MR McVILLY'S STATEMENT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXIX, Issue 9654, 10 July 1919, Page 5

MR McVILLY'S STATEMENT.

WELLINGTON, July 9. Mr McVilly, General Manager of Railways, publishes a statement in defence of the .railway restrictions, in which he reiterates that the restrictions are entirely due to the coal shortage. He points out that the diminution, of railway coal stocks is due to circumstances over which the Department has no control. Since 1914, he says,_ the Dominion has' been taking part in a world war, and every industry, at home and abroad, has been materially affected. Shipping has been diverted from ordinary peace channels and taken for war purposes.. Men in tens of thousands have been withdrawn from industries to serve with the Colours. An epidemic of sickness ravaged the country and had taken its toll of the ranks of the workers. The output of coal from the local mines decreased by three-quarters of a million tons per annum-. Finally, on top of these conditions, came the disastrcnis strike of seamen in Australia, which, suddenly cut the Dominion from supplies upon which we were dependent, even when the output of our own mines was ■at its normal iigure. It appears to be. lost sight of that in 1915 the- condition of the coal supplies became so serious as to necessitate, the appointment of a Coal Trade Board under the direction of the Minister of Munitions. This Board assumed full control and the allocation of all supplies of- coal in and for the Dominion, and supplies for. the Railway Department, in common with other industries, came automatically under its control. The Railway Department has taken care to keep the Hoard fully apprised week by week of the state 'of the Department's stocks and requirements, and has in addition by .the Use of its organisation, and in fact by every means in its power, assisted the Board to obtain both coal and shipping from outside the Dominion, it did this moreover with full knowledge that supplies bo arranged would be subject to the Board's allocation, and might be, and in fact frequently were, diverted to other industries. It seems clear from a consideration of the foregoing that the strictures upon the management of the Department for failing to look ahead were based upon incorrect or incomplete information. This applies equally to the assertion that the management, with the War Regulations behind it, had power; if it chose to apply it, to commandeer both vessels and coal mines in order to obtain its supplies. The management had no such power, with or without the War Regulations.