THE NEW RAILWAY OFFICES. OPENED BY THE GOVERNOR.

Evening Post, Volume LXVI, Issue 126, 24 November 1903, Page 5

THE NEW RAILWAY OFFICES. OPENED BY THE GOVERNOR.

The almost palatial offices— described in . recent article — which for the future are -,v become the huino of the head oitko stafl of the New Zealand Railway Department, were formal.)' opened by His Excellency tho Uovernor at fi o'clock venteriki v , aiteruoou, in lite presence ot a repicsentutive gatkeiing i>t public men and citizens'. Ulna moulded the Premier, members of tho Ministry, mombois ol botn Houses of Parliament, and repre* teiuuiivcs of tho public service and trade auu commerce. Mr. Konayno (General Manager) aud most of tho official heads of the Railway Department wero also pietent. His Excellency vai, met at tht> entrance in the Featherston-streot front, having driven from Government House in company with his son, Lord NorHilaud, and Captain Alexander, private nocietojy. Sir Joseph Ward, Mmifcter for Railways, welcomed His Excellency, and formally presented him with the key of the duo;*, n handsome souvenir in gold, intcribed on the one side with His Esccoi.ency's arms and motto, and on tho other with tho inscription : "The Karl «ii Kanfurly, G.O.M.G. Opening of Now Zs<Mind Government Railways Deuartimmtul OMeos. November 23rd, 1903." The monogram "N.25.R." Appeared boiiv.ith. Am Excellency expressed pleasure at butng asked to pcrfotm tho coromony of opening tho offices, the foundation-stone ol which had beon laid by tho Duko of I'ork, now Prince of Wales, just two >eui4 and five months ago. On that occasion His Royal Highuosa had said: "The fact of the necessity for more extensive accommodation Is a proof of the prosperity of this island, for there is no better toUtalo of the state of a couury than its railways." (Hear, licar.) His Kxcellcnuy «aid ho thoroughly agTccd with those word*. When he arrived in New Zealand in 1897 tho railways wero in a' fiuiiy flourishing condition ; but in the yemr 1903 they weie in a still more flourishing btate. (Hear, hear.) The gross incvtuAe of tovenuo was £687,000 during thoso six years, wheroas tho capital cost that had boon added to tho pubUu debt of the colony had only been about three aud a half millions, which, at 4 per cent., would mako only £140,000 against the £687,000 inerea.-e. One of the moat important linen to tho welfare of tho country was tho lino joining the two principal centres of the North— Auckland and Wellington. (Applause.) When he came to the colony thcio were 345 miles made of this line out of 426. Thero woro now 368 iniUs made, uud only 58 miles remained to bo completed. Ho did not mean it to be inferred that thero wero only 58 miles still to be opened, but the construction hnd advanced to such «■ stage that tboro \ra« no question that when the con»truc> tion of tiiis 58 miles was done, thu rest would be opened eio long. When he first arrived in the colony, long before he came to it as Governor — in 1888 — he took four days to got from thu Bluff to Wellington, and it was rather todious iwork. Even now in the winter months such a delay might aruo. But he looked forward to tho time—and he believed a timo in the near future— when one would be ablo to leave the Bluff at, say, ,6 o'clock in the morning And at 5 o'clock — not tho next morning, but the morning following — be in Auckland. (Applause.) There wmt no difficulty about it; it was only a question of trains and steamers running -together. He looked forward to the timo when we would bo able to get through the colony w.ith much greater facility and despatch, and one thing that would assist that time to arrivo would* he the great influx of tourists that wo might expect to visit the natural beauties of the colony iv the future. (Hear, hear.) Thero could be no question, that their number was increasing by "leaps and bounds," and with good hotels and good facilities in travelling, ho thought New Zealand might well reap tho benefits that Switzerland at the present moment ivuped financially through tourists visiting that country. The opening of the present bui.'ding showed the great proUte;s of the colony— progreii that had Veon of the best, but the progress that he expected for New Zealand in the future was n far greater leap than it had taken in tho p**t. (Loud applauve.) i Sir Joseph Woxd said that before asking His