Carriage of Boner Cattle by Rail.

Franklin Times, Volume XXV, Issue 129, 6 November 1935, Page 4

Carriage of Boner Cattle by Rail.

REDUCTION IN FREIGHT. NO ACTION TAKEN. RAILWAY BOARD’S REPLY. "Tiie request for a reduction in the railage charges has been carefully and sympathetically considered, but it cannot be concluded that the position is ope which could be effectively met by means of reductions in freight rates.” The foregoing was contained in a letter received by Mr J. N. Massey, M.P., -from the general manager of the Railways Board and read at Monday’s meeting of the Franklin County Council. The letter was a reply to representations made to the Prime Minister by a deputation introduced by Mr Massey, it requesting that the railage charges on boner cattle forwarded to Westfield be reduced. SPECIAL RATES PROVIDED. CONCESSIONS TO FARMERS. “Having regard to the substantial concession already extended in • the form of a special reduction of 12J per cent in the standard rates for cattle granted by the Government as a measure of assistance to the farming industry, also the reduction of 30 per cent in the freight ratbs on beef railed to ports of export, subject to the animals having been conveyed by rail to the freezing works, the board is of the opinion that the existing rates are as low as the circumstances permit,” the general manager wrote to the Tuakau Town Board meeting on Monday evening. He stated that the charges in lorce in the Dominion for livestock traffic compared favourably with the rates charged on the Australian State Railways.

“The comprehensive investigations which the board ha 6 caused to be made in regard to the movement of boner cattle have failed to disclose that any further reduction in the rates which would of necessity require to be a drastic one would result in sufficient new business to compensate for the loss of revenue on existing traffic,” continued the letter. “On the contrary, it has emerged from the enquiries made that while there is no doubt as to whether a further reduction would bring about the desired result, there is justification for assuming that the introduction of concessional rates intended to apply to boner cattle would have an adverse reflection on the revenue from prime animals inasmuch as an inducement would ®be created to describe stock outside the boner class as such, mor& ' especially in mixed consignments, in order to receive the benefit of the lower rate. In this regard lam to say that practical men in the industry have expressed their recognition of the difficulty which would be experienced in limiting the application of the concessions to the particular class of stock contemplated. Having regard to the question of damage to roads arising from the passage of cattle was concerned, the general manager added that while his board fully appreciated that droving was undesirable from the point of view of county councils and other local bodies, it was of the opinion that the matter was really one for the bodies concerned to control. The chairman, Mr G. Arrowsmith, remarked that a local body could not pass a bylaw prohibiting the driving of stock, but it could keep cattle off certain streets. Mr S. H. Crawford stated that it was a pity that the railways could not be used for the transport of boner cattle.