TRAMS FOR HUTT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 855, 29 June 1910, Page 6

TRAMS FOR HUTT.

THE SCHEME DEFENDED. MR. M'EWAN INDIGNANT. Mr. J. W. M'Ewan, clrairman of tho Hurt Valley Tramway Hoard ami Mayor of l'otoue, was the principal speaker at a meeting held in (ho 'I'own Hall, Lower Hutt, last night, for tin- purpose of explaining (ho trarmpy scheme, en which a poll is (o bo taken to-day, anil answering objections that havo been made. Other members of the board on tht platform wore: Messrs. J. T. Hawthorn (presiding), H. Baldwin, and R. , Stevens. About GO persons composed the audience. Mr. M'Ewan said that the board had given the people of the Hutt tramway district every opportunity of freely and fully discussing the proposal. Some months ago, a public meeting was held, and no particular objection was then made to the scheme whicli was laid before that meeting. In fuel, il was added to, as the result.of a request made by tlie meeting, the addition being the Hutt Park extension, which was the line now especially objected to. Surely, if anybody was (o be blamed for that part i>f the scheme, it should be the meeting ho had referred *o, and not tho bo:ird. He-regretted that it should bo necessary for him to state that during his U years' rosideuce in the district he had maintained an unblemished reputation. Ho said this in view of what had been stated in a circular which practically charged him with an attempt to plunder the public of (he district. He could scarcely find words strong enough to express himself on this matter. Ho. wafi a strong believer in the principle of betterment, and the board had power under the Hutt Vallcv Tramways Act to negotiate with landowners or others for sums of money to be advanced by them as capital to the board or by way of annual payment.-. If he hud thti opportunity he would see tlmt efforts were made to take advantage of it. It was remarkable that many ot the opponents of the schema a_lso opposed tho betterment principle. Going into the iinances of the scheme, Mr. M'TJwnn said that one expert had said the system would c05t',.£37,(100 to put down, and another said .£85,000. On American figures it should bo. .£37,000,. but the board knew it must be more here, and aecepled the estimate of its experts, .E55.000. The. difference was due to tlie tariff wages. The estimate of the engineers for tho cost of *he permanentway wns JE3735 per mile, and the cost in England was .tlolS per mile. Overhead equipment was estimated at JCIIOS per mile, and the cost of similar equipment in England was .£1)00 per mile. The per-manent-way would cost much more if it was paved, but this was not contemplated. Mr. Uoodman, who knew I'etone, and who was now manager of the tramways at Adelaide, had said that the tramway could be constructed at the cost as shown in the estimate adopted by the board, and that the receipts should be 225. Gd. per head per annum. He would pin his ■ faith to Mr. Goodman rather than any other expert who might come along. "There's only one expert here," remarked Mr. M'Ewan, sarcastically, "and he deals in bicycles." A voice: He's given that up. On the question of revenue. Mr. Mncdonald had said that the tramway revenue of 100 places in England averaged 12s. lid. per head of population per annum. "He (Mr. M'Ewan) had figures to show that the average in New Zealand was ,£1 11s. 3d., and he thought they wero justified in saying that the Hutt people would spend 20s. each on an average. He estimated that the board would receive • .£IOOO a year from the Hutt Park extension nloiic, as the park would be much more largely used for sports and games. The meeting was also addressed by other members of the board and by opponents of the scheme. SCHEME ASSAILED. HOSTILE MEETING AT PETONE. A meeting was held in St. Augustine's Hall, I'etone, last evening, for the purpose of opposing tho proposed tramway scheme for the Hutt Valley. About 10 people were present, and Mr. G. London . occupied tho chair. Mr. J. Valentine moved the following resolution:—"That, considering the very unsatisfactory state of the borough finances, this meeting of ratepayers views with alarm ■ the proposal to raise a loan of i'SS,OOO for a tramway scheme. There is abundant evidence that it could noJpossibly pay working expenses, and, therefore, it must seriouslv retard tho progress of this borough." The mover, in supporting the resolution, stated that it was idle to compare the Wangauui trains with the proposed Hutt scheme, as there were far more' visitors to Wangauui than was tho case with the Hutt Valley. Mr. H. Hope seconded tlie motion, remarking that it was the height of absurdity to attempt such a scheme when other' urgent called for more immediate attention. Mr. Piper also was opposed to the tramway scheme, remarking that, after the departure of Ihe early trains for the city, the cars would be idle for the remainder of the day. The traffic (especially in Petonc) was not worth considering. Mr. .T. Austin, member of the Tramway Board, said that the board were no more interested in tho proposal than.any of the ratepayers. It they wished to isolate the district, then, of course, it was competent for those prerant to decide not. to have the trams. He believed, however, that if a local body took up an attitude, it shonld persevere in that attitude, let the people, see the result, and then the ratepayers could judge for themselves. The tramway servico was bound to come sooner or later. ■\fter several other speakers had stated their views, the motion was carried.