"NOT DEAD LETTER"

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXXII, Issue 12530, 16 April 1935, Page 4

"NOT DEAD LETTER"

GISDOIINE LLMtPROSPECTS ' ASSURANCE (<!? FSfl'S IN OF. CISTIUCT ; RESIDiENTS.” Abbu raneo that., completion-of- the East'coast was m * 'dead letter’ wa«. given by the gating. Premier, The Hon : E. ' A .. Hanson « the course of lm address^esterd^ whon declaring'thor.EnM Pmst,Air-way*,-service officially-opened'. The- Subject- of the railway lii-st introduced Ly-. Afi D. M . C«lr> man' M-P-v wß o *’ P oinicd wt < tha * he did not wish Mr Ransom to think that an. ail' , service would (IqJor.tk district Without a railway. .(Applause, district around...it. was a great on-., so the speaker.- irtMj- »°> olosing his mouth about .’the .urgent need of c railway. (Applause.) In .rpply. the acting-premier stated that he did not blame Air Coleman fq r pushinrr " the ckims for a railway. If he-was The - local tnernlx-r he would certainly '.dp his. . utmost in pushing in this, direction. Actually, however.- the. ;.matter of - the:railway -was purely a business; proposition. When the line was started it was regarded as a sound business ; prp- . posal, : - but unfortuaiite! r unusual cir eumstance-s led ta ; its temporary stoppage and eventually complete cfe. nation “of the . work. .Whenever the travelled through tbridistriet-he could not but feel the greatest, regret at the sight of the dreadful .waste of money etc., amounted to complete loss. RAIL WAV BOARD’S PART Th e Government, however, stated Mr Ransom, had decided to place the railways under the control of the Railways Board which was instrucu-u to cut down the loss to the Consolidated fund, in other words, t )J e gc-n oral taxpayer, and to run the department on business lines. That step by the Government removed the railways from, political influence and. so from the kicks of Mr Coleman and others. As far ns the Gisborne line was concerned the board was asked to take into account possible revenue and the cost requierd to complete it. without consideration of the cost to date, but the decision of the hoard was against completion. Undoubtedly there would be. plenty of local residents who doubted the wisdom of tLo decision, but there were other factors also. LACK OF GENERAL-SUPPORT One of tho grestest pro c-eeded Mr Ransom. was that tfce producers of national wealth, i.c.. pr ,J duce for export did net patronise the existing railways , as they should. It annoyed him exceedingly to find that read transport -was competing seriously almost disastrously, with Lie railways. It would have pleased him to see this district served by a fine -railway, but it was not sound jwlicy to inaugurate a service which would not- secure public- support. Apparently the people of the Dominion were independent and so desired to carry their goods as they thought best, consequently the Government thought it best not to interfere. -When excellent railways elsewhere in New Zealand were not patro.nisedj it was naturally a very difficult matter to open tip new lines. “Nevertheless the Gisborne-Napic-r lin e was net dead Jet ter." Mr Ransom emphasised l , “'and figures had been submitted showing the requirements to complete the line. If the Gisborne community was prepared to provide the balance of capital required, the Government would be prepared to allow the line to-proceed so that actually the matter. rested 1:1 the hands of the people of. the district.”