The Hon. MrMitehelson, who appears to be unaccountably hostile to anything pertaining to the welfare and progress of the Thames and up-country districts, made another of his periodical attacks on the Thames-Te Aroha, railway in the House of Representatives on Wednesday night. The hon. gentle man is ho well-known for his bitter animosity towards this district that no one resident in our midst will, we feel sure, be surprised at anything he might say. At the same time it would be manifestly unfair if his uncalled for and absolutely unfair statements regarding the Thames- Te Aroha railway were permitted to pass unchallenged, notwithstanding that the vote for the line was carried by 28 to 10. Mr Mitchelson, we are informed, said that "the expenditure proposed for the present year was not in the inter ests of the colony, so much as that of keeping up a large number of unem ployed, and for electioneering pur poses, while he specially condemned the construction of the Grabamstown- Te Aroha railway." Mr Mitchelson must assuredly have an unduly high opinion of himself should he think for one moment that the people of New Zealand will be prepared to swallow his bold assertion that the expenditure proposed for the present year is not in the interests of the colony. He has himself been in office, and doubtless knows from experience how much money has been squandered on public works for electioneering purposes, but we think that the hon. gentleman's action in imputing such dishonest motives to the Ballance Administration will but have the effect of recoiling upon himself, and will not by any means improve the feeling of the mass of the people towards him. His un justifiable attack on our railway con tains nothing new, as Mr Mitchelson does not appear to possess much originality. He uses the same old stereotyped phrase that it " will not even pay grease for the wheels," being apparently quite oblivious of the fact that the up-country district has made wonderfully rapid strides lately, and that the continuation of the line which now terminates at Te Aroha on to Paeroa, and eventually the Thames, must inevitably have the effect of making the whole line more remunerative than it can ever be at present. The thanks of the residents of the Peninsula are due to the Hon. 