The Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1878

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 11, 7 December 1878, Page 2

The Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1878

Thb meeting to taice place on Monday evening is of such importance that it behoves every settler m the district to strain a point to be present. The first question to be dealt with, will no doubt, be the bringing some pressure to bear m order to get the Government to make a start m the matter ", and; the second, an expression of opinion aa to. its best route,' It is psetty generally «apwn that a certain amount p,t rivalry and jealqusly e««t« between PeAmerstpsi and Foxton as to what part o| %i West Coa.stthe W©M^-gton lin,e should tap, but \n the discussion qf. t^e matter. ea.ch route shoijldoe' considered upon its. intrinsic merits, iyrespective of, and unbiassed bj, party views ojr 1qc»1 prejudices. It is now exactly three months ■ince Messrs, SiKWi^T and JjLsoflVß. made a 'frying survey of the proppised line, starting from Fiteherberi and Foxton> although the public were, led to believe that the information supplied by those gentlemen *&& to be further supplementfld, unfortunataly that, like, many other, promises of the Government, was'^eYer carded into effect, thos.e pircum^tances, then f) m dealing with Jlie rjval c^ims, we are forced to a decision iftpon the data given by those gentlemen, qn<^ m, order to. prepare the minds o,f pu,? readers and the spoak^ers^ we reprove, tt m, our columns, as fpllows. :— % have the honor to. report that I have exan\ined the country betw.eon, the \yaika-. : nae and Manawatu, Bikers, with a tlow to determine: a route foe a p^Qp,os.od railway.. The an£ejjed plan shovrs \t» approximate course. Eoxton is the nearest place w,here ,t4 conn,ect it ttith ihe Pa.fcea-Man.aviiatu, railway j % rouja vme Fitzhe^bett an,4 Pal- ; merttqn jjort Ii has also been examined, and is shown on th.c p^n. |Vpm the. Waikanaa . its length would be %hpu.t 32 miles to Foxx to.n Wharf, and 4Ti m U«* *? Palmerston station. For 25 miles this, ling isro^uld tra- . verse easy country ,' at first at the. foot of, 'and then on tha low undulating terrace whjch atretchej from, near Waikanae to. th? townihrn af F^t*he^bert, heiw^cn, th* fppt ' 0/ . the' ?.rst \p^r range of the. Tararua 5"V 9 a,n,d the lakes an 4 avranxpa. oi the sea coast th> : llauft^at^ Biver ; nowhere wowd it xiflp. vapie than, 100 feet; abp.re sea vivid, cftsjf gradea and curTejl ca.^ ba obtained, wUh UfibJ formation. The. Waikanae, Ota.ki, and. Qhau are the prin.ciipa^ rivers, t a be. croef^—'ifv four, seven, and three 60---fee| apan^ restpecjurelj ;, they hgve «hb)gle b.ifdsj . v^ijth w.eli Refined' banks, andj car*y l^rge. quantities of timber- in -floods j. pileß, yc\eb,! fioavy •hoes, will drive tjell. ift all.. There, are also, about a duzen smaller at roams, which, nQt eni<aU any exp.ensiTfa w.ork, With 'tt& e^ceptwni of the few pjd, c4eA?W|[9 Bhown/t-hfl .^hole eo.u.htry m coreyed, w,i.th Jight b.ush.^ totara ,^ro,^s near the sites pf tho Qtaki and Qhau bridges. Grny;e\ fp^bails^t occura bet^eiin th» VYaikanae an^.Qtaki, at Werdwliftiiga clearing, ftwiftt the AYfrerpa clearing behwd; 4|oroH hen ufl Lake.' At the; 22nd mile the line branches^Okff towards Foxton^ ajj^ onteru the 25th nwle, tha' •Vamjisr of tip) iHaa^iyatu, heavy Tjrorkt pf emba.nß>m»nt and] bridging will be required to get pver the flooded country aad, the J^anawatu.l^ivej', for which large spans, on cy^nd,ers ? with * s.winging-. bri,dge fpjp^Ti^otu'yiraj baire. b& PTOvided, Tb^e, river, protection •n.d;reelft m Atipn vrilV have to, b>. 90^11^ frc^nj, wharf to, t% ferry. j From th* 23rdV mile-- the wvu^e-to, Palmers>pn coflti^u^on lite terrace which; ba» comet rather mojre broken, especially betweerT the 26th and 38th miles,- over th,e >tr«»mßj w.hUh may brossed; bjf 40 feel j spans,. Mnti) at 4£nd mile ijj reaches, the east earner of Fit^berbert ohjttrinfl, »ixd ihsu. iv«W thd^ougli t^ J^airangt, Native Re., serv^ over tho atream (40-. feet span) to th.^.l^aoawata. Biircr. wh,ici»it croises ab^ut 2J^ uaUos.' belp,w tha fpad; bridge, aud thence to Paluieruton, sjta.tion. Nowfhtjja p».th,e. Palnjerston roflte:^ ytOMld, the |iw Vfi?- h^glieif .t^';ttbp.u^ >4Wft %t above '■»W>Vei^.aad;-eßsigr,g»cJea *ndrurvei. can be pbtained wUhoMt ui.uch ;!«Wk.. Qn the hist :pp>rip)i tjha flfift be heavier; an,d tha bridging lighter^ that^ on ll^r^^ ipilest. Thecrps^iujj oi the Mupuwntu «nd the flpo'deU. country on ihyi ■line will be-lere expensive, a.» 80-feet spaiii Vlttbf sufflciehi, arid; navigation t^m hiave tpl be; specially pirpvid>tl for. • An apprbxiniate,^eflti.inftteaihpws; that the. railw.ay : frpm : \Vaiklin«iei *6 cannot bo made under £190,000, and that from Waikanae 'to Palmeifston^uiider £220^000^

