NEW ZEALAND RAILWAYS.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 475, 28 May 1890, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND RAILWAYS.

MEETING OF THE RAILWAY LEAGUE. THE COMMISSIONERS CHARGED WITH TRIFLING. APPEAL TO THE GOVERNMENT. Auckland, May 22. The Railway Reform League mot in the large room of the New Zealand Insurance Buildings at 3 o’clock this afternoon, when some very valuable information and important proposals were presented relative to the efforts made by the League with the view of bringing about reform in the administration of tho railways of this colony. The report of the Executive Committee wasamost exhaustive one, and went minutely over the whole of the correspondence that has taken place between the Railway Commissioners and the League. The first communication mentioned is a letter from the League to the Commissioners dated 12th October, 1889, drawing the attention of the Commissioners to the report of the Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry of 1886, and asking if they would give a trial to the system of railway management reported on by that Committee. The Commissioners in their reply asked if the League would indemnify them against any loss in the event of the system receiving a trial, and the League replied in the negative, being of opinion that the trial would be for the benefit of the colony at large and not to the advantage of its membere. In subsequent correspondence the Commissioners pleaded the want of sufficient information. Tho League insisted that all necessary information was provided by the investigation of the Parliamentary Committee of 1886, and insisted on a direct answer being given to their demand, that in accordance with that Committee’s recommendation, the stage system should receive a trial. In this way matters progressed without any satisfactory outcome, until the Committee of the League came to the conclusion that THE COMMISSIONERS WERE TRIFLING WITH THEM. The Executive Committee reported : (1) “ That they had carefully read the letteis received from the Railway Commissioners, and had arrived at the conclusion that the Commissioners have no intention whatever of making any change in the policy of administration of the railways of the colony. (2) “That the Commissions seem determined not to give effect to the recommendation of the Parliamentary Committee of 1886. (3) “ Under these circumstances the Committee is convinced that it is useless to waste further time in corresponding with the Commissioners, and they suggest that a public meeting shall be convened for the purpose of considering the follow* RESOLUTIONS : (1) “That, since the appointment of the Commissioners, there has been no ebange in the system of administration which was the intention of Parliament and the people, the old sj 7 stem of railway administration, which the Commissioners still pursue, • being most unsatisfactory to the country.” 2. “That, in the opinion of this meeting, the passing of the Government Railways Act of 1887 was a mistake, and that it ought to be repealed without delay ; that Parliament should at once give effect to the recommendation of their Committee of 1886, and order a trial of the stage system they reported upon on the whole or a portion of the railways of the colony.”

THE ZONE SYSTEM. The Executive Committee also reported that they wrote to the Hungarian Minister of Commerce, asking for information as to the working of the “zone ” system in that country. The Hungarian Minister had very courteously replied, giving the fullest details as to the working of their new system, and had also iorwarded tables showing the result of the first four months’ operations, which showed that the increase in the number of passengers over the_ number carried in the corresponding four months of last year was 2,677,306; of pieces of baggage, 60,803; and of revenue from these two sources, £68,098. NEW BRANCHES.

The Committee also reported that association leagues had been formed in the Waikato, at Helensville, and Invercargill, - and remarked with gratification that the system of railway administration advocated by the League had attracted the attention of the authorities at Berlin, who had twice, through official channels, sought reliable information with reference to it.

PROPOSED PETITION TO PARLIAMENT.

In conclusion, the Committee recommend the League to adopt a petition to be circulated for signature throughout the colony, and for presentation to Parliament during the forthcoming session. The following is the substance of the petition: “That, in the opinion of your petitioners, the working of the Government Railways Act of 1887 has teen most unsatisfactory: that this Act expressly provides for the introduction of ‘ differential rating,’ which is now practically prohibited both in Great Britain and the United States of America, and in the latter country is punishable by a fine up to £I,OOO and two years’ imprisonment; that, in 1886, your Honourable House appointed a committee to investigate the report of the stage system of railway administration which has been proposed for adoption in thiscolony ; that your committee recommended * that a trial should be given to the system on an isolated section of our railways.’ Your petitioners therefore pray: (1) That the Act of 1887 may be at once repealed ; (2) that an unconditional trial of the system your committee reported on may be ordered to be made on the whole or some considerable portion of the railways of this colony.”