THE Kaipara Advertiser. AND WAITEMATA CHRONICLE. WEDNESDAY, OCT. 4, 1911. AUCKLAND HELENSVILLE RAILWAY.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 4 October 1911, Page 2

THE Kaipara Advertiser. AND WAITEMATA CHRONICLE. WEDNESDAY, OCT. 4, 1911. AUCKLAND HELENSVILLE RAILWAY.

Last Wednesday the. Minister of "Railways (Hon. Mr Miller) told our representative, Mr Stall worthy, " that the maximum Railway service warranted by business was already running between Auckland and Helens-* ville, ancVit was impossible to shorten, the journey .tune." ' Why? Have the long distance travellers between Auckland and Helensville to suffer for the suburbanites. Is that the r9asun? Have the suburbanites been kicking against the farmers and country . folk—the people who are supplying the wants of the city to a great extent, and who are finding employment for them to some degree—protesting against cur train' making; non^stopping places of tjhe stations between Mount Eden and Henderson, when they have so many suburban runs. This has been^pointed out as a saviug of over half-a-hour,; to the i Manager of Railways, Mr Roynane, who we understand thought it could be done; and the same thing has been explained to the Hon. Mr MilJer, who has been approached by? the Chamber of Commerce through Mr Stallworthy, M.P., with the above reply. Prime Ministers and other Ministers ,of the crown, have told Kaipara audiences again and again of the member for Kaipara's worth, yet the Minister for Railways, who would get the best of reasons given him by our indefatigable worker for doing something towards " day-light saviog on the Kaipara liDe," only answers that it is " not possible to shorten the journey time,"—Three Solid Hours to do Thirty, eight miles,

Undoubtedly the fastest and' necessarily the most furious and'1 noeds must be the moat expensive raily way in the Dominion as evorhuur means more coal; notwithstanding that it is ,-lhe Northern Main Trunk Line ! Surely the Minister must have overlooked the fact that continuation was sluwly, cruelly sbnly, creeping towards the northernmost terminus, and that it would have been good business, if for no other reason,- to gradually get the roiling atoek used to getting ovei the grounp a little more quickly, in vip\y of the tremendous journey, when the goal is reached, of being aole to outdistance the ferry boats that now ca-ry mails and passengers to the outlying places, if this great railway is to bring them nearer to our city. Why, \ before the Railway came the travelling public could get to Auckland in three hours by catching v steamer at Eivorhead ! Helonsville itself warrants a faster S9rvice on account of the Hot Springs which could be visited from Auckland by those requiring them, and who' are unable 10 afford the cost or time ot going to To Aroha or Rotorua, the thermal springs being as good and beneficial-, as any in the Dominion. ]3 asides several hundiod tons of butv t-ir are now being sent out of tho dis-j triet, cream to the city fac.'ories fresh fish in large quantities, as well as other products. The fact that Dargaville is rising into almost a city, depend . iug almost entirely on the Government Bail way to connect with its steamer services mokes a f a,sfer service a 'necessity that, in our opinion, cannot be put off; for a faster train service is compulsory if the Government wishes to add to th© march of progress as it professes to do. Southern farmers aud others who come North 'on the Kaipara Hue to ■ buy land, leaving Auckland hot oninak-. ing a purchase, get so tired and weary on the train journey that they invariably turn back with " Things are too slow up this way,"

"We would urgo all vot to be put off by the Ministers reply, but to get petitions up and energetically circulated, Trhi'.-b. undoubtedly would bn signed by, almost every person living north, enst and west of Henderson, and tisk our representative to again wait on the Minister of S&ilwjys. uvgiug him to shorten the timo of our trains from xiuckland to Helensvillepointing out, that, if it is utterly'impassible to lessen the time for all iroins,.. to do so on one up aud down daily ; or, if that was asking too much, to make a tri-weekly expiess to con-' nect with the Dargaviilo steamer service. Surely some more reasonable concession c:m be granted. If absolutely nothing better could bo done, then the Minister should l.c asked'to provide cold storage trucks for butter, eggs, n-jli, etc., so that our farmers I cai t-ain their produce t>- arrive iv Auckland in good marketable .condition, and iv this suiaJ.J way aloue juij) largely to develop©" 'fhe.jpvimajry'

resources of this district and incidental lv tbe North.

" Not possible to shorten the jour time of 3 hours," yet if a Minister wants to visit Helonsville at any time a special train is put ou to do the journey in about an hour, so as not to waste two hours of the Ministers 7ery valuable timej; is his time of so much more value than that of the farmers? "■ v :