SOME ANOMALIES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 180, 25 April 1908, Page 4

SOME ANOMALIES.

SURPLUS, AND -,A ! STARVED RAILWAY SERVICE , (BY TEI.EGRAPH. —(SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT).' y Auckland, April 24 / In (Speaking" of. tho- shortage ot railway ■ ■ trucks,. at •his,meeting;' at' Onehung'a 'last • o\ening, Mi Lang, MJ>, said that this' was an. • standingVcomjilaint,;• arid l ; ha.ii}l ; produced a file of newspaper cuttings bearing on. the i subject, and covering; tho past two - yoars. TIIO Prime Minister, m speaking of » .the railwaj concessions that had been made v ■ by tlje Government, did not tell them,'said - 1 Mr. Lang, about tho shortage of trucks aijd engines on the Auckland section, nor it' ■ did he explain why passengers, after paying 1 for a ticket,: were unable to .obtain'a seat, but had to content themselves with standing on tho platform.- Nor did Sir.Joseph explain how it was that,- although tho Government had been >17 years in office, there • wero. still : 570 more miles of railway in the South than in'the North Island.' t 'Whpn r a.. l 'passe'nger'j'bought' a ticket;' and ' i had .to stand'oil tho carriage platform, ho : could no : doubt' • pqrisole', .himself with'; _ the;-' '. reflection .that tho' Goyerhl^lejt■.'.ba4Vgi7My^•. , ..■'.• great' .' railway concessions 1 to ' the.'-• people. , • Similarly;' when 'they felt- inclined:;to\com-. . 1 plain regarding the .waut, of : a proper ■. ati-Te Papapa (where they had now to be •content "with, a building; of .'the-.size .of a sentry/box), "they .should remember that:tlio .Government had built a fmo station at Dunodin; ' '.r-: : j v ' ■ '' -! If tho • miners at Huntly, 1 Mr. Lang, woro only, able- to work five days ,in . a i fortnightj. : owing'; to the .shortage,of trucks; .1what did it matter solojigasthe Govern- ' meut' had, the / noble surplus iof-. £700,000? ;