The Daily News. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1900. RAILWAY ARRANGEMENTS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 196, 14 September 1900, Page 2

The Daily News. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1900. RAILWAY ARRANGEMENTS.

Meetings of the Chambers of Com- s , merce at Hawera and Patea have just c< taken place, at both of which the ques- }« tion of the railway time-table came up 11 and was fully discussed. The strange thing about the matter is that although Hawera and Patea are so close together, a and a very large proportion of the s , trade of Hawera is dependent on the ti port at Patea, they both want a differ- » ent railway time-table. Hawera wants a the train which leaves New Plymouth a at 8 a.m. for Wanganui delayed at v Hawera till four o'clock in the after- B noon every day of the week. The de- jj lay of this train for some two hours at Hawera is already a source of vexation T of spirit to the majority of those who fc; travel by it, and the further delay ii asked for simply means rendering this jj train useless for connecting with the A train for places south of Wanganui, f Patea, on the ot'aer hand, wants the train jwhich leaves New Plymouth at t 4 p.m for Hawera to run on to Patea, n and start from there in the morning. £ This request is so reasonable that it v is most surprising that the Department p has cot seen its advantages. Mr. G. 1; D. Hamerton, who moved the a njotion, is reported by the Patea paper t: follows "In moving his motion, a J(lr. Hamerton repeated at length the j arguments that have been already f iterated and reiterated in theso i columns, claiming that as New Ply- E uiputh was the court supreme, stamp registration, and commissioners <: cijnti'e for Patea, it was absurd that it tiok three days to go there and return, (: whilst the journey could be made '• to Wanganui and back in the 1 one day, with plenty of time J; to spare. He aiso emphasised the fact s that the servico was tried years j ago in the uiijdle of winter, and that the expor s at the time were £32,000, f as against £113,000 in 1899, whiUt the j passenger traffic had now quadrupled. 1 There was one strange fact in connec- j tion with the matter in question. For t 12 loug years the eogiue ehel was ; alfowed to remain at Patea unused, but j the moment an application was sent in j to extend the service the shed was at t once pulled down and taken away. It i seemed to him that the stionger the 1 reasons for extending the service the , greater were the obstacles thrown in . the wsy. He also pointed out that the extension « ould do no town any harm, i \ for pa sengers could stop at Hawera if i they wished and come down the fo'low- 1 ing morning, but on the other hand, j all the northern towns would have the . [ advantage of getting their goods by i ; steamer in the morning instead of late ' in the afternoon. It would be a dis- | ■ tinct advantage to every town as far as ; Inglewood. From an economic point ■ of view he felt that it would pay, for l was it not a fact that quite a number i bf extra trains had now to be run to ( overtake the traffic ? Further, it was j an economic fact that, where conveniences increased, production increased, and -with freezing works shortly to be erected, through which no doubt a large proportion of Taranakl butter would pass, and other industries i that required a more convenient train service, the extension was an urgent necessity. After discussing the various aspects of the question at length, Mr. Hamerton concluded by strongly urging upon all present to heartily support the resolution." Needless to say the motion was carried, and might well have the support of the New Plymouth Chamber "of Commerce. The proposal has the advantages of not depriving any locality of existing privileges, and any increase of such must of necessity prove beuelicial to the district as a whole. The growing trade of New Plymouth must benefit by the increased facilities such an extension of the riming of trains would afford. In auy - case, New Plymouth is deeply interested in the proposals emanating from the llawer.i and Patea Chambeis lof Commerce, and wiil do well to consider carefully the effect thereof.