RAILWAY REFORM. Meeting at Tamahere. RAILWAY REFORM. Meeting at Tamahere.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 2012, 30 May 1885, Page 2

RAILWAY REFORM. Meeting at Tamahere.

did not pledge the Government or the public who aigned it to tiny scheme. It had been argued that the settlers wore endeavouiing to take an unfair advantage of residents in the towns. But thoir reply should be th.it in thi- petition the country has «liimn its perfect confidence and impartiality by being willing tn place themselves in the hands of the Chambeis of Com uiuice m towns. Though the railways uen> not what thpy ought to be, still none of them would like to be without them, fur they had certainly been a great benefit to New Zoo-land. It was nothiitticicnt to have railways, they mint devote the>e railway-* to tho purposes fur which they were <u initially intended, and ho wan correct in stating that the solo reason the county had pledged its resource* to jj'i into the railway scheme was to open up tho country and |>p>:n >to settlement. These weie the objects foi which tho first millions wore bnrowed, and that wi* whit tho (Internment should bear m mind. If the i.ulwaw weie to 1> • in.ule pay they nnist e^tihltsh pi) ipleou tho land, and they could only do this by reducing ihe tariff as low as }»ossible. V«ule'-« scheme would lx\ir scrutiny, tli" m >re th- > saw of it the more practicable it henned Mr Graham then instanced tlw success of the ]>ennny i>ost.i<'e, which lie eharactei is> <1 .is m mellous. Th.- -.am - nn«?.it bo s.iid of oho ip telegiaphy The T.imiluTii Club was the piopei nistituti >u to tike this nutter in li md, and by doiu-,' ii and working the, .ilF.in fur.vaid, they w >uld not only bj benetituntf themselves but all of New Zealand. (Applause.) Mi Baiugh seconded the motion. He alv> U'ferred to the -ucco^s of penny po-itige. Thoy need not take any uotice of w hat lailwav nfficwls said abmt Mr > 's scheme. Of course they could not .itrr>'<; with it. How could they? Theie wai not a mngle man in tho p.ist-office who approved of tha {Ksnny postage : They all opposed it, and Parliament had to effect tho reform. He referred to the success of the American railways. Mr Rhodes said there were thousands of uounds' worth of pioduce rotting in W.nkiito Kiinply because the farmer-* could not ifford to kftid it to Auckland. The r.nlway tantf was prohibitory. In order to enable the Waikato farmers to compete with the Southern men, who flooded the Auckland market with their produce, something in the way ot iailway reform would ! have to bo effected. Captain Runcunan referred to the railway tariff in Ameiica, and gave striking illustrations of how farmers were assisted in that conn try in sending their produce to market. If the freights were reduced Wai kat<» farmers would b« able to grow more produce than they did at present Mr Graham said that with proper organisation thoy should be able to get thirty <n foity thousand of tho signatures of the best men in the colony. The motion w.v> put and carried unanimously. Messrs Graham, Barugh, Wheeler, A. Wheeler. Majtyn, Rhodes, Rmiciuuiu and Captain Steele, were appointed a committee, with power to add to their number. On the motion of Mr (Jruhain, it was agreed to open a subscription list to defiay the expense* of the motenienr, and that the Tamahere Farmer 1-*1 -* Club subscribe five guineas towards the object. Mr Rhodes was unnnimouHly appointed president of the Reform League, and Mr Voa Stunner Treasurer. It was agreed, on the suggestion of Captain Steele, to coopeiato with the various chambers of commerce throughoti the colony, the chambers to take tli« lead in their lehpective district*, advancing the movement among the county councils, road Ixuids, fee. Also that the committee h.ive tho power to appoint sub-committees in various parts of the count ly. This terminated the meeting. The committee met bub^equontly, and adjourned till Monday .it 2 o'clock, at Mi S. S. Graham-" ie^Henr T unahore.

