The Waikato Times. TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 1879.

Waikato Times, Volume XIII, Issue 1047, 11 March 1879, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 1879.

Equal and exaot justioo to all men, Of whatever state or persuasion, religious orvolitioal. ♦ * * * * * Here shall the Press the People's right maintain, Unawed by iaauenoo and tmorxbed by gain.

The alteration iv the traffic on the Auckland and Waikato railway, caused by reducing the passenger trains from two to one m number daily, except on Saturdays, is looked upcn by Waikato settlers as anything but satisfactory, and a public meeting will be held at Hamilton, called by the Mayor, to.morrow to consider the question. Delegates have been invited to attend from Qambiidge,' Te Awainutu, and Nga-vu-.wahia, and the heads oi local bodies have been asked to hold contemporaneous meetings, to urge upon the railway authorities the desirability of re-considering the decision arrived at, which is proposed to come into operation at the end of the month.

We cannot but hope that the authorities may be induced to devise some better means for reducing the expenditure on the line than cutting off one of the sources w ioh, sooner or later, must lead to an increase of revenue. To go back from two trains to one train daily is a retrograde movement, smacking too much of the rule of thumb to prove itself acceptable either to the Government or to the portion of the public more direotly interested. It is about to be taken to, also, before its necessity is fully proved, lor the opening of the line to Te Awamutu, shortly, will largely increase the passenger traffic. But, sarely there must be some more business-like means of economising than that proposed. There is, for instance, a goods train leaving Auckland at 8 a.m reaching Mercer at 11.20. and leaving Mercer again, for Ohaupo, at 6.30 p.m., wiving at Ohaupo at 11.30 pm. Now, why, say the people of Waikato, could not this train leave Auckland m the afternoon, running straight through to Ohaupo. Probably, the answer of the Railway Manager would be : Our engines are not powerful enough to drive a combined goods and passenger train, so as to travel the distance m anything like the time a passenger traffic demands ; and no doubt this is true. The engines used are not powerful enough for the ordinary work of the line. It is painful to ! see them trying to work a heavy string of waggons round the beautiful curves that embellish our Auck-land-Waikato Railway with a character peculiarly its own. But if a coach proprietor drove four wretched screws that would only take an empty coach up hill, and used that as an excuse for insufficient public accommodation, what would be tho reply but a recommendation to replace the screws with a good staunch toam, and this is what the Bail way Department should do with the iron screws they are at present working on the Waikato - Auckland line — replace their little better than toy engines with engines up to the work. At any rate, let something be done — let everything be tried— • before resorting to a retrograde movement such as cutting down the conveniences afforded to th« public, and checking thereby the growth of the use of the line, which would otherwise increase. The railway authorities must take the bad with the good, the paying with the non-paving portion of the traffic, just as a shopkeeper deals m many articles which yield no profit, sometimes even entail loss, bat which he finds it necessary to deal m if he wishes to secure a custom for those articles m which his chief profit lies. The meeting at Hamilton, it will be seen, has been Cilied for this evening at. 7 o'clock, at the Borough Council Chambers, when, doubtless, the whole matter will be fully and exhaustively entered into.

The Insurance Department of the Now Zealand Government has been looked to as affording every possible security to insurers, and on this assumption tho Government was allowed to create a monopoly, which leaves tho field of life assurance m New Zealand open only to itself and one competing institution, the Australian Mutual Provident. If, however, the public are not guaranteed this promised security, then the establishment of this Government department becomes something else than an unmixed blessing. A case has been brought before our notice, which calls for public attention.

As late back as the 24th of September last, Mr Charles Thompson, a settler Jiving* on fcfce "Waipa, iv

attempting to cross that river, m a canos, was upaet and drowned. The body was recovered, and at an inquest held upon it a verdict of death by accidental drowning was returned. It appear 3 that Thompron's life was insured m the New Zealand Government Insurance Department for £100, and though repeated applications have been made by his widow, the money had not, up to a few days ago, been paid — nay, we are informed, no replies have been vonchsafed to her repeated applications. It may be that the unfortunate woman, m her ignorance, has not complied with some prescribed form, but if so, her neglect should have been pointed out to. her by the Department, instead of leaving her month after month without payment of the money which is her just due. Nothing can tend more to make an Insurance Company, whether a private one or the institution of the Government, unpopular with the public than a want of promptness m the settlement of claims upon it. For some time past the Department has been without anything more than a merely notninel head, but now that Mr Luckie has been appointed to tbat office, and as a journalist, may be expected to I difter from the ordinary run of high class Government officials m poses- ! sing both brains and business capabilities, we may expect that such cases as the one we have now m the public interests and m justice to a Waikato widow felt called upon to expose, will be no longer heard of.