108

will decide whether this is or is not to be the
position of the Province; and I would
respectfully suggest that His Excellency
should be advised to suspend his judgment
on the resolutions for a time. There are
other reasons for such a course. The objec-
tions urged in the Provincial Council and
out of doors are, doubts as to the quantity
and quality of Crown Lands to be rendered
accessible and improved in value by such a
work, and as to the cost of the work itself.
Our present knowledge of the country is
imperfect, and whether rich gold fields are
found or not we are certain to increase
that knowledge very fast as the summer
comes on by means of the tracks now in pro-
gress, and the exhaustive prospecting which
is going on. Nearly every new line that is
cut through the forest opens new indications
of mineral wealth, and indications of a coal
field have appeared on the Upper Buller
near the River Owen, one of its tributaries.
Fresh approaches to the main valley are
moreover being discovered from time to time.
I think it quite possible that a very short
period may place the question beyond reason-
able doubt, and satisfy all parties as to the
propriety of the undertaking. If the gold
fields prove extensively attractive, it might
be wise to proceed quickly with such a work;
and I should regret having caused by my
hesitation any obstacle in the way of
colonising the interior of the Province. On
the other hand, I am not prepared with my
present information to be a party to incurring
a debt which would cripple the resources of
the Province, if its now unsettled districts
should soon be cut off.

I have, &c.,

J. P. ROBINSON,

Superintendent.

P.S.—I enclose copy of the Minutes of
Evidence taken before the Committee of the
Provincial Council.

Colonial Secretary\'s Office, Auckland,
August 26, 1863.

His Honor
THE SUPERINTENDENT,
Nelson.

SIR,—I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of your letter of the 14th instant, in
which your Honor encloses a copy of Resolu-
tions passed by the Provincial Council of
Nelson in favor of the construction of a Rail-
way into the interior of the Province, and
the raising a loan of £300,000 for the pur-

pose. Your Honor further suggests that
His Excellency should be advised to suspend
his judgment on the Resolutions for a time,
as the lapse of a few months or even weeks
will probably determine whether there are
gold fields in the districts to be opened by
the Railway of sufficient extent and value to
justify the proposed "outlay," and will also
place the public in possession of such an in-
crease of knowledge as to the mineral capa-
bilities of the district in other respects, and
the quantity and quality of the lands to be
made accessible, as may satisfy all parties of
the propriety of the undertaking.

After a careful perusal of the Report of
the Council and the evidence taken by the
Select Committee of the Provincial Council,
as well as of the debates in the Council, and
the discussions on the subject at public meet-
ings and in the public prints, I am com-
pelled to conclude that the advisability of
contracting so large a loan for the Railway
is at present, to say the least, very question-
able.

It certainly appears to me that the ad-
vocates of the Railway, who advance many
undeniable generalities as to the advantages
of railways, do not succeed when they set
themselves to measure in figures those of the
one proposed, in showing that the latter are
an equivalent for what must be set off against
them, viz:—the large original outlay; the
cost of the working and keeping it
in repair; and the payment of so large an
annual interest on the borrowed capital.
With every disposition to take a hopeful
view of the matter, and to admit the correct-
ness of the estimates of the extent and value
of the lands to be made accessible, formed by
those most favorable to the project, I cannot
think that it has yet been shown that there is
much probability that the increase of revenue
of any kind to be produced by the Railway
would for many years equal the interest that
would have to be paid on the loan. But
surely, unless this could be satisfactorily
shown, Government would not be justified by
any representations, however forcible, of the
general results of Railways in other countries
and under different circumstances, in saddling
so large a debt upon the people of Nelson. If
indeed the Provincial Government had other
revenues of its own, amply sufficient to
guarantee its ability to meet these additional
liabilities, the case would be different. But
apart from the revenue, direct or indirect, to
arise from the Railway, an approximation to
the amount of which at all events ought to be
attainable in figures, it does not appear that
the Province of Nelson has any revenue
sufficient for this purpose.