NEW RATES

Southland Times, Issue 22296, 11 April 1934, Page 7

NEW RATES

INLAND TELEGRAMS TRENCHANT CRITICISM IN MARLBOROUGH MERCHANTS’ MEETING (Per United Press Association.) Blenheim, April 10. The imposition of the new telegraph rates was the subject of trenchant criticism at a meeting cf the Marlborough Merchants’ Association specially convened to consider this subject c.nd various other actions of the Government in respect to Marlborough since thfe beginning of the harvest season. In the language of Bret Harte “the discussion was painful, frequent and free, and the initiation of the new system was criticized, first on the ground that it had been brought in without reference to Parliament, and so far as the general public knew, without necessity, and entirely without such notice as would have enabled the views of the commercial community to be ascertained, and it was suggested that the Government was endeavouring to make up its losses over the return to the penny postage, which apparently nobody except the people outside New Zealand wanted, by imposing the new telegraph rates. The president, Mr W. Priddle, stressed the point that the province had been suffering from the effects of the slump and from drought conditions for the cast four years, during which period the merchants and stock houses had been carrying the producers, but instead of the Government doing what it could to assist them over the difficult periods, it had imposed the new telegraph charges without notice and without justification. Mr J. J. Corry scathingly criticized the Prime Minister, the Minister of Lands, the Minister of Labour and several other Ministers for allegedly trapping about. He said that they promised Government assistance on account of damage to the crops by drought, hailstones, frost and other devastating experiences, but nothing had been done, except to raise the telegraph rates, so as to clean up yet a little more of what ready cash they had left the people. Nothing had been heard of the Seddon water scheme since Mr Ransom sent his famous telegram congratulating the district on the breaking of the drought. Quoting local absurdities in the new telegraph rates, Mr Corry stated that it cost ninepence to send a telegram to Spring Creek or Seddon, tenpence to Hillersden or elevenpence to Birch Hill, whereas one could ring up Spring Creek for nothing, Seddon for fivepcnce and Hillersden for sixpence. The meeting agreed that the effect of the new rates would be that less use would be made of the telegraph, so that the Department would probably find that instead of increasing the revenue it was losing it. It was decided to protest to the Post-master-General (the Hon. Adam Hamilton), and to ask him to produce figures showing the last year’s telegraphic revenue, and an estimate of the revenue under the new system, while Mr E. P. Healey, M.P., is to be asked to ascertain whether it is proposed to devote any increased revenue which may result from the new system towards the promised relief to distressed farmers in Marlborough, “the sufferers from the drought, the slump, the hail, the frost and the shortness of water.”