RAILWAY REFORM -MR VAILE ON MR MAXWELL'S REPORT.-No. II.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2065, 1 October 1885, Page 2

RAILWAY REFORM -MR VAILE ON MR MAXWELL'S REPORT.-No. 11.

TO T»l i KITOR. Sik, —Mr Maxwell* report being inertly a uihcism of my personal qualiiiiitious, and that rcpoi t licm^j .nade by ordei r>t the (Joy eminent, the) have nairowed the question down to this i sue, Who l- best able t'> give an authniitative opinion on tlie inittei, Mi Maxwell or Nli S Yule .Hid tho-ii gentlemen wiio have I'iK'fnllv examined and reported on Ins pi ins .' It thuefoie becomes neo---'■•ii y to siy something iliout Mr Maxwell's qu iliticitton-. Heaniud m this colony in 187'), being then, I belie* c, about 25 yeais of ag>*, and lia\ ing beui idncn ted al,a 1 , a civil enginrci. In the old country ho hail no ti.iinmg whatever, either as a tiaffie manager oi as a commercial .md financial man All he knows about railway man igoiiicnt he has le.unt since by somu mystuioua process lie w.ii pitchforked itito the position of geueial man.igr i of our rail ways. He Ins 1-arnt what lie know-, i.>, and at the expense of the colony, and deaily have we paid for his education. As I pioceed, I shill pio\e thit he is hopelessly lgnoiaut of the system he professes to criticise. On the other h md, the gentlemen who, after the most careful .study, have ie ported that the adoption of my pioposals would add at leist £200,000 per annum to our nnhviy levenup, are all thoroughly trained men, who Jiave held offices in the old country that Mr Maxuell would be utterly mcap.iUc of filling:, and when- Ins pi<-sencc would not be tol( l itetl foi a moment. As to myself, I commenced my c.ireer <ib a principal in business when a mere boy, in ISol, ami fiom that time to this have always been at the head of a firm occupying a pioniinent position, so I think I may fairly claim to have some commeicial knowledge and ability. I ask of what value is Mi Max .v< 11 s opinion, with his nnperfei t tiaimng, as compaied with the united opinions brought to bear against him .' I wish to draw attention to the fnet that, w it li the exception of the enoi m distances, of which I will give a satisfactory explanation in its proper place, Mr Maxwell's cntieism is entirely confined to my cailiest wutings. My liist letter was published on the 3rd of January, ISB3, and his chief attack ia directed to a circular letter published on the .Ith of Apul following. What I then knew, after only the months' study, and wh.it I know, after devoting two years and nine mouths to it, and gathering in formation fiom cury part of the woild, air two vny diffcient things, although J do not allow that I ha\e in any way altered my system. Why does not Mr Maxwell adversely critici-e my later wntings and lectuies ? Simply because he cannot Tosa\c lepetition. I have numbered the paiagiaphs of Mr Maxwell's icport, and shall merely quote au 1 comment on them :—: — 1. While Mi Vailo appe.it-. to claim to have ennnciatul a scheme of management.'' I can Hurl nothing touching mi a general " achcuo of management,' but only some veiy c\trav.igantly-e\piesse<j opinions o,i the subject of late-, aurl f.ue>, mainly utisnppmtud by f icts, nnrl with in my priors and iiii*>stafceuieiits, compusoil in vanous fiagment.wy cuculai-, letters, and arl-die-.se-. I luvu repeatedly stated that I have made no attempt to go into details, but liavumeiely indicated the broad line on which 1 believe railways ought to be managed It will be time enough to fm nioh details w hen theie is a chance of tijing the piopo&cu plan. 2. In hi- printed cncular of theoth Apiil, ISS3, which hu iddu—es to the Ch.uiibeis of Connncici; in .New Zealand and Aiiv tialia, Mi V.ulo says, "It seems to have been .i-sumed by the (Joveimnents of the colonies, that the rail w.ijs must be made to ply interest on the cost of their construction and maintenance. This I hold to be a most mischievous en or." Again, he says, "I deny that they (the (rovernments) have any moie light to chaigo interest on the cost of construction .md maintenance of tliu pei maneiit- way than they have on the co-t of construction and maintenance of common mid-.' 1 The cuiiouseiroi of supposing that it is usual to tiy to make railways pay in-tere-t on the cost of maintenance is re peated in Mr Vaile's lectme of the 3id November, 1883. It will be seen that there is aßieat degiee of ignorince displayed in these lomarks. The position I have taken up throughout is this : That the permanent way of our railroads oui'ht to be placed in precisely the same position as our main trunk roads. These we consti net out of loan and maintain out of taxation. RiillOiids we also construct out of loan, but we are supposed to maintain them out of inteiest earned. This is what I wished to point out and condemn. I have also rcTson to bcliu\o that lai^e sums, which under tie present system out to be chaigrd to luwmic, have been chained to capital account. 3. Mi V.ule means, of course, that it is an enoi to try to make the l.ulw.tj-. nny nitere-t on then eapit.il cost ; but, with tho iiicnn-istciicy vvhitli is rb-j.l tyed tluoii^hout his wilting-, he violently ci>n<Jem»s t!i» («(neinmcnt bei'inse the i.uhvays do not pay inteiest, and uij;es »ti*ps which he As-i'it- will make tlirm do so. Really I feel much obliged, and am huie I ought to be deeply indebted to this wo-ulei fully intelligent mind nad'-i, for telhnir me what 1 "of coui'-c"' meant. l>ut it .so happens that I imant nothing of the kind, but merely what I said; and I lu\ cover and ovei aguu stated, both in the ene-ular lie piofcs-ses to b<> quoting fiom and in numeious other places, that interest must be paid on the amount expended foi lulling stock, which 1 presume foi ins a consideiable item in the "capital cost," although Mr Maxwell " may not be awaio of it." Mr M»>well speaks of sixth-standaid hoys,. He ought to t»ke a seat among them for a year or two, and lcam to ic.id intelligently, which at present he appeals to be inuap.il le of doing. The statement that I have violently attacked the Government foi i.ot making the riiilu<o<i pay interest is an absolute and gto-s uutiiith. I have eveiywhero stated that the payment of inteiest ought to be a veiy secondary consideration. What 1 have attacked the depaitment for is, not making the railways pay tliucthf oi uiihn (/[>/, but I have always attached the most impoitance to the indnect payment. I have also asscited that by ti eating the public in a more liberal mattei they can be made to pay huth duictly it mi indnectly ; and I think I have pointed out means by which this may be accomplished. — I am, &c, NvMri.r, Yah. i

