The Globe. SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 1875.

Globe, Volume II, Issue 201, 30 January 1875, Page 2

The Globe. SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 1875.

When - an accident happens on any of the railways in the old country, the utmost publicity is given to all the circumstances connected with it, and the public are fully informed of how it was caused, and what steps the authorities have taken in the matter. But when an accident happens on the Canterbury Railways, a very different course is pursued. In commenting upon the late accident on the Lyttelton and Christchurch Railway some time ago, we urged upon the Government the necessity of making the result of the enquiry, which we presume was held, public. This course, we pointed out, was most desirable on many grounds, but it is not necessary to repeat those reasons again. No such report has yet been made public, and we suppose, the whole matter is to be passed over in silence as, of no real importance. In so completely and contemptuously ignoring the natural desire of the travelling community to know what steps have been taken since, to guard against such a frightful catastrophe as nearly happened in the tunnel at that time, we think the Government are pursuing a most discreditable course. It may be true that the Executive is responsible t-o the Council for the manner in which the railways are managed, and that when the time comes for the discussion of the railway estimates there, a full explanation will be given. In the majority of cases no doubt this is the correct course to adopt. But we maintain that the case under discussion is an exception. The people of Canterbury have a right to know whether steps have been taken to protect the possibility of a train entering the tunnel while the other end is still blocked. If the train was permitted to enter it on the occasion referred to, without an intimation from the Lyttelton station that the line was clear, the same thing may occur any day, and for anything we know to the contrary, the lives ol hundreds m?iy be daily in the hands of a few railway officials. This of course should not be the case. If the present mode of blocking the tunnel cannot be depended on, the system must be altered. The evil of course lies in the block, not being between the ends of the tunnel, but between the Lyttelton station and the Heathcote - end. The consequence is that there is no security that* the portion of the line between the station and the mouth of the tunnel, is kept clear before the arrival of trains from Christchurch. If we remember rightly the shunting engine has been employed in Lyttelton for at least a year now, and yet, up to the time of the late accident at any rate, the old system was allowed to continue, and may, for anything the public know, still be in use. We have little hope that the Government will comply with the reasonable desire of the public for information ; but we do hope, now that we have imported a new traffic manager, that the utter incompetence which has been shown in the management of our railways during the last twelve months, is at an end, 'and that they will be managed in such a manner as to secure the confidence of the public, and at the same time with some regard to economy.