MINISTERIAL VISIT.

Grey River Argus, 26 April 1929, Page 6

MINISTERIAL VISIT.

HON. W. B. TAVERNER. Greymouth Deputations. The Hon. W. B, Taverner, Minister of Railways and Customs, and Commissioner of State Forests, arrived from South Westland on Wednesday evening, accompanied by Mr H. Sterling, General Manager of N.Z. Railways, Mr Phillips Turner, Director of State Forests, and Mr Jas. O ’Brien, M.P. The Ministerial party Was welcomed by the Mayor, Mr J. W. Greenslade, and Mr O tßrien, at the Municipal Chamber, where several deputations wore subsequently received. Among those present were Messrs T. E. Coates, J. W. Caldwell, D. Tennent, J. D. Lynch, A. Naylor, J. M. Bunt, and M. J. Fogarty, representing the Chamber of Commerce; Cr F. A. Kitehingham, who together with the Mayor, made representations on behalf of the Borough; Messrs TI. G. Carter (Farmers’ Union), and J. S. HOwson (Master Butchers’ Association). Mr A. D. MeGavock, Conservator of State Forests, was also present. The Mayor, in extending a welcome to the Minister, congratulated him upon gaining the honour of Cabinet rank, and also -welcomed Mr Sterling. Referring briefly to the needs of the district, he said that Greymouth was developing rapidly, and they had many wants, and) it -was some of those wants they were about to place before turn. Mr O’Brien extended a welcome to the. Minister, on behalf of the people of Westland, and also weleom' 4 Mr Sterling. The ifcinirter, he said, had travelled some 200 miles in Westland, and he would now be able to tell his colleagues of what ho had seen of the undeveloped land there, and that there "was still plenty of room for increased population. He congratulated he Minister upon attaining Cabinet rank during his first term in Parliament, and expressed the hope that his stay on the Coast would be a pleasant one. NEW STOCK ROUTE WANTEDContinuing, Mr O’Brien said the first matter that, would bo brought before him was in regard to a stock route through Greymouth. At present there was no thoroughfare for stock except through the town. There was a piece of ground at the rear of the station yards which it was desired to use for that purpose. The next thing was the removal of the old workshop buildings. In this connection, Mr O’Brien mentioned that the removal of the railway workshops from the town was rather a sore point, still, as many citizens who had resided there for many years had had to make their homes elsewhere, and if the workshops had been retained here a lot more men could have been employed. The old workshops were situated at the entrance to the toWn, and they particularly desired to sec that locality beautified.

Cr F. A. Kitehingham said that Mr O’Brien had already indicated the ground -which they wished to cover. The station was close to what was going to be the main highway from Nelson and the south. At present stock could be only driven at certain hours after dark, and it had to travel through the main portion of the town. A NEW STATION. Continuing, Cr Kitehingham said that while they were considering n new lay-out of the yards, it was thought that they should also consider the question of providing a new station. They had had promises about it for a great many years. At present there was a considerable amount of congestion at the station, and it -was impossible for the staff to carry on efficiently. The main highway was crossed by the railway, and oftimes a lengthy train in the station impeded traffic on the road. The matter was mentioned in a report made in 1923, with nine urgent works, most of which had been undertaken, and some completed. The traffic had increased with the opening of the Otira Tunnel, and when the north West Coast Road was completed it would be further increased, as Westport people would travel by the tunnel.

The Mayor said that the removal of the workshops was a matter of old history, but what they desired was the removal of the old buildings. He pointed out that under the Town Planning Act, it was necessary to take ouch matters' into consideration, and something would have to be done. The chief transgressor in that respect at present was the Railway Department which used the Harbour Board's property as a dump. There was no doubt that people generally considered that the entrance to a town gave an index to what it was like, but in this case the old machinery, old huts and general refuse lying about gave a par tieularly bad impression. They also wanted to know what could be done with the old workshops, as at present they were an eye-sore, and if they wished to improve that part of the ‘own they must be done away with, or 'mprovement made by new buildings. At other railway stations in the Dominion a certain amount of beautifying was done, but he thought they had been very lax in that respect. In the event of the old workshops being demolished, they wished to know if the Railway Department was willing to work in conjunction with the Town Planning proposals of the Borough. They were not asking for money tn this case, and a straight out answer would be appreciated. Mr A. Naylor, speaking on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, in regard to ®. new station, said the town was going ahead, and a new building was urgently needed. The present one, he presumed, had been there for 45 years, and the people thought that the time had arrived when they should have better, facilities. At present the parcels office and everything else was inadequate for the volume of business done. He thought the General Manager must be aware of it, and hoped

the Minister would give the matter sympathetic consideration when he saw the present station on the morrow-. The plfns for the new station Lad been prepared years ago. SHORTAGE OF WAGGONS. Mr D. Tennent. prefaced his remarks by extending a welcome to the Minister on behalf of the sawmillers. While they wets'‘anxious to see the railway station improved, at the present time they were prepared to forego that if the Department would satisfy the demand for waggons, so that :hey could get the volume of business none to justify it. They had recently pointed out the shortage to the General Manager, and he was pleased to say that the position had improved, though not sufficiently . At a recent meeting of sawmillsrs it had been estimated that they were ton days’ behind, which meant that 2000 waggons vere required. At present they ofrtmes loaded the same truck twice for one steamer. They particularly wantid an incre-iSO in the number of L.G.’s an! V waggons, ‘.nd if they could get them they were prepared to stand back so far as the station was concerned. COST OF £lOl NOS.

