HOSTILE TO TRAMS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 854, 28 June 1910, Page 6

HOSTILE TO TRAMS.

FOR HUTT VALLEY. PUBLIC MEETING'S RESOLUTION. Tho attendance at the meeting m the Lower Hutt Town Hall, last night, for tho purpose of combating the proposal to establish a tramway system in tho Hutt 3 Vulley was a large oik;. Major M'Donald moved:— "That this meeting is thoroughly : convinced tiiat the tiiuo is not yet ' ripo for including this borough in a r combined electrical tramway scheme, 3 involving an initial expenditure of ! JiS.i.UOO, aad which would servo a por- ( tion of the district only, and at tho same time add. considerably to tho heavy burden already on the shoul--1 ders of the ratepayers, and the public debt of the borough; also, that this t meeting urges the ratepayers of this 5 sub-4isu'ict to vote against tho pro- ' posa.l."i. In moving the above motion, Major ! M'Donald said he held it to be his duty . as a ratepayer to oppose tho scheme - which would to before them on AVednes--3 day. He cDuld not see how it would pay. Comparing the traffic revenue of ' 100 -tramways in Great Britain with the 3 present proposal, it would be found that ' the revenue worked out to 12s. Ijd. per head, ' as against tho Hutt Valley. Tram way V Boa-rd's«stiiuateof ilper head per annum, f The board's argument from the experiincut of Wurigauui was besides the question, as Wauganni only paid interest on ; <£-IG,OOO, whereas tho Hutt would have to meet the interest on a loan of ,£85,000, a difference of J23i],000. As to the route, what was the use of running a tram along ' the main Hutt. Road between the two J stations, when they had the train ser- . vice, which adequately served the pur- ' pose? Tho track to tho Hutt Park would bo another white elephant, and an en- ' cumbrancc to the ratepayers. J Mr. J. "W. Eeade, in seconding tho ' motion, said that the old horso trams did not pay in Wellington, with a popu-. lation of 30,000. How could they expect an up-to-date system to pay in a popu- \ lalioii of G000? As to Wanganui, if he ; were allowed to probe. into the working ' expenses of that system, ho would bring ! back a different tale from that told by '" tho board. [ Mr. C. W. Adams, a member of the 1 Hutt Valley Tramway Board, said the ■ scheme had.been worked out by both tho borough engineers, Mr. Cook and Mr. ! Rix-Trott, with other, experts. It , was I not tho board's object to force anything * upon tho ratepayers, and they would 1 have the opportunity of accepting or re- ; jecting it at the poll. He wished it to ' be clearly understood that tho board was 1 acting wholly, and solely 'in the interests of the ratepayers. The motion was carried by a large ] majority. Mr. H. Sladden w.as in the chair. 3 . -