RAILWAY REFORM.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 10269, 11 February 1899, Page 4

RAILWAY REFORM.

-—■ r GENERAL MEETING OF THE LEAGUE. ■ A general meeting of the Canterbury Rail- . way Reform League was held in the City Council Chambers last night, Mr A. E. G. Rhodes in the chair. Apologies were received from Messrs W. Boa jr. John Rennie, and A. W. Beaven. , A letter was received from the Linwood Borough Council, stating that Mr Aaren Ayers had been elected in place of Mr T. N. Horsley, resigned. The Chairman said the meeting was called to consider the report, with which the Executive had had some difficulty. The report began by stating that for many years past there liad been widespread dissatisfaction with the policy adopted in the management of the railways. The objection- , able leatures had varied but little with successive administrations. Tlie main principle apparent throughout had been a determination to extract the largest possible amount of money from the pockets of the Canterbury taxpayers. Equitable rates and - anything like a scientific and intelligent commercial policy had manifestly been subordinated to the" exigencies of the Treasury. There had been an unreasoning and almost uniform insistence upon high and vexatious ; charges. Instances were on record where it could be shown that it took years of de- , monstration to convince the official heads of the value, even from a revenue standpoint, I of certain suggested alterations. The Canterbury grievances were, therefore, 5 in general, that "the management had been, j and was still, unjust and unscientific, viewed I either from the standpoint of revenue or that of industrial and commercial development, i The first ground of complaint was the ex- j cessive charges on the Lyttelton and Christ- , church section, as will be seen from the following comparisons: — Haulage—Bluff to Invercargill, 17 miles, j 6s 6d, equal to 4.59 d per mile; Port Chal- ; mers to Dunedin, 8 miles, 4s 6d, equal to " 6.75 d per mile; Lyttelton to Uhristchurch, 7 miles, 4s 6d, equal to 7.71 d per mile. The conditions which affect the Lyttelton and Christchurch line are exceptional, and did > not admit of comparison with auy of the other port lines. The very condition which 1 gave the railway a complete monopoly on tha ; Lyttelton and Christchurch line, was the one I that should enable it to carry goods thereon profitably at a lower rate than upon any \ other port line. The Lyttelton and Christchurch traffic was very large, and the rail- ■ way got the whole of it. Moreover, the ex- » ceptionally large quantity of produce that had to be carried outwards, admitted of the traffic being practically worked both ways with full trucks and complete trains. As a result of an interview with the Minister of Railways early in 1897, it was announced in the Cliristohurch papers in July, 1897, that a reduction of one shilling per ton would ; be made in the rate between Lyttelton and ' Cliristchurch; but the Department liad made a reduction of only sixpence per ton. The haulage rate was now four shillings and sixpence psr ton, and the committee submitted that under all the circumstances, Canterbury was fairly entitled to ask that the rate should be reduced to tlrree shillings per ton for A, B, C, andT) goods (which was still in excess of the rate per mile on tlie Bluff and Invercargill line), and that other merchandise and . produce should be reduced in proportion. ■ Also that all A, B, C, and D goods should s be charged by weight only in tlie case of ' carriage back to Lyttelton for consumption , there or for export. At present the railway pursued the absurd policy of placing a special embargo upon exports of A, B, C, and D mercliandise. At present a ton of tea might be sent from Cliristchurch seven miles into the country for six shillings, but if sent to Lyttelton, or for export, it would be cliarged twelve slullings and sevenpence! Tea was only an illustration of what applied to other, considerable articles, like kerosene, which measured mors than they weighed. - After referring to the Tiinaru and Temuka rates as examples of the anomalies which existed, the reno'it went on to deal with the cost of cartage of goods from' Christchurch station; the 'contract rate was 9|d, while consignees were chaxged Is. This meant that the Department collected annually £469 which it liad no right to. • > Passenger fares —From,.the following comparison it would be seen that there was also a substantial grievance under this head: — Lyttelton to Christchurch (7 miles), first class . Is 4d, second lid; Onehunga to Auckland (8 miles), first class Is, second 9d. These figures showed that the Lyttelton-Christ-church rates ocr mile were 52 per cent, on first and 40 uer cent, on second-class tickets I above those "charged on the Auckland-One-hunga line, and, as in the case of goeds, the passenger traffic was very large, and the rail- . way had the whole of it. The following was 1 a comparison of the traffic: — • - Ordinary Season 189C-07. Tickets. Tickets. Issued at Lyttelton Railway Station .. " ;• 96,381 1,513 Issued at Onehunga Rail--1 way Station .. •• 19.8*1 770 1 In view of the comparatively large traffic on the Lyttelton-Christchurch fine, it seemed really extraordinary that the Canterbury ' people should have tolerated so long the exaction of such excessive passenger rates. j ! Trucks—A shortage