TRAMWAY SECTIONS

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1484, 5 July 1912, Page 6

TRAMWAY SECTIONS

SEATOUN AND MIRAMAR,

A meeting of the residents of Seatoun, \Y'orser Bay, and Miromar was held at the kiosk, Worscr Bay, last evening. Mr. J. Jirodio, wlio was voted to tho chair, slated I hat the meeting had lx>en coiiveiiwl to protest against the proposed alterations in the tramway sections. If tho proposal was carried out if would mean u ifrrat expense to residents. At tho same itmo he was fully atfaro that n.vmlwrs of tho City Council were a levelheaded piu;ty of business men, and ho did not think that when tho protest came before them they would proceed further. Jf the City Council wished to economise they would find it more beneficial to double 0110 of the main city sections. As it was, the wear and tear on Ihcso coiv tral sections was enormous, and tlie pcoplo who benefited by tile cheap- central sections were tho tbousnmls ol visitors who rale from the station to Courtenay place for Id. lie was sure that the City Council was fully a wore of tho great advintago derived from people going to (he suburbs to reside, but if the council persisted in finer proposed section-shortening policy the general effect would bo the reverse of that. ]Je was quite euro that it would pay in tho long run if they split up one of the largo city sections, and endeavoured to economise in the city, rather than in the suburbs..

Jlr. 31. X. M'Leod (Mayor 'of MiramaT) wai the next speaker. He dwelt at some length on the meeting, he had attended a tew nights ago at Kilbirnie, held to protest against the same matter. Ho was sure I tho rest of the suburbs were unanimous m their decision to protest. If tho council, went through with thoir proposal, he thought that, instead o£ economising, they would bo losing money as many of, the suburban residents would leave the locality, walk a section or two, or take to the bicycle. If this happened the revenue would fall and the City Couu"l would bo worse off than before. Mr. IT, E. liichardson also spoke in support of tho protest. Ho believed that the increase in motormen's wages had something to do with tho council's proposal. He did not proposo to draw up a time-table, but he did hope that there would soon be a man at the head of tho tramways less of an electrical engineer and more of a tramway manager. As a drastic measure they could cut down the tram service to the legal limit, and then ho was of tho opinion that the ferry service would speedily become more frequent to the detriment of the train revenue. Mr. Meredith in a few words condoraned tlin methods of tho City Council and pointed out how the Auckland trams (run by a private com pony) were made to pay, and the 'Wellington trams (run by the council) were run at a loss. He thought that thero was bad management somewhere.

Mr. J. Alexander moved: "That this meeting is unanimously of opinion that the proposed increase in tho (Tarn fares is unwarrantable, and hereby agrees to join with tho Kilbirnio Ratepayers' Association and other bodies in protesting to tho uty Council against its introduction." Mr. 11. J. Wyntt seconded the motion winch was carried without a disscntiiiir voice. *■