THE Southland Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. MONDAY, 2nd MAY, 1892.

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

THE Southland Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. MONDAY, 2nd MAY, 1892.

Our Victorian friends are in a ferment over their railways, and the Fxecutive lias taken the extreme stpp of suspending Mr Speight, the General Manager, and his associates. The question of railway management is in this country alho a burning one, and we naturally watch with ke»n interest the issue of the Victorian quarrel. In Victoria the railway receipts h«ve been so i educed thnt the Government has felt under the necessity of making some radical alteration of the railway system, and, as we have said, the first stop lihs lipph to set, aside the (iener.il Mannger, who had been imported from Fngland as an eminent experr, whose career 3ud reputation gay« promise of first rate administration of the Victorian lino?. Theiv has been quite a revulsion of feelinjr in regard to this rfnVer, and tl.e term " incompetent " oven has bmn •• ppl ir« I to him. But nothing is more nnlilo-iy t 1 an that the explanation of the recent failures is to be found in Mr Speight's "incompetence." "Mr Speight'* competency," says one weH able to judyo, "has been proved beyon 1 hll ques'iiiti" ; and we think thar the inomperence to fathom and rem c dy the trouble i* far more likely to reside in th" Government that differs with him. We fancy there is no dispute as to the fact that the falling off in net returnw has arisen from the lavish construction of new and unproductive lines. The policy, as we understand, of the General Manager is to make up the loss by an increase on goods and passenger rates. The Government, on the other hand, would endeavour to restore prosperity by reducing the train mileage — cutting off, for one thing, the lines that have proved so unprofitable. The question between the two parties has been argued by another Australian expert, who agrees with hie brother professional, and cor fidently expects, that if he is granted the opportunity, Mr Speight will bo able to prove the truth of his contention. We learn from the Australasian that a representative of the Argus early in this month bad an interview with Mr J. HSmith, Chairman of the Fouth Australian Railway Commissioners, aud asked for his opinions on the present complications in Victoria, with a view to their publication. Mr Smith met his interlocutor with great frankness and discussed with him the situation. " The brond position being," said Mr Smith, " that too great a proportion of new and unprofitable lines have been added to your mileage, Mr Speight contends that if this loss be borne for a time, the new lines will be converted from ' suckers ' to ' feeders,' and the success of the whole system will be the sooner assured. But the necessity for an instant reduction being urged, Mr Speight contends that that were better done by raising freights and fares than catting down train mileage." Mr Bmith went on to state that the contention of nil railway managers would be that of Mr Speight ; that the reduction of train mileage would be <; a most disastrous policy"; and strangling nf lines by that reduction, " a most serious muter." " New lines, ' says the same authority, « will always be ' slickers' instead of ' feeders,' but if you discourage their development forjthat reason you merely lengthen inordinately the period for which they are to be suckers. ' " The remedy, and it cannot h» an instant one,, is to keep what you liavo going by hook or by crook, and buiid very cautiously in the. future.' 1 These opin'ons are a most valuable con-tributir-n to the controversy, and as our circumstances nre to a great extent similar to tho«e of Victoria, the lesson in for us as well as our neighbours. There are a number of unprofitable lines in this colony. If we take Mr Smith's advice we shall not close these up or reduce to a very small point the opportunities for traffic upon them. We shall nurse them in hope of better days, and they will respond in due time to our generous forbearance. The hint to be cautious of construction in the future is lees necessary than it onro was, hut may still bo wanted and will no donhfc bo token by those who arc studying the r'ilwny problem. But we want to go a step further in this matter of train mileage, and t<> contend that, in the case of Southland at least, it ph mid even he extended. On the Southland lines, generally, the trains are compara-

tively few, and if it be replied that travellers ate few ala-% we might rejoin n that if trains were more frequent !j the number of passengers would be „ greater, while the expense of carrying t them would not be largely increased. t H mailer trains running oftener would be c the reform that we want. This would j mean, on the side of the public, greater ! convenience and more inducement to travel ; and on the railway side, better ' speed, less tear and wear on the rails and : locomotive plant, and, we presume, no ( great increase in wages. To give in- i stances, there might well be additional accommodation to Riverton, to Gore, with intervening stations, to Bluff, to Winton and beyond it. The authority from whom we have been quoting lays it down as a maxim that " the railway service must be above tit things progressive, always in advance of the mere needs of to-day, ahead of settlement, but never behind it." Well, Southland is nnquestionally going ahead, and, observant of this principle, the Cotumissionera should take care that rrogress is at least not impeded by scanty nil way facilities and an imperfect serv'ce We have r on good authority that towns in Canterbury, not half the size < i Invercargill, enjoy more frequent trains than Invorcargill doe^. This town is be^om ing more and more the centre of the district of whirh Gore and the Waimea townships, with Mataura, Edf-ndale, and others, are a j art. People are desiring more and more to come to Invercargill to do business, and the railway arrangements seem to say, in effect, No ! you must go to Dunedin. And Dunedin is favoured in other ways than by the small number of trains to Invercargill. For instance, there are cheap fares from Gore to the Dunedin Races,but what do we hear of cheap fares to the Invercargill Races? There should be nothing partial or anomalous about such arrangement? 1 , but each town or district shonM get fair play, with room to develop itself according to its natnre and situation. It is to be feared that Invercargill i 3 also handicapped by the hour at which the expresPtarts for Dunedin. The hoars now lost here in the morning might be utilised in Dnnedin just as those can be utilised in Invercargill by the early start from the larger town. There are symptoms tha' the feeling has undergone a change that was engendered when the hour was altered from halt- past ten to twenty minutes to twelve, and we <-hnll not be surprised if some movement should come from the Chamber of Commerceor some othor representative of public opinion to have the old hoar reverted to.