Manamatu Herald. TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 1891. The Railway Commissioners.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, 21 April 1891, Page 2

Manamatu Herald. TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 1891. The Railway Commissioners.

• When the Government in 1887 passed the Act under which the colonial railways passed to the control of three Commissioners, some little doubt was expressed as to its being a wise step. Events of an important nature have since occurred which has led to the generally expressed satisfaction that our lines were beyond political influence. To the Government of the day, the withdrawal of so much patronage is severely felt, and a Minister of Public Works would no doubt be well pleased to still have the nominal control and all the credit and advantages. Mr Mitchelson, when moving the second reading of the Bill, said " If it were possible that a Minister could be appointed to the position of Minister of Railways and Public Works for a definite period, then I should say, maintain our present system ; but where we have responsible Government, and Ministries are subject to come and go at the will of the House, or of the people, it is a matter of impossibility for any Minister, no matter how clever he may be, to grasp the position, or make himself thoroughly acquainted with the intricacies of railway management, which requires years of careful thought and study thoroughly to master." The Minister under these circumstances would be only the mouthpiece of the General Manager, and the House, by a very large majority — 51 to 6 — carried the second reading, preferring to make the managers of the railways answerable pei*sonally instead of indirectly through the Minister of Public Works. As we believe that none but politicians desire the Act to be altered, we draw attention to the importance of carefully watching any action that the present Government may take, as only two members out of the six, supported the Bill when passing through the House. We find also, on examining Hansard, that Messrs Ballance and Ward wholly ignored the Bill and were absent from the tftMjs« whitat II was Mnt? cllMuwrl

On the other hand we note, that the two most prominent members of the Ministry, who are credited with overriding the Premier, Messrs S.eddoil and J, Mclfenzie, are very much opposed to the Act and to the Commissioners. Mr McKenzie has never abated one jot his opposition, and in the session of IH9O When the Railway Estimates were passing through the Committee of Supply he made use of these, now, rather memorable remarks !—" He Ventured to say the House would have to take the responsibility on its own shoulders, and after next election he thought there would be a band of members sent to Parliament to take charge of these estimates and the railways also." During the speech in which the above remarks were made he showed a decided animus against the gentlemen who hold the important positions of Commissioners. He declared the railways were not a whit better managed than they had been under the Minister. He was even then anxious to do some " slashing and cutting " as he thought there were far too many managers and Inspectors drawing large salaries. He felt so strongly that " He could speak for hours on the maladministration of the Commissioners." We have only to quote a few of the remarks of Mr Seddon's, to show that he also is a rabid opponent of the Railwdy Commissioners. During the discussion on the Strike, Mr Seddon, speaking about the reduction of the twin*, said --"I Relieve it is doiK' tor no other object than to provoke the railway employees to go out on strike." He suggested that the Commissioners were allied with the Union Steamship Company in trying to crush or cripple Unionism. lJe repeated further on that the railway employees had "been goaded to a great extent by the Railway Commissioners." Under these circumstances we should not he surprised if these two powerful Ministers do not contrive a way to give effect to their opposition, especially when such a large field for patronage and favour would be opened up.