A MKhiiMt of thi 1 Tanuheie F.umeis' Club wa- held in the Tainiheie school mom last niLfht for thopuipo-e of c tnmiating with the provisional committee of tvt 1 New '/, uland Railway Refoi m League in founmg permanent committees and piomotuig tin petition to P.uli.uiu'iit. Theio was a \eiy good ami lepresentative attendance, and the eh.m wo,s occupied by Mi Rhodes, piesident of the dub. The. Chairman, in opening the pi i weeding-, read the adwiti-ement convening the meeting. He lefened at length to the object for which they had assembled. Tho question i>f lailway reform had now t.iken a practioil foiin, and he w.is pleased to notice that the agitation which they had com-menced-onio months ago in Waikato was not going to be allowed to die out without Home satufactoty result being attained. He thought they .should take all mean-* in their powor to achieve l.iilw.iv lefoim. Now that they had taken the matter in hand they must pci seven- if they wished to succeed, foi without pel severance and c intituled application, no great reform wasevei effected. The welfare of the farming cmnuuiiity w is especially bound up in this quo ti >n. Mi \V. A. Graham, w ho, as they w-ere awaie. had taken an aeti\e part in this office, «.b piesent, and lie would c ill upon th.it gentleman to lay his view ■> boforo tho meet ing. Mr (iraham addressed the meeting at home length. He explained how the ide.v of getting the Tamahere Farmer's Club to undertake the matter had arisen. It was thought as tho Tanuhere Club was the only iepresentati\e b idy of fanneis in Waikato, and there being amongst the iiit'inbeii homo of the most active and piomment men m Waikato that it would be better for them 111 1 t ike the matter in hand, and foim a peimtucnt coiumitt'je to act. lie had been appointed clianmui of the provisional committee. He would ask Mi Yon Stunner, who had boeu appointed secietaiy to the pro\ ihiou.il committee, to explain the position and what had already heou done. Mr Yon Stunner read the minutes of tho meeting at Hamilton, on the 20th inst, which have all cidy been published. Since Wednesday he had drafted a copy of the petition, and got it signed as far as possible, and had slips printed, winch were now out for signature. One of them w,i> sent to the Waik.ito County Council, and .signed by tho chairman of that body for the councd. It had also been signed for the Waipa County Council by the clerk of that body. It was necessary to push the matter forward with all expedition ho as to have it before the House which met on the 20th June next. The Chan mm then read the petition. It h.ia b.'en largely signed. It appealed to contain what was lequiied. Captain Steelo thought the petition e\-pies-ed what they wanted very well. They wanted a change, and they must not rest until they got it. Ho was well within the mark when he said the W.ukato district alone liwt £200,000 a yeai through the unsatisfactoiy management of the railways. The taihv ays wore intended to develop the industiies of the couutiy and promote settlement, but instead of that, under the existing arrangements, they were stifling ami not stimulating progress. If farmers were getting 6n a bushel for wheat, he did not think the tariff would be any greater. The department did not seem to look at it in this light. It was nonsense for the Government to talk about promoting settlemont in the interior along the line of railway if it persisted in inflicting the present unreasonable tariff. It was himply ruinous. It hud been said that cheap fares would drain the country into the towns, and as tho towns would piosuer the country would recede, this was not the case. Settlement could not advance slower than at present. It did not pay to send such bulky produce as potatoes and chaff to Auckland. A number of people objected to Vailo's -clieme .simply because they did not understand it. VVhen that schemo was first promoted no perhon could ha\o thought less of it than he had, but when he examined it he soon became converted to its principles. His opinou was that the more one studied it tho moi a one liked it. Tho railways w ei e Minply rotting out ; if they were being wni ii wut l»y traffic it would be a difteivtit thing. The carriages were invariably empty, and the guards and officials — veiy nico and obliging fellows certainly — ueio asleep. He had come thure that evening to Hhsir-t in forming a strong committee to woik this matter up. No doubt some opposition was inevitable to movements of this natutu, but in the long run right prevailed. Ho would give them one instance of how the railway assisted the fanner. When a Te Awamutu or Cambridge fanner nent a ton of potatoes to Auckland lie got (50s for them, but out of thin he has to pay 15s, or a fourth of tho value of his crop for railway freight. Now, if 5s a ton were chaiged, the railway would bo the gainer, for produce, such as chaff and oats, which was now rotting in the district, could be sent to Auckland. Farming might then be made to pay, and the Railway 1 )epartniont would get 50s for every 15s it got now. It was n grout mistake to look upon our railways as owned by private companies. Tho railways were owned by the people of tho colony, and every man who consumed tobacco or such like, mdi- i rectly i>a)d his railway fare, and had therefore a right to the use of the line. He would be quite willing to pay a tax to make up a deficiency in the working of tho railways—that in, if the railways woio inn to assist the c Honists ; but he did not behove that under Vaile's system there would be a losk. The matter must be taken up with spirit by both tho farmers and tho business public. Personally he would spare neither time nor trouble to assist the movement forward. Mr Yon Stunner read a letter from Mr Samuel Vailo, giving him the names of several gentlemen throughout the colony who would bo willing to assist in the matter and co-opeiuto with the Waikato committee. Mr (liaham moved " That the Tamahero Farmers' Club take this matter in lmud, and oiganit'O from among their meuiboisj a stiong committee to c.nry out the objects but foith in the petition, '' Tho petition.