In regard to the uniter of sidings, Mr Tennent said it was admitted m a report made ny a Commission in 1920 that the cost s’.- vid be remitted in freight, bit: the former Minister had said that al'lioi.gh he considered this to be quite fair, 11. ere were, so many sidings that, they were not in a tlraneial ptsition to it The speaker pointed out that as much as £5009 might be invested in sidings by a company, and it was cesd money, and a siding could be taken cway at any time and they would get nothing for RAILAGE OF “SHORTS.” Mr Caldwell endorsed the remarks of the previous speaker, and said that they 'were not asking for a cut rate; it was merely to save burning. So far as the trucks were concerned, for the last three weeks in March there had been a continuous shortage, and for a week it had not been overtaken. The question of freight on “shorts” —waste ends up to five feet —was no novelty. At present they were valueless, as they couldn’t pay the full freight, to make them pay. They formerly sent a lot to Australia. He pointed out that they were charged 5/2 on ordinary timber and 3/1 on fencing timber, and if they were allowed 2/lers than 5/2 it would be a workable proposition. Most shorts were worth 1/ at the mill. It was suggested that shorts should be carried at the same rate as fencing timber. If had been said that it would be possible to disguise what the timber was intended for, but he thought that it wa s a poor compliment to the experts of the ra'l- - service if they couldn’t distin guish between them,. RECLASSIFICATION OF COAL Mr J. B. Lynch made representations on behalf of co-operative coal miners, for the reclassification of coal rates. Other mines, he said, had coal of the same calorific value, but they were on a different footing, and it was asked that they (the co-operative mines) be placed on the “R” rate instead of the “P” rate—the same as other mines. This applied more particularly to slack, which they had difficulty in selling owing to the railage. Other mines had an old arrangement with the Department. They were not asking the Department to go baek on that arrangement, however, but merely to give them the same rate, so that they could compete with other mines, particularly in regard to slack. Their coal was just the same as that of the State Mines, and in fairness to them (the co-operative minors), their coal rate should be classified the same. The Mayor endorsed the remarks of Mr Lynch, and pointed out that if the coal rate was reclassified as desired it would result in increased traffic on the railway. Mr Sterling: Would it result in increased profits? The Mayor: It should do. Mr Sterling: It would at a payable rate.

The Mayor stated that they were only asking for the same treatment ns others. If the Department gave ths matter further consideration, they would then be satisfied that they had dene their best. FREIGHT ON STRAW. Mr T. E. Coates urged the Minister to favourably consider the railage of straw from Canterbury to the West Coast at the lowest possible rate. Ho stated that very little cropping was done on the Coe st, and farmers largely depended on straw for winter feed. In Canterbury vast quantities of straw were available, and largo numbers of l:ucks came to the Coast empty. If straw could be railed cheaply, the Department would eventually benefit by the increased quantities of butter, and the number of stock pent by rail from the Coast. They had very hard win ters here, and there was not enough feed. The farmers on the other side had said they were, only too willing to let them have the straw.

Tn reply to Mr Sterling. Mr Coates said the Canterbury farmers would load it at 1/6 Straw cost 4/- on the Coast. Mr Sterling* SI raw is at the lowest possible nowMr Coates: Well, we v:.nt it reduced by hal*. The Minister That’s a clear cut proposition, anyhow, i. Laughter.) Mr H. G. Carter, on behalf of the Farmers' Un : o* bupycrted the request for a cheap rate on straw. He also stated that the rate on crops was prohibitive, and mentioned a case where a farmer had paid 25/- for roots in Otago, and it had cost him at the rate of £1 8/- to get them here. Mr Sterling: I consider that’s a cheap proposition, though you mightn't be able to pay that in the district. ROYALTY ON SILVER PINE. Mr J. M. Bunt drew attention to the excessive amount of royalty charged by the Forestry Department compared with that on timber on Crown lands, and urged that the rates be re duced to the level of of the Crown Lands Department. The speaker quoted figures showing thati the royalty charged by the Forestry Department on silver pine was nearly

double that for timber on Crown lands. Mr Tennent, in support of the request, pointed out that during the slump large numbers of men had been engaged in getting silver pine posts, and it was a matter that seriously affected them. They were afraid that the royalty charged by the .Crown Lands Department would be brought up to that of the Forestry Department. UNLOADING BANK AT KARORO. Mr Carter urged the Department to reconsider its decision in regard to the erection of an unloading bank at Karoro. He also asked the Department to provide conveniences at Inchbonnie station, and to adjust the goods train timetable so that stock bought from Addington would arrive in time to connect with the Reef.on good, at Stillwater. The speaker mentioned instances where sheep had died owing to delay in railage. Mr Carter also urged that the railway line be extended from Ross to Hari Hari.

