GISBORNE RAILWAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 6, 8 January 1931, Page 11

GISBORNE RAILWAY.

SUSPENSION OF WORK.

DECISION TO STAND

UNSUCCESSFUL DEPUTATION. (From Our Owe Correspondent.) TV ELLINGTON, this day. The deputation from the Poverty Bay district, which waited on members of Cabinet yesterday in efforts to bring about the continuation of the Waiko-kopu-Gisborne section of the East Coast railway, met with little satisfaction. After live hours of argument, the actingl'rime Minister, Hon. E. A. Ransom, said that, although he regretted the necessity of having to stop the work, the decision ■ of Cabinet in the matter would not be reversed. "We were under the impression that the Government would not decide definitely to stop work until the deputation had been heard, but this morning I received a telegram advising that the men on the construction work have been discharged," said Mr. W. D. Lysnar, M.P. The senders of the telegram were three storekeepers, who said they were faced with bankruptcy, as they had granted credit to the men in the belief that construction would continue. The acting-Prime Minister had said in the House that it was a question for Parliament to decide whether these lines should be stopped, added Mr. Lysnar, and he was departing from that now. He asked Cabinet to suspend its order in the meantime and that it should inspect the line and allow the question to be dealt with by the next session of Parliament. Mr. D. W. Coleman, Mayor of Gisborne, said the Waikokopu line would not be the only one affected, for the cessation of work would affect those lines already completed and which would serve as part of the system in the district. Men had been placed on the work from all parts of the country and they would be thrown upon the labour market with absolutely no hope of finding employment. Revenue From Linp. Mr. C. G. Bloore, representing the Chamber of Commerce, said it was felt that the decision had been arrived at without a full knowledge of the position. The railway authorities estimated that the annual" revenue from the line would be £60,000, whereas exhaustive investigations showed that a total annual revenue of £145,743 could be expected from Gisborne alone.. Mr. K. S. Williams, M.P., saidtime should have been given for a consideration of the position. It seemed that having taken the line so far the Government was '"'spoiling the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar." Hon. W. A. Veith (Minister of Railways), said it had been stated that the revenue from Gisborne alone "Would be about £145,000, or £55,000 more than the amount estimated by the Department. However, last year the cost of earning revenue was 91.6S per cent of the total revenue, so that the actual net increase in. revenue on. the supposedfigures quoted by the deputation would not be very, great. During t*he past II weeks the railway revenue was down by £295,000 as compared with the previous year, and this drop had occurred mainly on non-competitive operations. While appreciating the feelings of the people of Gisborne, Mr. Ransom said some question had arisen concerning the closing of the line, but the Government's announcement in the Press was meant to be a definite statement that the four lines would be closed. That was not, however, an intimation to the various staffs, which would not necessarily he notified that they were to receive notice at the same time. That accounted for the reply he had sent to Mr. Lysnar concerning dismissals. All men would be given a week's notice. Members of the deputation said that although men working on the co-opera-tive system were to receive a weeks notice, those working by the day would not.

Prevention of Waste. Mr. Ransom added that lie had instructed that all were to be treated alike, and lie would .look into the position. The men on the works had been earning an average of 17/ a day, and the Government could not be blamed 11 they took no care for the future when they were earning good money. The suggestion had been made that the line could"be made to pay 10 per cent but if it could be proved that it would par more than that, would the Government be warranted in going ahead with the work. There was no reason to believe that the railway would eliminate the motor traffic, as this had not been the case in other parts of the country. He svmpathised deeply with those who were "out of work and those who would be affected by the cessation of construction. However, if the. Government nad waited until no one would be hurt by taking action, it would then be too late to prevent further waste. It was fully recognised that the line had been advocated by Ministers, out times had changed greatly and thev _ had been forced to change their opinions. The Government's decision would ha\ e to stand, at least in the meantime.