Sept. 18.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 2963

Commission to inquire into and report respecting the Curtailment of the Train Services on 2nd July, 1919, and whether the same was due to the Rolling-stock having been allowed to fall into a State of Disrepair and not due to the Shortage of Coal for Railway Purposes.

LIVERPOOL, Governor-General.

To all to whom these presents shall come, and to JOSEPH PRIME MAXWELL, Esquire, of Wellington; JAMES MARCHBANKS, Esquire, of Wellington; and WILLIAM DUFFUS HUNT, Esquire, of Wellington: Greeting.

WHEREAS it is desirable that inquiry should be made respecting the curtailment of the train services which took place on the New Zealand Government Railways on the second day of July, one thousand nine hundred and nineteen:

Now, therefore, I, Arthur William de Brito Savile, Earl of Liverpool, the Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand, in exercise of the powers conferred by the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1908, and of all other powers and authorities enabling me in this behalf, and acting by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of the said Dominion, do hereby constitute and appoint you the said

JOSEPH PRIME MAXWELL,
JAMES MARCHBANKS, and
WILLIAM DUFFUS HUNT

to be a Commission to inquire into and report upon the following matters:—

1. The condition of the rolling-stock on the 2nd July, 1919.

2. Whether such rolling-stock has been maintained in a good and efficient condition, and whether proper provision has been made for the upkeep and renewal thereof.

3. Whether the number of engines, carriages, and wagons under repair on the 2nd July, 1919, was excessive.

4. Whether any Inspector or other officer having charge of rolling-stock and responsible for its condition has reported adversely on the condition and upkeep of the rolling-stock.

5. Whether the curtailment of train services made on the 2nd July, 1919, was due to the unsafe condition of the rolling-stock.

6. Whether an excessive number of engines, carriages, and wagons has been passed through the repair shops since 2nd July, 1919.

7. Whether the curtailment of train services was brought about solely by shortage of coal, and what reserve stock of coal was held by the Department on the 2nd July, 1919.

8. The causes to which the depletion, if any, of stocks of coal was due.

9. Whether proper diligence and foresight was exercised by the Railway Department in obtaining coal-supplies to meet its requirements.

10. Whether the Department was brought under the jurisdiction of the Coal Trade Committees or other authorities under the Coal Trade Regulations and rationed in the same way as other industries; and, if so, whether the Department regularly kept such Committees or authorities apprised of its requirements.

11. Whether the Department used its organization in co-operation with such Committees or authorities for the purpose of obtaining coal and maintaining stocks for railway purposes.

12. Whether all the coal obtained for and allocated to the Railway Department under the Coal Trade Regulations was delivered to the Department, and whether and to what extent coal allocated for railway purposes was diverted to other industries.

13. Whether the diversion of coal from the railways to other industries detrimentally affected the position of the railway coal reserves.

14. Whether the Railway Department kept closely in touch with overseas coal-suppliers with a view to supplementing supplies obtained through the Coal Trade Committees.

15. Whether the staff of the Department was of sufficient strength on the 2nd July, 1919, to have enabled the ordinary time-table in operation on that date to be maintained had other conditions been satisfactory.

16. Whether the restrictions imposed on the carriage of passengers and goods were essential.

17. Whether the curtailment made in the train services was due to causes other than shortage of coal.

And, with the like advice and consent, I do further appoint you

JOSEPH PRIME MAXWELL

to be the Chairman of the said Commission.

And you are hereby authorized to conduct any inquiries under these presents at such times and places as you deem expedient, with power to adjourn from time to time and place to place as you think fit, and to call before you and examine on oath, or otherwise, such persons as you think capable of affording you information as to the matters aforesaid, and to call for and examine all such documents as you deem likely to afford you information on any such matters.

And using all due diligence you are required to report to me under your hands and seals not later than the twentieth day of October, one thousand nine hundred and nineteen, your opinion on the aforesaid matters.

And you are hereby strictly charged and directed that you shall not at any time publish or otherwise disclose, save to me in pursuance of these presents or by my direction, the contents or purport of any report so made or to be made by you.

And it is hereby declared that the powers and authorities conferred on you by these presents may be exercised by any two or more of you.

And it is hereby further declared that these presents shall continue in force although the inquiry is not regularly continued from time to time or from place to place.

And, lastly, it is hereby further declared that these presents are issued under and subject to the provisions of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1908.

Given under the hand of His Excellency the Right Honourable Arthur William de Brito Savile, Earl of Liverpool, Member of His Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Member of the Royal Victorian Order, Knight of Justice of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in and over His Majesty’s Dominion of New Zealand and its Dependencies; and issued under the Seal of the said Dominion, at the Government House at Wellington, this eighteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and nineteen.

W. F. MASSEY,
Prime Minister

Approved in Council.

F. D. THOMSON,
Acting Clerk of the Executive Council.

GOD SAVE THE KING!