Railway Reform. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 1903, 24 July 1890, Page 18

Railway Reform. TO THE EDITOR.

Slß,— l uotiaed a capital letter from the pen of Mr G. M. Bell, of Wantwood, published In last week's Southland Times, regarding the above subject, and as the letter in question appealed direotly to the farmers of Otago and Southland, I trust they will take time by the forelook and endeavour to have our railway traffic modified and altered during the present session of Parliament. I need scarcely remind our farmers that should they take no immediate aotion in the matter now they will have to wait for another year ere they have their wrongs redressed. I would urge the settlers of this district in particular not to delay with time, but to club together as soon as possible and to forward on such petitions as would be most expedient in proving to the House the incongruities and mismanagement of our railways. Farmers in Gtago and Southland should be glad to have luoh an able advocate sb Mr Bell happens to be at their back, and it would be to their own immediate interest to accord him every support in their power. Mr Bell states in his letter that " the rates for short distances are prohibitory. Prom Mandeville to Wallacetown (57 miles) the charge is 47s fld for a truck, say of 55 sheep, or lOJd per head, while the charge for 370 miles, the distance between Invercargill ana Ohristchuroh. which is six times and a-halt as far, is 2s 3Jd a head. Few people use the distriot railways for stock. Goods are conveyed in rathera peculiar manner From Port Chalmers to Invercargill, 147 miles, classes A and B are charged 25s'a ton, 0 «nd D 17s 6d ; while goods are charged from Port Chalmers to Gore (103 mileß), part of the same distauco— class A, 51s Ad j B, 42s lOd ; C, 3ls 7d j D, 27s 9d— and ao on. "I think that the above is a fair sample, as showing how sadly some districts are handicapped at tho hands of the Railway Commissioners. The ominous threat of the district railway ralea is now antiquated, at any rate as far as the Waimea line is concerned, as the traffic is yearly developing with enormous strides on that branch, so that our farmers need have no anxiety on that scorce. On the contrary, the increased traffic will give the settlers a batter foundation to work upon. In conclusion, permit me to state that I should bo very sorry to assist In forming our railways into more taxing machines, but ray alleifations are, and always have been, that the department by reducing the tariff will increase the traffic. For Instance, during the past year there have been 1,500,000 of sheep slaughtered in the colony, and of this number 400,000 to my own certain knowledge have been driven to market by road rather than pay the enormous cost of trucking them by rail.-Yours &c, W. J. WARD. Mandeville, July 15.