The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. THURSDAY, JAN. 15, 1889.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2576, 15 January 1889, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

THURSDAY, JAN. 15, 1889.

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«, A it Kit many months of woavy. •iiixious waiting during- which doubt gave way to hope, followed in its turn by sickening four, tho luiijj-defeiTed iiuihvuy Commissioners have boon appointed by tho Government. When, in response to the universal demand for reform in our railway policy and administration, Parliament passed tho measure which places the whole of tho railway system of the colony unrosci'vodly in 'ho hands of a Hoard of throe men to bo removed absolutely from l\irliu.mou!iiry and Ministerial control, grave doubts of the wisdom of this step arose in people's minds. When, however, with a perpetually vexed spirit suffering under the blunders and rigour of tho reijimo of Mr Maxwell, people recognised that the colony was committed to the new scheme, they began to hope that soino genius in railway management, another Speight, from England or the United States would be secured and revolutionise the existing system I'V bringing it innre into accord with the condition:; of the country ;il nl popular wish. !'>ut, when the bait had dangled, month after month, before, the eyes of the world of experts in both c.-iiuitrii-s without (;\-cu liookiiig a iiii.-iK.w ai'iongst I hem, then came fh-.' i'e.ir that, if liie Covernmeni constituted the r.oarl at all, ih".V wo'.dd be largely inlluenci'd in their selections by the powerful Civil Service behind them. There was :>. lurking suspicion in i'he mind-, of most men that Mr Maxwell v. a" too strong a man to i>o got rid of, and that, in spite, of the utmost disfavour with which such an appointment would be ronoLved l,y the country, that gentleman w-:,ulcl be found occupying a scat at the. Board, if not at its head. We now see our worst fear.-.; have been realised; the Civil Service has

tiKiili: its [lower manifest, and Mr Maxwell retains his grasp on the ruii'Vfiy systiMii of New Zeahuicl.

Tin; colonists h:ivo mucin a free (."iiifessioii of Mieir past follies. They liavo laid lure their hacks to the Inirdtius they irivo 'brought upon themsvlvpx, resolved to Kiibniit to many iilss wiili pitituice and longsuffering, in tin , geiuiinc desire to ri-'Ofiiu j.iro.spcrity l>y freeing the country from the tremendous and unnatural si r-iin on its resources, which nr.i.-ie from years of reckless expenditure and an Civil Ser-

vice. The .sincere and honest intentions of the people, however, find no ' echo in the. Legislature, which, l>y a de|i!oralile fiction, is thought 10 represent the country. The wishes of the colonists, expre-sed through (hi.! Tress, are not regarded liy the Ministry, inasmuch as they are kept in power l>y a servile majority in an unrepresentative House. The hopes and solf-Siicri [icing efforts of the community are apparently destined to bo nullified by the perpetuation of a railway system which has been a complete failure, and long condemned by the people to whom it has been gall and wormwood. The in-inner in which the Board has been constituted exhibits the incapacity of tin; Government for the popular administration of the affairs of the colony at such a critical period. it demonstrates in a marked manner that they cannot realise the need, in all its bearing, of the thorough reform the country has so set its mind upon. The Ministry in this act, as in many others, display their contempt for public opinion, and they preserve a dogged determination to pursue a system in respect to the railways which shall continue to aim at wringing the uttermost farthing of revenue from the industry of the people. In carrying out tins policy the Government has alienated the sympathy of the country, brought the lines into great discredit, and have suffered continual losses of revenue year after year, alarming in their magnitude. ' In saying this we feel we are fully expressing the feeling in the north of the'colony, not Waikato alone. In the south, Canterbury particularly, there is probably a certain amount of leaning towards the system because the Government have been careful to purchase the political support of the wheat-growing districts by unfair, in fact, dishonest differential rates, it is difficult to understand how a Government, who owe their seats to the wave of reform which swept over the colony, can be so profoundly stupid as to confer the whole of these appointments upon Civil servants, thus substantiating the general belief in their thraldom to the influence of that great body. We know Mr McKerrow to be a man of ability and of great parts in his own particular profession. We fail to see, however, that he possesses the qualifications and practical knowledge of railway matters to fit him for the difficult and responsible post of Chief Commissioner. Ablesurveyor and astronomer he is, no doubt; but the New Zealand railways cannot be managed with a theodolite or by looking through a telescope. The conduct of the Board's business must necessarily be largely influenced by the two other Commissioners whose practical knowledge and familiarity with all the details of the existing system will override the judgment of the novitiate Chief. They will gradually train him into the same rut in which they have themselves been accustomed to run during the past. We shall then behold the railways, the principal assets of the colony entirely controlled, without let or hindrance, by a fully doveloped Maxwellian code.

The people in this part of tins colony view the appointments with righteous indignation. They look upon the action of the Government as a clear indication of their resolve to continue, a policy which has proved itself disastrous to the interests of the country, and that they will concede nothing to advance tho agricultural and pastoral industries of the colony. The original design of the Public Works scheme was to facilitate the settlement of the county districts and to encourage iin migration on a proportionate scale. Tliis was departed from. Tho people have now been demanding a return to the primary principle of the railway policy, but their demands have fallen on deaf ears, and at this moment, as we have said, their voice is ignored altogether, and the lines remnin in the hands of a guild of public servants who manipulate them according to their will, and not in the interests of tho people who are the real owners. Assuredly wo are to blame for the gross abuses which have grown throughout every branch of the general administration, wo have exhibited a culpable indifference and apathy that arc yielding their bitter fruits. We have sown the wind and are reaping the whirlwind. Even a worm will turn, however, and \t is not improbable that this persistent defiance of the popular will, on the part of the Executive in Wellington, may rouse up a spirit of resistance on the part of the people that will convince oven the Legislature and Ministry that they have not yet resigned all their political freedom ami the right to lie heard in the selection of a policy they think best suited to the circumstances of the colony. No supporter of tho present "Ministry can hope to find favour in tho eyes of a Waikato constituency. The membet' who expects to do ao had better resign his seat.