FERGUSON’S LEASE. On behalf of the farmers he also wished to place before the Department concerned, the matter of throwing open for settlement what was known as Ferguson's Lease, without the extra costs of roading and bridging being loaded ~n to the settlers. Mr Hows on, on behalf of the Master Butchers’ Association, endorsed the request for an unloading bank at Karoro. He thought that previously there had been some misunderstanding regarding the site. The Mayor also spoke in support of the proposal. At this stage of the proceedings, Mr O’Brien announced that he had received a wire from Mr 11. E. Holland, M.P., to the effect that he had not been notified in time to enable him to attend the meeting, and he desired him to place before the Minister any requests that might be forthcoming from the Brunner electorate. THE MINISTER REPLIES.

Mr Taverner, replying to the vari our deputations, said he first of all wished to say how pleased he was to meet them. He had two regrets. One was that he had not been here before, I and the other that he was only staying for a very brief period. Ho had cxery intention, however, of visiting ►he Coast next summer, and by that time he "would better understand the problems connected with the Department over which he had the honour to preside. Ho thanked the Mayor and Mr O’Brien for the kind reference they had made regarding himself. He was very pleased with hi s run on the Coast, and recognised the many problems they had to face. The style of fuming was very different here to other parts of the South Island, and they must get a reasonable amount of Government assistance to enable them to develop those areas. His Department des‘red to do all in its power to assist them. I.i regard to the shortage of railway stock, he regretted the fact, but he wished to point out that it was due to the aggregation of grain of last season, which had run into a rte’iod when the coal freights increased. Another cause of the shortage was the fact that trucks -were not being unloaded at the ports quick y enough. Forty-eight hours should be long enough, but some of the trucks were kept there longer. He hoped when they considered the estimates that provision would he made for increasing railway stock In regard to the proposed abolition of charges for sidings, he regretted that there was not the slightest chance of bringing that about. Concerning coal rate?, he wished to say that the railways were not run as a commercial venture, bur in his opinion this phase of it had been disregarded too much in the past. A railway must be placed on a paying basis. Like every other business con cern they had to meet increased costs in wages, etc. They must try and find a happy medium —that was what they were out for. They must remember that they had from fifty to sixty millions invested in railways. Seme small lines were never built to pay, but to develop the country, but in regard to the whole system they would be foolid to aproach it from other than the commercial aspect- He agreed that it was a pity to see straw burnt, butthey were already carrying it very cheaply. However, he had noted the i point made by Mr Coates about empty trucks coming here, pud he would see that the matter was investigated. Ar the moment he couldn't say at what figure they would carry it. In regard to a new station, he was rather afraid he was going to be assaulted with that matter. It was not peculiar to Greymouth, and during the few months he had been in office he had received similar and equally urgent requests from all parts of the Dominion. He was sorry the promise made in 1923 had not been honoured. Capital expenditure in certain directions had been too heavy in the past, and it was a matter that called for adjustment in the future. He had noted what had been said about silver pine with a good deal of interest, and would discuss the matter With the Minister of Lands. He remarked (jocularly) that there was no doubt that the officers of the Forestry Department could justify the charges they made, they were not out to extract the greatest possible in royalty. In regard to the extension of the railway in South Westland, he knew it had been a gre«t disappoint ment that the line had not been carried through. It was one of the matters that would be noted next session. There were, of course, similar requests elsewhere, but as he had pointed out it was a matter of capital expenditure, and had to be considered accordingly. During his visit in the south he had been very much impressed by what Mr O’Brien had pointed out to him. In regard to the railway stock trains, he would have the matter looked into. As one who had spent much of his time on various local bodies, he was particularly impressed by the civic spirit displayed in Greymouth, and their efforts to beautify the town. Referring to the proposed subdivision of the block of land held under Ferguson's lease, the Minister said the matter was already noted, and he would refer the question to his colleague. He would look into the proposal regarding the stock siding, and other matters.

Concerning the latter request, Mr Sterling said it was not so much a question of providing a siding, but the charges for extra shunting from Greymouth,. He was expecting a report on the matter when he got to Wellington, and they could formulate a proposition when they got there. In regard to the railage of short lengths of timber the Department was at present corresponding with the Sawmillers’ Association on the matter. The whole trouble in regard to coal rates was- due to the

fact that the Reefton eoal was on the border line between brown and bituminous coal, or what was known as lignite. Mr O’Brien, on behalf of the various deputations, said he wished to tender sincere thanks to the Minister for listening to their representations, and the patient hearing he had giw their requests. The Mayor duly endorsed Mr O’Brien’s remarks, and the deputations then withdrew.