RAILWAY REFORM—MR VAILE ON MR MAXWELL'S REPORT.-NO. IV.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2068, 8 October 1885, Page 3

RAILWAY REFORM— MR VAILE ON MR MAXWELL'S REPORT. -NO. IV.

» TO THK EniTOB. Sir,— l resume my reply to Mr Maxwell, and will endeavour to be brief. His report is so full of untruthful misreprescn tation, that, if it were not an authorised Government document, I would not \\ aste another word upon it. 9. It is difficult to seriously discus* the inconsistencies and misstatements with which Mr Vaile's wiitings abound. When ho suggest*, that it co-.N no more to cany a ton of passengers than to carry a ton of coals, he is writing nonsense, though ho may be unaware of it. What I said was this: "Competent English authorities have said that the net cost of carrying a passenger la tnirtj miles for one penny," and ''minerals, notably coals, are carried e\ cry day on the English Hues at the rate of one halfpenny per ton per mile, and this is one of the best ptying trades done on the lines." It is usual to reckon 15 passen gers to a ton, which at the above rate is equal to 30 miles for one penny. If wt sot the profit on carrying the coal as against the extra cost of cai rging the man, wt' shall find that my statement is well within the mark. 10. When he says that " the loss on our railway* increased fiotu £180,80.") in 1881 to £377,18(> in 18S4, and at this lato we should, in 1888, requins i;2,.">00,000 to support our railways," ho is making a statement which is misleading, and drawing a conclusion which is false. He may or may not be aware of this. In either case he is equalh untrustworthy as a guide, and consequently should forfeit all claim to the respect of intelligent men as an authority. With an evident wish to mislead, Mr Maxwell quotes the loss in two years only. I give four years, and said that if th' loss went on increasing in the same ratio for the next four years that then the result would be as above. My statement is correct. TV next three paragraphs refer to the error I made in distances. I defer my reply to a future letter, but promise to give an effective one. 14. In regard to goods rates, we find in Mr Vailo's circular of the sth April, 1883, a proposal published t ( > cairy trucks foi "horses cattle, sheep, calves pigs, goat*-, hay, straw, and tirewood at 8s per truck ; minerals, at 2* per ton ; timber, at Gd per hundred superficial feet, or fraction of 100 feet; all other merchandise, of every clas-, and description, at 5.s a ton.' This is for each fifteen mile, thirty mile, and one hundred mile units of distance ; so that for sixteen miles the charges would be double those for fifteen miles. Grain would be charged for aixtoen miles 10-. a ton ; the present Government rate is 4s a ton. 15. Then, to use Mr Vaile's words, " On more mature consideration, I thought it desirable to doubt the number of stations, amd to halve the fares. This alteration w»s made in November, 1883." 16. Turn to Mr Vaile's lecture of November, 1883, we find his proposals for goods rates varied thus : "Trucks for hordes, cattle, sheep, calve*, goats hay, straw, agricultural produce of all kind", and firewood, 5s per truck ; mineral*, Is per ton ; timber, per 100 feet, or fraction of 100 feet, 3d ; all other merchandise, 2» (id per ton." 17. This is first for four units of distance of seven miles each, and after that units of fifty miles each, as he then explains. Yet he deliberately ventured to say in another printed letter of the'Jth July, 1885 :— "My proposals have never been altered, and the only modification made is this : In my first letter I proposed to have half the number of stations and to charge double the amount of fares now suge:e-.ted." Let us see how he did alter his proposals as they effect one item— agricultural produce —which under his proposals of April, 1883, he would have charged 10s a ton for sixteen miles, and l"ss a ton for forty-si \ miles. Under the proposal of November, 1883, he would charge for sixteen miles 2> fid per ton, and for forty-six, miles 4s a ton ; and yet he says he has only halved the distance and doubled the fares ! 18. After thio we find Mr Vaile at the Napier Chamber of Commerce, in March, 1885, reported in the Daily Telegraph to have said, "He had not published any proposed good* rates, because there were no statistics published on which ho could found any scile of charges, and had no wish to make a mistake which would be freely used by hi* opponents." 19. A* we have seen, this statement was untrue ; but, at any rate, it is an acknowledgement of failure, and an admission that his proposals were had. It is therefore of no use to try to pursue the subject of goods rates further, except to lemark that if the latter propos ils of Mr Vaile were adopted the revenue would fall far below the working expense*. It will be remembered that Mr Richard*on stated to the House that " Mr Vaile's proposals had been so much varied from time to time that it was almost impossible to say whether they had all been considered or not." The above six paragraphs appear to be an attempt to prove the truth of that assertion. But what does it all amount to? Simply this, that they accuse me of making one alteration in the rates "suggested" for agricultural produce. Now, if the alteration of a rate means the alteration of a system, then, the present system must be altered daily. However, I never made this alteration ; Mr Maxwell has made it for me, to suit his own purpose, but I never did. In my paper of the sth of April, 1883, agricultural produce is not mentioned at all. Whether it was my omission in writing out the fair copy, or whether it wai the printer's, I cannot now tell, but it was intended, as was done in my paper of tiie 12th of November following, to include it in the trucks, at B*. This is all they can bring in support of their assertion, that I have so much varied my proposals that it is impossible to consider them. It is really sickening to have to reply to such untruthful puerile nonsense ; but I have, at any rate, this satisfaction, that the paragraphs quoted again convict the Minister of Public Works of making a false statement to the House. In my next I will prove that my proposals re passenger fares have been even more dishonestly dealt with.— l am, &c SAMUKL VAlhh.

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