THE ONEHUNGA TRAMWAYS

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12241, 9 April 1903, Page 6

THE ONEHUNGA TRAMWAYS

A REGRETTABLE DEADLOCK. IRON VERSUS WOODEN POLES. BOTH SIDES OF THE QUESTION. Fob some time past there have been evidences in our columns that a deadlock was being arrived at in tho negotiations between the Auckland Electric Tramways Comparand the Ouehuuga Borough Council lor carrying the electric cars through to Onehuuga. The airangeinents with tho various local authorities in the many suburban districts, through which the tramways have to pass, have given rise to quite a series of difficulties, due no doubt on the one hand to tho very natural desire of the representatives of the Tramways Company to make the bast of their undertaking, and on tho other hand to the equally natural desire of members of suburban local bodies to secure as many advantages as possible for their own districts. With a little give-and-take, however, these difficulties have, for tho most part, been got over, and the luxury of electric tramways is gradually being extended to new suburbs. The Newmarket deadlock was at one time quite a feature in our columns, but the electrio cars have beon running to Newmarket for tho past four months, and by tho end of this week it is expected the section to tho Royal Oak will be opened. In view of the opening 'of the Royal Oak section, which brings the service temptingly near Ouehuuga, a Heiiald reporter sought yesterday detailed information from both sides as to the points of difference between.the Tramways Company and tiio Onehuuga Borough Council, which prevents the extension of the line to the Manukau Harbour, and in his travels got the case stated by Mr. P.M. Hansen, on behalf of the Tramways Company, and 'by several representative members of the Onehuuga Borough Council, including His Worship the Mayor (Mr. D. A. Sutherland). MR. P. M. HANSEN'S STATEMENT. A HEBALD reporter waited on Mr. P. M. Hansen, manager of the Auckland electric tramways, and asked him to state his company's sido of tho case. Mr. Hansen; who was accompanied by Mr. Carey, the company's electrical engineer, stated tho position as follows :About two years ago, when my company arranged with, all the suburban bodies for concessions, we placed a plan before tho Onehuuga Borough Council, in the samo way as before the other suburban bodies, showing the different pole constructions. This plan showed centre-pole construction for 90ft roads, and side-polo construction for 66ft roads. The plan did no! state whether the poles were to bo of iron or wood, as this was a matter to be dealt with in accordance with the Order-in-Council for tho various districts, which provides as follows:"Whenever anything is to be done or supplied by the delegate, subject to the approval or consent of the local authority, or any engineer, . or • inspector of the local ■ authority, such approval or consent shall not be unreasonably, arbitrarily, or without just cause, withheld, and it shall bo sufficient if the thing done or supplied is substantially in accordance with .what is usually, customarily, or ordinarily done or supplied in similar cases or under similar circumstances." In accordance; with this stipulation, my company ' placed before the Onehunga Borough Council, in September last, a plan showing side-pole construction, the poles to be of totara wood. The same construction had by that time been accepted' by all theother local authorities; and, in-'faot, such wooden poles as wo proposed to provide for the side-pole construction had already been erected in various districts. In reply, my company received from the Onehunga Borough Council a letter informing us that the Council had unanimously decided in favour of centre poles. This was not in accordance with the plan originally deposited, which clearly shows centre polos for 90ft streets. but not for ,66ft streets, and the question of centre poles was therefore a now one, and had to be further considered. My company, however, was willing to supply centre poles in place of side poles, but not of iron. We agreed that such wooden poles should be nicely chambered "and planed, and provided with ornamental tops and iron brackets, with scroll work—in fact, a. pole, which, when painted, would look as nearly as possible the samo as the iron poles erected in. Queen-street, Auckland. At a meeting between tho Onehunga Borough Council and the company's representatives, the former expressed themselves quite agreeable to this, and at that stage it was merely a question of getting the Council's formal confirmation of this arrangement. This, however, did not come to hand, and