RAILWAY RESTRICTIONS

Otago Witness, Issue 3413, 13 August 1919, Page 47

RAILWAY RESTRICTIONS

THE TIMBER TRADE. SERIOUS EFFECT OF RESTRICTIONS. SEVERAL MILLS CLOSING DOWN. One of the many branches of industry which, is being- affected by the present cut in the railway services is the- sawmilling 1 trade. It wa3 anticipated that th>3 present curtailment first took place that by this time the railway services would again bo back to normal, and. the sawmills throughout the dominion were kept working. As a result large supplies of timber have accumulated, but no facilities are at present being offered for its distribution. This gradual accumulation is especially noticeable in the Southland districts, and if the timber is allowed to remain in its present position much longer deterioration will set in, and a considerable loss will thus have to be met by the mill-owners. In the Catlins district alone many mills have large quantities of timber awaiting removal. A short time ago a poster was issued by the railways requesting the public not to travel, in order to facilitato the distribution of timber, and Mr Keith Ramsay telegraphed to the Minister of Railways inquiring how the mills could be kept going if the department refused to carry the mill timber. The following is the_ Minister's reply:— " Hope that the curtailment in passenger traffic will release a considerable amount of the present haulage power for the conveyance of goods, and thus in some measure meet the inconvenience caused to the various industries in the dominion. " It is stated, however, that in spite of this assurance on behalf of the department, little or no diminution has been effected in the stacks of timber awaiting railage. The position has grown so acute in the Catlins district that iinless a large" quantity of the stacked timber is taken away the mills thero will be forced to stop work. The Maclennan sawmill will close down on Saturday, and the 15 men employed there will be thrown out of work. This will probably not bo the only instanos of the kind, and-if the present state.of affairs continues a number of other mills may have to oeaso operations until the accumulation of timber is removed. . It .has been estimated that nearly all the mills in the Catlins district have each about 100,000 ft of timber awaiting railage. ASSISTANCE FOR DAIRY INDUSTRY. AUCKLAND, August 5. As the result of the visit' of Mr Piper, assistant traffic manager, it is understood that arrangements have been made to carry on the railway dairy cows and most urgent material for the dairy industry. Additional tonnage will bo accepted from day to day as circumstances permit, subject to there being room on the trains now running. THE GOVERNMENT CENSURED. EMPHATIC MOTION PASSED AT HAMILTON. HAMILTON, August 5.. A crowded meeting discussed the railway restrictions, profiteering, etc. The Government was strongly censured for ita failure to meet the position. Mr Ewen M'Gregor, the principal speaker, said that Taupiri coal was suitable for locomotives, and plenty of it was available to give a full railway service. The opinion was expressed that there was more behind the position than the coal shortage. A resolution was passed calling upon the Government to resign owing to the mismanagement of the past five years. The railway restrictions are causing much unemployment in this district.

DISCUSSION BY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. ADVISORY COMMI'ITJSE TO BE SEi' UP. The oppressive railway restrictions which have been, making their effect felt upon practically the whole of tho community for some time past were discussed at the meeting of the council of the Dunedin Ohamber of Commerce on the 11th. In connection with this matter a number of letters were received from members of tho chamber and others pointing out the inconvenience which was being caused by the present restrictions. Theso communications, which gave instances of individual hardship in the case of a number of trades, wore in response to a circular sent out by tho chamber. Tho following telegram was read from the General Manager of Railways (Mr R. W. M'Villy) in reply to a suggestion that an advisory committee of merchants should be set tip: —"The department is agreeable xl do anything possible to assist in minimising the hardships created by the existing coal shortage, and is instructing the district traffic manager to confer with a committee set up by your chamber and arrange the best method of vorking so as to ensure that the most urgent goods will be dealt with. The object aimed at is to regulate the quantities of goods now being accepted to immediate requirements so as to permit tho transport of urgent poods at present prohibited. A citizens' committco is in the best position to do this and to decide on tho relative urgency of other goods offering." Tho President (Mr J. B. Waters) said that a small sub-committee consisting ot Messrs Gow, Lethbridge, and hiinself had been appointed to deal with this matter. That afternoon they had had a lengthy interview with tho traffic manager, and they had all como away impressed with the fact that tho traffic manager and the railway officials were doing everything in their power to facilitate transport. Mr Bowles was quite prepared to work in conjunct;cn with any committco which might be sot up. He (the speaker) did not think it would be necessary to have such a committee continually in operation, but it could fill a useful function in dealing with cases of urgency and in seeing, as far as possible, that justice was done. There were undoubtedly two or three sections of traders which wore feeling- tho pinch very severely, such as the hardware and building trades, the cement works, and the manure manufacturers. The principal trouble was the difficulty in obtaining carbonato of lime to supply the manure and cement makers, and the traffio manager fully realised tho necessity for obtaining this lime. He had telegraphed to Mr M'Villy, but so far no replyhad been received. If Mr M'Villy'e reply was unfavourable they might go further

into the matter. Regarding building material the traffic manager had relaxed the regulations to some extent where a job was uncompleted, especially in the way of roofing iron. Mr Waters added that he thought it would bo advisable to have a committeo which could act in an advisory capacity. Mr Gow said it seemed to him that the reason why some trades were suffering severely was because other trades were able t oget almost anything carried. Mr Campbell said that if this thing went on much longer it would be necessary to have a controlling board for coastal shipping. He thought that the local members of Parliament should bo asked to see that Dunedin was getting its fair quota of coal per head, as most of tho local power was developed by electricity. Mr Campbell added that in his opinion tho chamber should approach the Harbour Board with a view to getting all steamers to unload at Dunedin, and thus save haulage on the Port Chalmers line. On the motion of Mr T. Somerville it was decided to set up an ad visor v committee of three members, not necessarily members of the chamber, the council to make the appointments. DURATION OF THE CUT. PROBABLY TWO OR THREE MONTHS. MASTERTON, August 11. At a meeting of Mastcrton business men on Thursday Mr Sykes. M.P., who had interviewed Mr M'Villy, was asked whether Mr M'Villy gaye him any idea as to how long the present railway cut was likely to last. Mr Sykes replied that Mr M'Villy held out no hope of the present aouto position being changed for two or three months.