The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2513, 18 August 1888, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

0 Equal and exact justice to all men, 0 Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious 01 U political. o SATURDAY, AUG. 18, 1888. 0 _ _ + ? In our last issue appeared a reporl o from our Auckland correspondent, q which is of more than ordinary in • terest at the present moment ? Reference was made to an importanl i! communication forwarded to tlx 0 Minister for Public Works by Mi " Samuel Yaile, in which the lattai gentleman makes an offer to lease r portion of the railways of the , colony for the purpose of putting tc 'j a practical test the system he has sc 1 long advocated. Mr Vaile's scheme i for railway reform has had in the ; Waikato one of his favourite fields '• of agitation, and though thew i' is now not the activity once (,' shown in the question, there is still, however, a large amount o: [. public interest felt in his efforts te e accomplish a change in the methoc of manipulating the lines in the d colony. It must not be understood ,» by the subsidence of the agitatior 6 in the Waikato that discontent has i. given way to satisfaction with the present course of things or thai \\ faith is no longer placed in Mi 3 Vaile as a true prophet. The truth '• is that the people more than evei T look upon the Government in Wei lington as an enemy to the interest! of real progress, that their wishes ari >f persistently disregarded, and that i l " is perfectly futile; to obtain any re >f form of existing evils ant y abuses so long as the presen l y form of administration is suffered t< continue. Centralism has reducee >• the country to the laiser-faire in differentism of the lotus-eaters We have to rouse these dis tricts from this fatal spirit o inertia, and though it appears to bi an almost impossible task to diffusi - new life and a quickened blood in to them, the task, nevertheless i one that must be undertaken despiti all its difficulties. Railway policy

is one of the many vexed subjects which are disturbing the public mind, unci with it is intimately related the future progress, pence and contentment of the colony. Mr Voile lias the courage of his opinions, and is not only prepared to go to the stake with his scheme, but has with him many who are confident of its soundness and feasibility. The proposals submitted to the Government are that a portion of the railways, presumably the Waikato section, shall be leased to a syndicate for a term of five years, a substantial guarantee being given that the Government shall not suffer by loss of revenue, and that the public shall not be in any worse position in regard to railway accommodation than now. Though the length of lines open in the colony has been largely increased, the traffic has remained stationary for several years, and the gross revenue is practically lower for 1887-8 than for the previous four years. We make this statement on the authority of the annual report of the Department. In his report on the American Railways, Mr J. P. Maxwell, says of them :— Whatever improprieties may have occurred, and whatever evils may have arisen in connection with railroad rates and fares, the general outcome at the present time is that the United States has rates as low as are to be found m any parts of the world, and fares which are extremely moderate, though in the average they may not be as low as the European fares. Every year has, on the general average, seen rates getting lower as traffic has grown, and appliances and organizations have been getting more perfect. The roads, on the whole, have rapidly improved their services, and accordingly benefited the public. This is not the state of things in this country, as we will presently show yet, "a little further on MiMaxwell declared himself in this wise :— For us in New Zealand to enter upon a system of personal discrimination would be retrogade; it would give rise to general dissatisfaction. There have not been wanting numerous pressing and imperative demands to grant personal rates, and that refusal to has caused great dissatisfaction is well known. Having resisted this error in the past, it will Ve easier, with the example of the United States before us, to avoid the other extreme, and to maintain a practice of using special rates wherever the local circumstances, markets, and competition make it advantageous to do so. On Mr Maxwell's own showing the condition of the American railways is one of continual progress, affording every facility to the public at large. What have we to produce by the side of that picture after the experience of a system which the General Manager prefers to that in vogue in the great republic? Take the Waikato lines for an example, and we find that traffic has been lessening year by year, and the train services curtailed to the. utmost limit. A few years ago ib was thought necessary, whether wisely or not is not to lie judged now, to incur a large expenditure at Frankton for the. ostensible purpose of meeting the growth of the business in this district. But to day the observant spectator may stand on the platform at Frankton during three days of the week. and see a station with its staff of officials, a large goodshed empty, a still larger workshop also empty, and workmen's cottages tenantless, whilst, on the eve of departure to run on a service formerly performed by an engine with carriages and trucks, is a miserable jigger. What a commentary on the railway policy of an enlightened people ! It has been the downward grade with us always The lines have been built and the money has been wasted for political purposes from the opening chapter. Could it have been under any other influence that an 1 immenseandunwarrantable expenditure was incurred for the Newmarket workshops when those already in existence at Mechanics Bay were amply sufficient; or that the bridges at Dunedin and Temuka were erected, which have never been used and never will be ; or that costly additions were made to the Dunedin station, and that the Wellington station was removed to another site 1 It would be interesting to know the value of all the property lying waste, deteriorating and unutilised along the lines throughout the ' colony. But Mr Maxwell says in the concluding portion of his report : — The most vital question is that of rates ' and fares. New Zealand is better off for i freight facilities, in a general way, than a , large proportion of the United States settlers. Many of our rates are lower than American rates, and our very short distance rates are unduly low. I Yet, it is not explained why the i .New Zealand railway system has i failed, and is universally con- : demned. The American railways are built by private enterprise on ; commercial principles for private i gain. They take the place of the i mercantile marine lost during the war, and never recovered, in conse- : quence of the adoption of Proteci tion. They are literally a teri- ; tonal shipping commerce, carrying i free-trade from State to State. The [ New Zealand railways were ini tended by the State to aid settlement, i and for that purpose only; the ! attempt to run them for revenue ; purposes on commercial lines was • fatal to their originial destiny. , America is covered with populous • towns and cities, the radii of agricul- • tural districts, These centres form i markets for the producers around ! them who reach them on equal ; terms by rail from short distances. ■ Here we have but owe terminal I market, and long distance producers ; are shut out by uneqnal freights. ) If the policy of this country had 1 been the adoption of cheap land for - settlement, with the railway carry- , ing population to occupy it ■ and create inland markets in f centres of a prosperous husbandry, ; something like success would have i been reached after all these years of - trials and experiments. Mr Vaile's 3 proposals should receive favourable i consideration, and if the bona fides r are indisputable, we can see no

harm in allowing the syndicate an opportunity of deciding the soundness of his scheme. Any change would be acceptable whether it be effected by the Government or by private individuals. We fear, however, the proposals are made too late in the session to obtain Parliamentary discussion or sanction.