A VISITOR'S INDICTMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 243, 4 March 1913, Page 4

A VISITOR'S INDICTMENT.

(To the Editor). Sir, —I notice in your paper this morning that you mentioned the slow "crawl" of the New Plymouth train 011 Thursday night. Well, Sir, I was one of those •whose unlucky day it was to travel to New Plymouth and back that day. We only took 2 hours going in—3o miles in 2 hours appears to he an enormous speed for your trains. However, coming home was the limit. We left New Plymouth at 0 o'clock —not a very large train—two engines on, and then followed ;t crawl up to Tnglewood. On the way there we stopped at anything that looked like a station. These alleged stations generally had almost unpronouneable Maori names, and it seemed to me that we only stopped at each in order, to give the guard an opportunity to practice elocution and pronunciation of Maori names. I lost count of the time we stopped at Tnglewood—it must have been about 20 minutes—we then spud on to Midhirst. where we stopped some time. An Australian was seated next me and when the stationmaster or guard at Midhirst rushed excitedly along the platform shouting "All clear, please!" this Australian politely asked him, "Good Lord, you are not goinff to let us go now," only to receive the assurance that they \vere not. Thev were going to shift cargo or something. Rut seriously, Sir,, your railways are a blot on the face of your fair Islands. 1 am an American, and have travelled over the world some, and have never seen a system that was managed any worse than yours. If your Minister for Railways had been in that train on Thursday night, he would have been severely dealt with. Just think of it—three hours to travel 30 miles! Tam only a visitor to your country, but must say that anyone who travels on your trains is tackling a proposition that no one in the Sates would look at. New Zealand has some good institutions, but she is all to the had where railways are concerned, 30 miles in 3 hours! My, that is going some! —I am, etc., WILLIAM SOMERTON. Newport. Kentucky, U.S.A.