;built. If we are correctly informed the Amberley line will, within a few months, be extended to the Rod Post, from which point it will diverge easterly or westerly as the Commissioners may recommend, and Parliament resolve. As previously pointed out, there would be no difficulty whatever in making the road under the Roads and Bridges Construction Act, and all that the counties thiough which it would run, Inangahua and Amuri, would have to pay, would be one fourth of the total cost. If it were constituted a main road, the Government would find the balance, and would advance the whole, a quarter of it to be l'epaid in ton years without interest. Those qualified to give an opinion from personal knowledge of the country say, thafr there arc no difficulties of any moment to be encountered, and only a very few miles where the construction of the road vou'.d bo expensive. Under' the most favorable circumstances many years must elapse before the railway can reach Roe.fion, but in the meantime a road ran be made that will enable Christchuroh to be reached, by coach and rail, in a day, and that

will at least supply the place of the iron horse in some degree. It is far better in tho moamvhiU) to. strive for and obtain what is attainable, than to continue to patieiitly permit .ourselves to be isolated in the way .we are at present. Let us not.be mistaken as|in any respect counselling ant abatement in the railway agitation, quite the con-' trary, but there is no reason whatever why, whilst one object is being steadily^ pursuer!, the other should not be carried out, if it can be done as easily as the Hoods Construction Act leads us to suppose. The Railway League embraces all the members of the County Council, and in connection with its special subject, it would not be out of place to consider the road question, with a view to early action. On the principle of half a doaf being bettei than no bread, a road would be a good temporary substitute, and even if it fell into disuse when the railway is formed, the good it would effect in the interval would infinitely more than compensate for its cost. Should it be decided to take any action in this direction, we must remind our readers, that all applications for aid under the above Act, must be sent in before January Ist., of the coming year.