THE RAILWAYS.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20251, 1 June 1931, Page 10

THE RAILWAYS.

PECULIAR SITUATION

DEVELOPS.

question of control. [THE PRESS special Service.] WELLINGTON, May 31. A peculiar situation has developed in regard to the control of the Zealand railways, in that although the Government Railways Amendment Act of this year comes into force to-mor-row, the system has been left without a controlling authority on account of file fact that the personnel of the new Board established by Act had not been completed. While the difficulty is not likely to prove insurmountable, the fact remains that the control of railways passes out of the hands ot the State to-morrow, and even the General Manager loses certain important statutory authority. ' It was generally expected that the Government Railways Board would be appointed some time ago. The_ selection of members placed in the hands of the Prime Minister, and he I has received a very large number of applications for seats on _ tnß iio&ru ! from all parts of the Dominion In spite of this, it » understood that the Prime Minister has experienced considerable -difficulty in choosing suitable men, and for this reason he has l>een unable to announce the personnel before now. • When the Railways Bill was introduced in Parliament during the emergency session, no date for the changeorer in the system of control was mentioned. However, when the second reading of the debate was iuitiated, the Prune Minister brought down several amendments, one of which stipulated that the Board should function from June Ist. It was stated at the time that this would allow plenty of time for th© selection of the Boaa-d. ir embers and the completion of the incidental arrangements for the change in control. Shorty after applies ■ tions began to pour m to the Government for positions on the Board.It is understood that ; the Government also approached one or two men who, it was considered, would be tap-, able of canning out the responsibilities entailed. ■ . , „, As a result of the passing of the Act, "all the powers, duties, and functions of the Minister, the General Manager, and the permanent of the Department under the principal Act or any other Act" are transferred to the -Board; : The powers of the Minister, in particular, are considerably curtailed, and he is left with practically jao authority at all, and none as far as the administration of the sy»% teni is concerned. The Minister for Finance retains a certain amount of influence in the affairs of the Board, but for all practical- purposes, as from to-morrow, the Board is vested with the control of the, actual -workingof the railwajra staff, and with the' policy of the Department. _The General Manager derives execute®, power from the Board/ but there_ being, no Board at the moment, he is temporarily deprived of effective authority. It is not likely that the Government will allow this situation to,, continue very long, and it-is. likelyi that the. Prime Minister will announce the personnel of the new Board in the very near future. * ,