after making further inquiries I was informed that the Council had altered their previous decision, and now wanted the company to erect side poles of iron. You will therefore see that it took the Onehunga Borough Council about six months to arrive at their present decision. My company has repeatedly pointed out to the Council that neither in the agreement nor in any plans or drawings ever laid before them have we committed ourselves to iron poles, but, on tho contrary, that this is a- question which has to be- dealt with in terms of the paragraph of the Order-in-Council quoted above. In Sydney, in Brisbane, in Perth, on the principal .tramway systems throughout America, and,, in fact, all over tho world, under similar conditions, tho poles are of wood, except in the principal business streets, such as George-street, Sydney, and Queen-street. Auckland. We are quite prepared to call in expert evidence to prove that the construction we propose for Onehunga is " substantially in accordance with what is usually, customarily, or ordinarily dono or supplied in similar cases, or under similar circumstances" elsewhere. Before the end of (this week the line will be completed as far as the' Royal Oak, but nothing further will be done in connection with the extension to Onehunga until a reasonable arrangement, satisfactory to my; company, has been arrived at. The delay so far caused is very serious, and, on the advico of my company's solicitor, I have given notice to the Onehunga Borough Council that my company will not bo responsible for any delay occasioned by the arbitrary withholding of their consent and approval to the proposed works; and further, that my company will hold the Onehunga Borough Council responsible for any loss or damage sustained or incurred, or that may be sustained or incurred by my company by reason of the withholding of such consent and approval. I may mention (said Mr. Hansen, in closing) that we need not have the Onelnmga section completed before May, 1901, but it is to be hoped that before then tho matter will bo satisfactorily settled, and the electrical equipment of the lino completed. STATEMENT BY THE MAYOR OF ONEHUNGA. His Worship the Mayor of Onehunga (Mr. D. A. Sutherland) informed our reporter that the .Onehunga Borough Council, was unanimous in the demand for iron poles. " Our engineer" (Mr. Metcalfe),' he said, " has advised us that iron poles are clearly indicated in the original plan. The exact dimensions are specified, and only an iron pole meets the case. There is no mention of the , material the pole shall consist of in the deeds of delegation or Ortler-in-Couri-cil. Messrs. McLeod, Rowe, and myself had an interview with Mr. Hansen some two or three months ago, and he then promised us that iron poles should be erected in Queen-street, which is our main thoroughfare. He had, he said, some 60 iron poles in reserve, and that these, would be sufficient to meet the requirements. He has not kept his word, and wo are now standing out for iron poles right through our district —from the Royal Oak to the wharf. The number of poles mentioned by Mr. Hansen would bo sufficient for the space between the wharf and Trafalgar-street. We were willing to accept his offer of those, and to permit turned wooden poles, imported from Australia, to be erected between Trafalgar street and the Royal Oak. Some little delay occurred over the question of central poles versus side poles. We eventually agreed upon tho latter, so long as they are of iron, and wish to see them up as soon as possible." "And what about season tickets?" "It was agreed that the ordinary fares should be 6d single and 9d return, but no provision was mad© in the agreement for season tickets of any sort." "The prices you name are much lower than those charged at present?" " Just so. The present charge for a return ticket is Is 2d. Whether this is done to compel us to knuckle under is more than wo know. However, we are quite clear in our demands. We know what we want. Season tickets ought to be issued at a reasonable rate, and there should also be workmen's tickets. In practically every matter of detail we have met the Tramways Company in a broad and generous spirit." Mr. Sutherland added that the present position of affairs was regrettable from the point of view of each side. The company were bound, under a penalty of £1000, to complete the tramway by April, 1904-, but nobody wanted the work to be postponed until that time. ■:' MR. McLEOD INTERVIEWED. Air. McLeod, in reply to an invitation from the Herald reporter to give expression to his views on the deadlock, said:"lf the Tramways Company adhered ' to' their own

