TRAMS FOR KAIWARRA.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1929, 11 December 1913, Page 7

TRAMS FOR KAIWARRA.

AND THE EMBARGO, PETITION TO PARLIAMENT* The embargo placed by legislation on ihe running of trams on'llm'HuU Road was under discussion in the House of Representatives yesterday. Tho discussion arose out of tho report of t'iso M to Z Petitions Committee on the petition of M, Si. Jlilliliin and 177 others of kaiwarra, praying f or t! 10 establishment of a tramway .servico between the present terminus of tho Wellington City trams and Kaiwarra. Jlr. 11. J. 11. Okey, for tile Committee, reported to the House as follows: "That in'llm opinion of the Committee 'this petition .should bo referred to the Government lor consideration."- it may be explained that the reason lor petitioning Parliament on the point was that th» running of trains on the Htitt Road in opposition to the trains is forbidden b» tho legislation tinder which the Unit Hood and Railway improvement was earned out.

Jlr. W. 11. D. 801 l said he hoped that due consideration would be civen by too Railway Department to the petition, 'the Act of 1905 provided fhub trams must not be rim along tho Hull) Road a distance of more then fifteenchains beyond tiio then Citv boundary Since, then the boundaries of the City had ocon extended, and now a distance, of nfleon chains beyond the Citv boundary would reach, to Kaiwarra. 'The object or the restriction in the Dili was not to protect the Railways from com. petition for traffic to Kaiwarra, but for traflic to l'etono and ltutt, Such cornpetition to Pelone would ccrtainlv mean a considerable loss of revenue to tho Government. But tho evidence supplied to the Committee was that there was very little passenger traflic by railway between Kaiwarra and Wellington, tiio reason being that tho railway service was unsuitable. Men empkived there" and there was a. considerable number ol them, used the trams, and walked the throe-quarters of n mile from ihn terminus. All that was asked was that the Onslow Borough be permitted to JUHko an arrangement with the Wellington City Council to have the city tram service extended to Kaiwarra. The. lino would serve the growing population of Kaiwarra and the surrounding district to Kliantlallah. Ho did not think the Railway Department should object. Perhaps. tlicy would be glad to speed up their services by cutting out the stop at Kaiwarra.

Mr. T. 11. Davey said ho disagreed with the rejwrt, and lie would .rather liavo seen tho committee report that thoy had no recommendations to make. His reason for tho opposition was that the Government had expended a great deal of money on the line, and it was not now a fair proposition that thoy should bo asked to give up any of tho revenue they could get by tho expenditure of this money.

Mr. A. H. Himlmarsk objected to tho Christchurch. members interfering, in. what was essentially a Wellington 'matter. He argued that a train service was not suitable to carry people. Mel) a, small distaneo as three-quarters of a mile. And in any case, even if tho Railway Department did lost; revenue, which iio did not think at all probable', surely the convenience of tho residents of tho district ought to he considered rather than tho possibility of the Government losing a fow pounds of revenue. Dr. A. K. Newman also supported the petitioners' request, Mt> argued that a. tram service to Kaiwarra would bo ft great boon to tho residents, and the people engaged there, and he did not think tho loss to the Baihrav Department, if any, would bo at all considerable. He saw no reason why ilw Government should object to the pro* posal, and ho saw every reason why the scheme should bo carried out in tbt interests of tho district.