EXCESSIVE SHORT DISTANCE RATES 26 1 



now is to bring producer and consumer together, the 

 policy of the railways has been to throw everything into 

 the hands of the middlemen by the heavier charges on 

 small traffic. 



It has been strongly represented that recent legisla- 

 tion instead of decreasing has increased the pressure of 

 railway rates on agriculture. 



Mr H. H. Scott says : " The railway companies have 

 accentuated the depression by raising rates." " The 

 companies seem to ignore the principle that such high 

 rates of carriage strangle trade." 



Mr William Smith, late M.P., points out that mischief 

 has resulted from home rates having remained at the 

 same level, while foreign freights have been steadily 

 falling. Thus Californian freights have fallen from 80s 

 to as low as 17s 6d or 20s per ton, but railway rates 

 from Lincolnshire remain practically the same. The 

 result is that it is impossible for millers to use Lincoln- 

 shire wheats to mix with foreign wheats. 



Excessive short-distance rates are very generally 

 complained of, and recent legislation has made them 

 even worse than before. The absence of competition is 

 the usual pretext. 



In the south-west of Scotland, Mr Speir states that 

 the inequalities are so great that farmers are often 

 compelled to cart to more distant stations to avoid the 

 higher rates. He adds : " Consignments, as a rule, to 

 and from farms are small, and seldom over very long 

 distances, but the rates under 2 tons are excessive and 

 handicap farmers very much." 



Very serious complaints have reached us from 

 districts where fruit and vegetables are the staple 

 products.! 



Mr Olver said that the heavy rates on early potatoes, 

 and other vegetables and flowers, seriously restrict the 

 growth of these crops. 



Mr Woodward, speaking of the vale of Evesham, 

 stated that " the railway rates are a great drawback. 

 Our heaviest item is the carriage of the produce to the 

 ' A. Spencer, Oxfordshire, &c., pp. 13, 38. 



