THE TRAMWAI BOARD.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 14061, 16 May 1906, Page 8

THE TRAMWAI BOARD.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —In common with many others, I was greatly surprised to find you rating Gome of your correspondents for taking such an active interest, in -the progress of the electric tramways in the.city and district. W© are so accustomed to find the boot on tho other foot, that it almost takes one’s breath away to be told that we are altogether too active in this matter. Is the management of the present Tramway Board so wonderfully perfect as to merit the position taken up by the “Lyttelton Times?” Or is it merely an attempt to throw dust in the eyes of the people in order to bolster up the present members of tho Board at the coming election? ‘I make bold to say that your encomiums on th© present Board are. by no means endorsed by th© public, as witness the correspondence columns of your journal. Let m© point out a few of tho things which in my opinion ought to influence the pubHc in placing new men on the Board at the next election. First of all, I'would say straight out that the Board has shown great incompetence in its arrangements with the Electrical Constimction Company, none of th© members of the Board apparently being able to say when the time had elapsed for the completion of th© contracts, under which no less a sum . than £250,000 of the people’s money was at stake. I challenge any of the present Board to state definitely if the. agreement was thoroughly perused and' understood by.them when the contracts were let to the Electrical Construction Company, and if so, what is th© date when the penalties arc enforceable? Tho whole business was conducted in a most unbusinesslike manner, and rcHect® no credit on the men, concerned. I voted for and supported the Board .because. I considered we had men of busiricßsiike capacity at tho head of affairs, but I I candidly think they have., not added any lustre to their name as thorough f business people. It seems to mo that ' the Board has been dominated by two ' or three men, /and the remaining members have, been more, or less “dumb dogs,”, content, to snap up the crumbs which fell from their . masters’ table. There can be. no doubt whatever that tho Electrical Construction Company had smarter jnen on its directorate than tho members of the Tramway Board, and th© results have eventuated accordingly- '....' In it® arrangements for initiating nc.v 'linos in particular, the. Beard has shown itself completely at eea, and the outcry in Opawa. St Albans, Richmond, Bur wood and New Brighton North, shows that its decisions are strongly objected to by, the large body of residents in I need not enter into minute particulars in regard to tho folly of some of th© arrange- . moots within th© . city itself, as it is apparent to the most casual observer who gazes around, but the silly system of running trams by two different routes to. the railway station is truly ridiculous. If th© Board derives to centralise tho traffic into Colombo. Street and Cathedral Square, it is going about it in the right way; hut if it is desirous of meeting the public requirements, then I say it is going about it in the wrong way. If I might be allowed to suggest some new names for tho Board at next election, I would name Mr H. G. Ell, M.H.R.. Councillor John Orchard and Mr C. E. Salter as being men of tact and ability, who would be of great service to the' public at th© present juncture. In regard to the Lin-wood bind Avon seats, I am not .in a position to name any particular candidate, but I. anticipate we will have a- couple, of reliable men to contest the positions. - | In conclusion, let me say that I am only putting into practice the good advice you so often supply in your columns in regard • to public affairs, viz., criticising the actions of “ the powers that be,” and agitating for a change in the direction of a. better system of tramway management..—l am, etc., i NEW BRIGHTON ELECTOR. ( (We have no objection to the Tramway Board being criticised. What we protested, against was its members being abused,—Ed.- “ L.T.”) ; j ■to THE EDITOR. ! Sir, —The discussion through the col- ' nmns of your journal seems likely to continue until the new Board is elected. Mr R. E. Green makes reference to tho state,of the Colombo-Edgeware Road route, and says, “I 'am well aware that more than half the ColomboEdgeware route is peat, but it is very shallow, some places only a few indies deep,” etc. I think that people will agree that there is not much to pick and choose about the peaty nature of tho routes, and it i® just a question which is the worse of the two. I know of a bricklayer who had to do some work on the Colombo-Edgeware route, ami he talks about peat seven and eight feet deep, and also about, the difficulty of getting a foundation for a very small piece of brickwork. I would like to aek Mr R. E. Green a question, and if he will do me the kindness to reply, ! then wo may be well able to understand i why he is such , an enthusiastic supI porter of the Colombo-Edgeware route, j What I want to ask is whether Mr ! Green ie not the owner of eomc property' j on or adjoining this route, and if the trams go up Colombo Street, does he

not expect the value of his property to greatly increase?—l am, etc., A. DOUGLAS.