FOR BETTER OR WORSE? RAISING RAILWAY RATES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 130, 29 November 1909, Page 7

FOR BETTER OR WORSE? RAISING RAILWAY RATES.

FOR LONG DISTANCES. CRITICS DIFFER. Users of the railways have not yet j shown signs that they have pondered I much about the Government's proposal to raise the railway fares for longdistance travelling. The intention is to make a uniform charge of Id per mils second-class, and 1], d first-class, whether the journey is forty miles or four hundred. Thus the price of a secondclass jaunt to Auckland will rise from a guinea to about £1 15s. It is fair to mention that the rates forecasted by the Premier in his Budget speech are identical with those levied in Australia. The 'id (second) and l^d (first) are uniformly charged in the Commonwealth States, except during excursion periods. A railway ex-pert of high standing has given The Post an opinion that th? projected raising of the fares will be a mistake. In his view it will be unwise to frame a tariff which will diminish traffic. He Submits that the Government is taking' the wrong line in its efforts to make the railways lose less money than they are- now doing. He suggests that it would be better policy to cut out "dead running" rather than the live passenger. His plea is a reduction of the unprofitable mileage run, especially in\ the South Island,' where the frequent long-distance trains provide facilities in excess of the requirements. Another expert, who was seen to-day, also advocated a lessening of the mileage covered by unprofitable trains, but held that the raising of passenger rates for long distances was essential for the success of the State enterprise. His view was that if the rates were put up, the traffic might naturally diminish, but 'his atgument was that it would be better business, as a general principle, for the State to collect £1,000,000 in railway fares from 666,666 persons at £1 10s than £1,000,000 from a million persons at £1 each. He believed that, though the number of passengers might show a shrinkage for a time, the Railway Department should be able to more than recoup itself by reductions in the working expenses. He was convinced that New Zealand was "over-trained." .There was too much train-running, too much travelling, he argued. If the people travelled less it would be better for themselves as individuals, and better for the country as a • whole. More money would be available for productive puj> poses. The time and money wasted oq more or less needless travelling in Neiv Zealand should be something to exorcise the minds of thoughtful economists. For example, the present tariff betwen Auckland and. Wellington — a return trip for a couple of guineas — was absurdly cheap. It involved a loss, and meant that non-users, or very minor users of the railways, had to help to pay for the privileges granted to others. Fairness to the general taxpayers, notwithstanding the old 3 per cent, doctrine, demanded that the railways should be made to pay their way by lair fares, and. by good management watchful to minimise unneccessary running. ' It was intended, he continued, to have three express trains leaving Wellington every morning for the North via Palmerston. Conld it not be possible to have a smaller number of express trains between Wellington and Palmerston? He thought that one train from the capital could be divided at Palmerston — one half to go to Napier and the other to New Plymouth. He was strongly of opinion that this matter of needless, running be very closely studied by the authorifiee, and also that the whole scheme of freight rates should bo reviewed.

A resident of Hastings named Miles Cassidy pleaded guilty at the Hastings Police Court on Friday to a charge of selling a gun to a youth 16 years of age. Mr. Ebbett, for the defendant, said that when the lad purchased the gun the defendant would not let him ' take it away without the consent of his parents. The defendant told the letU that if he brought in a person who was over 16 years of age he would give delivery to him, which v.-a*. done. The case was brought under tho I'olice Offences Act, and was the first heaid in Hastings for a considerable time. The Magistrate pointed out that the Act was framed to protect boys from accidents. In the present case an attempt had been made to evade the Act. The defendant was convicted and fined 40s, and 7s costs. A freehold block, situate in Tccanakistreet, is now on offer to tho public by Messrs. Thomson arid Brown, auctioneers and real estate agents, Customhousequay. The site is a cornor ono having a frontage of 51 feat to Taranctki-strect, and a frontage of 66 feet to a "siiiq street.