BROKEN PLEDGES

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 11404, 3 January 1931, Page 5

BROKEN PLEDGES

SIR JOSEPH; WARD’S VIEW

RAILWAY WILL .BE PROVIDED

WITHOUT DELAY

SCATHING CONDEMNATION OF

PESSIMIST'S

Speaking at a luncheon at the Rotary Club on Monday, March 4, Sir Joseph, who was the guest of tae Club, refer rod to tlie railway in .the following terms, as reported in the Gisborne Times of March 5, 1929:

It was most .pleasing to be able to tell them on this visit that lie: intended to provide the district without delay, with the railway connection of which ,it had been so long in need.*’ There could be no question that if was wrong to leave to the settlors' of the district, the matter as to which route a railway should ;take, for that meant an interminable series of arguments, fetich a. matter was best left, to a Government which would bring it 'to finality at. once. AVI thin a few days the Government’s decision would be given., as to when the railway would . be started. Sir Joseph then went on to express his belief that the Gisborno-Napier line' would prove a profitable venture: for tlie Stale and tor. the districts' that would be affected._ Ho said that: whenever a new railway was planned there was talk that it would never pay.' It had fallen to. his lot to' drive in the la.si: 'spike in connection with the North Island nfaiii trunk' line. No sooner bad the line been completed tillin' lie 'received letters' fromi all guard's expressing ' tlie viewpoint that' it would never 'pay. axle-grease. (Laughter')'. To-day it was a very fine proposition as' everybody knew. “I would”-, said Sir Joseph, “sooner bo an optimist drying at the gate of St. Peter, than a. pessimist at the bottom of the hill”. (Laughter and applause). There was shudar pessimism in connection with the completion of tlie Christchurch to Invercargill line. He remembered when the fir St-class through passengers between Dunedin and Invercargill averaged only four iq ten a dav but he had lived to see the line when half a dozen expresses a day were required to cope with tlie' traffic on occasions. ,LESSONS FROM CANADA Let us then take, what had been done by Canada in the way of railway construction, said Sir Joseph. 'First of all, a set of very costly railways had been built across and interwoven through that great country. Then a second set of lines had been laid clown, “and”', continued -Sir Joseph,, “both sets are to-day paying handsomely. As compared with the justifiable confidence in Canada, the fact, that New Zealand was today not fully served with railways was highly discreditable.

RAILWAYS NOT EXPECTED TO PAY MORE THAN 4 PER CENT.

Continuing, Sir Joseph said that it was quite a mistake to suppose that a railwhy gained all its revenue from the land adjacent to it. It had invariably been found that a railway drew business from a wide area on either side. Radial traffic was what made a line pay. As they all knew, railways were not expected to pay more than 4 per cent. They did not amount to an engine of taxation. Whilst lie was Minister in charge of the Department, he was able at one time to reduce the earnino- rate to .3 per cent. Subsequently it- had to be raised to 31 per. cent'. The difference between 3 per cent, and 4 per cent, had been given back to the users in the shape of reduction, in fares and in freights. What could be claimed for .the Department’s railways was that every class of user was on the same footing The poor man had not to pay higher fares than the rich man; the big merchant did not have his goods carried any cheaper than the smallest business man, and the laiv gest farmer got no reduction in freight as compared with the smallest “cookie”. (Loud applause).

GISBORNE LINE WILL EARN .STANDARD RATE

Touching again on the CisliorneNapier line, Sir Joseph remarked that it would earn the standard rate of earning. It was most unfortunate that the unfinished lines of this Dominion were' costing the: -State £600,000' a year m interest- alone, from which no benefit is derived. He was certain that the proposed expenditure ol £10,000,000 to complete all the unfinished lines would be justified.

RETURN OF 2 PER. CENT BETTER, THAN UNFINISHED LINE

Supposing, continued Sir Joseph, that anyone was so pessimistic as to believe that .the Gisborne line

would return only 2 per cent., was it not bettor to have that state of

affairs than to lose, money on- tlie,' unfinished line? He -would put if

to them this way; Supposing a man had a business wliieli was resulting in a loss of £‘2ooo a year and lie knew that ,if lie expended £2OOO, the concern "would show a profit of;£1000, what sort of man 'was he who .would hesitate about making tliei extra outlay. Tlie Gis-: borne-Napiev line had the advantage of having an important- town at either end, and a. town of lessor

importance mid-way. In time to come other settlements along the route would develop into towns and townships,, and one and all would attract business to the line. (Loud Applause).

EMPHATIC OPINION BY SIR JOSEPH AVARD

“t AVILL SETTLE -THE! R OUTE ; QUESTION”, • .'

