OTAGO CENTRAL RAILWAY

Dunstan Times, Issue 2093, 3 September 1901, Page 5

OTAGO CENTRAL RAILWAY

The following letter lias been forwarded (o the member for Waihemo by the electors : To— The Hon, T. M'Kenzie. M.H.K Sir. We, the electors of Mt. Ida, respectfully draw your attention to the fact that there has been nothing- done with respect to the existiig tariff on the Ot;. go Central, j You will doubtless call to minrl when addressing your constituents at Mt Ida, you were asked if you would be in favor of placing the Otago Central on the same footing as the Lawrence line. You said undoubtedly you were, and would see that the matter got|proper consideration,

We notice by Hansard of last session that you were as good as your word, and put the question to the House, The i.opJy was thai could M\> .sec

their way clear to do so, seeing the Law* rence line hadpo compete with waggons, on in other words, with horse-power, which, you will admit, was a Tery lame excuse. You will nndeistand we have not pledged ourselves to support the Otago Central any more than the Lawrence people. The present railage on Clas» H goods from Duuedin to Kanfurly is £2 5s 2d, and from there to Naseby by waggon, TOs, making in all £2 15s 2d. We can land our goods direct from Dunedin to Naseby by waggon for £3 10s. Granting there is a difference in the above amounts in favor of the railway, this can be explained by the fact of the waggoners charging only for the actual weight s<iven them by rhe merchants. For iustance, the merchant gives the waggoner goods the weight of which is from 90 to lOOlbs, and they only charge for such weight, while the railway for the same lot of , goods would charge not less thnn 112 d' In the smaller consignments from different firms, where the. >ailway would charge for one ton, the actual weight would be from 16 to 18cwt, wbioh would more than balance the difference of the 14s lOd. Generally speaking, the business people do not receive from any one firm at any one time more than 4cwt of Class H goods: For this we a-e charged by rail at the rate of 3s 3d per cwt. JNow, in this instance we could save at the late of 10 i per ton. while or other classes of goods we cou'd save from 30s to dOs per ton. You will naturally say, How cun this be possihle ? You will bear in mindfthat the waggoner charges only one rate throughout, while the railway charges the rate, and half and double rate, which makes this an important item. You will see by the foregoing that the consumers are placed at a great disadvantage, inasmuch as they have to pay an excessive rate for their goods. We consider we have, an equal right; to consideration as t'">e Lawrence people, seeing that we have such prosperous districts as Clyde, Ciomw.dl. and Alexandra, all of which would support the Otago Central ware the tariff reduced. At the present time there are about 30 waggons on the Lawrence route. Out of these, were, all things equal, 20 would haul from the Otago Central, as the road is nearer and better. This would mean twenty waggons and men, and about 200 horses, which would grove a boon to the settlers, as it would pe the means of opening up an outlet fur their produce. , You can understand how the Otago' Central is so much handicapped, as the bulk of the goods go via Lawrence, owing to the freight being so much less. Had the rate been equal the Otago central would certainly have held its own. and would undoubtedly have paid,! a much greater percentage on the capital invested. And last, but by no means least,: Are the pioneers of Otago to be kept in the back ground when they have for years so persistently agitated for the construction of the Otago Central, and hsve kept; before the public the benefits to be derived from such a source. Surely the present state of affairs is not the consummation of an energeticbody of men, You will notice by the petitions signed from various centres that ■ the district is up in arms. That their : energy is not all spent and that they are determined to keep agitating till they get their rights, you may judge from the petitions signed from all parts, such as Hyde. Naseby, St Bathans, Cambrians, Cromwell, and Clyde, It is 'm be regretted that the petition signed by over 200 in' Alexandra, wa* mislaid, however, if you should require it we can furnish you with another. We are forwarding you a few of the different rates in their respective classes as taken from the tariff book, also the petition signed, and would ask you to be good enough to lay the matter before the Minister of Railways, and to bring pressure to bear as far as lies in your power, As it is affecting the whole of the district, we will be happy to furnish you with any fwether information you may require. We would have taken steps before this, but were waiting for the Minister of Railways, who was expected to visit the district, some little time bacs, but unfortun dely we were disappointed in not beprg able to bring the matter before him personal y, hence the request. I haw the honor to be, etc. on behalf of thcjjpetitioners, W. GINSBEItG.