THE HON R. J. SEDDON.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 59, 15 May 1895, Page 3

THE HON R. J. SEDDON.

Some little stir was caused on Monday when it became known that the Hon. the Premier was coming to Patea, and ar rangemenls were made to bring certain matters before him, and also to request him to give a public aldress. On the arrival of the express train last evening Mr Seddon was met by His Worship the Mayor, the County Chairman, Chairman of Harbour Boaid, Mr Cowern, and others, while Mrs Cowern was present to receive Mrs Seddon. After a few words, and an invitation to resume the interview at the hotel, the Premier and Mrs Sodden entered the carriage awaiting them and at once left .he station and proceeded to the Central Hotel, where the Premier put-up during his stay here. The Premier at once entered into general conversation with those who assembled to meet him, and the “bad quarter-hour” which usually precedes dinner was very plesgantly ppenL After dinner the Hon the Premier received deputations last evening, consisting of Messrs J. A. M cKenna (Mayor), W. C. Symcs (Counly Chairman) H. E. Deane (Chairman of Harbour Board), 0. W. Oldham (Western Packing Coy., and Patea Dairying Association), W. Brown, W. Cowern, T. E. Hamerton, and G. Y.

Pearco, when various questions of moment were b;ought before him. His Worship the Mayor introduced the first subject and requested the Hon Mr tSeddon to give a public address at Patea before the session, setting out that we had heard the Opposition side, but had never yet received an address from a member of the Government, and all residents were anxious to hear him on the position of the Gov rnment and colony.^

Mr Seddon said the request was quite unexpected, and he was unprepared for giving an address here; but he felt the force of the statement that none of the Ministry had visited Patea. He had to speak at Waitara on Friday, and had intended to go through to Wellington on ■ Saturday, but under the circumstances he would not return to Wellington until Monday, and would address them in Patea on Saturday, if that would suit them. His Worship said Saturday was rather a bad evening, as the business places were kept open until ten o’clock. The Premier said he would be very sorry to think that the shopkeepers would lose business by his presence, and so he would defer his address until after the session, when he would be able to arrange a more suitable clay for them. The deputation, however, very much preferred having an address on Saturday to not having one at all, and requested the Premier to carry out his original intention and address them on Saturday, This the Premier consented to do. The Mayor then introduced the Chairman of the Harbour Boar* I, who wished to see him on matters pertaining to the t .ain service. Mr Deane then said that very serious complaints had been made to the Harbour Board about the delay in the delivery of goods, ex steamers, at the Government wharf. The old system used to be discharging goods cn to the wharf, when expressmen, duly authorised, used to collect the town goods and deliver them at once, and the country goods were placed in trucks and sent away. A new system was now in vogue, and all goods were taken iiom the ships’ slings, put into trucks and run into the railway goods shed where they were kept until

the ship was empty, and if two were in together until boih were empty.,. The goods were then unloaded from the trucks on to the floor of the shed and sorted, when the up-country stuff was again returned to trucks and expressmen per milted to take local stuff. Tins sometimes meant, as had happened in his own cise, a forty-eight hours’ delay before he ciuld get a package from the steamer and in the case of the other goods it meant very likely misssing the only train from which delivery could bo made anywhere up the cost that day, and consequent ly the loss of additional day to those owners They had written to the Railway authorities on the subject, and had received the stereotyped reply that the matter would receive attention, and that was as far ss they could get. There was another phase to it, also. If, when the goods were sorted, an express was ready to take to them away, well and good; but if not, there was a storage charge of Is per ton; and as goods came for settlers all about the district, it meant telegraph** ing to every man to come and get his goods, or the Is per ton line. If a shed was built on the wharf similar to the one on the Harbour Board’s wharf, the goods could he taken from the ships’ slings into that and the sorting be done there, and cave theirading into trucks and unloading again of the whole of every

cargo, which would soon save the cost of the building. Another question in the delay of the delivery of the up country goods was the train service. There was only one train a day from which goods could be delivered, as the evening train was too late; but if the evening train from New Plymouth, stopping at Hawera, came on 10 he e, and left here instead of Haw era, the next morning, there would he just double the opportunies of delivering anddelayswouldbeminimised, if not abolished altogether. It would also increase the convenience of passengers, as they would then be able to go to either Hawera or New Plymouth and return the same day, whe eas at present they were obliged to go to Wanganui. On this point, however, Mr oarce. as representing the country wouldgivebimhelterinformation. Mr G. V. Pearce said, originally, the train ran down to here, and it was stated

it did not pay; but atthat time theliawera and northern sales were not of much consequence, and there was cue steamer trading to this port. Now there were four boats constantly running, and the Hawera sales were becoming the most import ant on the coast, and it would be a great convenience if the settlers could attend those sales and retuvn the same day ; and it would, no doubt lead to a great increase in passenger traffic. The cost of the alto - alien could not be much, as there was the necessary accommodation here in the shape of erginesLod, etc; so it only meant running the additional eight eeix mile o . The Premier said they must, of course, understand that the railway authorities were not fully in favour of steamers , carying all the goods, which, otherwise, ; would go by rail. As to the charge of Is, that, he thought, would be the regular haulage charge, and, of course, 'goods not taken away must he stored somewhere. Mr Symes said that if the additional trainage was made, passengers would be able to go to New Plymouth and intermediate places and back in the day, which wpuld tend very greatly Ijp increase the

passenger, as well as goods, f-arrlc*. /s to the freights, it was no us.-- pulling any obstacle in the way to dive.t steamer traffic to ra’l trafilc, because the railway couldn’t compete at all; it meant about £3 competing with Os, and that was ridiculous. What was wanted was the greatest inducement to increase the traffic so that the railway would get it as soon as it touched land. He thought very much better work about the wharf could be done with the same staff if the work was done on reasonable linos. The railway at present did not keep pace with the growing requirements of the trade; and he thought it would be better if everything was done as well as possible, instead of as nasty as possible. Mr Oldham said there was no doubt that the railway accommodation was now very far behind requirements, as the trade had more than quadrupled in the last four years, but no addition whatever had been made to the accommodation. The early morning train would be a great advantage when, as at present, two steamers came in and would not finish discharging till evening, as everything could be got ready for the early train, and no delay whatever would occur They had waited long for some increased advantages, but now it was absolutely necessary that they should have them.

The Premier said he had found the Railway authorities amenable to reason. It was, perhaps, hard at times to find wants not supplied, but requirements were always supplied as soon as possible after the need became apparent. He would bring the matter before bis colleague, the Minister of Railways, on his return to Wellington, when there would be a conference of Ministers, and the official reply would be forwarded by the Minister of Railways.