A cukki-m'omh NT asfaei t6 thit Prince Hi'iny ot Battenbeig does ivjt share his wifes. devotion to her mother, and has alieady tiled of d.i'feing attendance upon the (^tieen and of the blow life she leads. It is mmoMtcil at couit tint lie will s>ei/c the Insf hancc to fiee himself by plunging in*" the whirl of London society. Pi. s^nt :u laiigements doom the Pi nice and Fnftecss to attend her Majesty at BalinoiAl <m<i aftmvaids at Windsor, so that the hiuuK-ss budegroom will not lie able to tln^ oft the shackles of his mother in law until the spiin^. In ordei to h.ivu Mis V.uulerbilt's dies^es fit vrell, lier dressmaker has found her a double. Slu says : " Mrs Vandcrbilt uij* not endure the fatigue of being fitted herself, e\en when in town, and it w±» lit-r o\\ n suggestion that a duplicate oi herself be employed. On her oidei we /sought and found a peifect counterpart —ft gul ti ho waa working m a cloak shop connected with our business -and she has njrred m lieu of Mrs Vandeibilt for nearly a year. Not only m dimensions is she suited to the requireuuuts, but iv ino\ements and caniage she is wonderfully like her employer ; and so it is possible for the latter to see herself as others see her— in the matter of dre»s." M \i miiai L I vfr —Malarial ftners, constipation, torpidity of the liver and kidncjs, general Jclnlitj, nervousness and neuralgic ailments juld r< .'dilj to tin-, (jreat di'fisc run^ucror, C o's Hop itittnrs, it rep urs tne ravages ot disease by convcrtiis^ thu loud into rich blood, and it £Jves new life and vigour to the aged and infirm. See.