TRAMWAYS

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 191, 14 August 1899, Page 2

TRAMWAYS

(To the Editor.)

Sir,— Bearing the utmost goodwill towards Mr Hunt, I confess, like his"candid friends," I strike the chord of his adverse criticism by lengthy letters, in his own words, "I am a disappointed man for the same concession." In his enterprise he did not profit but he lost.

The Melbourne tramways are worked by private enterprise. The Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Company conduct the business as the Auckland Tramway Company will, no doubt, do here. A boon is undoubtedly in store for us if a like happy result to the public is experienced.

Mr Kelman's words are well worth extracting from your issue of last Monday: "I can point to several towns wfiere the municipality has tried its 'premtice hand' on electrical undertakings, with the result that the plant has been badly selected and badly erected at too great a cost, and the citizens have either been charged high rates for current, or what is worse, have 'paid the piper" through their taxes. The members of a municipality are not, and do not profess to be, experts in the highly technical matters of electric undertakings, and they have been known to have made mistakes in the selection of engineers whom they have appointed to advise them in connection with sucti matters."

I ask, can the city afford to run any risks in an undertaking of this kind? Mr Bingharri has lost no time, and therefore it' will not be much to the credit of the city if, Under the circumstances, there is a single councillor to be found, If a vote is taken, to form a minority

1 am, etc.,

RATEPAYER Auckland, August 10, 1899.