CORRESPONDENCE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume V, Issue 296, 1 September 1855, Page 5

CORRESPONDENCE.

To the Editor of the Lyttelton Timet. lUBS V. TRAM ROADS. Sir, —The readers of our local papers have been much interested in the practical letter signed " Old Navvy," in the Standard, and most of them have probably read your correspondent's reply to it, under the signature of" Rough Guess." The subject is too important to be allowed to die, notwithstanding " Rough Guess" seems to make an expiring effort in defence of our tubs. One last plea they must have, —he contends that because boats have hitherto conveyed tbe almost scanty produce of the Plains to" the Port, that so they may do henceforth. He seeks to lay all the blame of the delay upon the .Jetty atLyttelton ; its accommodation is not equal to* the demand ; and again, the loss to the farmers, from rotten produce at the Quay, is occasioned by their want of enterprise, in not building proper sheds for protection from frost and wet.

Want of capital to build a capacious jetty, and want of enterprise to construct proper wharves; all wrong at a " Rough Guess"—except the tubs. Then we havv a " Rough Guess" that a wharf at Sumner would enable the tubs to go in and out to the Port and back the same day; whereas, now the journey " averages three days." Ofteu he might have said two or three weeks, that indeed we ha\e no security whatever on the Plain's side of the bill how soon we may ensure thearrival of small parcels of goods left in"the Port to be forwarded by the grace of the tubooracy. And in this state of suspense " Rough Guess would have our commerce continue, to satisfy those who like such a Rough-un desire to perpetuate the .-ystem of 255. per ton. Errots not excepted. 11 there are any so narrow minded, there are others also—and they tm-

doubtedly have the commercial interest of this Province as much at heart as they who boast of their commercial position —who entertain more liberal views, and they will hail with delight the prospect of a tram road as suggested by " Old Nawv."

"_]Rough Guess" says truly "if we do not bestirourselves, Wellington will snap up all the coasting trade," —he might have gone further and said," and all the adjoining colonial trade too." What man in his senses will bring cargo here, if he cannot ensure j something in return for it, and who will care to come at all, if for that return cargo they are to be detained at a great loss for weeks together. It is tbe absence of this produce at the port of entry which hinders vessels trading here as often as they would. Let us find ready and certain means of communication with the Port, and we need not fear the result. We shall need tramways and tubs. We can grow every mortal thing in creation, from a mustard seed to a pumpkin, aye and better too than any other province or colony in tbe South Seas, and in as great or greater abundance. Why, then, are we not drawing hither the ships of all nations as other colonies are doing ? Solely because we cannot get it to the Port, and when there because there is no means of warehousing it. But we are told we are to have steamers, that they will do the work better for us, but still at tbe moderate (!) charge of 20s. a ton, and in tbe same breath, that it is of no consequence what the cost of freight is, as the consumer, not the producer, pays it. Was ever greater fallacy than this? Take the case of wheat selling at Melbourne, say for 18s. a bushel. A merchant goes to tbe Plains in search of cargo. The first thing be considers is the limit be has in price, and then the charges of freight, wharfage, lighterage, and storeage. Deducting all these he offers the producer, say 10s. These paid there is just a margin left for profit on his commission. Who pays these then, the consumer or the producer? The producer first certainly, and there may be many cases in which the consumer does so afterwards. Then there is tbe uncertainty of the navigation even though we have steamers running. Who will guarantee there shall be no accident, no failure of steam, no wrecks, no grounding, no strikes among the men, no imperfections in the machinery—any one of which may cause endless annoyances and loss. Shall we continue to pay 20s. a ton then in order that some respectable, grasping and money-making capitalist may clear his 50 percent, when the work can be better done for 55., and still leave a respectable surplus. The point to consider is, can we get a few tons weight of produce driven into the Port with any certainty within the 12 hours, and at a moderate rate; and so induce producers and speculators to have stock ready for the vessels discharging their cargo. If we can believe " Old Navvy " there can be no doubt of it. The tram-road is tbe answer. But beyond this it will at once unite the interest of the Port with the Plains, it will unite that which is now divided by jealousies of every kind and sort, because of this bar to tbeir more frequent communication. A tram-road then by all means. By all means did I say ? Yes. But then what means are feasible. Direct taxation. No. The Province will not endure it, we have left the land of taxes for one of freedom. By indirect taxation,—equally objectionable. Yet both are so only in this case superficially. Had we the power to do so, tbe issue of a legalised Government paper under peculiar restrictions, ami redeemable within a period of years, and to which purpose the proceeds of the revenue of the Road should be applied, would render the accomplishment of the object easy, but it is said to be fraught with danger, as it would unquestionably be with difficulty, so far as obtaining the sanction of the Home Government is concerned. The next best thing then appears to he by means of shares secured by Government Debentures. Can there be a question of raising £10,000 among 1000 persons, a reasonable time being given for the payment of the advance ? But one-half at most would be required in the first year, the remainder during the second, while in the third year there would be a revenue arising from the working of the road, to the extent probably of one tenth the capital exclusive of the interest. If it was necessary this amount might at once be principal, and'those woo most needed their capital would be speedilyrepaid. But all paid, we have that left, which if practical in its working would not only be of vast social importance, but would be the means of

producing for the province an annual revenue to be applied to other purposes. It would follow as a matter of course that there would be security given that the lowest charge would be made to the public consistent with the cost of traffic. The tram road seems to be the key then to our "Hill difficulty," and for one I.hope that those upon whom the responsibility rests will at once take the first step, and ascertain clearly and satisfactorily its feasibility ; that assured, surely we may rely upon there being such au amount of the mixed feeling of patriotism and self interest as to do the rest. Yours, &c, R. E. I.