ONE MORE FOR " OLD BUFFER."

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8386, 14 October 1890, Page 3

ONE MORE FOR " OLD BUFFER."

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —No doubt "Old Buffer "has wepb with me on being told by Mr. Vaile that he has no brains to spare for —especially as the statement is literally and hopelessly true. Never mind ; let us struggle on as best we may. • Now for the change of system which is to regenerate not only New Zealand but the entire civilised world.

• Put shortly then ib is this : That instead of charging by stages of one mile as ab present he proposes to charge upon stages of seven miles each near towns, and of 50 miles where there are no towns of over 2000 inhabitants. This is the essence of the whole thing. Now as there is only one town upon our Auckland railways of over'2ooo inhabitants, viz., Auckland, far the simplest and most intelligible way to put this " system" before your readers is to give a few illustrations of how it works from station to station. I shall make them few lest I tire your readers, but they may depend upon their accuracy. Under this " system" then— Ist. A man may travel 50 miles or under in any direction from, say Hamilton, for 4d.

2nd. He cannot travel six miles crossing Hamilton, or any other limit of a stage, without paying Sd. ~ 3rd. He can travel 50 miles southwards from Pukekohe for 4d. .

4th. He cannot travel the same distance northwards from the same place without paying seven times as much. This is because he happens to cross Auckland, upon each side of which there are four sevenmile stages, although his business may be in Kaipara. sth. He may go from Pukekohe to Oxford, about 100 miles, for Sd.

6th. If he goes to Papakura, II miles, from the same place, he must pay as much. 7th. He may travel southward from Tuakau, 48 miles, for 4d. Bth. If he travel 65 miles northwards from Tuakau he must pay nine times as much, and so on. Of course many more similar instances could be given, but these should suffice for the present, and they are facts which Mr. Vaile will not deny. This is what Mr. Vaile calls the abolition of differential rating. Probably Mr. Vaile may say that these very inequalities show how he would get his " shilling average," but in my previous letter I showed how, for other reasons, notwithstanding theso ludicrous differentiations, he could not possibly get it. Only that I fear your readers would not thank me I could write columns upon— 1. The manner in which Mr. Vaile proposes as towns of over 2000 inhabitants grow up to put stages upon each side of them and thereby raise the rates upon all the settlers beyond, whose main business would almost certainly be with the seaport and not with those towns at all.

2. How he himself proposes to destroy his own "stage system" by allowing passengers to cross from one stage to another for one fare when the distance is only a mile or two. If this principle be right when applied to a mile or two, why not to three or four or five or six, and then what becomes of the stage system, and even under his own proposal above mentioned what bocomes of the fundamental shilling average if he keeps cutting into it like that, and by applying the system of season and return tickets ? However, I think I have written enough to show that) tho whole thins; ia founded

upon Band, thoroughly believed in no donbti by its author and by soma others because they wish to believe in it. I should like very much myself to believe ib it, bub I'm afraid I must remain what Mr. Vaile calls mo, a brainless Old Buffer. P.S.There is a misprint in my last letter in the first iine of the last column, where the word "the" appears instead of "two" which destroys the sense to those who read cursorily. THE ELECTIONS. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —Each electoral district should engage a permanent committee to look aftei the political interests of that electorate, and report to meetings of electors from time to time. It should be the duty of this committee to seek out suitable candidates for Parliament, and recommend them to the interests of the voters, and to undertake their return to the House free of cost. Money ought not to be spent by good men seeking Parliamentary positions. It is calculated to produce mischief and defeat the object the patriotic voters have in supporting the right men. Another duty of this permanent committee would be to pub every self-called aspirant through his facings and report the results to their principals. If this were done it would keep the way open for many a man who now shrinks from an unequal contest, and it would compel each candidate to focus his idea? with clearness and care, and with the certain knowledge that a record would bo kept of them for reference, in case of a lapse in his :onduct. It appears to be a need of the times that some recognised number of men shall take these matters in hand, so that they shall not ba left to the time and chance of our presenb want of system. There appears to be no distinctive party cries or principles in our New Zealand politic.-*, and hence wo are saved from tho partiality and prejudice of those thing#, and are left more free to view men according to their independent merit, and not according to any known shibboleth. Let New Zealand now insist upon a clean record in those who are to bo her future legislators, and she will be safe. Let character stand for more than tongue, and a straight a'.id direct mind more than policy or cunning, and wa shall not regret our action. A Sifting Committee,, made up of enthusiastic, loyal, capable electors, will serve a most useful purpose, and be at once the "bane or antidote to many a selfseeker only.—l am, etc., E. C. Carr. October 13, 1890.