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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 58

Our Railway, and How to Make it

page 3

Our Railway, and How to Make it.

Although the above language was put by Milton into the month of Satan, in the latter's address to the angels who "had lost their first estate," and had fallen, in hopeless ruin, into the bottomless pit, we do not thereby insinuate, either that our readers are fallen angels, or that there is anything of an absolutely hopeless nature in the prospect of the ultimate formation of our railway, or that there is anything diabolical in the advice which we purpose submitting in these pages. These words are used merely to imply that the Bay of Plenty settlers should be up and doing, and no longer, like Mr. Micawber, remain "waiting till something turns up." In other words let them be the engineers of their own fortune, by making their railway themselves. This, after a few preliminary remarks, we propose to show how they may accomplish.

We, that is, the settlers aforesaid, have been kept 011 the tenterhooks of railway expectation for a number of years. We have boon repeatedly assured on good authority that the capital (or our Railway was all subscribed by London syndicates. Years ago railway matters were said to be so far advanced that the rolling stock was being prepared, and first and second class railway carriages on the point of being shipped hither. Then, when the London gentlemen still delayed making any sign, we were told that it win because they were out of town, or because the money market was tight. These were certainly very curious coincidences—when the money market was slack the London gentlemen, went out of town: when these gentlemen returned to town the money market was tight. Still nothing came of it; and still we continued doing really hard work by trying to account for the delay, and "maintain our souls in patience."

Ultimately, that is to say, more than a year ago, there arrived in our midst a gentleman, ostensibly accredited, as their contractor, by a new London syndicate, who were said to have taken in hand the certain floating of our railway. We seemed then to see the silver lining through a rift in the cloud of depression, with which we had been so long enveloped. Some of us even thought the railway as good as made. The Contractor has now been with us for more than a year. Every requisite concession demanded by the London gentlemen from our local Railway Company, and Colonial Government, has been granted; including a most valuable land concession, extension of time for proving, by a substantial money deposit, that they are a bona fide syndicate,; including, further, agreement by the local Company to transfer their whole right, title and interest to the London gentlemen,: and, last of all, including the deliberate suicide of the local Company by their going into voluntary liquidation. And; after making such tremendous concessions to people about whose monetary pos-tion we know absolutely nothing: in a word, after selling our birthright of 225,000 acres of land, worth, probably, £3 per acre, we get after long, and weary waiting, our mess of pottage in the shape of— page 4 advice—we are advised, to maintain our souls in patience for another hitch has occurred.

We may state that, previous to this last hitch, when the local Railway Company were discussing the expediency of committing suicide by passing special resolution for liquidation, one of the local shareholders insisted that it be a condition, precedent to liquidation, that the London gentlemen refund all local outlay. Although the close occurrence of two things in point of time is not necessarily to be taken as proof of cause and effect, yet this raises a strong causal presumption. Therefore, we may say that, this hitch, occurring so soon after the stipulation for payment of local outlay, entitles us to assume that, probably, the hitch is the consequence of that demand. We are therefore, in all likelihood, greatly indebted to the local shareholder who brought the matter to an issue by compelling the London gentlemen to admit that they are not prepared to pay the two or three thousand pounds of local expenditure. We may say further that, probably, but for this stroke of sound policy, we would have been continually advised to "maintain our souls in patience" until the arrival of the last day for depositing the required bonae fidei guarantee of £25,000, when, doubtless, another, and final, hitch would have occurred, and the money would not have been deposited.

It has been said that the London promoters will take their own time, and will not trouble themselves about the interests, convenience, or wishes of the people here, (from whom they got such a valuable land concession). They certainly have done so, and, probably, but for the demand for payment of local outlay, would have continued to do so. It has also been said that persons who have invested money, and arranged for settlement here, on the faith of the formation of this Railway, did so with their eyes open, and have only themselves to blame if they have made a mistake. These are views of the matter which we entirely, repudiate. A large district is not to be kept in a state of chronic, unrest and uncertainty; the value of property here is not to be kept year after year in an abnormal condition: a large tract of land in the district is not to be kept locked up: settlers are not to be kept, year after year, cropping and stocking, to supply the wants of a promised influx of population; the district is not to run the risk of "falling between two stools" when the railway estimates come on in Parliament; and the public generally are not to be induced to cast their lot, invest their capital, and waste their time in this district, in order that a few London gentlemen, who, for aught we know, are not capitalists, may have a chance of dividing some £225,000, the proceeds of the sale of our railway land concession.

Under the circumstances, therefore, it behoves all the settlers in the Bay of Plenty district to seriously consider the position of this railway affair: to determine to adopt an active railway policy of their own for the future; and, if a scheme be submitted, by which our district may obtain immediate railway facilities, to unite, unanimously and heartily, in bringing that scheme to a successful issue. We, of course, assume, what we think every Bay of Plenty Settler will admit, that the speedy formation of our Railway is, of all things, the most sential to the prosperity of our district. We propose, in the following pages, to submit to our readers such a