THE RAILWAY TARIFF.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 2108, 25 November 1880, Page 3

THE RAILWAY TARIFF.

A meeting, convened by his Worship the Mayor of Ashburton, was hold there last Tuesday evening in the Town Hall, to consider the present railway tariff. His Worship the Mayor, who occupied the chair, explained the object of the meeting, and said the County Council had laid the matter before the manager of railways, and that gentleman’s reply had been received and published. Mr Joseph Clark moved meeting is of opinion that the railway tariff published in the ‘ Gazette ’ of October Ist, and which came into force on October 11th, is in many respects deficient in principle, especially in relation to the increasing charges for carriage of merchandise for different distances ; that it is also highly inequitable to the agricultural interest, in so far as it raises the charges for carriage of grain, and thus imposes an additional tax upon this county of not less than £6OOO per annum.” The resolution, he said, spoke for itself when it stated that it mulcted the district in a tax of £6OOO. The district was not able to bear it. It meant a tax of Id per bushel on grain, and, considering the way the lines paid in proportion to the amount expended on their construction, it was not fair to the district. Instead of raising the _ tariff the Government should have reduced it, as it was never contemplated that railways should pay interest on the capital invested on them for the first few years. There was no doubt the railways in these level counties were made to pay for linos in the mountains in the North Island and Otago, and it was not fair. This was entirely a farmer’s question ; it was a tax on the farmer, because buyers of grain would have to give Id less per bushel for grain owing to the tariff. He would like to see the railways managed as a private individual would manage his own business, that is in slack times carry goods at a cheaper rate than whan there was plenty to do. But it was not to be expected that this would bo done while persons who could send such absurd replies as that sent to the County Council held the management of them. Mr Orr, in seconding the motion, said it was quite clear that the farmers were not considered by the Government, and that they imposed this tax upon them believing they would not complain. Where timber was to be carried it was considered, but the whole burden was piled on tho farmer. He hoped to see every farmer in the district protesting against it. It was not fair that the charge on railways made at so small a cost as the Canterbury Plain lines should bo the same as on railways which cost three times as much to constrnct. Mr Bullock, in supporting the motion, said that the tariff would be felt in Ashburton more severely than anywhere else, because it

was the largest grain producing district. When the railways were first instituted it was not expected they would pay more than working expenses for the first few years. The Ashburton district was not then settled, but now it contributed more towards the railways than anywhere else in New Zealand, but unless this tariff was altered they would have to get other means of carrying thoir goods. The Government had certainly hard work in carrying out retrenchment, but he thought it would bo better to’dismiss some more servants than raise the tariff. It would be fair to charge people in mountainous parts of the colony more than those on the plains, because if the railways had not been made these people would have to pay £1 for carriage when people on the plains could get it done for a shilling. He could not see why farmers, considering they had to pay property tax, should be called upon to pay a further direct tax of one penny per bushel on their grain, and he hoped that farmers would meet in every schoolroom in the county and protest against it. The Chairman said that before putting the resolution ho wished to make a few remarks. Sir Julius Vogel had said in the House, when the railway question was first mooted, that it was not expected the railways would pay interest on the outlay for some years. It was evident it was not contemplated that they should, or eo many political railways would not have been made. In England, where there wore no political railways and larger traffic, the railways only paid 4h per cent. The colony had derived great advantages from the railways, but only for the depression of the last two years the revenue from the railways would have been greater. The speaker then read statistics showing the comparative imports and exports for the last few years, from which ho showed that the grain traffic was the mainstay of the railways. Ho also read statistics showing the increase of the grain crop in America, and said that that country would soon have more grain than it would know what to do with. The result of tbe tariff would bo to handicap Now Zealand farmers, and the Government by it would kill the goose that laid the golden eggs. The motion was then put and carried unanimously. SIS. 'Poaam nrn a r. ■ A fluif, nvorvnnn must see.

