THE Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 1881. RAILWAY CHARGES.

Manawatu Times, Volume V, Issue 156, 27 August 1881, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 1881. RAILWAY CHARGES.

" Words are things, and % drop of ink falling Ilka dew upon a thought, produces that which make 3 thousands, perhaps millions think."

M*\r, anrl lond, are fclie complaints acfai'nst tho excessive pVa^ges on snp.-ill parcels m p?."t : cular, on our p;</Kv;\,v. Tn ouv lo.^t 'Psre we published a lette" •T.'O'ni onv c n -' res!f)ondo'it on t^e sa,>ne sulijaei-, and m winch l'cpoJ?>teflo»ttV.t t^o conveyance of goods -'ram Wariganu' ta PalmerstoT), cost fr 1^ more hv t^e railway, then they did years v^o, when roads were Imd, l>y the carriers. But we fiud wlt'i satno degree of satisfaction, that the heavy charges on sir all cons'grmenfc a-oby no mea/ns confined to this paH of the Colony, that the ssame complaint is wade throughout New Zealand, and deputations have waited on the Managers of railways m the South Island praying that the tarriff might be modified, but with no good result.

Only a week since,a deputation from Lawrence, iv Ota^o, armed with the same representations respecting the extortionate character of the railway tariff, and protesting against the sameascomplicaLoiy, and unsatisfactory, particu'a'lyin regard to small consignments weighing less than 4 cwt, waited on the manager of railways. Tie Dunedin { 'Sta,r,''tbi s reports theresult of the meeting: "Mr. Grraot, tbe General Manager m intimating the memorial would be forwarded to the proper quarter, said that he fully recognised tbe importance of baAinga tariff satisfactory to the geue-*al public, and that the suggesiioa contained m the memorial would receive consideration. It ws not tbe intention of the department to make tbe scale for small lots prolvbitory ; on the contrary, it was dcs"red to secure more traffic, and give greater faeiities for sending small consignments of goods under lewfc. Tbe charges givenin the cases quoted iv the memorial appeared too higb.a^d they would beimneliately inqu'red into, for possibly a wrong rate bad been changed m conse(U'^ceof a clerical error. L oited c a afPcat'on, for geoeral me "chaud'se would give greater satisfaction, and bis recommendation to the head of tbe Department would bo as much as possible m this direction. The principal gvievarce m regard to the new rates appeared to be that fractions m weight were charged to the next cwt. For example, if a package weighed -lewt. 41b, it was charged as much as if it weighed ?cwt. This was only done m the case of ' small lota.' He believed that if the charges were according to tbe aciual weight, they would give eat^f.-c on.'' It would appear that the Greneral Manager of Railways m Dunedin, is quite cjnvcrsait with the defects of which we complain. Theuufairuess of charging for 2 cwt of goods when perhaps, only a fraction over 1 cwt. is carried isso clear, that, we think the Govern went cannot hesitate m ordering and effecting a'l alteration m the present system.