MR. MAXWELL'S MEMO. ON THE WHANGAREI RAILWAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9139, 22 August 1888, Page 3

MR. MAXWELL'S MEMO. ON THE WHANGAREI RAILWAY.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sib, —This Parliamentary paper reached me to-day, and, as I expected, it is simply a dishonest attempt to evade the questionIn the first place the comparison is drawn between 1885-6 and 1887-8 instead of the two last years. The real object, of coarse, is to prevent my figures being compared with theirs. The comparison instituted is not between a period of their working and a period of mine, but is a jumble of both. Mr, Maxwell says, that owing to the decrease in coal traffic, they have been enabled to reduce the number of employes from 25 to 12. As a matter of fact, the number has been reduced to 10. He states the decrease in coal traffic to be 20,509 tons, and he consequently telle the House and the country that in order to carry an extra 20,000 tons of coal seven miles, it is necessary to increase the entire working staff of the railway by 150 per cent. I ask if such a statement is not an insult to our common sense ?

The statement that "merchandise" rates have been increased from the wharf to Whangarei is an absolute untruth, as anyone able to read the tariff can see for themselves, for while the rate in the old tariff was given at "2s 6d per ton," this was subject to the oppressive parcel and small lots rates. It is the abolition of these rates and the uniform charges of at the rate of 3s 6d per ton, that has caused merchandise to be sent by rail instead of by sailing vessels.

In comparing passenger traffic Mr. Maxwell has left out all the trips from the wharf to Kamo and the coal mines, and all the trips from the coal mines and Kamo to the wharf. That is to say, he has cut oub 5789 of the most expensive trips ; these trips amount to more than 25 per cent, of the whole. Mr. Maxwell says that the system in force at Whangarei can " hardly" be said to be mine, "as Vaile's system, as explained before a Parliamentary Committee in 18S6, claimed to go in for an enormous reduction in the passenger fares." What yaile's system claimed to "go in" (please note the elegant expression is not) mine) for, was averaging fares and rates, and making them uniform within each stage, and this is exactly what hag been done at Whangarei. It must be remembered that this Whangarei line exactly represents one of my first) stagesseven miles. Mr. Maxwell, in his report, and he, Mr. Hannay, Mr. Grant, Mr. Hudson; and the Honorable E. Richardson all gave strong evidence before the Committee that it was not possible for me to secure a good financial result, because, they said I had slightly raised the fares on this first stage. They now claim that the success is made because they have "slightly raised the fares" on one of these particular stages. They are thus beaten on their own argument. As to the "very singular error" in my calculations, I allowed the Department the ample sum of Id per ton per mile for transit of the extra coal, and that this provision was more than ample is proved by the facte that, taking the returns for the last eight) weeks published, as compared with the corresponding period in 1887, we find that 127 tons were hauled, and 499 passengers carried, more than during the corresponding eight weeks in 1887, while the working expenses were decreased by no less a sum than £129. This alone is a complete refutation of Mr. Maxwell's statements.

It appears to me to be something wonderful that any Crown Minister could allow such a grossly untruthful and misleading document to be laid on the table of th« House.—l am, &c., Samuel Vaxle. Auckland, 20th August, 1888.