of trucks was experienced more or less throughout the year, but during the wool and grain seasons the | greatest possible inconvenience and delay ! were experitneed by shippers and importers from this cause. Very heavy loss also re- j 1 suits to sliinowners. . Receiving" from and delivery of goods to t ships—Opposite nearly every package received the Railway made such remarks as "repacked." "stained," "renailed," "broken," "ullaged," &c, whilst the packages, in many cases? were manifestly in unexceptionable order. Then, on the other hand, when the Railway delivered goods to sliips, ex truck, it would take nothing but a clean receipt," no " matter what the condition of the package might be. Shed room—For the sake of economy, apparently, the new shed (C) for imports was » not used nearly so much as it might be. The s consequent crowding of goods from intercolonial and coastal steamers into a small space caused great mconvenience to both 1 importers and steamship agents. ___ _ Luggage deliveries from steamers—Packages tallied out of steamers Avere occasionally " lost or stolen at Christchurch station. Some _ system of check should be adopted so that . delivery might be made to the right persons • only. (The report here included a i table showing "tlie comparative slowi ness of Canterbury railways with : the Timarti to Fairlie line). The Minister had been repeatedly interviewed, r but his invariable answer had been that he 1 had no money to make renewals and im- ) provements. I Coruiections with Coaches: West Coast, 9 Hanmer Plains and Ka_oura—lt was sugr gested that on the Springfield section the - morning trains on Tuesdays and Fridays • from Christchurch. and the evening trains on 5 Thursdays and Saturdays from Springfield, 1 be run as passenger trains, and the time x of the trips be materially shortened. That 5 on the Culverden section the same arrange-' ; ment be adopted for two days a week, the times of departures of the trains to be altered so that travellers might be able to go from Oiristohurch to Kaikoura, or vice versa, in on© day. The Lvttelton-Christ- » church time table might also be altered, reducing the time and allowing a 20 minutes stay at Lyttekon before the train returned. Traffic Results —The constructive cost of the Canterbury- railways was based upon the • average cost of the whole Hurunui-Bluff ■ section, viz., £7589 per mile ; and the same' ' process had had to be adopted in computing, for purposes of comparison, the cost of the ■ Otago railways. The Department, for some sixteen years ->ast. had declined to furnish separately the actual rjespective figures of 1 cost for tho Caateibury and Otago lines. It might, however. be_as_umed that the average of £7589 per mile was more than the actual average for Canterbury. The working expenses and maintenance of the Canterbury lines were based on the average I of the published total for the whole Hurunui--1 Bluff system. In respect of these particulars the Department also refrained from publishing the Canterbury figures separately. Net Result —Canterbury lines which cost j £3,460,688 paid interest" on cost 4.11 per ■ cent. Other Provincial lines, as above, ■ which cost £11,559,015 paid average interest t en cost 2.79 per cent, Canterbury thus ' contributed yearly an excessive proportion of 1 1.32 per cent, or £45,681 ncr annum. Net Revenue per Mile—Canterbury lines '. ear_e! £134 for every £100 earned by Otago lines. Canterbury lines earned £130 for {

every £100 earned by Wellington. Napier, and New Plymouth lines. Canterbury lines earned £171 for every £100 earned by jAuckland lines. Canterbury lines earned £312 for every £34 earned by Nelson lines. (On the Picton lines there was a loss of £35 per mile, per annum). It should be remembered that if the last harvest in Canterbury had been anything like an averago one, the above comparison would have been much more in favour of the Canterbury lines than now appears. The essence of the comparison of course was that in relation to the cost of construction and cost of working, the, Canterbury lines were made to contribute a proportion, in excess ~of all tho great provincial railways, of no less than £45,681 per annum; notwithstanding this enormous excessive contribution, the Minister had told deputations that he had no money whatever. At the same time his annual statement showed that he had the means of expending some £58,711 on the extension of the Picton line and on the Nelson section. The Committee would earnestly recommend that effective steps should be taken forthwith to make the electors and taxpayers of Canterbury fully acquainted with the facts set out in this report. Every consumer and taxpayer in Canterbury was vitally concerned in the issues set out. The natural relation of the city and district to the port of Lyttelton of itself operated as a certain handicap to local industries. But it was intolerable that the railway administrators should seize upon the district's very weakness to extract a great sum of money every year to assist in squaring the deficiencies of unprofitable railways in other provinces. The Committee would set out. as follows, in particular, the three most objectionable features of the present policy of excessive charges: — 1. .It operates as an exorbitant and unjust tax upon consumers in Canterbury, who ultimately pay the excessive charge plus the traders' profits. 