RAILWAY MUDDLEMENT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 670, 22 November 1909, Page 9

RAILWAY MUDDLEMENT.

' Sir,—Wo have recently h?ard a great deal of 1 reforms to be made in our railway 'nianagomeiit,. and I should say, if the management is , anything on a i>ar in other parts: of the Do- I minion to what; it' is: in this particular district ] then it ishigh time someono-stirred themselves. 1 m point, and ono I think it, tixhethe j attention of the Government, was called to, is that at the present time, and for some fdur\ i months back, t the tradespeople'of Hastings, havo .found it a material, saving to. have their goods i carted from the Napier breakwater to here, in place of getting them by rail. Now; sir, the distance by rail is _ 12 miles, by road 14 miles, and'despite, this difference .we find it: cheaper to have our goods 6artod, and every day huge wagons, . besides other, vchiclesi may bo seen wending their , way to Hastings with what ought .to be broiight>by "rail. Is it any wonder some of •'our ; railways do not pay? It would; I think, be very interesting reading the returns for, this particular portion of the line, for the last 1 four, months, and the corresponding four months last'year. Possibly the Department will wake up!some, of theso.times ,and try and find out . where thoir business-has gone.- Had the. line in: question belonged toja private company they would'have been twitted all round, and been the laughing stock-, of the Dominion had. they conducted their -business in l this manner, and justly eo. But,, sir,'our beautiful.Government, sit down and permit this to go on with- 1 out an effort to! save, the thousands..of. pounds that aro going awayi from them, and the peopln to whom the railways belong. Hoping you will kindly grant me space in your columns to call !tlie ; attention of the authorities to this wretched condition of affairs, and givfe : the tradespeople of this'town a chanco of getting something like justice.—l am, etc., - STOREKEEPER. Hastinss, November 18. 1909.