RAILWAY MANAGEMENT.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16148, 28 February 1918, Page 7

RAILWAY MANAGEMENT.

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

CRITICISM

j At the quarterly meotintr of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, held ' ve;,tordav afternoon, tho address of the I president (Mr C. H. Hewlett) dealt j lamely with railway matters. In the ! course of his remarks Mr Hewlett said: • The matter of increased port charges, ; placing C'hristohtirch and Lyttelton j traders at a disadvantage when com- ! peting with other ports having wharves j not connected by railway, lias been ' considered by the Council, and the • General Manager of Railways has been I written to. A reply was received that j trie, matter would havo consideration, j and the sub-committee having the mat- | tor in hand lias written again on the i subject. The practice of tho Railway | Department- in giving qualified receipts ! for goods when tho trucks are wet, | though the goods were loaded in dry I weather, has been the subject of cor--1 ie-pondencf with the General Manager 1 of Railways. A most unsatisfactory reply was received entirely at variance with facts, and tho Council is taking up the matter atiitin with the General Manager. The Chamber took part in the meeting to urge tho Railway Department to reinstate tho 0.15 and £>.-15 p.m. trains between Lyttelton and Christchurch. ft is satisfactory to note that arrangements havo now bear, made for the trains to run, and they commenced on the 18th inst. Now that this obstacle to the loading of oversea .shipping at Lyttelton has been removed, the Railway administration, evidently determined not to Iv beaten, have decided to place only throe men in a truck instead of four when unloading certain foodstuffs into an overseas ship, and f am informed that this wiij increase the time of loading fully 25 per cent. The increase by the Railway Department in the charge for storage at country station-: has received consideration. and the matter has been referred to a committee to ro into and make representations to the Minister of Railways. The Railway authorities have recently brought in a regulation enabling a double charge to be made on all goods packcd for distribution, for the purpose, it is supposed, of increasing the revenue bv splitting consignments up into small parcels in order to charge tho minimum rate on any small lots. In order to avoid the double charge it has become necessary for consignees to make out several consignment notes instead of bulking them in one. This means increased work for each consignor and an enormous amount of extra work for the railway staff at a time when, according to the General Manager, the. staff is already heavily overworked. If more revenue is required, why not collect it in a manner loss expensive to the Department and to the general public. I should like to say that many local Railway officials are doing their best to minimise the trouble, but do what thoy can, they aro undble to carry out the system without a lot of extra labour, both to business people and to themselves.

After referring to other subjects, Mr Hewlett said, in conclusion: —1 am sorry most of my report refers to railway shortcomings, which harass and tend to strangle the commerce and trade of Canterbury, but the Council's time during the past three months has been occupied with little else. I think this Chamber should deman<] that the administration of the Canterbury railways should immediately be placed in efficient hands (there are plenty of capable men in the service) in order to protect the public and prevent a further unnecessary rise in the cost of living. What is the use 9f the Government setting up an Efficiency Board to see that business people run their affairs on sound lines, whilst somo of their own State enterprises are being conducted in the most costly and unbusinesslike manner. When the efficiency of our trade and commerce is being interfored with by a State Department in a time like this, either intentionally or through bungling, it is the duty of the Chamber to malte the matter publicTherefore I consider tho time has now arrived when this Chamber should de j mand that an independent comittee be set up to enquire into tho working of the New Zealand Railways. THE DISCUSSION. Mr G, Gerard referred to hardships felt by country residents in connexion with the storage charge, in the Coalgate district tnere was only one traction engine to do all the haulage from the station, and traction engines were not allowed to uso the roads in wet weather. It was considered that in the circumstances no storage should be charged for a reasonable period. An alteration had been made also in the assessment of tho freight on timber, which militated against the uso of tho railways. On the motion of Mr H. S. Bourn, the matter brought up by Mr Gerard was referred to the Kailway Committee. Several members spoke regarding the difficulties experienced by tho Chamber in getting anomalies on the railways remedied. Mr H. H. Smith thought that they could safely say that the railway system was in a state of bungle; ho did not think that the authorities knew what they were doing. They had reduced their staff, and had taken such extraordinary steps to make up the shortage in revenue that one could hardly realise that they were real business men. Mr H. J. Marriner said that when alterations in railway matters were suggested they found themselves right up against the political element. "We shall have to have commissioners with full control over the different Government concerns so that the whole of the political trouble can be eliminated," he said. The Mayor (Mr H. Holland) said he was satisfied that the railways were not run for the convenience of the public, but the people were run for the convenience of the railways. It was decided to enlarge tho Railway Committee by five members, their selection being left to the president and the chairman of the committee.