THE RAILWAYS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCVIII, Issue 11367, 7 September 1897, Page 5

THE RAILWAYS.

The deputation that waited upon Mr Cadman yesterday with a number of suggestions in regard to the working of the Canterbury railways found the Minister a very model of courtesy and candour, but failed to obtain anvthing more than a promise that its' representations would be carefully considered. It will probably be some comfort to the members of the deputation to reflect that Mr Cadman is one of the few public men who are usually better than their promises, and that he is sure to make an earnest effort to remove the defects to which they directed his attention. His reply to the request for faster trains was anticipated by the correspondence we published some time ago. The question is merely one of money, as in the face of the experts’ reports it would be absurd to expect the Minister to assume the responsibility of placing a greater strain upon the present light lines of rails. The separation of the goods and passenger traffic would get over the difficulty so far as the convenience of the nublic was concerned, but it would, it seems, add enormously to the cost of maintenance and equipment without makingany material addition to the revenue. It appears from the engineers’ opinion on the subject that we shall have to put up with the present miserable rate of travelling until we can afford to re-lay the greater part of the li»es in the South Island. We think, however, that when Mr Cadman has given his personal attention to some of the grievances placed before him yesterday, he will find that it is possible to save a good deal of time on some of the Canterbury branch lines without either overtaxing the locomotives or imperilling the lives of the passengers. We hope, at any rate, that he will do his best to give Canterbury the facilities and privileges that are enjoyed by provincial districts which contribute a much smaller share to the railway revenue of the colony.