MATTERS POLITICAL.

Feilding Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 130, 1 December 1896, Page 2

MATTERS POLITICAL.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — Iv my last letter I expressed an intention of dealing with the railway question as toadied upon by Mr Wilks. Everyone nowadays recognises the value of railways as a great colonising power, for no sooner is a railway poshed a few miles farther inland than settlement is sure to follow ; but there is a pbase of this question that appears to be lost sight of, and that is : While all most assist in making up the difference between the earning power of the railways and tbe interest that has to be paid on the cost of construction, all do not receive an equal amount of benefit. Sir, when I read that paragraph Mr Wilks inserted about the railways, I thought what a rash young man he is, and the old saying of "Fools rushing in where angels fear to tread " occurred to my mind, because if there is one subject upon which there is a concensus of opinion it is with respect to tbe admirable manner in which the Government have conducted the railways since being under their control. Now, what does | Mr Wilks charge tbe Government with having done? Why, sir, with having the audacity to spend nearly £600,000 on railway extension. Had the Government not done something of the kind, then we might have expected a howl from Mr Wilks. Why, sir, in a previous paragraph in the letter I am comment, ing upon he gets indignant when he writes about the sinking funds, then because that money is used in railway extension that does not please him, because right from the time the first sod of a railway is turned it does not pay interest. It never occurred to that gentleman that a certain time must elapse before it could reasonably be expected a railway would earn anything towards the cost of construction. In making up the railway returns interest is charged on lines finished and unfin* ished, and the result of working shows the amount of interest paid at the end year. Mr Wilks complains because there has been a loss of interest of £36,136. That is a matter which could be easily adjusted were that all, for a slight rise of freight rates would speedily put that right, bat were the Government to attempt to adjust the matter in that way perhaps no one would raise greater objections than Mr Wilks. Then the Government have actually spent money in keeping open those portions of the railways constructed. What would have been the result had Government not done so '? Why tbe works would get out of repair, and entail increased expenditure to put them right again. Mr WiJks has made a jumble of this paragraph, he devotes to railways as it can be read as though tbe loss of interest was on the whole of tbe railways in New Zealand, and tbe amount to work and keep open the railways constructed can be iead in like manner. Last year tbe maintenance department spent £272,718, this year .£281,470 or an increase of £8,752. Liast year repairs to rolling stock cost £108,805, this year there has been spent £113,891, increase £18,086, the two items together making a total of £18,838 more than was spent in the previous year. The revenue for this year was nearly £14,000 more than in the previous year, in addition to which /cry considerable concessions were made amounting to nearly £43,000. It is very easily to select isolated cases, but we have to take the railway as a whole, in the same manner as a farmer does with bis old pasture, avd the new falling it is several years before tbe returns from the freshly-fallen bush is very much, and so it is in most cases with railways and many other undertakings. I am, &c, E. Gascoigne. Apiti, Nov. 26tb, 1896.