In connection with these lines it may be of interest to point out that if the comparatively easy private railways, from Carnarvon to Sandon and from Sandon to Eangitikei (are made, the distance by rail between Foxton and Wanganui will be shortened 19 miles. Before proceeding to contrast the difficulties and advantages of the two routes, we must oertuinly take exception to the last paragraph of the report, which is altogether outside the question, and to which reference should never, have been made by either engineer. The Sandon and Carnarvon line is entirely a private spaculatioji, which may or may not be constructed, and the Government engineers had no right to introduce it into a report with which it had no connection. From these re* marks it must not be inferred that we are inimical to, the Sandon line; far from, it, we wish it every success ; but we do think that the uncalled-for reference looks, very much like the outcome of self-interest. In dealing with the two routes by contrast, we will nepes* sarily have to travel pver the same ground as when the report first made its appearance, and from it will be seen that while the line to, Eitzherbert would, pass throng^ splendid land, with easy grades.' and few curves — nowhere rising highef than 200 feet above the level of the sea — that to Foxton will require heavy works of embankment and bridging to get over the flooded country and the Manawfttu River, for which Jarge. spans with, oy^uders, with a swing bridge for navigation, will have to be provided ; beside which, the river protection and reclamation would have to be. continued from the wharf to the ferry, it is stated that to reach Palmer T ston, a railway 47J miles, would have to b.e constructed ; while Foxton i.s, but 32 miles from Waikauae, the difference m expense being £220(000 against £190,000. Now, m comparing the benefits to be derived from eac^, it is not necessary to start further, back than the twenty-rthird m,ile'po,s.t, an,«l then we fiid that seven, miles., through swamps and sandhills, b-ring us to Foxton. The route, to. Balmerston, it must be admitted, is 15.? miles longer than its rival, hut parses, thremgh £ip)endid country t costs hut £30,00P more, and cqnseq,i^ently can be constructed for less than £30OQ a mile. The matter, then, narrows itself down to the f,olk>wfng issue : — Seven mJLles hAV;O to be constructed through a. comparative desert, beset with «xj)ensiYe engineering difficulties, only to rejich p, point from whence no country can be> opened, and 9Qnseq,aently its, further, utility ceases^ Qn the other hand, by the Palmeiigton. route the maximum of ad^ 'vantage can he obtained a,t the minimum, of co*t, and an, entirely new a,nd fertile d\Btr;ot broyght w^thi^ reach of tfee CapitaV