CANTERBURY SCHEME.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 165, 12 July 1919, Page 7

CANTERBURY SCHEME.

BUSINESS MEN'S OFFER. The business community of Canterbury, along with all the industrial interests, including the Trades and Labour Council, combine*! to make suggestions to the management of the New Zealand Railways for the lightening of the burden put upon the- people of their province by the reduction in railway services, particularly in respect of the carriage of goods. The method followed by the Department in reducing the goods traffic has been to declare that certain goods are essential, and that others are not essential, and to determine- that the former may be carried, and that the latter may not. It is suggested by the Canterbury business men that this arrangement may be improved. They say that in some instances traffic declared, non-essential may in fact be more essential than the carriage of allegedly essential goods, and the proposal they make is that the Department accept the advice of a committee they have appointed to regulate goods traffic, and so to make the best possible use of the trains. They do not ask for the running of more trains, except in one instance, to serve a big flourmill. They urge that at least one train per week be run on a branch line, from which all traffic has been taken, and this in order that this big mill may go on working. This committee will issue priority permits for goods ofiTering for transit, and will give priority to those goods most urgently needed, giving preference for the most part to those goods now on the schedule of the Department as being essential. Another proposal made by the committee -is that use may be made of the coal deposits in the Canterbury district. These deposits are not of good steam coal, but of fair quality lignite, useful for fuel in these times of shortage. They say that they can find miners who are unwilling to work in the West Coast mines, but who will be quite willing to go to work in the ligrfrte pits. A deputation representing the Chamber of Commerce, the Industrial Association, and the Trades and Labour Council of Christchurch, with fcas Christchurch members of Parliament, waited on the General Manager of Railways (Mr R. W. McVilly) to make the proposal regarding the committee of advice, and also to -sk that in order to provide temporary accommodation for the workers to go into the new lignite pits, the Depart- ; ment should lend a number of railway huts. The requests were pressed strongly, but every speaker made it cleat- that the committee had not come with the intention of criticising the Department in its present difficulty, but if possible to assist. Mr. McVilly said he had listened with much interest to the proposition that had been put before the Department. He hoped that the deputation would not expect an immediate reply, as he had only seen the proposals for a few minutes. He wished to thank the deputation for the kindly help they offered, and for the spirit that bad actuated them in coming forward to help the Department. it was the first occasion in the whole of his experience in the railways on which the Railway Department had had a whole-hearted sympathetic offer of help frcm the public and the business people. He wished to say that he appreciated the offer of help. This being so. he would look into the suggestions embodied in the programme from a sympathetic point of v : ew, and with a desire to avail himself of the offer made. He would go into the matter with his responsible officers, and even if the -answer should in the end be unfavourable he would give his assurance that this would not be for unsympathetic reasons It would not be becmse he did not appreciate the spirit in w-hich they had approached the matter. ' "The Railway Department," he said, c is up against a very difficult proposition, and you gentlemen recognise that. The greatest difficulty we have is, of course, to feed the people and to carry on as far as we can the various industries. As a railway official. I don't know to see unemployment in the country, and I recognise that the industrial life of the country is very closely bound up with railway -traffic and railway facilities. I appreciated this fact in the very early stages of the difficulty with which we have been confronted. I made the position of the Department quite clear to representatives of the timber mills who waited upon mc. I expressed to them the very great regret the Department felt in having to refuse absolutely to carry timber, but that the coal situation left us no alternative." AN OFFICER TO REPORT. Mr McVillv promised the deputation that he would go fully into the requests made. Probably he would semi an officer down to Christchurch to confer with them on the spot. There was just one point that occurred to him in connection with the proposal. His experience with busines people was that they objected to have other business people knowing their business. He took it that no such objection would be raised in this case. The deputation assured him that there would be no such objection, and urged that he send down the officer at once. Dr. Thacker suggested '"quick and lively." Mr McVilly said that the officer would be sent without delay.