RAILWAY REFORM.-THE REVISED TARIFF AS IT AFFECTS WE NORTH ISLAND.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1842, 26 April 1884, Page 3

RAILWAY REFORM.-THE REVISED TARIFF AS IT AFFECTS WE NORTH ISLAND.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,— Nothing could more strikingly exemplify the complicated nature of our railway tariff than the fact that all the leading newspaper writers of the colony seem to be under the impression that railway rates and charges are uniform throughout New Zealand. I have read the leading articles of many papers on this subject, and the writers one and all, are evidently labouring under this delusion, what I do for this miserable tai iff, lain Knownot at all surprised that they havefallen into this en or— ninety-nine men out of every hunched would ha\e done the same. Nothing but the most caieful leading, and lereadmg ot this most atrocious document could reveal its gross absurdities, its iniquitous charges and impositions. In 01 der to place this matter a little more clearly bef 01 c your readers, I must trouble you with a few more figures. In the following statement the fares are calculated for a 50 mile distance throughout. It will be seen that although there has been a rise of a fraction under 50 per cent, on the Canterbmy and Otago lines, on the can iage of goods of Class E, which bringb the 50 mile fare up from Gs lOd per ton to 10s 2d, that throughout the North Island there is a furthei additional charge of 25 per cent, upon the 10s 2d ; or, in other words, while the increase in Canterbury and Otiigo is at the rate of under 50 per cent., in Auckland and throughout the North Island it is at the rate of over Bu'i per cent. The different charges work out thus : — AUCKLAND SECTION. S. d. 50 miles f.irc, charge in Auckland class E, per ton 12 9 Do. do., Canterbury and Otago ... 10 2 Against Aucklind . . 2 7 Class D, 50 miles, Auckland, per ton .. 22 11 Do., do , Canterbury and Otago 17 5 Against Auckland 5 0 Class P, 50 miles, Auckland, per ton .. 910 Do., do., Canterbury and Otago 7 8 Against Auckland ... . 2 2 I should state th.it goods of Class 15, when consigned to Auckland or Onehunga, pay only a single late as in Canterbury or Otago ; but when sent to any othei poitiun of the line they must pay a late and a quaitci as against a hingle late in the ftouth, so must all goods of this, class bent out of Auckland no matter \\ here to. NAPIEK SECTION. On this section the faies given above are chaiged on the whole lines tin oughout, so they aie served a little worse than we are. TARANAKI SECTION. Class E as in Auckland. Liases H, C, and I) are theie charged as A, which works out thus ; s. d Class I! as A, 1 ai.in iki . <*1 0 Charge in C.inteibury and Otago ... 2f 0 Against laranaki , . . 5 0 Class C a*. \ I'aranaki .. .. 31 0 Charge in Canterbury an Otago . ... 22 11 Ag.iin&l 'laranaki . i> 7 Cliss D .is \, l'arauaki . . 31 0 Charge in Canterbury and Otago 17 f> Against I'aran iki . 14 1 Cl.iss P as in Auckland, 2-. 2d against laranaki W \M4.\\UI hiCTIOX. Class E as in Auckland Class Cas H. Wanganui . . 20 10 Charge In Canterburj and Otngo . 22 11 Against Wanganui 3 11 Class D as H, Wang.vnm 26 10 Charge in Canterbury and Otago .. 17 6 Against Wanganui 0 5 Class P as in Auckland WKLMNGTON SECTION* Cass E as in Am kland. Class C as B, Wellington . . 26 10 Charge in Canterbury and Otago 22 11 Against Wellington 3 11 Class D as H, N ellington 26 10 Charge in Canteibury and Otago ... 17 5 Against Wellington . . 9 5 ClassP as in Auckland against Wellington, 2s 2d. Nelson has but 13 miles of i ail way, Picton only 18. In both these provinces goois ot Ciass 1] aie caniod at a single iatc ; in other lespecb* Nelson is tieated as is Wanganui and Picton as TaianaU. Thus it will be seen that this, " eminently just and fair tariff" means "»aciifieing the interests of the weaker di'-tucts to those of the stronger. What an abstud commentaiy this is on the Preimei's speech at Jl^wera. He there said, "He held that the railwajsof New Zealand belonged to the people of New Zealand, and that tho pioiit-> weip to go into the pockets of tho people of New Zealand lathei than into those of people tending in paituular distiicß" With this utterance of the Pieuirt's I cordially agi ee — with his action in tho matter I diifer in toto. Just one more initiation of how tins "stnctly impaitul taiiff" woiks. For canyinga ton of goods of Class D to liangizni (.jo miles) tlie chai go is 21s 2d, but foi taking them on to Hamilton, 2S miles further, thechaige would be only 18s 4d ((!s lOd pei ton less for the longer distance) ; or to To Aw.iniutu, 41 miles beyond Kanginri, only 21s ; or m other woids they carry goods. 100 miles for 2d pel ton less than they cbaige for 5G miles. Or to put it still another way : For 50 miles they charge under the new taiiff, then for 34 miles they revert to the old tat iff, and then again for the remainder of the distance the lates are increased, but not to the full extent of the new tariff. Thus wo ha\e three diffeient rates on our 100 miles of Southern uiilway. The people who " want to know you know," will bp apt to ask why is this, and who are the favouied settlers, that draw their supplies from the 34 miles of carefully protected railway. The fir^fc favoured station is OhmoWfii, and the last Rukuhia. Palk about differential uting. Heie's a jlonous example of the principle. What ne\t? — I am, &c, Samuel Vaii.e. Auckland, April 18.

In* the last two years the Irish population of the United States has been increased by 140,000. .Ax English writer says that if the Chinese poits are shut by a war with France a supply of tea can be drawn from India. He says the India plant is, to begin with, superior to the Chinese ; it is prepared by machinery instead of by natives who adulterate it, and it is stronger. A remedy for diphteria in horses the coughing up of pieces of light grey, jellylike phlegm), is to give chlorate of potash in two drachm doses and feed bran mash with a pint of linseed in it. Live pear trees are recommended as posts for barbed wire fence, on the ground that the pear tree is very long lived, and the iron which would become imbedded in the trunk would be beneficial to the tree. A good stiff brush should supplant the use of the currycomb inevery well regulated stable ; the latter is too harsh. If the horses are regularly groomed the biush is sufficient. Nearly all London is built on leasehold land, and at the end of a certain term the land on which the buildings are erected, as also the buildings themselves, becomes the property of the ground landlord. Since the gorgeous twilights have attracted so much attention a new colour, entitled •' sunset red," has been achieved, and has become quite popular. It is as ugly, we believe, as crushed strawberry. Religious liberty is not yet secured in Norway. Recently two Methodist missionaries were tried and fined, at the instigation of clergymen of the State Church, for receivng members into the Methodist Church. Dr Annik Clark, of Birmingham, has been elected an acting physician of the Children's Hospital there, in preference to eight of the most eminent physicians in the town. The spattering of milk while milking may be caused either by the direction of the orifice of the teat or by some scales of skin aronnd it by which the current is diverted. In the one case the milker can easily direct the milk into the pail by changing the inclination of the hand, and in the other case by smoothing the end of the teat with a piece of pumice stone. Prof. Brown of the Ontario Agricultural College,^saya that*, judging from his experiments with dairy cows, no other breed can touch the Devona in registering 1 a high specific gravity and weight of cheese from milk. The great idea in Egypt is to open, the road from Suakim to Berber : about 240 miles, I