The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1882. A POLITICAL DANGER

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1257, 18 December 1882, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1882. A POLITICAL DANGER

The report of "the Public Petitions Committee on the petition of some two hundred and eighty railway employees has recentlybeen published, and apart from the particular,.grievances which gave rise to it, indicates that the vast railway army in/tlie service-of the colony is capable of .becoming a political force of considerable magnitude, The railway army, consists of someij3,6oo employees, each one of whom, no doubt, exercises avoto at a general election. A corps of. nearly ; four,'thousand voters,

animated by the inevitable esprit de corps, is a large item in the polls at an election. It is very possible, too, that if the railway employees 'were'roused on any particular question, they could influence a number of other electors equal to their own, and. might absolutely decide the fate of a Ministry on the occasion; of,a general. election. It must also be remembered that the railway' amy might work in conjunction with the ordinary civil service at such ajuncture, and tho combined influence of the two services ■ would be., almost irresistible., .There arc, not .wanting politicians ready to lead the railway army*„ The Dunedin members,.Messrs

Fish, Bracken, and Green, fully appreciate the value of the railway vote, and are .always really to brpg pressure to bear 011 the Government in favor of this important section of their supporters. A scrupulous Ministry nearly lost the late general elections," because they had had; the courage to reduce the civil service salaries by ten per cent, at a period of extreme financial depression, An uniicrupu'lous Ministry or a reckless political party scrambling for power might, at a general election, by proffering increase of pay to civil servants and railway employees,'' carry the day against a prudent party which was honestly protecting the interests and welfare of the colony, The magnitude of our railway army is almost a menace to,, our political institutions, In the late session it took the field in 1 the assembly, and but for the firmness of the.Government would have exercised a disturbing influence , on the deliberations of our Parliament. .It has discovered its .political. strength and though its'fii-st attempt to use it. was only a partial success, it is not likely ■to be deterred I from making, new efforts from time to j 'time with the' aid " and at * the - cal 1 'of opposition members, We are not

referring at v all at the, present time to, |he questions of tWagcs and long ■ hourVl which were raised by the petitioners, we are simply indicating the ;probablepolitical power ,!of ascompadt bodyof; nearly four thousand voters. The ? only remedy we can see for the possible danger that may arise from a ■New - Government having, so • formidable a block .vote recorded for or against it on non-political grounds would be for the colony to give up the management of its railways and dispose of them to some responsible public or privute company. The hands of any minister are so tied by political and other considerations that they cannot work lines to the best advantage. In spite of the reassuring, reports presented annually to Parliament,, the public have some reason to believe that the railways in this colony, are absolutely unprofitable. Returns ; are made up.by the officers of the department, but there is no outside independent investigation of the state of, our railways, which would ,al6ne i: satisfy colonists that really efficient management exists. By abolishing the State control over railways, our lines might be made more serviceable to the colony than they are at present, and the political danger which looms in the distance would be'avoided.