RAILWAY REFORM.

Waikato Times, Volume XX, Issue 1694, 15 May 1883, Page 3

RAILWAY REFORM.

A Mke'tiNO for the discussion of the above subject .was lield in the Public Hall, Te.Awamutn, on Saturday last, 12th inst., Mr W. Sloane in the chair. The meeting • was only thinly attended, on account no doubt of tho severe weather, and the bad roads. Mr S. Vaile, of Auckland, was present, and wafr introduced to the meeting by the chairman, who requested Mr T. Greaham to read the letters on the subject from the pen of Mr Vailc in The Waikato Times, 13th January, and 3rd February, also ono published in the JTcrald a short time ago. This correspondence, dealing with roads and railway's, " passenger fares, parcel freights, 'fares, tickets, private railways, and advantages to towns, &c, fee, being read, Mr Vaile addressed the meeting, and called attention to the urgent need that existed for a radical reform in the system of working the railways of the colony. The decrease oi railway revenue, complaints made of over-chaige, want of accommodation, and vexatious regulations. It aeemed to have been assumed by the Government that the railways must be made to pay interest on the cost of their construction and maintenance. This he held to be a most mischievous mistake. It wonld bo sound policy to carry passengers and freight at very low rates, though doing so entailed a great loss instead of gain. They voted hundreds of thousands of pounds for making roads, and never thought of interest on the outlay. Why should they expect it from the, railway ? He denied that the Government have any more right to interest on the cost of railways, than they have to charge on the construction of common roads. Mr Vaile next touched on passenger fares, and was of opinion that his ticket scheme would yield as good a revenue as the present, and wonld encourage suburban traffic. The piesent parcel freight was totally condemned by the speaker. Instead of having five classes, and an additional list of 12 articles, charged at the rate of ft . fare and a-half, three classes should be sufficient viz, 1:8, SG, and 1421bs M charged respectnely, 3d, Gd, 9d, torn ticket station to ticket station, parals to, include every kind of merehanproduce. The freight tariff for general merchandise it was impossible to understand ; the manager had even failed to do so. There was a schedule of 15 classes, 34 different small scales foe lot*, and to explain this mass of confusion there are 748 alphabetical leference. He had given them up, being utterly unable to make them out. He would remove all this confusion by making four clashes only. For trucks for horses, cattle, sheep, calves, pigs, goats, hay, straw, and firewood he would charge 8s per truck from ticket station to ticket station ; minerals : brick, clay, sand, and coaj, 2s per ton ; timber, 6d per 100 super . feet ; all other merchandise of every description 5s per ton ; all fares to be from ticket station to ticket station, or any intermediate distance. Mr Vaile next touched on revenue results and passenger traffic. During the year 1882, 2,911,447 souls travelled on our railways, only 063,319 being first-class. The total amount p-iid was £301,70-5 4s 3d, giving an average of under 2s Gd per head. He made bold to say that his scheme would yield £75,000 more than the present return. Railway tickets, he thought, should be totally abolished, and railway stam; s issued instead. All freight should be paid in stamps only, to be effaced as other stamps ate, and sold by all stamp vendors, also at all stations. No excursion or return tickets should be issued. On private railways, Mr Vaile was of opinion th.it his plan would assist in their construction, and the Government ultimately have to purchase and take them over. Mr Vaile desciibcd the advantages that towns would gain by the ticket stations. One want cieates many, and soon the smithy, the butcher's, the baker's shop, the church and school would follow, also the tailoi's shop and brewery, and thus a town would soon arise, which would go on increasing if this scheme of chenp fares wete adopted. The plan proposed would greatly encourage the tramway system, the trams acting us feeders to the ticket stations ; therefore, the speaker declared, it should be the policy of the Government to make the question of profit quite a secondary consideration, and thought it would I>o cheaper for the community to pay another Id or 2d in the £ Property-Tax than to continue tho present system, though he maintained that the method proposed would yiuld a larger and more diiect profit than the 1 one now in existence. In devising tho scheme indicated above, he hod endeavoured to keep the following points steadily in view, viz.: To promote the rapid settlement of the countiy; such a plan as will not have the usual effect of destroying the tiade of inland towns, but w ill tend to the creation of populous cities in the interior of the countiy ; to increase the value of real estate all over the colony and not in particular localities, and to place distant settlers as neaily as v possible on an equality with those near . y at hand. Mr Vaile resumed his seat amid applause. Mr Newland quite coincided with Mr Vaile that the tariff was quite too high. He (Mr Newland) had travelled a great deal by railway at home, but never heard of such fares as those in New Zealand. He had often travelled from London to Brighton for 4s, and from London to Manchester for os. He did not say these rates were paying, but he believed Government ought to throw the railways open to the public. Government would not give anything without asking, but it was only their right that they looked for. Mr R. W. Roche suggested that a t central committee should be formed by in town, and local comMfcnuttees throughout the whole of the Vaile : I do not think it would be for me to take a leading part in the I have spent a good deal of time this scheme, and now I the matter in the hands of the Newland warmly approved of Mr suggestion, and was very proud think that Waikato was the first to in the matter. Mr Gresham, in a few remarks, the meeting, and hoped that H no man would go away that night and W declare that this reform could not be ' obtained, because he was certain that it could. The following resolution was proposed L by^lr Newland and seconded by Mr T. m Greshanj : "That a committee be now X appointed to submit to the lion, the A Minister for Public Works a statement purging upon him the necessity which for » reform of railway managesuch committee to consist of the following gentlemen : Messrs J. N. F Westney, W. S. Rutherford, J. R. [ Wright, J. H. Mandeno, J. Newland, I J. W. Bridgman, A. Stitohbnry, G. A. ¥ Laidlaw and T. Gresham, with power to * add to their number." — Carried. In reply to a question as to what the Auckland merchants thought of the railway, Mr Vaile said he knew a firm who "send their goods twenty miles into the country by waggons, and bring them back empty, rather than have anything to do with the railway. Mr J. H. Mandeno was of opinion that a mpre stupid code of rules and regulations oould not be adopted than the one our railways were labouring under, and said the Government should ,be pressed upon to attend to the present unsatisfactory state of affairs at once. A cordial vote of thanks to Mr Vaile for the trouble he had taken in the public interest was carried by acclamation, and a vote of thanks to the chair brought the meeting to a close. The Committee will meet on Wednesday, I6thjnst., at 7 p.m., at the Central Waikato Hotel.— (Correspondent).

Mr Nicholson,' Kihikihi, , qSws a re* Tr«rd for tb« rpcgyory of * coy?i ,