plans- there. would 1 be no difficulty vat all. Tho clans clearly.deal with iron poles, as :t is specified that \hey shall be 4in at the top and 6in at the base, and wooden posts of such dimensions, would be absolutely useless. The friction has arisen entirely through the aotionjof Mr. Hansen. There has never been, and is not now, any disposition on the part of the Onehunga Council to encourage anything in the nature of a delay. On the contrary, we are anxious to seo the scrvjea completed, and have from the beginning avoided giving occasion for obstacles. The matter is one which could be very easily settled. Some time ago Mr. Hansen had an interview with tho Council, and lie then agreed to supply iron noles for Queen-street. At a subsequent interview Mr. Hansen said there were only six iron poles at hand, but I myself counted more than 80 of them in the Stores depot at Auckland. These are understood to bo reserved for Remuera. A Christchurch firm have written us that they would be prepared to supply Mr. Hansen with all the iron poles he wants at only a trifle more than the wooden ones would cost. lii the long long run they are, of course, much cheaper. ' THE TOWN CLERK'S VIEWS. Tho town clerk (Captain Richardson) stated that there could be no doubt as to -the advantages of iron polos over wooden ones, or of the liability of tho company to provide the former. Iron poles were distinctly delineated in the drawing submitted by Mr. G. Bingham when the soheme was under consideration. The Council considered they had a strong case, and were not likely to give way. In the meantime, however, there were several little annoyances, the return tram fare being Is 2d, instead of tho 9d fare agreed upon _ as the charge to be mads when the service was t completed. Very many residents were travelling to and fro by train. OPINIONS. "In mv opinion." said Mr. Rishworth, "it is even more necessary to secure season tickets at a reasonable rate than it is to make the Tramways Company adhere to their original intention to put up iron .poles—though both are important. People- at business'in the city, who desire to be quiet when not'at work, could not. do bettor than live out here, and many would undoubtedly gladly avail themselves of the opportunity afforded by a through tramway service if =eason tickets were issued at a low rate. say, £5 10s or £b a year. At the present time the company ask about £8 Bs, which is practically prohibitive. Sooner than pay it manv residents would prefer to leave the town. " Indeed, I know of one family myself who are going elsewhere. There is a strong feeling in regard to this matter. Tradespeople here are placed at a disadvantage by the "electric tram service, as people can get to town so ouiekly to do their shopping. This advantage would disappear if, as the result of cheap season tickets, a number of families, came to reside here. The family orders would then compensate for any trad* taken out of the town in other ways. Speak- I ing as a member of the Borough Council, I may say that we are all agreed upon the j desirability of iron -oolcs being erected instead of wooden posts. In the original plan submitted by the company, and approved, iron noles were provided for similar to those with'a single bracket running along Princes-street, in Auckland. Wooden poles are ugly, and the Council are trying to make Onehunga as attractive a place to live in as possible." In reply to a question as to whether the Council would be prepared to compromise, if their wishes respecting the season tickets were met, Mr. Rishworth declined to say anything which would commit either himself or tho Council. "But, he-re-marked, with a smile, "the Council would bo. willing to listen to any reasonable suggestions that Mr. Hansen might make. Tho system as regards season tickets with the old horse trams was that factory girls and apprentices paid 15s a quarter. To the ordinary public the charge was somewhat higher. Still it was very considerably less than the present company propose." VIEWS OF MR. ROWE. Mr. Rowe, an able and energetic member of the Onehunga Borough Council, was also interviewed by our reporter. He stated that the good people of Onehunga had watched the advance of the tramway with considerable impatience ; they were anxious to see tho completion of the scheme as quickly as possible, believing that it would bo of advantage to the town. It was, therefore, a pity that any misunderstanding, the result of which could only spell delay, should have cropped up." . . . ■ . The present position is the more unfortunate," Mr. Rowe explained, "inasmuch as tho Onehunga Council, recognising the importance, of a quick tramway service to the city, was the first public 'body affected to give its hearty approval to the scheme. . For some reason ■or other the Tramways Company is now desirous of putting up wooden poles in place of iron ones, and this is regarded by the Council as a distinct breach of the agreement entered into. The Council had consulted their solicitors, who are of opinion that the Tramways Company are bound, according to their own plans, to erect iron poles. It was a surprise to the Council when the Tramways Company, apparently forgetful of the arrangements entered into, started to put up wooden poles similar to those erected in the Newmarket districtthough not without protest from Newmarket residents. It is stated that the Tramways Company had a supply of about 100 iron poles stacked near Lamp's old mill, and that they could, therefore, meet the wishes of the Onehunga Council without further ado if they chose to do so. The chief- objections to wooden poles are: (1) That tho appearance of them is unsightly; (2) the main street of Onehunga being lined by wooden verandahs, in the event of a fire occurring the poles would bo endangered: (5) totara posts are liable to snap in the event of any sudden strain being- placed upon them."

In support of the latter contention, Mr. Rowe pointed out that several telegraph posts had snapped through carts running into them. The Tramways Company were already getting the wooden poles into position when they wore threatened' by the Onehunga Borough Council with an injunction and desisted. To the general public, who are desirous of obtaining the advantages of the Auckland-Onehunga tramway as quickly as possible, the delay u an extremely vexatious one, and it is hoped that hi understanding between the company and the Council will be arrived at without unnecessary friction or litigation. i Other members of the Council were seen, and also_ several representative citizens, their views coinciding with those already set forth.