“NONE AVHO COME AFTER- AIE - ' AVILL UNDO IT”

•In .-a-n -. address - * at GVisborne : on March 2, :1889, thq . -Prime Minister dealt with'the railway in no- uncertain planner,, a?' th6‘ following report from .the- Gisbothq Times of March 4, shows: —

Touching on 'tlie; local'claims for a railway, Sir Joseph said that, had .lie , had .-.been - asked how he would feel 'were'lie in the shoeS of a district resident;-his answer would have been ..that,-lie : was absolutely disgusted • with the. men , in. Parliament 'over the last , sixteen yeai-s or;, so; Over gO years ago (a- vqiqe : nearer, 30) he , had turned the first sod. on'tlie line, and still the work liad not been completed. . ,It was enough to make 'people turn . in. their graves and: asl; ,if .jy© Kqd' all gone' to slefep. 'Until that line Was conipleted it' was. not. the slightest good ' and ■ was not earning a- penny off revrehue. t'lnstead, duripg all those 26 '■ years it had simply been eating • up : inteVest. There had been, a- great 'Meal of '.argument aboiit 'the route,' and no. railway at all in the end. t'; .. U.' ''“liV a'-week or ten da-ys,”y'paid Sir'Joshplr, with 'much .empliasis“J ’ will settle this finite' question for over,, and aiiy 'who come after ’ mb will not be able to undo it. C(nd of the routes • Must hb linked up, and 'thq railway . -completed;- ;'tbo

soone r the hotter for.- the prosperity of the district.- AVlvnt does it matter which 1 route you have so. Jong as ypu-have the railway. )

DISTRICT IN CRYING NEED OF ' LINE '

In three or four years, continued Sir Joseph, the local- linei would he finished.- and Parliament was to he asked to do it. The route costing the least money was the one ■which would he settled on. Poverty Bay was a very fine district, hut it had to he linked up with outside districts, and that without delay. Once the district was comploted, the district would grow in prosperity, as those in the south' had done.' where Ml the railways were finished 30 years ago. . In the south, as soon as a district was linked up with other territories it .went ahead, and this would he the case in l P'overty Bay without a doubt. A saving of time was a saying of money, and indirectly added to the wealth of all in the districtconcerned. This district was in crying need of a line, so that closer settlement could he developed ; it was an immediate need, and not a- matter for another ten years hence. Once the territory was linked up. then lorries could look after the interior, and act as feeders to the railway.

“HAVEI NO DOUBTS. AVB ARE GOING TO COAIPLETE THE LINE”

New Zealand had no use for -uncompleted railways. They all needed finishing, and then would be giving hack some . revenue for the money sunk in them. There was only one way to make a railwayfix a. time limit and see that it is ‘adhered to. “Where would other countries have been.” said Sir Joseph, “if they had followed on the lines of , our snake-like policy? They would never have attained anything like the prosperity thathad come to some of them. New Zealand needs more settlers, and we must; spend more money on our railways. That was one of the first Parliament should do, though it would cost £10,000,000. During the next three or four years all our railways should he completed, and in them the country would then have its greatest asset. It is only sound economics that we should begin as early as possible to' get some return for our money. If it was worth while starting any railway, then surely it is worth while finishing it. “You have a magnificent district” he said, “and so has Hawke’s Bay, so why not embrace one another by railway? A T ou need ha-ve no doubts —we . are . going to complete the line.” CABINET’S DECISION Chi'Sir Joseph’s return to AVellington, Cabinet- discussed the matter, and on March 8, 1929, the following announcement was telegraphed from AVel lington. Cabinet confirmed the coastal route for the Gisborne-Wairoa line. TKo necessary equipment- will be obtained without delay, and the • work put In hand as soon as the Publio A Yorks Department can make arrangements.

~.V V , 'li •>' i. ■> -- V - EAST COAST LINE. POLITICAL -WARFARE IN WORST LIGHT. HOW HAVE PROMISES BEEN KEPT? - ' ■ t•' V i'yi ■ STATESMANLIKE POLICY OF SIR JOSEPH WARD. SORRY EXHIBITION OF SUCCESSORS.

