THE RAILWAY SERVICE.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXVII, Issue 5475, 2 January 1905, Page 5

THE RAILWAY SERVICE.

COMPLAINTS FROM THE COUNTRY. FEELING AT PALMERSTON. (From Our Special Correspondent.) PALMERSTON, December 31. The alterations to tire railway timetable which came into vogue on November Ist, have been the subject of many serious complaints from tho business men of Palmerston and Feilding The dissatisfaction is not confined to these two places, but is expressed in all the smaller townships* intermediate between Palmerston and Halcombo. One leading merchant summed the matter up very fitly when he said"ln business, time is the essence of the contract, and owing to these alterations much valuable time is lost. Mails are delayed, orders are rendered tardy of execution, the covering of much ground with little expenditure of time is more difficult.”

Recognising the necessity of making some attempt to induce the authorities to reconsider tlio position, the Feilding Chamber of Commerce recently entered a. strong protest, Tho Palmerston Chamber has endorsed the movement, with til© residt that Mr Lethbridge, IM.H.R. for Qroua, will wait upon the Minister of Railways to urge that the train which at present is run from Paikakariki, arriving at Palmerston at 11 a.m., may bo run through from Woll.agton, arriving at its present destination at. the same hour, and thence forward to Wanganui. “Under the existing order of things,” said Mr James Nash, president- of the Palmerston Chamber of Commerce, to a “New Zealand Times” reporter, “We do not receive our mails till nearly 2 p.m. Tb© early portion of tho afternoon being our busiest time, wc are practically unable to reply in time for tho express mail, which closes at J p.m. Much as we are inconvenienced, however, we d°. not suffer so severely as business men in Feilding, Great ford. and Halcombo. For many years past there has been an agitation in those districts for an early train, such as is at present suggested, so that it would ho possible for business-men as far north as Halcomb© to answer their Wellington mail by the couth express, Though, there is. a lat© mail frqm Palmerston at 4.3f1, our northern friends have pot such luxury, . This inconvenience would b© obviated were an early train run right through from Wellington. There is another important reason why a. change in this di.voction should be made, and one which should appeal most- forcibly to city mcrchants. Business men who leave on a flying trip to Wellington by the afternoon’s express cannot rearriv© in Palmerston before sin minutes to one op the following day. Tills means that by tho time one has. lunched the best part of th© day is gone, Were the early train run, then the time lost would bo considerably less. A man would, always rather catch a train at 0-3!) a.m. than ope at nine, o’clock it he knew that urgent work Was awaitipg him, especially if he was desirous of _ returning to his office in the morning.” Mr Nash, after several other observation:) in the same, strain, expressed the opinion that th© Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company had always tried to meet the country people, and he had, little dp,ub,t that, once the matter was properly placed before it it would rectify the present inconvenience, The, company’s, policy in the : past had always been, the,greatest good for the greatest number, and ho had little doubt the settlers, and business people of the country towns would re- . eeive ns much consideration one© the matter was, properly before the company as the handful _of globe - trotters who were reaping the benefit of tire recent alterations. For many years, past- it had been felt that 7 o’clock was, too early an hqnr for leaving Wellington, hut for. business men 9 o'clock, the hour at which the express now sets out, is. far too late. By the addition of the early train both th© merchant and the pleasure-seeker could he accommodated, Many' commercial travellers ,havo pointed out that if the proposal- is adopted, by the authorities they would he greatly, facilitated. Leaving Wellington by the early- .mar-ping train two hours could hp spout in Palmerston before the arrival of tho express, by catching which an hour could bo devoted to business calls in Feilding, returning to Palmerston by the south express, Another how 1 ’ could be snatched at Palmerston, and after four hours in the two towns the traveller could return to Wellington by (he 5 o’clock train.

A visit to several of the leading houses in Palmerston provided me with the information that under the existing timetable considerable difficulty is experienced in matin-* vronmt deanatph of orders which come to hand by the south mail. These are now placed in the manager’s hands after his return from lunch, and it is generally close upon 3 o’clock before tho various der partmeats, are busied upon them. It appears that in order that consignments may be railed away by tho early morning’s goods train on the following day the goods must bo at the railway sheds by 9. p.in. of the preceding day. Naturally the prompt execution of orders arriving from the south is rendered yery difficult, and considerable dissatisfaction is the result. Indignation has been very generally expressed in these districts that the march of prosperity which they have of late enjoyed should be threatened for the sakp of globe-trettera, _ It is widely felt that the country districts, which, after all. aro tho mainstay of the colony, should be entitled to a fair share of consideration. , There is a strong sense of confidence here that the authorities wiU in this case, as they have always done in the past, give the desire of tho (ittricts as expressed by the Feilding and Palmerston Chambers of Comruerce the full and urgent consideration that necessity demands.