from the remarks of the previous speakers, that the tariff was a great burden on the farmers of the district. There was a railway station on his own station, and yet it would bo cheaper for him to cart anything he wanted from Ashburton than send it by rail. It cost him half the amount he paid for coal in Lyttelton to get it carried by rail to his place, and it cost two-thirda of what it would coat to take grain from Chicago to Now York, a distance of over 900 miles, to take it from Ashburton to Lyttelton, a distance of some sixty miles. He moved—“ That the following gentlemen be appointed a committee to draw up a memorial to the Minister for Public Works, setting forth in detail the points of objection to the present tariff, and obtain signatures, viz.—Messrs H. Friedlander, J. Orr, T. Bullock, J. Clark, 0. P. Cox, A. Boberts, and the mover.” The motion was seconded by Mr Boberts, and carried unanimously. Mr O. Percy Cox moved—“ That when the memorial is duly signed the committee appoint two or more gentlemen to wait upon the Government and present the same. ’ He was sure this resolution would commend itself to everyone, as it would bo a very great advantage that the memorial should be presented by some gentlemen who would point out forcibly to the Government the object which it sought to attain. The railway tariff was a most extraordinary one. It was made up in a haphazard way, and not on any recognised principle. For some distances it increased at the rate of 2d per mile, and others

6d, and so on. Ho was euro that farmers would not complain of having to pay their share towards the maintenance of the railways, but it was not fair that one commodity should pay for other commodities. If it was necessary to raise the tariff it should have been raised on some recognised principle; but that was not done. It was stated that it was cheaper to cart goods from Rangiora to Christchurch than to send them by railway, and if so, what good were the railways to the people. That showed the unfairness of the tariff. Mr Hoddor said he had no idea that the matter was so serious until he had heard all that had been said by previous speakers. He thought that the Government had taken an unfair advantage of Ashburton, and wanted to make capital out of it. Mr Hughes thought that the tariff virtually taxed the only two industries of the country —wool and grain, instead of fostering and encouraging them. It would bo far better for the Government to tax imports from America and England, as that would give a chance to local industries. Too much was said about the hilly country. They forgot timber grew in them, and that the plains wanted it. As an instance of the unfairness of the tariff, a carrier could take goods from Ashburton to Tinwald for one-third of what the railway would charge, and consider himself well paid. The Chairman said that if a man sent goods from Lyttelton to Temuka by rail, it would be cheaper for him to send them to Timaru first, and then bring them back to Temuka than send them direct to Temuka, although Timaru was twelve miles farther away from Lyttelton. A man travelling from Dunedin to Rolleston would save 13s by taking his ticket for Christchurch. A man travelling from Christchurch to Dunedin’would now have to pay only twopence more than a man travelling from Ashburton to Dunedin, although the difference in the distance was fifty miles. The tariff was not ahke in all parts. In Canterbury they paid 50 per cent, more than on lines which cost thousands more to construct. The tariff was a quarter less from Port Chalmers to Dunedin, than from Lyttelton to Christchurch, although the distance was greater by more than a mile. The Canterbury lines had been made by Canterbury money, and he could not see why the Government should now think fit to tax the people. The motion was put and carried without dissent. Mr Bullock moved a vote of thanks to the chairman, which being carried the meeting terminated. OUST. A meeting of ratepayers was held here on Monday. Thera was not a very large attendance, as the hour of meeting was rather an inconvenient one. The object of the gathering was to discuss the question of the high rates of railway tariff. Mr B. L. Higgins, who was the principal speaker, moved a motion to the effect that the increase on carriage of grain by railway was calculated to seriously affect the agricultural interest, and it was inexpedient for Government to impose further burdens on a community which had suffered from depression during the last two years. Mr A. Garland seconded, and after some discussion, in which Messrs Howsen, Morrison, and others had taken part, the motion was put and carried.

Mr Garland moved —“ That as the Canterbury lines, owing to their being laid through an agricultural country, have made a larger return than other How Zealand lines, this meeting protests against the Government raising the freight on agricultural commodities.” Mr W. E. Leach seconded, and the motion was agreed to. It was decided that Messrs Higgins, Dickinson, and Garland wait upon Mr Maxwell in reference to the matter referred to; also to bring under notice the want of a cattle landing place at the railway station.