Cattle Slaughter.

Southland Times, Issue 4869, 21 February 1884, Page 2

Cattle Slaughter.

—+ TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — I feel compelled to draw your attention to a subject which involves the safety of railway travelling on the Bluff line. As is well known, this line is not fenced, and cattle are frequently run down in consequence. The plan adopted is very simple; it is as follows :— lf any cattle are seen on the railway, no notice whatever is taken of them — np. whistle is sounded, no brakes are put on, Bttt just the same speed maintained until the engine and train go through them, or over them ! This plan saves a deal of trouble, and we know that this is the one " line " the Department is tiue to. The public and tho unfortunate owners of the cattle are quite secondary considerations. I speak not from hearsay : my testimony is that of an eyewitness. It is simply horrible to see the waste— the wanton waste— of valuable property occasioned by this "very simple plan." It would be interesting to get a weekly return of stock run down on this line. Bnt I will not dwell on this aspectof the question further, but will proceed to ask the railway management if this policy is safe to the public ? Is it perfectly certain that the cattle run down at full speed will simply result in " its being bad for the cow" ? Is it not witbin the range of probability that either the engine or some of the carriages may leave the rails and make it bad for the passengers ? Already life has been lost from this cause, but it was only a stoker ! And the Department are only waiting for a proper catastrophe, one involving a fair average loss of life! Then, possibly,- we may hear of directions to drivers to use a little care in running into cattle, until the lines are fenced, and even after they are fenced, to slack the speed a bit, and not to rash along the rails, oblivious to all impediments on the road, in the shape of lire BtQQk,— l am, &o.j 55axA\