Saturday Night Trains.

Southland Times, Issue 12013, 2 May 1892, Page 2

Saturday Night Trains.

TO T IE EDITOR. Sir,— The Inverosrgill city fathers have resolved to approacl the Railway Commiss;oners re getting lat: trains run to the Bluff on Saturday nights ; and which they hope to see extended to other inland towns in time. By your favours I will approach these Commissioners on the other side, just to let these gentlemen see that there w another side to this question besides that which these C.F.S will exhibit. And first of all this move savours strongly of £Teed. It is l>eneficial " from a business anil social point of view," say they. But what sort of sociality are these late trains productive of. The railv/ay guards who rui those already in use could " a tale unfold ; ' and they do a little bit sometimes wher they appear in the Police Court against some of these late travellers. There in also something to be learned in this coinection on the North road, between Waikiwi and Makarewa, after the last tram, called the Makarewa tram, has discharged its living freight on Saturday nights. But theie b a business aa well aa a social aspect to the question ; that is, business for Invercargill, which is to be poached from the inland towiis by means of these late trains. This is a notable characteristic of city men of the pres< nt day — to build up the large centres and stirve the inland towns. People stick themselves into shops with high rents and taxes to pay, and then they try to move heaven md earth and railway commissioners to bricg them custom, to sup port them and the landlords with their big rents. And they are ready to pervert | settlers' sons and laughters, and debauch i husbands and fathers, to satisfy their greed for business, and everything that brings ' money is business. It is only just four weeks since these C. F.s were shedding their " crocodiles "| o\ er ( ertain immoral proceedings which had l>e :n brought under their notice, aud were go ug to punish certain cab drivers for their c< nnection with the said immorality ; and now they want to promote a system which they know : quite wtll will have the effect of sowing I immorality broadcast. This building up .' of large centres h the crying evil of the age, and to counteract this evil is one of the problems to be solved. Some will be ready to say that affording country people the means for recreation in the way proposed i would help to mako country life more attractive. But it has not done so yet where it has been tried, and the work of centralisation still goes on, and -he money spent in these Saturday night carousals would suffice for teaching the sons and daughters of country people music, and ;or purchasing mturical instruments, whereby they could furnish social recreation) for themselves. There is one thing quite certain, which is that late trains on Saturday i will never be productive of good to country people. But the Commissioners will consider the question solely from a monetary point of view, as the morality of the question does not concern them, least not as commissioners. They can, however, refise late trains if they do not pay the utmost penny of expenses. Brt if these Invercargi 1 city fathers wish to confer a benefit on country people, let them build a market hall with the money they have had in hand so long. There cannot be less than LSOO now staading to the credit of the market trust — there was L4OO some year* ago. 1 think Bonn: one should interview '.he Premier when he comes to Invercargill, tc get him to pass ai Act to compel Borough Councils to build markets when there are funds in hand fo- the purpose; or, whoi would be better still, take the matter out of their hands and put it into the hands of County Councils. The shopkeeping in terests of the tow is will never let country produce go direct to the consumer, wtthouv passing through their hands, if they can prevent it. Naturally they desire to retain the intermediate trad 3 and the profit thereto attached and tak>: all the care possible vO keep tilings goiug n the old groove. They affect the greatest, .'iolicitude for their country cousins, attending them to the station occasionally on Saturday afternoons, bowing and smiling in the mott gracious manner, as if they would fain keep them some hours longer in town for the sheer pleasure of their society. The scenes of this sort of affectionate interest, sometimes witnessed on the platforms are very touching — and very suggestive to onlooker s of the stamp of yours, &c. T. Buxton. 30th April.