THE TRAMWAY REGULATIONS

Evening Star, Issue 14630, 28 July 1911, Page 7

THE TRAMWAY REGULATIONS

MR HAMEL HOPEFUL. I ROSLYN’S INTERESTS. Mr J., H. F. Hamel, who as Mayor of Roslyn accompanied the various delegates from hero to Wellington to attend the con- | ferenco to consider the pcopc,n;d tramway > regulations, returned to Dunedin on Wed- | nesday night. j interviewed this morning he eaid ; ‘■The- nuuediu party were agreed from the outset that they would not lend themselves for political purpose.-,. The suggestion was made that tho whole responsibility in reference to tlie proposed regulations should lie left to tho Public Works Department for amendments or reconstruction. It was pointed out that this would lie unfair to the Minister of Public Works, in that the | regulations, though drawn up in drastic | form, were submitted to all interested, ue- ; vompanied by a letter from the depavt-wen-which was clearly marked " confidential.’ , and which further stated that the iv,jii!:i. (ions submitted wore, only " proposed ” regulations, and that tire department j invited consideration and sugge-stlons. Another matter ot importance, which | wo ascertained on reaching - Welling- I ton. was that tho props,-d regulations were in many respects a repro- | duction of (he by-laws of. the Auckland j Gity Council. In was unfortunate for the. j rcnrcsimtaUvos when they assembled in j conference to find that, no order of refer- j once had been prepared by the Wellington | authorities, ami considerable time was taken up in evolving an order of reference. Ci Keasl feeling, as other ropresentalivea from tiie boutb foil, that there was a die- i liml political tinge in the Wellington at- 1 nnisphere. wisely brought forward his mo- j tion to take the business in committee, and this was agreed to. Though no com pact had been entered into or discussion of any kind initiate,! bet wont I::-.- representatives of Curistchurch, Invercargill, and Dunedin, yet tlicit a-lion through 1 lie initial stage of tho < onteieiice showed that- they had i-Miio to the same com Fusions in re terrace to the Minister's memorandum marked ‘ confidential.’

; "la comuiiilie 1 person dly took strong i exception to the wording of the resolution 1 brought forward by tlie Wellington representatives. and proposed an a mend- : meat (which wav -arriid) for (he conclusions. arrived ai M be con- | veyed to tho Minister ihr.eigh a deputai lioa. -Mr Bcotii. of Christchurch, conj [erred with me with the object of appoiut- , mg a sub-cciii-uittei-, t curiating of tlio experts <-.! tiie different bodies represented, S to confer and report to the main confer- ; en'ce. as the icgukitions being largely toch-

nical Mr Booth thought that more effective work would thereby bo accomplished. Somebody moved in that direction, and we immediately foil into line. “ On tiio afternoon of the same day the cable, comp-n.ios of Dunedin and the- cable company of Wellington had ar, interview with the Minister of Public Works, ami at that interview the companies practically pc. cured everything they asked, except the quest ion relating Ui (he number of passengers per milled to stand on the ‘dummy’ cars. The proposition from the companic-'. and supported by the Roslyn Council, was 75 per cent, of .standing passengers reseating. The Minister listened to all the arguments put forward for the retention of this number, and- premised that he woukl go into it with his officers. Tin's, to my mind, was the most interesting and crucial period of tho conference, because I was there not only to sec to the- convenience and the care of tho travelling public, so far as Roslyn was concerned, but to see that fair treatment was given tho promoters of the tramways, who, by a deed of delegation, arc parties to a contract entered into before the passing of the Act of 1910. The maximum speed provided in the Order-in-Council for Roslyn is 10miles an hour, and the proposed ngu , lations suggested that it should bo cut dov. n | to six. I pointed out to the .Minister the j inconvenience that such a slow rate- or | travel would mean to the Roslyn residents, ! and the fact that some 7.0C0 of a population was served by tho two services. It. was necessary to explain that if six miles an hour was insisted upon it would be impossible for any workers in tivi City to go home for lunch, and, further, that the reduction of the speed some 25 per cent., the stoppage of ; people standing, and the power of one | company to raise its fares would he die- 1 tiiictly inimical to tho interests of the borough. The Minister then allinncd that 1 he would sanction nothing in the regula- : lions which superseded any provisions con- s laincd in the Order-in-Council, and to get . that promise from tho Minister was, m- j deed, everything that could bo desired. ! “The sub-committee after completing : their work, together with several members of tho general conference wailed on the Minister, who gave the utmost attention to the policy outlined by the deputation, and he promised, provided that (,'alnnct agreed, to accede to the request of the conference that the experts from the different com paaies should confer with the otficei-s of his department for tho framing of Just and equitable regulations. He further 6tat< d that he. would not override under any consideration tho provisions contained in the Orders-in-Coimcil.’’ "Whilo much remained to be accomplished. the members of Iho deputation came a wav with the impic.-sion that ill ■ Minister was .earnest in Ins endeavor U secure a reasonable decree ui ya.ety bu' tho iravelling public without inflicting unnecessary hardships on the variou;' ‘ 1 ; i; j' companies and local authentic;-'. i ihm.x a word of praise is due ro Hie vieyloicc <n Cr Kcast. and to the care and aleiitv th; - plaved l>v the experts ut l!;c vainom- V.odi</■Mr Booth, of OhrLslchni'ch, al.-o deseiv*;credit for the very able. band, and oc:n-ness-Uko manner in which he placed « .a* ciiso before tho Minister. ’

A STRONG IA'-'WORDED K ESOU'TION. The Wellington City Council last, n’ght passed the following resolution :- - That the members of this_ council consider the action of the Minister ot Pin, lie Works in u-fusiitg to allow the Act - Lug Mayor of Wellington (as chairman of the deputation of delegates represent ing the various centres of New deahi eel i to speak on tho proposed tramway regulations, and his threat as a .Minister of tiie Crown to eject him from the room, was an unwarrantable and unjustifiable insult to the deputation, and also to thy citizens of Wellington ; that tiie council beg to assure Uie Acting Mayor that tlie insolence of the Minister lias not in any way shaken the confidence oi tiie council or of the citizens of Wellington in' the honor, integrity, and capacity of tiie Acting Mayor, ant] that a copy of this resolution bo sent to the Acting Brimu .Minister.

A Wellington telegram states that before disbanding the Tramway Conference passed a resolution protesting emphatically against tho action of the Government in their “ unwarrantable interference ” with local government by the- issue of regulations arbitrarily interfering with tiie rights of public bodies and seriously affecting the economical running of tho tramways.