Manawatu Herald. FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 1881. RAILWAY FREIGHTS ON WHITE PINE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue 83, 17 June 1881, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 1881. RAILWAY FREIGHTS ON WHITE PINE.

We learn with satisfaction tbatthfe Government have acceded to the wish of the sa^fn^ei^ of, Manawatu so far as ttf fromrse ;"a' rednction of the railway tariff on white pine tintjber for shipment beyond; colony. It would have been far more reasonable if they had made the reduction 'applicable to.aU. .white-pine ..Railway freights, as the timber is light, and hot nearly so valuable as totara, riuiu, or the other classes of building timber ; consequently they could afford to reduce the freight on it considerably,* and yet reap a' revenue as' proportionately high as that th*y derive from heavier and moi'.e valuable classes of timber; ' The reduction is to be on trial for sis months, that is, just long enough^ to tide over the general election ; but does any reasonable mau suppose that a trade wijih Victoria ,, or New South Wales can be developed in six months? If the reduced tariff had been put on its trial for a. year, and judged at the ! end of that time, we should have regarded it less in the light of a bit of electioneering than it now appears. It would probably take at least two I yearsto develop a trade with other colonies in white pine timber, and we therefore fear that no matter what success the experiment promises it wjH be- voted a failure so soon as the question is decided whether or not the Postmaster-General is sit in the next Parliament for Manawatu. However, the concession is one that should stimulate the sawmillers to do theiU:utmbßtto open up trade wich the other colonies, in the hope that at the end of the half-year a united pressure of public. opinion may secure a retention of the reduced rate.