The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, NOVERBER 6, 1884. The Timber Tariff
Any attempt made by a member of the House, who has special knowledge of the subject, to affect an amondment in the present exorbitant tariff for railway carriage of timber, is generally :oiet by a blank and unreasoning opposition on the part of the Minister under whose control the management of the railway lies. The reason for this opposition is that the Minister is necessarily dependant on the General Manager of Railways for all information on the subject. It is against the interests of the latter to allow of any changes which may tend, for even a brief period, to reduce the traffic returns of the lines under his control. From his position it is impossible that he can take a broad and comprehensive view of the matter, and the persons whose interests are most embarrassed by a prohibitive tariff, are compelled to suffer from the narrow mindedness of an over-worked official. The only hope the sawmillers can have of a change for the better will be in the formation of Local Boards ol Management, as proposed by Mr Richardson, the Minister for Public Works. Under such a system it is just possible that their claims for soma concessions may be recognised. When the amount of capital and labor employed in this industry is considered, the astonishing thing is that Government should pay bo little heed to the continued complaints made of the present vexatious tariff. When a concession was made in the case of white pino, it was surrounded with such vexatious and troublesome regulations that it was practically unworkable and useless. When the sawmillers allowed the " privilege " to lie idle, the authorities complained that they were ungrateful, having refused the "gifts the gods sent them." All that is asked is that timber should be carried at rates proportionate to its weight and value, as in the case of native coal, and other labor encouraging local industries.
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Bibliographic details
Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 63, 6 November 1884, Page 2
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328The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, NOVERBER 6, 1884. The Timber Tariff Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 63, 6 November 1884, Page 2
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