as , the lie^efilting' bf one or; tWo'men^ so ]Bfig '"as v 'tneVobionial iniJerest h seryeld,' 1 shoul^ Weigh. Moreover, $tti'ougb? : 'the 'central, 'route, is tttfougb Crown land, the' value of that Crown land, as is well known, can ,never be yery, great; and consequently the >mere'open ing of it up will confer no appreciable; /benefit- 'ilpon the dolony. 1 Following MrSblanders came Mr J. C. Biohmond, who ex pressed the belief that before the Public Works (statement was de livered the technical advisers of the Government had* made! up.th^ir mind on the subject of the route, Inamelyj that;iti should, be-by the East Coast, and then very incon : sistently went on to say that he had no doubt that Mr Blair, m report ing" m favor of the East Coast line, had, no doubt, acted m compliance ■with his instructions. Mrßiohmond 'then wsiit on to say that 'whilst -Mr Blair expressed himself, m favor of the coast route he at the same tisie ;swd that " if the point was to make the line useful to the north of the South Island.the route was by the Hanmer and Acheron, with forks from the Tophouse to Nelson and Pictbn." This is easily admitted. Mr Blair was referring to Nelson, asd. there oan be no. doubt that,ii the point was to make the line use ful to Nelson it. should take thai direction, just as if the point was tc make, tb;e. main. trunk line useful tc thereat Coast, it should go; by th( Coast. But it must be borne m mind that Mr Blair pronounces very, deoidedly m favor of the coasl line, and,: as Mr Biohmond. himsell admitted, said that although tht extension via Tophouse would b( the most useful to ; Nelson,. " thii consideration must give; way for th< othe,r route, which, m the' interesi of the colony, was the better line.' Dwelling on the question of th( time that would be lost m transii by the central route, Mr Eiohmpnc argued that " with .the line bifur eating at the Tophouse to Piotoi and Nelson, the line to Nelsor would ba hyjaflr tht mqtt rapid wai of getting to Auckland, Twm.aU .and-p Jorge vprfym. of, the Nortl 'hUndr- ; In*'tbis * argument ; M] Eichmond 1 has let 'slip the v rea reason why the Nelson people ar< agitating so much for the. 