The Hastings Standard Published Daily TUESDAY, DEC. 28, 1897. RAILWAY RIOT.

Hastings Standard, Issue 511, 28 December 1897, Page 2

The Hastings Standard Published Daily

TUESDAY, DEC. 28, 1897. RAILWAY RIOT.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrongs that need resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

They appear to be running riot with the railways jnsfc now. Nobody understands the Napier-Hastings service, and few, if any, understand the service between Wellington and Napier. The Department appears to have been most precipitate and reckless, if not culpably lop-sided in its arrangements. The holidays need not be specially referred to, although they have afforded some delightful object lessons. Take, for instance, New Year's Eve. The express train was over two hours late in its arrival from Wellington. The authorities in Napier, ever considerate for the people of Hastings, especially when the latter have a few shillings to spend, very generously sent along a special train to convey them to the " city." Now, the intention was good enough, The authorities were giving a double opportunity to Hastings residents and to Napier tradesmen. But, unfortunately, the experiment was a failure. The " special " had not been advertised, and many people mistook it for the express. Being quite satisfied in their own minds that the express couldnot run to time, many people took things easy, and just got to the station in time to hear the supposed express sounding her whistle at Tomoana. This was very disappointing, and as the express did not turn up for a couple of hours later the Napier folk had to be satisfied with half the visitors from this town. The idea of running a " special " under such circumstances was absurd. But it is another illustration of the old story. This is only a small circumstance compared with the trains as they are to be run under the new timetable. Napier is given the whole of the cream, and Hastings is left with the sour milk. A man, for instance, who has work in Hastings, is afforded facilities for arriving at his work before eight o'clock in the morning and returning after work. That is to say, the money earned in Hastings can be taken to Napier to be spent. On the other hand, if a Hastings man finds work in Napier, either on the breakwater, in the warehouses, or elsewhere, he has to go to the " city " to live, for there is no train arriving in Napier from here before nine in the morning. Is there any wor,der that working men are loud in their complaints ? We have lost our engines—at anyrate, temporarily—we have lost the facilities for our people going to work in Napier. What next shall we lose ? Is there no possibility of an end being put to this miserable, one-sided policy ? How long is Hastings going to remain inactive and allow its money and trade to drift away ? There is surely a limit to our endurance. And that limit, we venture to suggest, has just about been reached.