ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1918, 21 October 1884, Page 3

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

I mpst admit that I was glad to hear of the railway collision which occurred on the railway line, in the tunnel between the Auckland and Newmarket stations, though I was very sorry for the unfortunate driver of the runaway engine, who lost three of his fingers by the accident. Except for that misfortune, I consider that the collision will be a great advantage, as it will most forcibly impress on the Government the absolute necessity of taking steps to prevent the occurrence of a similar accident in the future. It is simply tempting Providence, taking the whole ot the traffic on our three lives of railway — that to Waikato, with its two branches, that to Kaipara and that to Onehunga — through that wretched timnel on a single line of rails. There should be two lines at the least, and it is imperatively necessary that an additional line should be laid at once. It was a piece of egregious stupidity to allow space for only a single line when the tunnel was first constructed. The extra width could then have been obtained at little additional cost. The widening now would entail very serious expense. It has been proposed to take the Waikato line down the harbour to Orakei and thence inland to junction with the present line at Penrose. I hope that this will be done, though it will involve a ' very large outlay both for construction and for compensating property ownera for the loss of their riparian rights. If it is done, however, it will be a great advantage, as it will relieve the tunnel of the Waikato traffic. In addition to this, the Kaipara line ought to be taken up the harbour in a similar manner, and carried inland to junction with the present line .at or ne»r Mount Albert. The 'railway; is now almost useless .to the settlers in that; locality, asj on account 'of the round-about route followed, .the. train takes longer to go outthantheomnibusses, and thefares'are higher. To-day I had an opportunity of noticing this. I left' Queen Street at 4. 30, the time at ,which 4hg,Kaipara, Hrwfa^Jleft-tlle^AtidklaWd 'stetiopy w« rewind Mountr Albert befoft it did,

besides being saved the time and trouble involved in walking down to the station.

One of the most dastardly robbeiiis ever peipe-iated heie was carried out at the Governor Gordon Dining Rooms last Satuiday night. The proprietor of the ilining-nnms was dying, and a blackakinued and black-heaited thief took advantage of the fact to steal a cash box containing £23 in money and tvyo watches. The highwayman or bush ranger \> ho stops people and demands their money or their life is a brave gcntlernan as compared with this cur, a& he runs the risk of " catching a tartar " and having his brains blown out or knocked out. Nothing could be more despicable than the action of this cowardly hound (I beg the paidon of all respectable hounds for having called this mean skunk by their name), who loafed about the dining rooms until he saw the man, who was looking after the place in the interests of his dying master, turn his back for .1 few moments, and then stole the cash-box. It is exceedingly fortunate for the scoundrel, if he values his life, as I suppose he does, that he committed his dastardly offence in Auckland instead of in one of the sparsely-settled districts in America, where Judge Lynch presides over the courts and dispenses justice lather than law. There his fate would have been a rope attached to the nearest tree, and very little time to say his prayers. * By-the-bye, I remomber a very good story about Lynch Law which I heard many years ago but do not think I ever saw in print. In one of the frontier settlements in the early days there was a man who was too lazy to work. He used to loaf around and sponge on his neighbours, always dropping in on one of them at me.il-times, without waiting for an iu\itatron. The other settlers put up with this for some time, but at last they got tired of it. At first they gave him gentle hints, and, rinding that they were without effect they told him plainly that he must work if he wished to eat. He would neither work "or go away, as that would have involved an amount of exercise he did not feel disposed to take. Finding that \\« wasinconigible, the settlers resolved to try him before Judge Lynch, and twelve "good men and true." It could not be said that he was tried before his peeis, as lie had no peer for laziness in the settlement. However, he was tried, and the jury brought in a verdict that as he would net work he was not fit to live. Thoy therefore condemned him to be hanged. He made no demur, but refused to walk to the place of execution, so he was put on a cart to be carried thither. \\ liilo the procession was on its way, one of the settleis, more softhearted than the rest, stopped it, and said that lie would give the man some corn. A reprieve was granted, and the cart was on the point of being turned round, when the condemned man asked his deliverer, "Is it shelled ?" " No," was the reply. The lazy man said to the duver, " Drive on the cart." # Mr Samuel Vaile ha& at last got encouragement from men well qualified to form an opinion on the subject of his proposed laihvay system. Messrs R. W. Moody, T. D. Edmonds and J. Stodart, all of whom have had much experience in the management of railways, have signed a memorandum to the effect that, after full and deep consideration of the matter, the) believe that the adoption of his system would result in three times as many passenger fares being taken, that the average fare could not sink below one shilling, and that the increased passenger traffic would > not perceptibly increase the working expenses. This opinion is of very great value for three reasons, viz., because those who give it are well qualified by their experience to express an opiuion on the subject, because they are not in any way connected with the railway department and so are thoroughly impartial, and because the system proposed is totally different to that in which they were trained and they must, therefore, have begun their investigations prejudiced against it. Mr Vaile has every reason to feel gratified by the receipt of this memorandum and to be encouraged to continue Ins efforts to get his theory practically tested on our railways. In his letter to you, accompanying the memorandum, he demonstrates that the increase in revenue from passengers alone would amount to a quarter of a million sterling per annum. Supposing that he has over-estimated the increase, though theie do not seem to be any grounds for the supposition, if even one half, or if even a quarter, of this sum could be added to the railway revenue it would be an immense advantage to the colony, while the diminution in the cost of railway travelling would be an incalculable boon, especially to country settlers. So the commission appointed to enquire into the best route for the North Island Trunk Railway has reported in favour of that from Te Awamutu to Marton, Well, it is a disappointment to us Aucklanders, but as there can be no doubt about the impartiality of the commissioners or of the voluminousness of the evidence taken by them, we must accept their verdict as correct. There is another reason why we should do so, and that is because it was at the request of the Auckland members that the commission was composed entirely of South Island members. Having practically appointed the arbitrators, we should not cavil at their award. Of course, it will be a serious disadvantage to us to lose the TaranaUi trade, if we do lose it, but I do not believe that we will. Goods can be carried so much more cheaply by steamer thnn by train that moat of the freight will be sea-borne even after the railway is opened, and when Taranaki people require their goods to be sent by rail, the Auckland merchants can put themselves on the same footing with those of Wellington by paying the additional freight, which would not amount to much, especially if Mr Vaile's system is brought into force. However, I hope that effect will be given to the proposal to at once begin the construction of the line at Te Awamutu, whether the route for the whole line is adopted this session or not, Beeing that that must be the same j for either route, and that that will open up some of the best country that either line would traverse. St. Mungo.