QUAY STREET RAILWAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 224, 20 September 1924, Page 11

QUAY STREET RAILWAY.

MARINE BOROUGHS DISCUSSION. CONFERENCE WITH __A___OT_R BOARD. The Marine Boroughs' Association, at its meeting last evening, presided over by Mr. E. C. Walton, Mayor of Birkenhead, received another communication fron. the Auckland Harbour Board regarding the proposed Quay Street railway. The letter stated that seeing that the Association was not desirous of discussing the matter of safeguards unless a subway was provided, the Board considered the proposed conference between the four Mayors and the chairman unnecessary, and the offer was therefore withdrawn. If, however, the northern boroughs are still desirous of a conference on the matter the Board will not object to meeting them; hut the meeting must be with the whole Board and not with the chairman, as was previously suggested." "I am sure we shall all be agreeable to attend," wrote Mr. T. Lamont, Mayor of Devonport, who had not sufficiently recovered from his recent accident to .be present. "We will approach the conference in a spirit of conciliation, and I hope and anticipate that an arrangement to provide adequate safeguards for ferry usere crossing Quay Street, in the event of a railway being laid, will be the result. If we can approach the question in a spirit of give-and-take, I feel sure the conference will be a complete success." Mr. E. Aldridge proposed that- the offer be accepted, and that the whole of the Marine Boroughs' Association confer with the Board. Mr. T. Richardson, Mayor of Northcote, supported the resolution. Mr. E. G. Tucker hoped that the spirit of conciliation as outlined by Mr. Lamont would prevail. He considered that the Association had endeavoured to browbeat the Harbour Board, but it had undoubtedly received provocation. Mr. E. Aldridge strongly protested against any suggestion that the Assoc'ation had used browbeating tactics. ["Those familiar with this dispute knew

on which side had been the browbeating," he said. This Assoc'ation had always been conciliatory and- open to discussion. "When we first protested to the Board about the proposed construction of the railway we were i told to mind our own business, and so l-ha-ve done nothing but that ever since. IWe have always been reasonable in the | matter, and have never resorted to brow- | beating tactics. We are the under-dog | fighting for the rights of the ferry-using | public against purely commercial interl csts," he declared. The resolution for a conference was unanimously carried. It was also decided to invite Mr. J. Henderson and Mr. A. 51. Laing, the j North Shore representative on the Harbour Board, to attend the next . meeting of the Association.