’ Whether the .Ministerial ultimatum to close, the East Coast line will be reversed, or even suspended, will be known in the course of the; next few days, for the men;are .due to'resume work on Wednesday next. In view of Cabinet’s .decision it is extremely probable that a, great majority of the workers will then (be given a week’s notice, and some will no doubt be told that their services will he dispensed with immediately. On that- same day, the Gisborne deputation waits on the ActingPrime Minister.! It is hardly likely that the deputation will be- given an immediate answer, and it is to be hoped not, for in that case, there is no doubt that the answer would be to the effect that Cabinet had thoroughly considered "all aspects of the case, and could see no reason to alter its decision. - - ' ** t / '

.-It is held-in many ..quarters that one- of-the principal requests to Mr. Ransom should be that the decision in regard -to the East' Coast line should be held fn abeyance until the return of the Prime Minister, which is now only a matter of a, few weeks,- Another request should be that a special session of Parliament should be held*,as was suggested last session, to consider "the whole question of railway contraction. During the recent session of Parliament many protests were made against the continuance of work or. the South Island main trunk, but- in comparison, there was little said against the Gisborne-Wairoa line, - members apparently recognising this district was long overdue for its railway to open up the coutry.; I lie suggestions for a special session to discuss railway construction fell on deaf, ears, however and the public . were under the impression that .the matter had been shelved until June next, when Parliament would meet in the usual course. On the eve of Xmas, the Acting-Prime Minister sprang . A cruel surprise by making a statement that Cabinet had decided’ to cease work on four lines out of nine under construction. ri

These constituencies in which the .four lines are situated are represented by the Country Party (Captain Riishworth), the Reform leader (Mt\ Coates), an Independent, (Mr. ,Lysnar), and the loader of the Labor Party (Mr. Holland). Mr. Holland, however, had two linos in his constituency. and one was retained. >. Of the five lines authorised, the total amount, still to be expended on the three North Island lines is.dßl,136,000. The two South Island lines however, are authorised to be completed to the extent of £2,685,000, of which the Prime Minister’s electorate takes £2,258,000 more than half of the total for New Zealand, and, Mr" Holland’s electorate gets 1 £427,. 000. Thus out of the total amount of £3,821,000 still to be expended, ,the ■Prime Minister’s and the Labor Leader’a electorates get £2,685.000!

WHO IS JO BLAME FOR PRESENT POSITION ?

It is held in some quarters that Gisborne, has got itself to thank for the position, which has now arisen-. In ,the first case, reliance was placed on--.the pledge made by the then Prime Minister,, Sir Joseph Ward, - that the - line would - be continued. . One could herdly imagine the colleagues of the statesman a few months after his death breaking that pledge, and callously jettisoning one of the principal planks in the party’s policy, without at" least consulting the members of the House on such an important matter.: Then again, for months there has been propaganda going on thoughout- the Dominion with the object of stopping railway construction. No public reply from Gisborne has ever been made to. these -statements, those in control of the movement here simply' collecting data in case it should be, needed.. .■ Ministerial promises were certainly given that nothing would he done until evidence was heard in favor of the line, hut in view of the present decision to cease work, little surprise is felt at this further breaking of promises. Still, even-after Cabinet’s announcement :practically, dothing was ; done until this week. Now the committee is to visit. Wellington, . and piace its views before the Acting-Prime Minister on ;the ;same. day as that on which ffhe : mem resume work. The men will start work about. 8 o’clock, and presumably will he given notice at once,. which may mean .that practically before the Minister hears the deputation the men will have received notice. The squabbling over the route, and the leth,argv. of those-in , charge of the movement appears li,kely to- cpst the district dear. A. public.. . jneeting is to be held on Monday, and it is to ,-be hoped that this .will be the most important held in Gisborne, for ( the future..progress.-of the .whole of Poverty Bay depends on (the decision heiing i.suspondedi in ;thp meantime until J Parliament ' has, bad o il opportunity | to xleal,with the matter, - If the plea ’of economy, advanced by the Government is to be taken in good faith, surely it would be fairer not,-, to ; start fresh public works and .reduce i expenditurQ-; • ,c on all undertakings for a time, instead of concentrating • on'..lines-,..'.an the electorates of the ■ Prime Minister, -arid, ; tho Labor leader-, tp; the exclusion ,ofothers, which to many people appear more important. • AIR HELP ” N DEPUTATION j- . , W'Y ' ;iy- : '• ;• -. ; AN UiTPORTANT ' SUGGESTION! jfv r '' : #'* . W ....... . j : aYwelhknown ibusirieiJsViriaii, who is 'keenly interested, in the/railway,.'diad : occasion.y.to jrnafar-; into-ythe.' pouptry ;in.N ..'-of .the- -line,.

and in—view-'tof'- tlio-- proposed, tion of the. .work, • took advantage of the i occasion to • qxamme' i the district generally. * In several places lyj had excellent views , of the rich country that would be served by. the line, especially.. in the Wharekopae, Tangihau, Hangaroa, and Tahunga districts. He returned to town more firmly convinced than ever that the Government is making a groat mistake in stopping the work, and that its continuation is of vital importance to Poverty Bay. The gentleman makes a suggestion to the committee that should he worth consideration. ‘‘Pacts and. : figures, ’’. die said, ‘ ‘are quite all right', but ocular proof is, to my mind, much more convincing. There are planes -at present in the district. Could not one of these take' a photographer on board and secure a series, of,.photographs from the air of the areas within, say, ten, twenty, thirty or even forty miles of the line?’! He is convinced that such views would add considerably to. the written evidence ,to be submitted to the Ministers, and, in any case, would be most valuable propaganda.

