The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1901. THE NEW RAILWAY TIMETABLE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 229, 9 October 1901, Page 2

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1901. THE NEW RAILWAY TIMETABLE.

Ouit local contemporary is to be gratulated on giving his support to the movement which has for its object the prevention of a great injustice to the people of the town and district surrounding New Plymouth. True he is very half-hearted about it, and it is only the unanimous feeling against the proposal of the people of both town and country which compels his support. We are practically asked to believe that New Plymouth must be prepared to put up with some -inconvenience to secure a daily mail train. We fail to see the force of this argument, for the the trains are run, not for New Ply-! mouth, but for Taranaki, If Taranaki had received justice a daily mail train would have been running years ago. The arrangement of the local service to fit in with the mail trains may be looked upon bb of secondary importance % the Traffic Department, but it is of first importance to the settlers of the district, who are in the habit of frequently using these trains. The question really resolves itself into this: Shall the convenience of the settlers or that of the railwav officials be the prime consideration ? There can be no i question which should give way. After all, where should the difficulty be? On four days a week mail traits run now, and no diffioulty is experienced in crossing the Hawera train. Is any sane man going to ask people to believe that shortening the time between Hawera and New Plymouth, is going to mean that no country! settler within a radius of, say, 20 or 30 miles of New Plymouth is to be allowed to reach the town by rail until nearly noon ? Such a statement would infer absolute incompetence on the part of the Traffic Department.. Sir Joseph Ward has stated on soveral occasions that his railway policy is intended to improve the position of the country settler. Yet here is a change that will cause the greafest possible inconvenience to hundreds of settlers living between Hawera, Waitara, and 1 New Plymouth—settlers who make 50 trips into New Plymouth for every one they make to Wellington: indeed hundreds of them never go to Wellington at all. Everybody knows that the mail trains are the business men's trains, while the local trains are the settlers' trains. We do not doubt Mr Pipßr's desire to frame a time-table for the convenience of the district, and since the time he has occupied the position of Traffic Manager he has certainly seemed the right man for tbis responsible position; but. in this matter we fancy he fails to realise the great importance of the local service to the people who live in the vicinity of the railway line. No doubt the deputation which is to wait upon him this morning will make this clear to him, and will demonstrate the convenience it would be to a large section of people if the train arrived a little earlier instead of later. We have tried to find some good reason for the proposed change, but, so far, haye failed. Considering the large number of stations between Hawera and New Plymouth, pari icy larlv between and Inglewood, it should be easy to arrange the matter eo as not to put people to the inconvenience which would be the natural sequence sf the proposed change,