RAILWAY DEPUTATIONS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6092, 19 August 1881, Page 3

RAILWAY DEPUTATIONS.

RAILWAY CHARGES.

An itfluential deputation, among whom were Messrs Telcher, Browne (Lawrence) Wilson, Mackerras, Scoullar, Neil!, and Kincaid (Dunedin), yesterday wailed upon Mr A. Grant, district traffic- manager, in reference to the present railway charges. Mr Tolcher presented the following memorial, which was signed by 30 of the principal residents of Lawret:ce, with a request that it Bhould be forwarded to the Minister of Public Works :— We, the undersigned merchants, carriers, &c, beg to draw attention to the very unsatisfactory arrangement of tho railway tariff in regard to small purcels of goods under the minimum of 4 cwt. The previous rates gave pretty general satisfaction, although they were not all that could he deaired. The present I system is very complicated and prohibitory in its nature, and has a tendency to drive carriers to Dun«din for their loading, from the fact that so many

classifications perplex and entail loss upon them, they having often to puy more for the carriage of a few articli.B by the railway than they can sret for tho freight at the end of the journey. [Several instances are here quoted.] We think, therefore, that an arrangement could bo arrived at which wqu it do away with the complicated system, and would suggest that a general rate of say (id per mile per ton should be imposed, and that there should be no special rate, or if so only in vory rare cases. We attach copies of reso lutions passed at an influential meeting held at Lawrence, and trust our request may be attended to, and such relief grautcd as the emergency of the case demands.

The resolutions referred to were. ;— This meeting is agreed that the existing railway tariff is complicated and unsatisfactory, and that the small consignments welshing less than four hundredweight, and this mt-.eting believ..s that the tariff might be 60 arranged to meet the views of all parties. That a sub-committee be appointed to draw up a memorial settin? forth the matters complnined of and praying for relief.

Mr Grant, in answer to the deputation, said that he fully recognised the importance of having a tariff satisfactory to the general puhlic, and that the suggestion contained in the memorial would receive consideration. It waa not the intention of the Government to make a ecale for email lots prohibitory, but on the contrary to secure more traffic and give greater facilities for sending small consignments of goods under 4otvt. The charges given in the cases quoted in the memorial appeared too high, and they would be imme diately inquired into, for possibly a wrong rate had been charged in cons1 qaence of a clerical error. He believed that a limited classification for general merchandise would give greater satisfaction, and his recommendation to the head of the department would be as much as possible in this direotioa. The principal grievance in regard to the new rates appeared to be that fractions in weight were charged to the next cwt. For example, if a package weighed lewt 4lb, it was oharged as much as if it was 2cwt. This was only done in thi> case of "email lots." He believed that if the I charges were according to the actual weight,! they would give satisfaction. He assured the deputation that the question would be tho roughly considered, and that he wonld f- rward to the proper quarter at an early date the memorial handed to him. i