BREAKWATER CHARGES.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 March 1918, Page 6

BREAKWATER CHARGES.

AND TRAIN FACILITIES. DEPUTATION TO MINISTER. At New Plymouth yesterday a deputation from the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce waited upon the Minister for Railways regarding railway matters. Mr. A. McHardy (president of the Council of the Chamber of Commerce) said there were some matters that his Chamber desired to bring under the notice of the Minister. The first was a request for the speeding up of the morning train from Hawera to New Plymouth. The train still took the same time over the journey as it did when the line was first opened 38 years ago. It was suggested that it might be made to leave Hawera at 7 o'clock and reach New Plymouth at 9.45. If that were done it would be a great boon to settlers, who would then have time to 4 do business' and get back in time to attend to their afternoon milking; and if (and the Hawera people also supported the proposal) the midday train for Hawer-i were put back to half past 12 a still greater benefit would result. It was further urged that such an arrangement would result in dairy produce arriving at the freezing works much earlier than at present, and it would be saved from the deterioration inevitable from the handling in the heat of the middle of the day.. In this connection lie read letters in support from practically all the dairy factories along the line. There was a further aspect of the matter, and that *es with regard to children coming into the secondary and technical schools. At present they could not reach school before 11 o'clock, and they had to leave again by 3.30 p.m. to catch the afternoon train, and with the lunch hour intervening they had a very short school day. The Department might say that the railways were not run for that class of passengers; but it was held that the railways should be run for the benefit of the settlers and the ratepayers. The general manager had told them that nothing could be done till after the war, but there seemed so little to do that they could not see the reason for post-, poning the improvement to such an indefinite period. He hoped the Minister would give early and favorable consideration to the request.

PORT LINE CHARGES. Mr. P. S- Johns (vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce I dealt with the need for immediate relief from the excessive charges made by the Railway Department for haulaga from the breakwater to town. In comparison with other port lines of the Dominion he said the charges at New Plymouth were detrimental to the district and out of all reason. The present charges amounted to 7s lOd per ton on general cargo for haulage over three miles of railway. This was excessive. The increases put on the rates since the war amounted to ICO per cent. The latest impost of Is per ton receiving charge at the wharf and Is per ton receiving charge at the sheds, to each of which charges was added the 10 per cent, put on all charges was out of all reason, and was very detrimental to New Plymouth as a distributing centre. Mr. Johns had gone to considerable trouble to take ,6ut comparative figures showing the charge per mile per ton on the various port lines in the Dominion, based on the charges ruling before the war, which at*, New Plymouth was three shillings per ton from the ship's sling to carrier at goods shed, and he showed that while on the Lyttelton line, which was commonly supposed to be the most expensive so far as freight was concerned, the charge worked out at , 2-7 d per mile over a seven-mile line, the charge over the three-mile line at New Plymouth amounted to Is per ton per mile. He instanced the case of a local merchant who had contracted for the cartage of benzine from the port by motor and had secured it at 2d per case, but the Railway Department had, put a stop to that and insisted on the soods going throuah their sheds. He had conferred with the head office of his firm at Nelson regarding the latest receiving charges, and had received a reply that the cliarges had been promulgated but that they had been withdrawn on account of public protest. He also drew attention to the congested state of the accommodation ai the goods shed, and the want of sufficient staff to handle the goods promptly. Mr. Newton King (chairman of the Harbor Board) said 1» thought perhaps the latest charges had slipped in, and that they were really not intended to apply to New Plymouth at all. Goods were loaded direct on to the trucks from the ship and in that respect were loaded to the railway cheaper at New Plymouth than at any other port. He said that at a charge of 7s 10d per ton (and that did not include wharfage) the town could not carry on. It was a most serious position, and was vital to New Plymouth, and if the charges were insisted on it would mean that the port of New Plymouth would go down. INFERIOR RAILWAY CARRIAGES. Mr. S. W. Shaw supported the previous speakers, and claimed that what was asked for was considered vital to the commercial interests of New Plymouth. He said there was a very strong feeling growing that New Plymouth was treated very unfairly Such a feeling was inimical to the interests ot the community and the Department. He said there were some minor matters relating' to railway management he had been asked to bring under notice. Firstly there were complaints about the class of carriage lately in use on the mail train. He referred '- "•-, use ot the "bird cage" carriage, the long compartment of which wa? uncomfortable and antiquated, and compared unfavorably with the class oi carriage used on the Main Trunk line. The carriages previously in use had apparently been sent to other sections If it was necessary, of course, they would have to put dp with it. He did not understand, however, why a good comfortable carriage should be taken off at Aramaho and sent to Wanganui, and an old-fashioned one allowed to come on to New Plymouth. He also complained of the class of trucks being used at present to carry dairy produce to the freezing works. Some of them were very much out of repair, and many of them not insulated, arid the result was that produce arrived at the works in a very sweatee, state. WEIGHBRIDGE DEFECTS. Mr. 0. N. Firth drew attention to the unsatisfactory state of the Department's weighbridge There were constant complaints of shortages in coal cargoes. cently a vessel arrived with 300 tons and (he weighbridge showed a deficiency of ten tons; another cargo of 1390 tone had weighed out 30 tons short; and a 10S2 ton cargo had been 72 tons deficient On one cargo Ihe bridge had weighed 7cwt. per truck short. The shortages had been

going o:i for years now and lie thought they should have a more up-to-date machine. He also drew attention to the poor accommodation at the goods office for both staff and public. MINISTERIAL REPLY. In his reply Mr. Hcrrics raid practically all the matters referred to wove matters of internal working rather than of policy, and he would have to refer them to his responsible officers. In war time it was not possible to deal with the Department's customers as in normal times. The matter of speeding up the morning train was already under consideration. He thought that what had been in the mind of the general manager had been the dividing of the train and making a purely passenger train in the morning. That would be the best proposal for speeding up, and might be done after the war. The question of earlier starting would have to be considered in relation to the requirements of the settlers along the line. The matter of charges on the port line would be gone into thoroughly and carefully.. Charges had been increased on account of increase in wages of employees.. If there was any injustice being done to New Plymouth he would do his best to remedy it. Regarding the suggestion of the use of inferior carriages on the line, and also the matter of the weighbridge and the inconvenience at the goods shed, these would all be investigated by the department's officers.

Mr. McHardy expressed the appreciation of tlie Chamber of Commerce of the "way the Minister had received and replied to the deputation. On the motion of the Mayor a very hearty vote of thanks, carried with acclamation, was accorded Mr. Hemes for his visit to New Plymouth, and for the sympathetic hearing he had accorded the various deputation.