RAILWAY TRAVELLING IN NEW ZEALAND.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 149, 21 June 1875, Page 2

RAILWAY TRAVELLING IN NEW ZEALAND.

, Tho Timaru Herald nivßß the following cheerful picture of the Canter- . ;.bury railways :— " The ' low rate of speed obtainable on so s lightly constructed a railway, the maximum beiDg from twelve to sixteen miles an hour, suffices pf itself to deprive the line of half its usefulness, and rudely dispels |be idefcs wbich the public had formed of what railway travelling would be. They had confidently expected to be •whirled across the plains at the rate of twenty-five miles an hour, and to be 'relieved for ever of the weariness, hardship, and expensiveness of the old tiresome journey between North and South. -Now they findfthat it takes aa long and costs aB much to go to Chrietchnrch as everj and. that as regards inconvenience thefe is very' little difference betweea coach and railway. The narrowj'comfortlesfl, .longitudinal orabibusses, which are dignified with the nume of railway carriages, are miserable things to travel any. distance in., The benches are not wide enough . to, admit of any easy, posture, while the back of the traveller gets no' rest at oil, and his head goes through a. pane of glass if be happ.eps to move ifc r carelessly ; the \ ceaseless distracting rattle of the 1 windows renders conversation or sleep i impossible, and the violent oscillating motion of the vehicle is especially tormenting. To ail these inviting peculiarities of our cheap and very nasty railway vans, must be added the most serious of all, namely, the constant draught of cold wind which aaßails the traveller from all directiona, driving in 1 at the ill-fitting doors, whistling through the shaky windows, coming up through the gaping floors, or carrying all before it when the guard comes banging and crashing in for tickets. The furniture of tbe first-class carriages is so shabby and miserable that it would disgrace the second-class of the meanest railway in Europe; the blinds, of tbe poorest imitation blue silk, are already in shreds and can neither be rolled up nor pulled down;f the cushions are, hard "brum-, magem " shams; the carpets consist of cocoa-matting, harboring fleas, and possessing neither warmth nor softness; the roofs are of the cheapest oil-cloth, bruised, soiled and torn in being unpacked, and resounding with deafening noise wben tbe men pass over them to remove the lamps; the lamps scarcely give any light at all, and are practically useless. The smoking-carriages are like the others, with tbe addiiion of the reek of stale tobacco, and the spittle on the floor. Such are the firßt-clasa cars; as cheap and as bad as they can be. Tbe second-class are simply wooden boxes, with no pretention to comfort at all. If the' fares for occupying these delightful conveyances were in proportion to the scale of nißgnificeuce displayed in their construction, there would not of course be so much to grumble at; but it certainly is ari imposition to charge as much for travelling in them as for travelling in the, comparatively luxurious broadgauge carriages, with their clothcovered Equabs, broad, padded, comfortable seats, well-carpetted floors, airtight windows, netted shelves, and quiet, eBBy, though rapid, motion. This, we say, appears an imposition ; but we warn the publip that, so far from their being any probability of a change for the better, they may look for an increase in the rates before long. That the railways will not pay their working expenses, to say uothing of interest on outlay, seems almost certain, and the Government, having secured a monopoly of the carrying trade of the country, will be able to levy such taxes as they please, in order to reduce tho loss of working iheir railways to a minimum. On the whole, the prospects of the colony, in respect of: the results of its grand scatter-cash . policy, are brilliant in the extreme J For an expenditure of ten millions sterling, it will have an half-finished system of very inferior railways, by which its ordinary industries will be seriously interfered witb, though no- . thing like an adequate advantage will be gained; ihe cost or difficulty of carriage will be scarcely diminished at all; and taxation of most burdensome proportions will have to be sustained. This is literally what the colony bas to look for; and this is exactly what the ' colony deserves. •■t!.V •- ' I '", ',' ; , ' ',____'■'■■. JUBLfUJ