The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1881.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 939, 1 December 1881, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1881.

A few months ago Masterton sent a requisition to the Railway Department to get the afternoon train to town started an hour later. By great good luck the memorialists succeeded in accomplishing their object, and the afternoon train was put back for an hour. The change in the afternoon train from Masterton necessitated a corresponding alteration in the evening train to Masterton. The latter alteration was not bargained for, and a second requisition is being signed to do away with it. Should the second requisition for altering the evening train be atteuded to," the afternoon train would have to be altered again, and then there would be, we presume, a third requisition to get that readjusted. The latter readjustment would affect the evening train, and a fourth requisition would he required, and so on ad infinitum. We trust, however, the second requisition will not be presented, as from what we can learn it will probably be laughed at if sent in, and we do not exactly desire to see Masterton requisitions it a discount in the railway market. It is said that the evening train could easily be made earlier if the afternoon train changed with it at the summit, instead of at the Uppar Hutt. This, we believe, is admitted by the authorities themselves, The objections to the proposal rather lie in a fair division of work between thp various engines and their staffs, and in the fact that the 4.30 train from Wellington saves the expense of a local train to the Hutt at that hour. It may be said what has the Wairarapa to do with the Hutt trains, but we think most of our readers will admit that it is Mr Ashcroft's duty to combine the Wairarapa and Hutt traffic in such a way as to keep down the general working expenses of the line. The public in the Wairarapa are getting a very reasonable amount of railway accommodation, and travellers generally from Featherston, Greytown, Carterton, and Masterton have expressed their approval of the new time-table. It would be absurd at present to alter it again, and we trust whenever another alteration is desired, the persons who seek to effect it will first of all interview the District Manager, and ascertain what changes are practicable, and all the consequences

t'lat tliey will involve, before bringing any pressure to bear on the Department. We see no great objection to a second alteration of the timetable, but wo, feel certain lhat a, requisition from Mastcrton will do more harm than good just at the present time. A very powerful private influence is it work in Wellington, and may prove Successful. Though we deprecate any cljatjge that is not made in the interests of the Department and the public, the influence of some of the Hutt lords on the time-table has in the past been so marked that it would be absurd to disregard it, Fortunately, however, the Hall Ministry, in these matte's, are less ductile than their predecessors were.