The Daily News. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1914. LOCAL RAILWAYS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 111, 3 October 1914, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1914. LOCAL RAILWAYS.

The opposition of Sir Joseph Ward and other members of his party to the Local Railways Bill is difficult to understand. Tho Bill in its present! form is tho outcome of tho promise made by Ministers to settlers of the 'Moturoa-Opunake dis trict, giving them legislative power to finance, construct and conduct a railway along tho coast. The Government, quite properly, lias taken up the proposal as a policy one, applicable to any district similarly circumstanced as our coast. Instead of opposing such a good and useful measure, that can only operate beneficially to this district in particular and the country a s a whole, facilitating 'settlement and the development of our resources, at the same timo providing much-needed relief to sottlers, one would have expected the Leader of the Opposition to give it his whole-hearted support. True, Sir Joseph Ward has never looked favorably upon railways not owned by the State, but the present Bill provides every possible safeguard of the State's interests. Sir Joseph said that the proper course was for the State to find the money to construct these district railways, and not pursue a policy of "funk," as the Bill did. But the State cannot find the money. That being so, why take up a "dog-in-thc-manger" attitude, and prevent districts willing to rato themselves, finance and construct a railway? The loss will be that of the ratepayers affected, and not tho Dominion's. It is foolish for the Government to say. "We can't build your line, however well it may pay and however urgently it may be needed, for we havo too much new construction work on our hands as it is. But we are not going to let you do the work yourselves." That is a short-sighted policy that leads to injustice and stagnation. The Leader of the Opposition, who surely could not have given any thought to the provisions in the Bill, denounced the principle of private people building railways and taen clamoring to have them taken over by the State at a big advance on the cost. Had he read the Bill, he would have found that this objection has been adequately met. Power exists for the State t> take over any district railway at a price to bo determined by arbitration, and compensation for goodwill is expressly provided against. No railway can be constructed without the consent of the Covcrnor-in-Couucil, or without the plans being approved. This prevents any district, against their own interests —quite an unlikely contingency—building a "wild-cat" line, like some of those that contribute to the railway losses in the South Island. In the case of the deficiency in the revenue, the ratepayers kavu to meet it by striking a rate on their lands. The country, therefore, stands to lose absolutely nothin™ by giving the power that is sought; on ttto contrary, it stands to gain a great deal from the enterprise of the settlers. "Self-reliance" is one of the first Liberal doctrines, as enunciated by one of the Liberal Party's greatest leaders, and when the opportunity to practise it is asked for, it should be commended and supported, not denounced and opposed, as it has been by Sir Joseph Ward and other members of the party. The passing of this Bill will confer a great benefit upon the settlers.of this coast, who, despite the fact that they have been heavily rating themselves to maintain the main road in a passable condition, find the task impossible, and that relief from the crushing burden can only come from putting the traffic on rails. This they are quite prepared to do at their own cost, because they know that in the long run it will prove a much cheaper course than to go on paying the steadilyincreasing rates for steadily-detcriorat-iag roads.