RAILWAY ACCOUNTANT’S

EVIDENCE

BASED REVENUE ON PAEROA-

TANEATUA LINE.

(Special to the Times.J WELLINGTON, Jan. 2,

The assessment made by the Chief Accountant to the Railways Department, as given before the Select Committee of the House, was on the following basis: ' • The estimated revenue and expenditure of the unopened section of the line between Eskdale and Gisborne is as follows: The actual results per mile of railway ..on the Paeroa-rTau-ranga-Taneatua' line ■ are' also shown for comparative purposes: ••

:x V S 2 *5 pt ®iS 5 » O ■*- C 3 S.- ® ■? £w c O

.—* n 5 £> c x O X *-i 13 ft) K) IO 03 W O O CO CO tO O O o' rt Oi Oi “co tb CO Ol QO Ol M rL CO O CO CO o v!’ 1 " J? Mocacogii, i '->1 » W CO O ft H o h o > ci s V H >-* l— l 2 ~ co o co "o J 3 2 r/3 ,J) O jh S rf O -1 O H CO X - SS

In each case the revenue includes the estimated feeder of the new lines to the existing lines. The relatively low estimated revenue on the Gisborne-E!skdale line is due to (1) the low earning power of the coastal route between Wairoa and Gisborne; (2) the strong sea competition through the ports of Gisborne, Waikokopu, Wairoa, and Napier; and (3) the strong road competition. already existing. A complete survey of the revenue earning possibilities of the WairoaGisborne coastal route (62 miles) was. made' in 1927. by the • Departments . Commercial Manager and the Operating and Equipment Assistant. Except in the immediate vicinity of the terminal points the possibilities of developing local traffic are remote. For 15 miles south of Gisborne the line, traverses wellroaded country, the. produce of which will, owing to the short distance, be carried mainly by motor. For the next 1-5 miles the lino is built between the coast and very rough country on the inland side. It is said that it will be impossible to find a site for a crossing siding for trains on this section-and little or no rev. enue will be derived from it. Between Waikokopu and Wairoa (25 miles) the line will carry traffic, to and from,- tlie port but does not traverse productive country. Road competition between the last mentioned points where traffic is now being worked by the Public Works Department already* exists. The conclusion, arrived at by the investigating officers was. that the section would bp dependent for its business almost entirely on through traffic to and from Gisborne and the port traffic to and from Waikokopu. •The revenue was estimated at £19,110 per-annum or £303 per mile. Between-' Wairoa - and Eskdalo the line traverses seme heavy., country. It is estimated-that the revenue.will .be somewhat .less. than the revenue on the Taneatua railway, , or about £7OO per. , mile, including Y feeder value. The total revenue has been' assessed at £41,766 for the 61 miles. The feeder value of the new line as a whole, to-the. existing, lines will be low, mainly as a result of road and sea competition.

PASSENGER TRAFFIC.

Dealing;.fi.rst, with passenger traffic, the present .position is that on week days . there are about 12 service cars running each way between Gisborne and; Napier, y There are also Sunday '.services. These cars leave the terminal; pointsmorning, . after-, noon and evening, and offer passengers-. a > ohojee of departure; times. They, piclc; .Jipivpr. deliver, .passengers wherever -business is; offering both in the towns or en route. Including coL lection and delivery the ruling faresare slightly;less than first-class railway fares. . The total'Vplunio. pf passenger business - . is - sufficient . -to r warrant the -running, of not. move than one. through passenger, i tra in each way j per, day/, supplemented, by .a .. local, goods train.,-with passenger car each xyay. ' ■ Under these, conditions .-..it is nn- : probable that; the road, services .will be ..put . out; . of;: business by the rail- . ■way, though they will probably be

