WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 1 May 1926, Page 1

WELLINGTON TOPICS

R A 1 LAV AY FINANCE. THE SUBSIDY SYSTEM. (Special to “ Guardian.”) WELLINGTON, April 27. The Prime Minister makes a further attempt this morning to satisfy the public that the subsidy system devised by the Railway Board is going to solve the “losing lines” problem. He explains that the principles on which the system is based are as follow:—“ (1) Isolated lines and branch lines which have no hope of becoming self-support-ing (and which in most eases were minus such hope from tlic-ir birth) should he a charge on the Consolidated Knud, which should pay to the Railways an annual subsidy equal to the ascertained losses on such lines. (2) That the rest of the railway service, having a reasonable prospect of paying its way, should he asked to do so. and, to that end should meet its own working expenses, provide reserves (for renewals, depreciation and insurance) pay its own superannuation levies, and pay a higher rate of interest.” Mr Coates further explains that the uncommercial lines—that is, those that are not paying—will get all the revenue derived from their own running and all the net revenue derived by the main lines from traffic originating or continuing with the uncommercial lines. This arrangement, it is estimated, rather loosely, will leave the uncommercial lines with an annual deficit running into six figures, which are not likely to represent less than £.‘(00,000. A BIG TASK. The problem, of course, is by no means a, new one. There are shorter or longer lines of railway all over the Dominion that never have paid their way and have been a constant drain upon the revenue of the Department. Whether such lines arc costing the Country more or less than £-300,000 a year there are no figures to show, though the fact that they arc not paying their own way is plain enough. The recommendation of the Railway Board, now endorsed by the Government, is that for book-keeping purposes these lines should he separated from the rest of the railway system and their losses covered by a subsidy from the Consolidated Fund. Mr Coates docs not pretend that this arrangement would relieve the taxpayers of any of their present burdens or confer any advantage upon the travelling public. Whether the loss is borne by the Railway Fund or the Consolidated Fund is of no consequence at all in these respects. Blit the commercialisation of the remaining lines under a hoard directed, in effect, to make them pay at any cost, marks a very startling innovation iti the State railway service.

if it embraces all Mr Coates lays down in his second “principle” Alien it means a. much bigger task than any experienced body of civil servants can be expected to accomplish satisfactorily. BUTTER CONTROL. Delegates from the various dairy factories in the Dominion finve been congregating in Wellington during the last day or two in readiness for the conference to be held to-morrow to determine the method of electing ~ menir hers of the Dairy Control Board. Feeling is running high between the eontending parties and both sides are holding preliminary gatherings to-day lor the purpose of concentrating their strength upon settled policies. The opponents of “Absolute Control” favor the ward system of election with the individual vote, while the supporters of the Dairy Board's policy want a modification of the council system which would leave the election in the hands of factory directors. The discussions on these points have disclosed an amazing ignorance oil the part of the producers in regard to electoral methods, oiid it will not he at all surprising to see a majority of them accepting some system no better than the one many are now denouncing. In any case, legislation will he required to repeal or amend the existing system and when to-morrow’s conference has done with the matter it still will remain for Parliament to give effect to its own judgment. Of course no new system of election can ho put into operation until the term of the present members of the Board lias expired, and -Mr W. Grounds, the chairman, has announced frankly that he and his colleagues have no idea of resigning to facilitate the change. A DANGEROUS EXPERIMENT.

The local newspapers have opened their columns very generously to the butter disputants and have expressed opinions of their own more or less forcibly. The “Times” is strongly anti-absolutism, the “Dominion” less pronounced, and the “ Post,” strictly judicial with an eye upon the teachings of experience. “We believed at the time and we still believe,” says the evening journal, referring to the action of the Government in shifting its responsibility on to a sectional hoard,

“ that it is a very dangerous, certainly an undesirable, precedent. When it was proposed to empower the Meat Board with such control we pointed this out; hut the power was put into hiie Meat Control Act, notwithstanding. The reason, no doubt, was that, at that time the meat export trade was in grave peril. It is o( the utmost significance, however, that the Meht Board has never used its power to absolutely control exports. But the Dairy Board is determined to do so, although never at any time was the dairy industry in such danger as that that threatened the meat trade. This is why the public is interested in the

.. big meeting to be held this week: a great source of income to the Dominion is involved : the inherent rights of property are menaced by a control sanctioned by the Legislature.” This is the view of nine-tenths of the business men of thy city and is being endorsed l»v an increasing number of the producers.