COMMERCIAL TRAVELLERS

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1748, 6 September 1905, Page 43

COMMERCIAL TRAVELLERS

RAILWAY FACILITIES. DEPUTATION TO THE MINISTER. Messrs W. C. S. Leevers, J. R. Patterson, J. G. Chambers, J. H. P. Thomson, P. Myers, W. G. Crowe, and R. H. Ellis, representing the Wellington Commercial Travellers’ and Warehousemen’s Association, waited upon Sir Joseph Ward yesterday morning to bring under his notice some disabilities under which the commercial travellers are labouring. Mr Leevers represented to the Minister that it would be a great convenience to travellers if the railway tickets for the North Island could be sectionised, instead of having one ticket for the whole island. The Auckland section was of very little use to travellers engaged between Napier and Wellington, and New Plymouth and Wei-' lington, and vice versa. He suggested that tickets might he issued separately for these three sections. The deputation also asked that travellers’ samples should be returned free, and that the regulation compelling travellers to travel with their samples might be relaxed to the extent of allowing travellers to leave the trains at wayside stations, where they did not require to open up, and allow their samples to go on to the next centre. The question of securing facilities for working over the Manaw r atu line on Government tickets was also mentioned.

Sir Joseph Ward said he had gone into the question of the tickets on more than one occasion, but the real difficulty he was faced with in regard to this matter, was that if any alteration was made, they would have to altgr the system for the whole colony, and for that reason he had to defer doing anything before this. But he thought he would have to make a change.. The circumstances had altered in respect- to the system of annual tickets and its application to the whole colony, and he believed they would have to make different arrangements. In all probability they would have to introduce a sysr tern of provincial tickets, and ii so, . they . would consider at the same time the question of arranging, from a commercial traveller’s point of view, for a further ticket from Wellington to New Plymouth, and from Wellington to Napier as suggested by the deputation. Whilst he was favourable to the request of the deputation, he wanted them to bear in mind that in making any alteration, it meant touching the whole railway system of the colony, and they had to see that no injustice was done to any particular part by any alteration made. He would, however, go into the whole matter, with a view tc giving relief in the direction asked for, because he was very anxious to do everything he could to help the commercial men in travelling ibout the colony to conduct their business as expeditiously as possible, as the more business they did, the better it was for the railways. He would issue instructions that returned empties should be sent free. Hie did not think it was necessary for travellers to travel with their samples, leaving it to the travellers themselves to see that there was no abuse of the system. The details, of course, could be subsequently arranged, but no hard and fast rule would be laid down. In giving a concession, it would not be given in a left-handed way, so as to prevent them getting the benefit of it. When a traveller took out an excess ticket, there was no reason why he should accompany his luggage to its destination. However, he thought he would be able to arrange the matter for them. Regarding the request to make Government tickets available on the Manawatu line, the only thing he could do would be to get the general manager of the Government railways to interview the general manager of the Manawatu Company. If such an interchange could be brought about, he would be very glad.