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The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 1890.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political.

The problem of successfully dealing with our railways, is one of the greatest importance, and wc require no excuse for again referring to itIts influence for good or evil is not by any moans confined to those within reach of the lines, for any deficiency in railway revenue, to meet the interest upon them, hau to be equally shared by those far removed and remote from any railway service. In the various agitations for extensive railway reforms which have come under our notice, the promoters, and we may add the public generally, have apparently misunderstood the situation, and have, to use a vulgarism, " been barking up the wrong tree." We do not, let it be distinctly understood, wish to detract from the noble efforts which have been made, notably by Mr Yaile, to bring about a satisfactory solution of the railway difficulty. But so long as the railway policy is directed to the one object of raising revenue, it is obvious that underlying every consideration of reform, must be that of finance. However certain we may be that the original intention in borrowing the money and constructing the railways, was to open up and develop the inland districts of the colony, it is equally clear that the borrowed millions have not been repaid, and the railways which we are pleased to call ours, are, honestly speaking, still the property of the British bondholder, who expects, whether their construction has proved a remunerative speculation to the colonists or not, to have his interest punctually paid. It is that which has tied the hands of the Commissioners and the Government. We have only to turn to the statement of Mr Commissioner Maxwell on his first visit to Hamilton, where he says, " That within certain limits the Commissioners have large powers, but the Government still holds the purse strings/' Precisely, and the Government will still require to hold the purse strings while they have to meet the heavy bills for interest. However one may desire reduction in freights and fares, however sincerely we may believe that such reduction would lead to greater trade and increased returns, it is scarcely to be expected that the Government of the day, while the income and expenditure of the colony balance so closely, will countenance any experimenting with so serious a matter as railway revenue, unless the country first declares its desire for a complete change of policy and willingness to accept the responsibility of so great a reform. The whole question rests with

the, people themselves. It is absurd ho assort,' with universal suffrage, that any reform is unattainable. It simply means, arc We prepared to pay the piper in. the shape'of additional taxation if any extensive chatigo in railway policy, which we desire, should turn out unfavourably. This is the question we shall require to answer before any Government, whoso sails are trimmed so closely, will cast aside a substance, however small, for a shadow however tempting, and until our railway reformers throughout the colony have placed this issue fairly before the public, whether they will have the railway run purely upon commercial principles, with the avowed object of obtaining revenue or arc prepared to make sacrifices, if necessary, to have the back country developed and our population decentralised. Until this issue we say is placed before the people and an unmistakable decision arrived at, we feel convinced, that approaching either the Hailway Commissioners or the Government on questions of railway reform is merely a waste of time. In this connection, it seems probable that a prominent position will bo given to railway matteis, by the appearance upon the scene of a new element, more difficult to deal vvith may be than the question of reform. We refer to the Railway Servants Union, a meeting of whose Executive with the Commissioners took place a few days since in Wellington, the chief point at issue being a demand on the part of the men for eight hour's labour, which Mr McKerrow pointed ont would entail an additional expenditure, for our present services, of £50,000 per .annum. This is a serious matter, particularly as it is not unlikely the forerunner of other demands. However, it will have the effect of bringing the whole subject of our railway policy more to the front and we may therefore feel assured that this question will be made one of the niost prominent features in the political platform at the forthcoming general election.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT18900626.2.13

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2801, 26 June 1890, Page 2

Word count
Tapeke kupu
768

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 1890. Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2801, 26 June 1890, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 1890. Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2801, 26 June 1890, Page 2

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