MR PEARSON'S GRIEVANCE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2672, 27 August 1889, Page 2

MR PEARSON'S GRIEVANCE.

TO THE KMTOII. Sir.—Ono cannot help admiring the candour of the 'Railway Commissioners' reply to Mr Pearson in teference to obtaining a reduction in the charge for rail carriage of carbolic sand si ao from Hamilton to Auckland. It is ccrtainly a wonderful statement to admit that they are prepaied to carry sand at 9s but they must have 32s for soup. It would appear that the tariff is for the time being: cast iron in its application and 110 outside circumstances or no sudden contingency could possibly be provided for outside this wondrous tariff production. To a business man the following points would enter into the consideration nf the. question. How can I get most out of the business? If the industry is strangled, I shall carry neither Rand nor .soap. Let us look at it from this point. In the manufacture of this sand soap, for the sake of argument, we will allow that to make 15 tons soap it takes, say four or five tons of soda and other ingredients that have to come from Auckland. This fi/e tons of material pays full railway charge per tariff. It is then manufactured and returns upon the railway in the shape of 15 tons of soap, thus making 20 tons of carriage for the line. Our precious railway men say, no, we prefer to carry 10 tons. I have said nothing about price. Mr I'eaison asked that his soap might bo carried at 10s per ton. I have little doubt that ha would have been satisfied if the Commissions! x hud met him by agreeing ti charge him, say, 15s per ton. With the foregoing figures allowing the five tons of material from Auckland at 15s, and I expect it is a gre.it deal more, the railway people actually say we prefer to carry 10 tons at 9s, earning £4 10s, rather than carry 20 tons, at 15s, earning £!•>. When a correspondent of yours, Mr Hungerfora Roche, wrote some time ago almost suggesting resistance to the extent of a revolution, I thought him mail ; as things have been going lately, 1 am rapidly being converted to believe that there is no other remedy left to bring about retrenchment and reform.—l am, yours etc., VI ET AItMIS.