How our Railways are Run.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14153, 12 March 1910, Page 3 (Supplement)

How our Railways are Run.

A TOURIST'S COMPLAINT. (Auckland ''Herald.") 0;i February 5 wc published two letters addressed by Captain C. C. liurkeDavies, and English visitor at present in iVw Zealauu, to the General jiaaa*ier of Railways, complaining t-hat though he iiad booked ot "Wellington a sleeping berth for his wife, particularly specifying a bottom berth, he found when, on the train that an ;ilcc>rati;u! orcn m&dp tvfter i-iii; ticket had been issued io him, and chat, an upper kwrui i'.ad been snkliul to lik who, which she was unr.ble to occupy. He asked that a refund of the 10s paid for the Ticket should b-? made, and also that inquiries might he made for an ivory shoehorn wkh cre-i and motto engraved on it which he left in the train. After waiting a fortnight and receiving no reply to his lettsr lie sent a. second eoimnmiication on January 13 to tho General Manager expressing his sunwise that no notice had been taken of his complaint. Captain Burke-Dnvics now writes to as follows:—"In thanking you for acknowledging ray last ietter by publication in your valuable paocr. I though perhaps you would care to know the result of tho correspondence i.n the matter, so herewith I beg to enclose you copy of tho Railway Minister's so-called explanation of the facts complained of. and my reply to him." Z'aland Govennncn:. Railways. H.'ad Office, Well inciter,. Feb. f. 1000. ir ,—uith reference to your letters i of December 25 and January ]8 last, in regard to the sleeping berth that was i.Tfei cd i.o your wife wtieu travelling between Wellington and Thitorua recently. 1. hnye the. honour to inform von Hint I find o;i inquiry that the allotment <:t the sieeoi:ig Ijerfhs was altered by soy. <,f the staff owing to a | n>iCjippreh-«sion as to the nositio.i. cud j v* :th p. yk'V." to inn- ot ! pris«f?iiarors wlio arrived Tu-fct-njcLVDTIS linvji bcfti tli.Tt the <- "ii.-ini o i.'D id tor •sloo/jjinir b o r?'li ■{§ to be refunded, and I trust" that the" actvai taken will prevent anv similar ©eerfyrences in future. I hive taken cons!clm>S>!.> trouble towards traoip* Liie Piioe horn that was let's in ■(]!» r»«rl nage by yourself, but, unfortunate!v wueont satisfactory result. In regard to the delay in acknowledging receipt fll Jetters. I may say that your n.s» letter was received du-ini- the ■New Year holidays, when my office was c oserl, and it was concluded that from . c '" a "k as your Loudon pddross was given on the card enclosed, you leaving the Dominion immediately. and in the circumstances it was deemed desirable to complete all inquiries before replying. One of the men who was employed on the ear at the tune you travelled hal left the ser- , vice before your letter came to hand, [ and in was deemed desirable to trace | and interrogate him. The investigations, n Inch have been of a. searching character, nessanly occupied n. considerii vie time _ and correspondne, and ; have only uist been completed. I regret that you should have erroneously concluded that discourtesy -was beiii"- : shown you, and feel sure that tou will acquit the department of any such intention now that the actual position has been stated.—l have the honour to i?f.'. SIr > /" u . r obedient servant, J. A Millar, Minister for Railways. t ~o k° 3;o ire> February 13, 1909. To the Hon. J. A. Millar. Sir,— Acknowledging your letter of February 9 m answer to mine of December 26 complaining of the action of the railway officials, you say that my wife's berth was changed from a "lower" to an ' upper" one .(without consulting her convenience in the matter) "owin" to misapprehension as to the po.sitioS and with a view to accommodating other passengers who came later." here could have been no misapprehension, because I particularly stipulated for a lower berti for my wife (or we could wait for another day), and I saw the lower berth booked and now hold the ticket, the counterfoil, of cours° remaining m the book. The fo>-en-oinr!-proves that the fact of booking" anv particular berth is a useless proceeding as it can or ma? be changed to suit the railway company, and the passengers that come later have tho same cnance of selecting their accommodation as those who have already booked and paid for certain berths. Your paragraph surree«ting the idee. that ihryanse I enclosed my card with my "London clubs" m it.'the railway officials thought- I Tiad left the country coidrl hardly .hiv© existed in th»ir t wrote from

Rotoru a on both occasions, the second letter as long ago as January 13, registered, and anxiously awaited a reply. _ Then you say that the searching inquiries into my case caused time and correspondence. How can that be, when the fact 3 could at once bo ascertained by looking up the booking record of a few days previous to the date of my first letter ? That) would not mean much of a search nor any correspondence, and I should pot have been kept till now for any sort of reply. Fancy my having "to apply to you, sir,_ for satisfaction in this unbusinesslike proceedipg, instead of getting an immediate reply from a servant of the company. I did not "erroneously conclude," but these facts prove that- discourtesy has been shown sne from the first, and I am n/iturally annoyed, indignant, and disappointed, became I have come all the Vav from England for an extended ton/- through L-he North arid South Island/;, and to enjoy the sport and fine scenery which abound in different nart-s of tlie country. Instead of which the management of the railway company has forced me to cnncpl such an idea, by chancing a repetition of the abominable circumstances which this correspondence relates to, and as soon as mv fishing tour finishnp n .t Tauro next "month I am compelled to leave the Dominion. I must add that last year I travelled on the Argentine. Chilian, Peruvian, Columbian, and U.S. railways, on all of ".'"/•'I 1 was .Seated with c-ourtesv, cn ilny attention, and consideration, and to find these qualities wanting on tho railn-ar in one of our own colonies is, to say least, astonishing «nd 'disappointing. Awaiting the refund of the amount of the berth to this address --J am, yours faithfully. Chas. C-Bunre-Davios.