2. It places an. unfair restriction upon the Cliristchurch traders and manufacturers, who, by its operation, are precluded from securing their fair share of the coastal and export trade. : " *- 3. It limits the employment of labour in the community. The extra charges as applied to raw or manufacturing materials, obviously handicapped Cliristchurch manufacturers in competing for outside orders. The following were submitted, in brief, as some of the reductions and reforms to which Canterbury was entitled: — 1. That there shall be a reasonable acceleration of sneei on the different lines. 2. That the tariff shall be altered so as to secure for the railway the large quantities of wool and ether produce which are now carried by road vehicles. 3. That dining cars and Westinghouse or continuous brakes shall be provided for the Cnristchurch-Dunedin express trains. 4. That the rate of 4s 6d from Lyttelton to Christchurch shall be reduced tc 3s per ton, weight or measurement, as at psesent. 5 That imported goods shall ba carried back from Christchurch to Lyttelton or to ship's side there at 3s par tea of twenty cwt. only. 6. That the Passenger Fares between Cliristchurch and Lyttelton and vice versa shall be reduced to t„e basis of the Auck-land-Onehunga rates. 7. That increased facilities be provided at Christchurch for receiving goeds for despatch by steamers to leave Lyttelton the same afternoon or evening. 8. That there shall be greater expedition in the delivery of such goods alongside steamers. 9. That in respect of cartage on imported goods, no excessive profit shall be included in charging Christchurch consignees. 10. That the tariff and regulations shall be interpreted more reasonably in respect of charges for sorting goods, and on consignments shut out or for which the vessel's name has been altered. 11. That an ample supply of trucks shall be manufactured locally without delay, so as to meet the requirements of the traffic at all seasons. 12. That the ship, in respect of overtime, should be charged only the dttference between

the ordinary rate of wages and the overtime rate. 13. That the charge for storage on cargo for shipment is too stringent as regards time limit. This charge more particularly affects those who do business with such places as Cheviot, Kaikoura, Omihi, Chatham Islands, &c, there should be forty-eight hours free storage instead of" twenty-four, after which the present scale of charges should be strictly enforced. The report then went on to deal with the reply to the Hon. Mr Cadman. 1. Mr Cadrnan contended, that in comparing seven miles at Lyttelton with eight miles at Port Chalmers, the terminal, being invariable, should first be deducted. 2. That terminal,; charges covered, amona other things, cartage, sorting, sidings, safe custody. It was admitted that the terminal should be deducted in making comparisons. But between the tariff and Mi* Cadman's letter, it was impossible to ascertain what the terminal really is. The tariff, nage 63, gave it as one shilling to one shilling and threepence, which seemed to mean cartage, while Mr Cadman's letter implied that the termina charge exceeded the haulage. But the deduction of any I'easonable terminal could not obviously entirely alter the comparison. It could only alter it fractionally, and leave the League's contention unshaken. It was extraordinary for Mr Cadman to saj that the terminal covered cartage, when latei he admitted a special charge for cartage Mr Cadma.n was also absolutely incorrect ii saying that the service had been reducec from 7s to 5s 6d. The only actual concessior had been 6d per ton. Nothing could be more misleading than Mr Cadman's state ment that Cliristchurch, as a distributing centre, was in a "far better position than Dunedin." A greater part of the import and export trade 'at Dunedin was quite, independent of the railways. Mr Cadman made no attempt tc justify the charging of goods outwardly bj weight or measurement. His statements aj to the free handling of goods examined bj Customs were erroneous. His comparisor between the Lyttelton-Christchureh traffh and the English Board of Trade rates wai fallacious, as it involved the fallacy of com paring traffic in cargoes with traffic in retai parcels. The most eloquent thing about Mi Cadman's weak defence was liis absolute silence as to the net financial results of th« Lyttelton-Christchureh section. Mr E. M. Taylor said the report was £ fair and comprehensive " statement of , tin grievances under which they laboured. . 11 showed" that they were not. placed on ar equal basis with other parts of the colony as they had a right to be. In reply to Mr Neate, the Chairman saic the cost of the tunnel was included in th< estimates. Mr Chalmers did not think the repor could be improved upon. He believed tha' only a little stirring up was wanted to se the whole colony about the Government'! ears over the railway management.. Mr Laurenson did not think that tj:_ meet ing could assail or cavil at a single featun of the report. All they had to do was to con sider the best way to bring the matter befon the public. 