The Alternative Railway Routes.

It may be remembered that the Summer Road Commission of 1854 mentioned two possible lines of railway, viz::—(1) From a deep-water harbour in Gollan's Bay through Sumner Valley to Heathcote Ferry and thence to Christchurch, and (2) a direct line from Lyttelton to Christchurch. The then Superintendent (Mr. J. E. Fitzgerald) was strongly in favour of the direct line, if a railway were to be constructed, but the present Provincial Council considered that further advice was desirable, and recommended the Superintendent to obtain the services of a competent engineer from England to report upon the best means of effecting railway communication. (It may be mentioned here that both Mr. Bray and Mr. Dobson had had considerable engineering experience in England and elsewhere before coming to New Zealand.)