The Bottle-neck Again.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16882, 9 July 1920, Page 6

The Bottle-neck Again.

Although the committee set up by the Chamber of Commerce the other day was charged with the duty of investigating the causes of the congestion of railway traffic at Lyttelton, it is clear from tho report presented to yesterday's meeting that some of the causes of congestion lie in Christcliurch, and that the worst—the shortage of trucks —is common to most parts of the Dominion. The general public will probably, iiowover, be rather surprised at the number of factors that combine to cause tho infinite delays that take place in the passage of goods from the ship's side to the.merchants' warehouses, and in the despatch of exports. There was good ground for complaint in these directions years before tho war, but in the past six years, and especially, we imagine, in the past twelve months, •matters have rapidly gono from bad to worse, until the present condition of affairs could truthfully often bo described as one of chaos. The chief j ! causes of the delays and tlfe resulting congestion at port were not difficult to discover. They are, in brief, the shortage of trucks, and, at times, of labour, tho shorter hours worked on tho wharves, and the less work that is done in a given time, as compared with pre-war conditions. In Christchurch tho chief weakness of tho system is tho utter inadequacy of the shed accommodation. The committee does not say so, but we believe it to be a fact, that the provision far discharging into trucks at Lyttelton, as compared with that for unloading them into the "sheds in Christchurch, is in the proportion of about 2to 1. A number of the immediate remedies for this state of affairs, which cannot be wholly reformed until the Hiley scheme is carried out, will possibly not convey a great deal to. many readers not personally concerned with the province's export or import trade. Tho necessity for the provision of more trucks, which havo been promised ,by the Government as soon as it can get them made, and for more amnio shed accommodation, which is one of the features of the Hiley scheme, is, however, intelligible to everyone. So, too, is the recom-

mondation that the dinner-hour in merchants' warehouses in Christchurch shall be the same as it is in the Christchurch goods shed, namely, from noon to 1 p.m. At present the warehouses close froml p.m. to 2 p.m. They do not open until 8 a.m., and as overtime for carters begins after 5 p.m., very little is lifted ; from the sheds after 4 p.m., so that the time usually available for carting goods to" the warehouses is about sis hours a day, instead of the eight hours during which it could be done if merchants were willing to pay overtime. -Even without that, seven hours a day would be available if the warehouse dinner-hour were altered, as suggested. The trouble regarding trucks will undoubtedly be somewhat relieved by the imposition of increased demurrage, which the General Manager of Railways told the Canterbury members the other day would shortly be charged. This will stop the practico of converting trucks into stores, which appears now to be very rife, and must continually keep a large number of trucks out <>f active commission. Reform in all these matters will not come to-morrow, or tho nest day, but the necessity for seeing that it is not unduly delayed is the fullest justification for the establishment- of the committee that was set up by

yesterday's meeting, just to keep things moving in the desired direction, and to see that the which has shown some gratifying signs of a desire for improvement, does not go to sleep again.

"\Ve have never been able to understand the people who have criticised the Governmont as a Government representing a minority only of the people. Nor have we been able to understand hoTr they can think such criticism will help a party that secured far fewer votes. But as thev insist upon the point, and make all kinds of calculations, and work out meaningless percentages, one may at least ask them to oe honest about it. As Mr Marsey pointed out last night, and as we ourselves have pointed out, the calculation of ''the Reform vote"' is always dishonestly made by the Government's opponents. Thev ignore the fact that in sixteen seats the Reform Government abstained from putting up candidates. \et thoy frame their calculations on the assumption that in those sixteen seats there were no Reform voters at nil. Thoir calculations would show a different ;-e----;;ult if thev attended to the facts.

— i> One of the difficulties of proportional representation that we have never seen the advocates of this scheme denl with satisfactorily is the opportunitv it would give for political bargaining. Suppose that an election held under tltis system of voting resulted in the return of representatives of four or five parties, numbering, respectively, say, 28, 20, 16, 12, and 4. Is it not obvious that nnbodv could form a Ministry which would command a majority, unless he could contrive to make a network of hnrcrriins? And obvious, too, that he could not carry on unless he was always prepared to make the concessions necessary to keep his majority, which would always he at tho mercy of shifting forces, in a. House composed of members who would soon become accustomed to threat and intrisrue as the normal motive power in noli tics?