RAILWAY REQUIREMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6064, 25 April 1881, Page 5

RAILWAY REQUIREMENTS.

TO THE KDITOR. Sib, —Will you al'ow me, through the medium of your paper, to call the attention of Mr. A. V. Macd iiald, or the proper authorities, whoever ihcv .may be, to the - very shameful manner in which the travcliins? 1 public from Ngaruawahia to To Awarnui.ilt were treated on Easter .Monday. A tram ig advertised to leave Xgaruawahia at a certua hour for the review" Crowds of people 2 avail themselves of the opportunity thua = s afforded, only to find that there is notaquarter • sullieient carriage accommodation provided. Before Ohaupo is reached every inch of standing-room, both inside and outside, is j thickly packed, and scores more are yet to go. Three cattle tm.-.ks, being tne only things at hand, are then attached, 1 and after paying for a first-class ticket - we are at the last moment quietlv told: that if we wish to go at all we inav'yet in , and stand there. I would a-ik if, in "ail c..r.- ' science, this is honest or even decent. It is bad enough to be crushed to death, but in a - cattle-truck of all places, and after pa "ing i ; for a first-class fare, is comin . it ratU'.r too , strong. Mr. Maedonald cannot escu.-.* himself by saying that he was ignorant of wuut the requirements of the day wer likely to be; for it is only a few mouths ago, on the occasion of the line to Te Awainutu, that the same piece of shameful mismanagement occurred under precisely similar eircum- "' 1 stances. What I argue is that, having 1 advertised the train for several days ; previously, Mr. Macdonald ought certainly to have provided whatever ac.'ommod ition was required and that of as good a description as was paid for, certainly not cattle trucks. Failing available accommodation the train should not have, been advertised. But to treat women and children as they ■ . were treated on Monday is a shame and a ■' disgrace to the department, and one need nob r go far to inquire the reason why it is that [■ our railways " don't pay." Another thing I j would mention is that, owing to tho very crowded state of the trains on this and .similar occasions which I have observed, i the local officials (and I will giro them " - credit for doing everything they can to meet the difficulty) are utterly powerless to exercise that control over the passengers which they ought to have. s In fact, the public take complete pos--5 session of the train, and do what they like, s often very much to their own risk. It may £ be all very well to allow the thing to pass unnoticed as long as no accident happens, - but depend upon it, unless some stricter ' supervision is taken, a terrible calamity will - soouer or later be the consequence, and the .- Government will then to the fact of what gross negligence they have been culpable. Public safety, leaving comfort and e.\KO out of the question, demands that some remedy should be applied, and is therefore my reason for \ou. —lam, &x\, 6 Pukerimu, April 19. ~ Hf.n'kt Bottle. 3 fit must be remembered that at this Easter season the railway authorities nad an cxtra■j ordinary state of things to deal with. The ordinary goods, coal, and passenger traffic ' had to be maintained ; the Auckland races at Ellerslie necessitated almost constant trains between the racecourse and the city; "Ahvnteer review at Te Awamutn cr'i tne conveyance oi a large I body of men from one end of the line to the .other witliiu a very short space of time. We 0 have made inquiry, and find that every availO able atom of rolling-stock was fullye.'iiployed. 1_ That it was insufficient would not be an argument for more being obtained, for the demand was altogether exceptional.—Ed.] II