THE ONE COMPLAINT

Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 146, 21 June 1916, Page 13

THE ONE COMPLAINT

REQUEST REGARDING MAIL

TRAINS.

STRONGLY-WOEDED PROTEST.

The Te Horo community is not one which grumbles much, but it has one complaint which certainly seems to be justified. It is in relation to the train service, as may be expected. Recently a petition was circulated throughout the district and widely signed. It asked the Minister of Railway's to arrange for one of the express trains up and down to stop at Te Horo sufficiently long to enable passengers to get on and off, and to enable the newspapers and mails to be landed in a rational manner. Under the present arrangement the mails are thrown off a fast moving train, and anything fragile which the bags contain is bound to break. Newspapers are treated in. the same way, and the writer sa\v one bundle bounce back.underneath the train, where it was cut to shreds.

To Horo claims to be of such a size now that it may justly ask for the stoppage of either the Napier or New Plymouth mail trains. "Is time so valuable," they ask, " that we as a community cannot be allowed the stoppage of two minutes,, so that we can be served as civilised beings, or- is it the intention to continue pitching the mails out to us like a bone to a dog? Our importance. as a settlement and as a manufacturing community demand better treatment. : Our export for six months (the statement continues) has totalled over £13,000 in value. This naturally necessitates more reasonable railway conveniences to not only ourselves but to many commercial gentlemen who have occasion to visit Te Horo. We don't want to be 'turned down,' because, possibly, our political standing is infinitesimal compared with our commercial standing. We- haye a good future ahead of us, and if the condition's next year are similar to those of last year the exports will exceed £20.000. Land is being taken up all round and cultivated without d-ela-y. Surely a record such as we have justifies a favour, able' consideration, of a reasonable request. There is no township between here and Wellington that has such a record as we have, and .yet they all have thp facility we ask for."

It will be seen that the residents feel the position very keenly. The statement printed above is typical of. the views of practically all the settlers, and they have expressed themselves as determined not to rest until their request is complied with.