MR J. B. WHYTE AND THE HUNGARIAN RAILWAYS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 6, 8 January 1891, Page 2

MR J. B. WHYTE AND THE HUNGARIAN RAILWAYS.

(To the Editor.)

Sib,—My recenb letters to you were written in answer to the distinct statement of the Commissioners thab "neither the Hungarians nor the Austrians have attempted such low fares as Mr Vaile has proposed. ( The obvious intention of Mr Whytes letbers is to support this assertion. He now says that his remarks apply to "ordinary fares " only. The statement of the Commissioners, as also that of Mr Whyte, was made wibhoub qualification of any sorb or kind. J Mr Whyte now says thab the actual fare is 125 per cent, more than I make it. Suppose, for the sake of argument, I allow Mr Whyte all he claims, ib will make the Hungarian lowesb fare for 457 miles 6s 6|d. The lowesb I have ever proposed for bhis distance is 12s Bd. , Mr Whyte also says that " no lower ordinary fare than 6|d exists for any zone, not evtn the shortest."

As I write I have before me a number of Hungarian railway tickets. Among them I find third-class ordinary tickets marked thus : Ist zone, third class, 5 krubzers. This moans that a passenger can pass from any one station to the next station, no matter what the distance may be, for five f_rthingß did). The second zono ticket is marked thus i "3rd class, 8 krutzers = 2d." M. Ludvigh says, "The second zone of suburban traffic includes the traffic; both ways from each station wibh the second sbabion, or with the detention which would eventually take place between this second station and the next one."

This second zone is supposed generally to cover 15 miles, and bhe fare is 2d. For my bwo first zones, covering from 14 to 16 miles, I have never proposed a less fare than Bd.

I ask if ib is not wonderful thab the Commissioners and Mr Whyte should perBisb in making the statements they do. As I have before stated, these zone tickets can be bought in books of 60 ab a discount of 10 per cent., and ib is obvious bhab by using them a man could travel an immense distance for a few shillings.

I called at your office to-day, sir, to see what Mr Whyte is pleased to call the " Hungarian Tariff." Ib, however, burns oub to be merely one of the papers that the Commissioners have scattered over the country in the endeavour to prove that what I propose cannot be carried out, except at a serious loss. It has been before me for many months, but I have not thought it worthy of notice, seeing that the same gentlemen also pub forward a paper (see Parliamentary paper, I—9, 1886) in which they made the statement thab on bhe London Metropolitan lines, the lowest fare was 2d for half-a-mile, the fact being that bhen, and for years pre viously, multitudes were daily carried sixbeen miles for 2d.—l am, etc.,

Samuel Vaile. Auckland, January 7th, 1891.