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as being strongly in favoui' of the 3 ft. 6 in. gauge. It was best adapted 

 to tbe conformation of the country, and more svxitable to the traffic there. 

 The single line of railway, which he had not heard referred to, might 

 possibly be found of use in parts of this country. The borrowing 

 of large sums might some day land the country in anything but a solvent 

 position, and he thought it wise that all available information should be 

 collected before the construction of new works was iindertaken. 



The Rev. Mr. Stuart said that railways were the life of a country, 

 and they had arrived at that stage when something practical should be 

 done, but he did not believe that they could get good railways constructed 

 at a low price. 



The Chairman said that the " battle of the gauges " was occupying the 

 attention of the ablest engineers in the home country. Some of the most 

 eminent men were ranged on both sides, and no doubt both parties were 

 acting on opinions drawn from their own experience. But, as colonists, 

 he thought they had to consider what best suited them, indejDendent of 

 England, Norway, or any other country. He thought, considering the 

 conformation of the colony, that there would be considerable diversity of 

 opinion in the different provinces with respect to the advantages of the 

 different gauges. The gauge of the Canterbury Railway was 5 ft. 3 in., that 

 of the Southland Railway 4 ft. 8| in., and that of Otago, whose confor- 

 mation was different from that of those provinces, would, he thovight, be 

 of another width. Here the country was different from the plains of 

 Canterbury. It was hilly, and they would have to carry their railway into 

 the interior to reach the centres of mining and farming. In the narrow 

 gauge there was a saving in the cutting. The carriages were spread 

 over a greater length than on the wide gauge, and the weight was there- 

 fore distributed over a greater area — hence the bridges need not be so 

 strongly constructed. The question was whether the population of New 

 Zealand could bear the cost of the proposed lines. Mr. Barr's common 

 sense views would, he thought, act as correctives to those who were more 

 enthusiastic. 



Mr. Barr, in reply, said he would consider an engineer veiy culpable 

 who stated ^dews which coiild not be borne out by figures. He certainly 

 could not tell upon what grounds Mr. Bathgate had founded his views, 

 and he adhered to the opinion that the 4 ft. 8^ in. gauge was the best for 

 the country. 



