The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1828, 25 March 1884, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Equal and exirt justice to .ill men, Ot \vh itsiicNor state or persuasion, religious or political. Here shall the Press the People's right maintain, Urn. wed bv influence and unbribed hv train

TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 1884. ♦ Those who uphold the action of the Government in raising the railway tariff, sifK'ct to think that the change affects Canterbury only. They argue that the taxpayers of the colony have had, ever since the reduction a year or two ai>o, to pay for can* v ing the Canterbury farmers' wheat from the steading to the sea-bo ird, and contend that it is high time* tho grain growers began to pay for the benefits the railway system has conferred upon them. This may be all very well ; it is but right that the farmeis of Canterbury should contribute to the cost of maintaining our railway system in a like proportion with every other member of the community, and if this class have developed an inclination to nuke use of the lines without showing a corresponding disposition to pay for them, we should be the last to defend them. It is true that the farming industry is not beyond the need of a foitering hand, true that a gr-'at deal requires to be done nefore agriculture in this country can be s.iid to 1)C on a firm footing. On the strength of the railways, high prices have been paid for land and capitxl has been invested, which, without such an inducement, would not havebeen so paid or invested, but these circumstince.s oujit not to have any weight where die railway are found to be working at an absolute loss. It is quite clear thai the receipts ought to cover the working expenses and the amount set aside for wear and tear ; whether they ought of necessity to balance the sum paid for interest on cost of construction, is another matter altogether. Bv-and-bye we believe our railwajs will prove a source of considerable revenue, but their productiveness cannot be forced without injury to the Vi'ry interests which the construction of our lines was intended to serve. Nobody will deny that the, aim of the progenitors of our great Public Works Scheme was the sett'ement of tho country, and securing prosperity to the people who should settle it. What object could be more worthy, what more deserving of success 1 But has it been attained 1 It is true the construction of the various railways in New Zealand has tended to promote settlement, or at least to dispose of the waste lands of the Crown, which otherwise had been inaccessible ; vast areas of land have been taken up by men at the outset determined on embarking in bond fide farming ; and what has been the result? Why, simply this: thit these men, finding the tariff prohibitory, instead of becoming farmers in the true sense of the term, have necessarily relapsed into mere graziers of cattle and sheep ; this being, not the most profitable, but the least disastrous occupation to which, under the circumstances, they could turn. What would the answer of any Waikato farmer be if we asked him, " Does cattle raising pay V, and what would his reply be if wo counselled him to enter largely into other brandies of agriculture 1 It is all vory well to say that the. railways must be made to pay — none would rejoice more than the heavily taxed farmer if they did — but what is to make them remunerative if we destroy the very fountain springs of their profitableness ? Mr Yaile has been called a visionary, but the fai tuers at leasfc know that there is some method in his madness. Regarded in the light of Mr John Hutchinson's letter, which will be found in another column, the arguments of the apologists for the revised tariff wear a strange complexion, one which will not bear too close a scrutiny. However harshly the change in the freight charges may fall upon Canterbury farmers, — or whether in their case the alteration be a reasonable and fair one — this we know, that in so far as they relate to AVaikato the increased rates will affect the rural population, that is, the whole community, injuriously. If it be possible by means of public meetings, or what not, to force this fact upon the attention of the department and the Government, no opportunity should be neglected ; we should not desist from agitating until we feel that a proper amount of consideration has been devoted to our just claims.

The Public Works Department does not apparently pay much regard to the promises of Ministers. We have not much sympathy with those who put their trust in Ministers or princes. With the example of a certain historical character before them, they ought to know better. In the instance under notice, however, it is not only those who relied upo» promises who. are the sufferers, and the disappointment to. which we

allude is likely to be felt from a ppcuniary point of viuw. We refer to the delay which is taking pace in the commencement of th * contract for the completion of the Cambridge railway. When Mr Mitchelsou was at Cambridge, he was pressed by a deputation to limit the contractor's time to five months, instead of six months, as at first proposed. To this request the Minister acepded, with, we believp, the fullest intention of carrying out his promise. But the Minister proposes, and the Department dibposes. It was understood that as soon a>s the main line was completed to the junction, the contractor for the branch should be allowed to haul his material over it. Now, Mr Lovett, the contractor for the branch line, has been waiting for nearly a month to proceed with his work, but he cannot make a start with the platelaying because the track between Hamilton and the junction is not yet in a condition to bear the traffic. The actual delay in the prosecution of the work affects the public, but the contractor is placed at a greater disadvantage, inasmuch ns the fine weather is rapidly slipping away, and the winter will soon be upon him. The delay, ye believe, is caused by the want of certain material required by Messrs Mullinger and Brett, the contractors for the main line, a circumstance which is not by any means creditable to the authorities.