RAILAGE OF FRUIT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1846, 4 September 1913, Page 10

RAILAGE OF FRUIT.

GREATER FACILITIES WANTED. MINISTER'S ANSWER; . A deputation from tlic Fruit-growers.' Conl'cronco waited oil tho Minister for Ilailwnys (Hon. W, H. Herries) yesterday. Mr. H. M. Campbell, M.I 1 ., introduced tho deputation. Mr. S. Martell (a Hawlco's Bay delegate to tho confcroucc) said that the conference represented over 1000 fruitgrowers, and that (on a nioderato ostianato) £2,000,000 was invested in tho industry. Tho Government had fostered the industry in tho past, but greater railngo facilities wero ; needed. Moro trucks were urgently wanted. Some idea Jjf tlio impqrtanco of the industry might lie gathered from tho fact that last year ■100,000 cases of fruit wero sent away from Hawko's Bay. This represented GOfiO tons of fruit, and most of it wa/ handled at Hastings Haihvay Station. Trucks were not only insullicient uupucrically,' hut also unsuitable in do'sign. There should bo a maximum of ventilation - and a minimum 'of handling. Tho Department could do 'toucli to assist growers in getting fruit .'to tho ports in the best condition for 'iexport. \ Air. Martell laid heforo tho Minister flilans and specilications of a railway Hruck which the Hawke's Bay Association deemed suitable'for tho couvcyarico 'of fruit. -, Mr. A. Moqre (Hawke's Bay) said xhat .in A'ew Zealand peaches wero not 'Tailed as far as they wore in America •aiid other countries, and they should larrivo in hotter condition than-they did. It was stated by Mr. .J. B. Tonar j(Waitemata) that hundreds of cases of ji'r,nit consiguod to his firm arrived unfit for consumption. He had been compelled, for this reason, to cut off certain sources of supply. The timo had 'arrived for giteater facilities on tho 'railway, and for a fair freight rate. 'Mr..-J. Longton urged the revision of Sho tariff on timber for fruit cases. He .kuggested tho abolition, of tho system providing free carriage for ono hundred miles and the substitution of a scale charge based on the white pine -J-D-rato. yhis would be' more equitable than the 'existing system. Air. Walter Wrav (Canterbury) supported' Mr. Longton, and remarked that 'Canterbury., got its fruit-easo timber, ifrom Southland. If tlio.West Coast railfwiiy wero' completed hundreds of toiis u>f timberwhich would otherwise be .''hunit'could be used for tho making of i'i'riiit cases. 1 Mr. Herries: Have you any complaints \ iii ' Canterbury about the trucks used iior fruit? Mr. Wrav said that when trucks partly. filled with fruit wero shunted the fruit stacks sometimes" collapsed, and .tile fruit ..thus suffered. Mr. It. I'. Hudson representing Nel'son district, said that- he had come to advocato a scheme of through booking. Mr. Herries: There'-was a scheme . brought in last year through- tho Post Office. . ;. •Air. Hudson.replied that they did riot c.ousidor that scheme adequate. Aluch of tho Nelson-fruit camo to tho North ' Island, and was liable to, bo detoridrat■ing at inland railway stations. •Tho'Minister said that ho; was very gla'd *to meet tho deputation. Most of. the matters had como before him before, .and ho thought some, of them had been remedied. Through booking through tho Post Office had . been arranged, but'he recognised that that was not sufficient, for commercial purposes.Ho know that negotiations had been entered into with the -Union Company. Air.-J. Longton: 1. understand that the I! ail way Department is still in negotiation with the Union Company, but that nothing dofiiiito has been arranged. Air. Herries : I will find that out. Air. Hudson (Nelson): .Wo-deal with the Anchor Shipping Co. Mr. Herrios: That. opens up a now phase. . ~ Tho Alinister said that ho.'did not propose to alter the tariff at the present time. Ho.proposed to go carefully -through tho tariff as'a Avholo.when.tho new manager, arrived. . As to tho ' trucks, ho would ho glrtd if those interested would place their; suggestions before tho chief mechanical engineor. The Department had' ov'ery. desiro to meet, tho wants of'' fruit-growers. . Last year -ho had special; trucks put on to carry tlie Auckland, strawberries,,but tho ar-i rangoment did not prov'o a success,-as tho season was-a,bad ono for that particular fruit-. He was pleased to know that if tho fruit-growers got any extra consideration they wero prepared to pay for it; that was a laudablo spirit in which to approach the Department.