THE RAILWAY COMMISSIONERS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1946, 17 September 1888, Page 4

THE RAILWAY COMMISSIONERS

: *- The delay which has occurred and is occurring m connection with the appointment of tho Railway Commissioners is exceedingly unsatisfactory. Nearly a year has elapsed since Parliament passed the Act providing for the transference of the management of the railways to a :' triumvirate, of whom one was to he imported from Home and tho others selected m the colony, and still the old regime is going on, and we seem to be ; no nearer the appointment of the Board than we were three, or six, or even nine months ago. And the worst of it is that during this transitionary stage m the history of our railways it appears quite impossible to get any grievance redressed, any anomaly rectified, any cause oi friction removed, any shortcom ing remedied, the one invariable official answer to all representations as to the necessity for any of these things being that, pending reference to the Commissioners about to brf appointed, it is not expedient to make any alterations. Some parts of tha colony, whose unfinished railways are becoming grass • grown, huve long boon accustomed to the bitterly sarcastic legend painted m black upon white boards at all the road crossings : " Stop —Look out for the Engine," and, of course, to the disregarding of the first part of tho injunction because it would be vain to look out . for an engine that never has come yet and that does not appear to be likely to come this year, or next year, or the year after that; but now it would seem that officialdom m the Railway Department might just as well paint up for the behoof of all those who desire to bring any complaints forward, or to secure any amendment m the working of our railways, " Stop—Look out for the Commissioners." Positively we begin to think that the Minister for Railways must have fallen so much m love with the policy of " Labor and Wait," recommended by the head of the Government as to have adopted the latter half of it as the motto of his department m its dealings with the public, and par ticularly m relation to the appointment or non-appointment of the Commissioners. But the public are getting tired of this sort of thing, and are beginning to think that there has already been waiting enough, and that it is high time that some action were taken. Of course we are quite well aware that it is represented that Sir Dfllon Bell can't get a suitable man for Chief Commissioner for the salary offered—£2,soo a year —but we confess that we swallow that statement with a very considerable pinch of salt, and are half inclined to suspect that it is not deßired that a man should be obtained from Homo but tha* eventually the whole Board — Chief, as well as Assistant-Commis-sioners, Bhould be appointed from among men already m the colony. Rumor has, indeed, often indicated from whom the selection is to be made, the names suggested being the following, viz,, Messrs Maxwell, Hannay, O'Connor, Stead, E. G. Wright, and the Hon J5. Richardson. Now, if this guess is anything like near the mark, it follows that the v^g£ihree appointees must be selected from among the first five gentlemen, inasmuch as the Disqualification Act bars the appointment of Mr Kichardson while a member of the House, or for twelve months after his ceasing to be a member. Of these five the first named should certainly be struck out, for Mr Maxwell's management, however able, has unquestionably been exceedingly unpopular, and the general feeling is that to place him m an almost irresponsible position for a term of years would be a fatal mistake. Mr Hannay, on tho contrary, thoroughly enjoys public confidence, and if a Chief Commissioner cannot be obtained from England or America, we should be quite content to see him placed m that position, though ia that case a salary of £1200 a year —a very substantial increase upon his present emolument—should amply suffice for his remuneration, the Assistant Commissioners receiving £1000 a year each. For the Assistant-Commissionerships no better men could be found m the colony than Messrs Stead and Wright. The former is a business man of great intelligence, who thoroughly understands the requirements of commerce, as his speeches, at the Chamber of Commerce show:,, and who would be able to frame a tariff which would secure the maximum of freight for the lines ; and the latter has had experience m the management as well as m the construction of railways, which,, added to his intimate acquaintance with the chief industries of the colony, renders him of all men specially eligible for a place on the Board. We do not know whether either or both of these gentlemen would accept office, but if they would then, with Mr Hannay as chief, they would form an excelleut Commission. Failing either of them, we should like to see some other business man appointed, as otherwise officialdom will be far too strongly represented, Seeing that the Chief Commissioner has a power of veto upon the decisions of the Assistant Commissioners, and m his own person, therefore, practically- exercises the equivalent of three votes. It is high time the matter were decided, and, again we say, that if a Commission is to be appointed consisting wholly of ■colonial men, then the Government cannot do better than make the selection we have named, viz,, Messrs Hannay, Stead, and Wright.