Excellency to open the doom, he would liko to say something concerning tht development of the New Zealand railways. He would also like to mention that the architect for the present building waa Mr. Georgo Troup, Railway Eugineer, to whom credit was fairly due tor the tymmeciy of tho structure, apart from the question of its use. Tho contractor was Mr. Thomas Carmichael, who bud curried out a "e/y difficult work with every satisfaction. The total cost of the building when fun.inhcd would amount to about £35,000. tftill, the rent which tho. Department was now paying for buildings it occupied in the Wellington district amounted to over £6000 a year, nnd £2000 a year would mean tho full interest *t 6 per cent, on £35,000 ; therefore from an economical point of view this structure was esiential. Owing to tho tremendous increase of the business of the colony, tho "biggest wooden building in tho world" had been overtaxed in accominodntion, and relief would bo given by the erection of these omens. Bir Joseph contrasted the position of the Bailway Department to-day with the time when he first took office as Minister for Railways. Tho mileago in 18w was 2084 j it had increased to 2300. The omployee* numbered 6413, and wero now 8875 ; locomotives, 293, now 372 j cars had increased from 560 to 751 5 trucks and brukovans from 9792 to 12,992; paisemjers from 4,955,553 to" 7,575,390 ; revenue irom £1,469,665 to £1,974,038. (Applause.) Tho concession*" made to the public in fares nnd fi eights to date had amounted to £610,000, and while tho number of head office and dopartinontul employees in Wellington wus 77, they now numbered 142. The number of employees contributing to tho Superannuation Fund on the 30th Juno last wai 6298, and the amount now ut credit to the fund was £30,445, an* there was £9328 per annum being paid out to deserving officers who liad contributed to the fund after years of devoted service to the country. (Hear, hear.) Contrasting the weather that day with the occasion when tho Duke of York laid tho fouudu tion-stone of the building, Sir Joseph remarkod that they might aptly say, "Happy is tho bride that tho sun shines on;" happy the Railway Departmental offices that the sun shono upon on that auspicious occasion. (Loud applause.) His Excellency, amid cheoring, tjitn turned the key in the door, and subsequently walked through the building, accompanied by tho guests invited to attend the ceremony. Later the company assembled in tho big room at the northern end of the building, 'where several toasts were honoured. The Premier proposed the toatt of "The King," and "Tho Prince of Wales," ftnd toil* Joseph proposed that of "The Governor." In the coureo of lm remarks Sir Joseph expressed the regret folt at th& nearness of His Excellency's departure from tho colony. Throughout the wlonj it would be found that Lord and Lady Ranfurly wero revered by the people, t nnd he trusted His Excellency would carry away as pleasing reminiscences of the colony as we hers had of him and fhe Countess of Ranfurly. His Excellency, in replying, paid a special tribute to the excellence of the railway management in the colony. The Department had from the first done its very best to facilitate his visit to various parts of the oolony. Personally he believed in travelling through the do- 1

lony, for tie icasor that unless one knew tho peoplo and know thoir requiieinents it was impossible to talk to the people at Homo with authority. (Applause.) When he returned to England lie would be able to speak of the colony from absolute knowledge- froa. Cape Maria. Van Diemou to the Bluff, und he could also speak as to ' statistics. He hod spent many pleasant years in New Zealand, and he trusted that he had performed his duties as ho should havo done. (Applause.) Iv any cuso, he had done his best to do so, and when ho got back to the Motherland ho could assure his hearers that us far as he was concerned the interests of New Zealand would be etm■ally dear to him as they wore when lie was His Majesty's representative in this country to look' after them. (Loud and continued applause.) At the call of the Premier tho company gave three hearty cheorn for tho Prince of Wales, fliree for His Excellency and tho Countess of Ranfurly. Another salvo was given for the Minister for Railways, and one for Mr. aud Mrs. Seddon. This closed the proceedings.