1 _ The Mayor of Christchurch agreed witl the previous speaker. To make the repor effective it woidd be impossible to go mt> many small matters. All they asked wa fair treatment from a national point of view not from a provincial point of view. Th comparison of passenger rates showed th charge on the Lyttelton line was preposterou as compared with Onehunga. One item o ' that sort, conclusively proved by figures should be sufficient. He moved that the re port should be adopted. Mr Ayers seconded the motion. H could bear out the statements made by th previous speakers as to the excessive charge on the Canterbury line. . The report was adopted. The Chairman said the report had takei longer than was expected to prepare. M Chrystall and other members had spent ; great deal of time over it. No steps ha< been taken as to approaching the Ministry He would like to know what was to be don in the matter. They had not approachei the Minister of Railways, and he though they might do so, notwithstanding the re marks made by Mr Cadman. He ought t be presented with a copy of the report. Mr Laurenson suggested that the repor should be put in the hands of a small com mittee, who would see Mr Cadman, and la; the case before him. if his reply was un favourable then they could take other steps He did not believe in circularising the pub lie. It would be better to get up publi meetings. The Chairman said the report was alread; scattered broadcast. Mr Sorensen moved that a copy of th report be sent to the Minister of Railways and that a deputation should meet him a soon as he came to Christchurch. Mr Taylor seconded the motion/ Th Minister would want time to consider th renort before he reolied to the matter in th report. Mr Chalmers said he had very little hop of getting anything from the Ministers The way they would get it would be by ex tracting promises from the candidates for th next Parliament when they were "on th stump." The Chairman said they must keep th political element out. The Mayor of Christchurch said the irre gularities of charges could not be laid t< the door of any particular an< the political element must be kept out. The; must not approach the Minister with th impression that they were not going to re ceive anything, but on the contrary, tha they were going to receive everything. M Cadman was a just man, and if they wen about the matter courteously there was ever likelihood that they should get some con cessions. They mus- go about it in th spirit that they were dealing with a gentle man who would give them every just-ice He believed they would get-justice. Mr W. Cullen suggested thafc the latte portion of the report headed "reply to th Hon. the Minister of Railways" should b J kft out.

c Mr Biltcliff thought, if the League waa going to do good work, it should be a live 3 body from now. He thought urobably it c was a pity that the latter clauses should be s adopted, as it had nothing to do with the s League. , (Mr Cullen moved that the latter part ba c not sent. l Mr W. W. Charters seconded the motion. j The Mayor of Christchurch thought that having adopted the report they should not c send a mutilated portion of it to the Minister. It would look rather a weak action. l- It was a pity that anything that might ba t t construed as offensive had crept into the reg port, but still the report, having been there, they should send it. The portion referred g to, although not an answer to the League, c was an answer to the Canterbury members of the House, a representative body. d Mr Chrystall thought that it would be a it vei T great i>ity to leave anything out. It :i was the ordy way of refuting the statee menls made by Mr Cadman. The state- ■ e ment that the charge for sorting carting"* .. &c, was covered hy the railway charge was ie quite incorrect. j The Mayor of Christchurch said it was ;. a question of policy, and they did not want ,t to put the Minister's buck up. Some por- _ tions of the report were a little strong, and j would be better deleted. Some paragraphs , would be just as convincing without the y t strong language referred to. He instanced , r several adjectives which would be better , modified. n Mr Lcoisson moved that a sentence' rej ferring to Mr Cadman's "ignorance" in his n statement, that Christchurch, as a distributl6 ing centre, is in a far better position than ; . Dunedin, be struck out. „ The Chairman explained that it could only ' n be done unanimously. c One or two speakers objected, and the v [. Chairman ruled that the motion could not ' ,c be put v -- -0 Mr Louisson said it was only a little pery sonal sentence, which, if taken out, would not ls alter the report a bit. Ho asked the meeting jto bo unanimous. The good sense of the n meeting would see that, it could only do more i e good than harm to cut out the words. ls The report was re-committed, and * the j. words struck out. j_ Mr Cullen withdrew his motion regarding lx the latter portion of the report. ■ c It was decided that a sub-committee should ie be appointed to arrange for a deputation to the Minister in Christchurch, and send on the a report,, _ • • /•..■■■''■ Ie It was decided that the- sub-committee [t which had drawn up the report.should act n in the matter. , .. - r> . It was decided, on the suggestion 'of Mr Louisson, , that the Minister of Railways _ should be approached before any* other. Mjniß- _ e ter. Mr Louisson said he thought it probable the Minister would come down, specirt ally to discuss the matter. _t The Chairman announced that if the Minis_t ter did not agree to meet them, or they did ,'s not hear from him, in the course of a month, ho w_ould call the League together again. t- . The meeting then adjourned. ■