reducodv-„ .Thp ; loading of-tho passenger trains will be light .and'unprofitable. The 'Additional passenger business contributed .to the existing, lines will not be great as a considerable 'proportion of . the- passengers is already put on the rail at Napier. Air competition must, also be 1 taken. into account." Aeroplane'services can-cover the journey from Gisborne to Hastings in about 1& 'hours and Gisborne to AVellington in about <> horn's at fares £2 10s and £5 10s respectively. The corresponding''rail- ■ way times will be about 7 hours and ]4 hours and the first class railway fares 22s 9d and 51s fid respectively. .GOODS TRAFFIC. With respect to. goods traffic the exports of-the Gisborne and Wairoa districts consist .primarily of .livestock, and, pastoral products, together vyi tli small, quantities of, barley, maize and fruit, • The imports are mainly coal,, cement, -flour, motoi spirits, fertilisers, timber and general merchandise. The principal traffic of the line as a whole will be in sheep. Store sheep to arid .from Hawke’s Bay may he expected to aggregate about 000,000 per annum. Fat-sheep will be dealt with locally at the freezing works in the vicinity of Gisborne, Wairoa and Napier. . GISBORNE DISTRICT. In estimating the quantity of goods traffic that may be expected to bo railed to arid from the Gisborne district, it should be borne'in mind that the sea freight on general cargo to or from Gisborne,. from or to -Napier, Wellington and Auckland .is .based on a flat rate of 29s 6d per ton weight or measurement, plus port charges of approximately 10s per ton. Further, the principal ' items exported from Gisborne., viz., frozen meat, wool, butter, and tallow are loaded direct to home steamers.

“DISTRICT SUFFERED FAR TOO

LONG.’’’

VIEWS OF CROWN LANDS COM-

MTSSIONER

(Special to the Times.) WELLINGTON, Jan, 2

In his evidence before the Select Committee of the House, the Commissioner for Crown Lands provided the following information: —

Approximate area of unlot Crown Lands,,. 18,600 acres. Approximate area., of Crown Lands under lease, 406,700 acres.

The construction of this railway, connecting Gisborne with the North Island railway system, should have the effect of enabling the subdivision of the fertile flats of Poverty Bay by providing a market for the produce. It should also have the effect of bringing under agriculture land now used exclusively for sheep. It • will add considerably. to the value of products, especially the price of fat and. store sheep and cattle. At the present time, owing to the long distances to the rail head, the prices of stores and fats are lower in Poverty Bay than in other. districts nnd a large surplus of stock leaves the district annually. Area in the district, served by the line: 2,311,680 acres. Sheep: 3,146,388 (1929). Ewes: 1,703,905 (1929). Cattle: 317,000. It will connect 49- miles of the Gisborne-Motuhora line and 15 miles of the Gisborne-Ngatapa line with the main railway system.

In the opinion of the Commissioner of Crown Lands, this part of New Zealand has suffered far too long on account of its present isolation, which really amounts to a severe penalty on all Crown tenants and other settlers. Owing to the configuration of the country . that- isolation can. only be remedied by rail access. COMPLETION OF MAIN TRUNK LINES UNITED PARTY PLANK AT ELECTION One of the principal planks of the United Party- policy, placed . before the electors of New Zealand prior to the last election, was the completion of the main trunk lines. In this connection the planks were as follow : The sum of £10,009,000 for the completion of “Authorised Long Lines of Railways in both Islands. , ' ■ ~ An end will be put to the construction of any short-lines bf rail-ways-in the Dominion. There will he ' laid down by definite Act of Parliament what we wilL term toi convenienqe» long linos of railways in both islands, and' these railways, will be pushed on by eon-root in three or four sections fit a time until the total amount named has been expended.” MINISTERIAL VIEWS IN 1929 WORK TO BE PUSHED ON WITHOUT DELAY Following the return to power of the United Party; - the newly-appoint-ed Ministers ' spent considerable time early .in 1929 in; touringi the. country, and on visits to Gisborne were, naturally«'. interviewed about the railway. There was at that time no doubt as to the- work being carried out, the only point causing delay being which route was most suitable. On Tuesday Feb, 20, 1929, the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. E. A. Ransom, visited Gisborne, and, in reply to deputations for an early start on the- Gisborne-Wairoa line, in which supporters of both the inland and the coastal: routes expressed their . views, the Minister saidOnce the route has been determined, the work will be pushed on without , delay. All the work between' Wairoa and Napier is well ahead, all’the' hfeavy.work, except one viaduct'being now completed. At a very early date'the line to Wairoa • will ho - completed. ;' When tlie decision regarding the remain- , dor.Avajs made,: all; the" heavy works would be'’ attacked at once, and thus the heavy par! would he- kept lip in line . with 1 tile lighter portions, enabling ! much- v faster pro- ' gross than,-under; other methods of 'tackling the project. "