From Our Australian Correspondent.
Page 13
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The general subject of transport in N.S.W. is in considerable prominence at present, owing to the'dreadful state of congestion of the railways ; not only are many lines to he duplicated, but alternative routes are urgently desired. Under the circumstances, one really marvels that the Government continues to set its face against the use of motors, with which much might be done to relieve the congestion. At the time of writing, the Chief Commissioner, Mr. T. R. Johnson, is on his way to England, and one wonders whether he will realize the position of the commercial motor today. In the meantime, money is being squandered on useless tramways, whilst many necessary railway works are being ' hung up,' for want of it and of labour. One important duplication is practically at a standstill for the want of labourers, yet the Government continues to refuse to recognize the advantages of the commercial motor. It is a well-known fact, that there are people in Covernment employ who do not desire the advent of these machines—for fear that they might prove too useful, and so might do them out of their billets. They might just as well try to stop the flowing tide: their action will ultimately have the same effect, although, at the moment, it is occasioning loss and delay.
When recently visiting Melbourne, I was led to wonder again why it is that each town or district must be left to gain its own experience, instead of profiting by the operations at othjr places. Melbourne is popularly supposed to he the most go-ahead town in Australia. yet, whilst Sydney and Brisbane each contains a fair number of motor vehicles, Melbourne is sadly lacking in that respect: on the other hand, the last-named town has quite a number of touring cars in use for business purposes. As Melbourne seems such an ideal city for the commercial motor, in that its streets are broad and well paved, it seems a pity that the development of commercial motors shonld hang fire. The natural seTIPT1C0 should be a slump in motor transport generally, but this I do not anticipate, as several appropriate industrial vehicles are about, and, when the touring cars have been weeded out, the business should again proceed well enough. In conversation with Mr. Shields, the local Dennis agent, he told me that he had just placed a 30 cwt. Dennis vehicle and anticipated selling mere when they arrived. Other agents report that practically no business is being done, but hope for an improvement during the next few months. In Sydney, on the other hand, all firms interested in the commercial motor are more than full up with orders, and only wish they could get delivery more rapidly.
In this connection, the City Council has moved at last, and has placed an order in England with Leyland Motors, Ltd., for three of that maker's well-known petrol lorries, and all the wheels are to be shod with Polack tires. This is as it should be, and I trust that further municipal and Government orders will follow.
I am naturally interested in any statements about Australia, and particularly in Mr. Ifisto»e's remarks, with some of which I cordially agree
whilst some of the others suggest that he is rather mixed in his mind respecting touring and commercial cars. His remarks respecting working costs and Australian agencies are entirety in accord with my own, and I would like to emphasize the fact that, although running costs are some 30 per cent. higher here than in England, the cost of running horse vehicles is also infinitely greater, and is, in fact, some 75 per cent. to SO per cent. higher than in England, so that the prospects of motor haulage are as sound here as at home. It is with his remarks respe-cting physical conditions and supplies that I am not entirely in accord; how on earth Mr. Instone can suggest that the streets of the cities are practically as well paved, maintained and engineered as are those at home, I cannot think. So far as Melbourne and Brisbane are concerned, such assertions might be permitted to pass unchallenged, although I cannot entirely agree, but Sydney (and it was in that town I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. .Instone)! It is impossible to let such a statement pass. The few— very few—streets which exist in Sydney under the City Council, are, in some cases, well paved for short stretches, but little care is taken to keep them in repair, whilst, except in a few cases, the cambers are not only monstrous but really dangerous. The rest of the thoroughfares are railways, and these are in the hands of the Government, but along their sides a certain amount of other traffic is allowed to pass. The lines (literally railway lines) are kept, altered and repaired as the tramway authorities see fit, and places exist where even the unwary motorist may get his wheels jammed, to say nothing of the miserable cyclists whose lives are in great danger whenever riding along these thoroughfares. The protruding rails have such sharp knife edges, that even cab tires have little more than half the life in Sydney that they have in Melbourne. As for the suburban roads in Sydney, they can only be described as disgraceful, and, although the foundations are good, the surfaces are impossible for anything in the nature of fast running. For the rest, I knew of roads two, three and four hundred miles from Sydney, which are quite practicable for commercial motors if run at a reasonable speed, and in this connection I would point out that coaches generally travel but very little over four miles an hour, whilst wool teams and other vehicles used for heavy transport travel only between two-and three miles an hour, so that motor wagons running at speeds of from five to ten miles an hour would reduce the time of transport by one half, and there is, consequently, no danger of excessive repair bills unless higher speeds are attempted. In the matter of petroleum spirit, Mr. Instone appears also to be rather mixed, and seems to have given the retail price for naphtha, which has a specific gravity of .693. At the moment of writing, the spot price in Sydney, to users of commercial motors. for the spirit that in England is called motor spirit, is is. 20., whilst the .760 spirit may be purchased for Ts. OW. In the farthest country districts not more than 3a. a gallon would have to be added, so that the highest price that a user would have to pay for .760 spirit would be Is. 3.,(1. From that he would get a reduction of something like 1701. a gallon on the sale of tins and cases. I also have the hest possible reason for saying that a reduction on these prices will be effected within 12 months from the time of writing.