At Paikakariki there was quite a crowd collected, the township being en fete and a number of passengers having arrived earlier by the ordinary train. Thenceforward the scenery and the character of the line are very striking and many were the exclamations of astonishment and delight from those of the travellers who had never seen such a sight before. At Waikanae groups of natives were assembled at various points, and the women hailed the approach of the train in customary fashion, waving their shawls or mats, holding out green boughs, and singing their monotonous “haeremai.” At Otaitanga a triumphal arch, composed very gracefully of Nikau fronds and branches of trees and gaily decorated with flowers, spanned the line, and as the train from Wellington passed under this at slackened speed, the train from Palmerston, bringing about 300 passengers was seen slowly approaching, and the two trains came to a standstill with their engines almost touching. The passengers then alighted. After a few minutes delay his Excellency the Governor and staff accompanied by the Premier, the Minister for Public Works, the Native Minister, the Minister for Justice, the Chairman and Directors, the General Manager, and Engineer of the Company, and the ladies of their party, advanced to a spot page 27 close to where the two trains had met, the spectators, now increased to over 1,000, ranging themselves on the sides of the cutting from whence they obtained a capital view of the ceremony of driving the last spike. When all were in position Mr. Nathan, Chairman of Directors, addressed his Excellency thus:—“Your Excellency—Permit me on behalf of the shareholders of this Company, to tender you our thanks for your presence to-day and for your kindness in consenting to drive the last spike, thus putting the finishing stroke that completes the line of railway between Wellington and New Plymouth. My Board ventured to ask you to perform this ceremony because they felt that, although this work has been and is still being carried out by a joint stock company, the work they have accomplished is of no ordinary character. They venture to esteem this work as of a colonial character originally undertaken at a time when the Government of the country practically said to the citizens of Wellington, however much we recognise of such a work being performed, it is beyond the power of the Executive Government of this colony to undertake it.' Then was aroused in the breasts of the citizens of Wellington and of the settlers of this provincial district, that feeling of selfreliance and thorough earnestness which, when directed to a good purpose, invariably leads to success. We claim that not only have we built a railway that will benefit the whole colony, but that we have set such an example to our fellow colonists of united action for the common good, that it will forever serve as a monument of well-directed energy and perseverance. It may not be out of place on this occasion to place on record a short history of our proceedings. When the Public Works Act of 1866 was first announced, the northern trunk line was laid down on the present Napier route, passing over the Rimutaka. Many Wellington citizens saw at once that such was a vital mistake; that without provision for the connection of the city by the west coast, Wellington, for all practical purposes as a commercial centre, was completely isolated and cut off from the largest and the most valuable portion of her province, as represented by the rich lands stretching from where we now stand as far as New Plymouth on the one side and the centre of the Island and Napier on the other. Despite strong representations by prominent members in Parliament no attempt was made to rectify the mistake or to recognise the claim of Wellington to have a shorter, cheaper and safer railway connection with the north than by the Rimutaka. It is to the Government, under the ministry of Sir George Grey, that Wellington is indebted for this railway. Mr. Macandrew, who was Minister for Public Works under Sir George Grey, was the first to recognise the necessity of providing a northern trunk line that would give quick and easy travelling and yield profitable returns. In 1878 and 1879 Mr. Macandrew had exhaustive surveys made which demonstrated that, by adopting a West Coast line to Palmerston, a saving of a third of the distance would be made, besides having a railway built on a much improved grade. Mr. Macandrew had such faith in the prospects of a West Coast line that he commenced the work without delay. Unfortunately after an expenditure of over £33,000, a change of Ministry having taken place, the works were stopped, and the line reported against by a Royal Commission. In face of such report there were those who, nevertheless, had faith in the line and were prepared to risk their capital and spend their time in promoting the undertaking. Foremost amongst those who took a very energetic part about this line, I should mention Mr. Travers, also Mr. Wallace, our able manager. Deputations waited upon the Cabinet representing all the advantages that would accrue to the colony by the carrying out of this work. When Sir John Hall, then Premier, pointed out that the Government had not the means to continue the good work already commenced by Mr. Macandrew he said that, if the citizens were so confident of the result of such a railway being built, they would invest their own capital, then his Government were prepared to make certain concessions if a joint stock company was formed for carrying out the work; and he would introduce page 28 a bill into Parliament to give due effect to the proposal. In a few months such a joint stock company was formed, with a capital of £500,000, and shares were taken up by the citizens of Wellington and the settlers in and around Palmerston, to the extent of £50,000. It was represented to intending shareholders at the time that they were not invited to take shares in this company as an ordinary joint stock undertaking, but they were asked to subscribe such sums as they could according to their several positions afford, without the expectation of any return, the intention being that the sum of £50,000 might be placed at the disposal of the promoters to ensure the work being carried out. However, the £50,000 was subscribed and the company was registered in 1881. The Land and Railway Construction Act was passed in the session of the same year. A contract was immediately concluded between the Government and the company and was signed on the 22nd of March, 1882. In the course of negotiations with the Government and with those whom it was deemed desirable to be in sympathy with the undertaking, so much was learned of the country through which the proposed line was to run that those who had entered into the undertaking as colonists for the good of the colony as a whole, and for the Wellington city and province in particular, saw it would prove a pecuniary success. Invitations were sent to eighteen gentlemen to meet at the Chamber of Commerce of whom thirteen attended. The contract with the Government and the prospects of the company were explained to these gentlemen and they were asked to subscribe for the maximum number of shares allowed to be held by the Articles of Association, viz., 2,000. It is a great pleasure to place on record the fact that each gentleman present for himself or for the firm he represented at once signed this paper. Here it is, signed by 13., viz.: J. E. Nathan, John Plimmer, Travers and Cave, James Lockie, N. Reid, W. R. Williams, Thompson and Shannon, James Bull, Thomas G. Macarthy, F. and C. Ollivier, J. B. Harcourt, James Smith, D. Anderson, jnr.; thus at once increasing the subscribed capital to £130,000. The work done on that day by 13 citizens of Wellington must be esteemed the most important that was ever concluded in one day in the annals of Wellington, and this particular document will be mounted and preserved as so important a document deserves to be. Within a few days of this meeting (March 23, 1882) the subscribed capital amounted to £300,000. Other citizens readily followed the worthy example set them by the 13 subscribers of this document. Most of the gentlemen who formed the first directorate are still members of it, and it is due to the efforts of these, supported most loyally by the shareholders of the company, that the railway is completed to-day. I must not forget to mention that the company is indebted to Sir Julius Vogel, who so ably acted as the first agent of the company in London, to whom was entrusted the important function of floating the first debentures amounting to £400,000, and appointing the first London board. These important matters were carried out by Sir Julius Vogel, at a time, and under circumstances, that it is believed no one else could have succeeded as he did. Our first London board consisted of Sir Penrose Julyan, Sir Edward Stafford, and the Hon. Mr. Mundella. It is to Sir Julius Vogel and to these gentlemen that the shareholders are indebted for the successful floating of the company's debentures now amounting to £560,000, the capital of the company having been increased in 1885 by the issue of further shares, so that to-day it is £700,000 in £5 shares, £75,000 being subscribed for in Wellington and other parts of the colony, and £65,000 in London.