The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 1886. RAILWAY MANAGEMENT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1397, 3 November 1886, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 1886. RAILWAY MANAGEMENT.

Twice during the reign of the StoutVogel administration in the speech wilh which the Governor has opened the annual deliberations of Parliament. “ My advisers’ have placed in the mouth of His Excellency references to the desirableness of the management of the railways by a Board of Commissioners, and more than once the Hon Mr Richardson has, in his place in the House, expressed his own belief in the advisableness of this course. Indeed towards the close of the session before last a Railway Commissioners Bill was drafted and circulated but not proceeded with, and it is understood that it was not again brought forward last session mainly because Ministers desired to watch the results of the experiment of Victoria in the same direction before committing the colony to a similar course. If we remember correctly the Victorian railways were placed under the management of a Board of Commissioners something less than two years ago, and it is interesting to enquire what has been the result of its operations. That result, then, appears to be of the most satisfactory kind, the report of the Commissioners, for the year ended June 30, 1886 showing the following results. The revenue from traffic for the twelve months is given as £2,329,126, while the working expenses were £1,310,587, leaving a balance of £1,018,588, which sufficed to cover all interest and charges upon the railway loans and left a surplus of profit in aid of the general revenue of the colony of no less than £61,483. The total amount expended on the railways opened, or in construction, at 30 June last was .-£24,357,813, and the amount of indebtedness for borrowed capital £22,980,153, the year’s interest upon which was £957,106. All this has been provided for out of the nett earnings of the lines, leaving a credit balance of over £61,000, as stated, the nett revenue being “ equal to 4-31 per cent upon the total capital expended upon the lines opened, and to 477 per cent upon the total debenture capital expended upon such lines.” That this very excellent outcome is due to correspondingly good management is evident from the fact that the results for the year 1885-6 are over .£IOO,OOO better than those for the year 1884-5, net revenue for the last named period having been £40,000 below the sum required to defray the interest charges. And it has been brought about by adapting the freight charges to the requirements of the business of the clients of the railways and by economical management. Reductions in charges, equal to £IOO,OOO a year, have been made, and the gross revenue has been increased by £ 147, 1 94, while the expenditure has only been increased by £33,112. The number of passengers shows an increase of 7,697,012, and the tonnage of goods and live stock an increase of 451,734 tons, the figures being—passengers 1884-5,34,814,002; 1885-6,42,511,014; goods and livestock, 1884-5, 2,272,361 tons; 1885-6, 2,724,095 tons. VVe thus arrive at the fact that the business of the railways has been increased by wise administration, while, by the same means, the cost of their management has been decreased. Verily there is a startling contrast here to the results of the present management of railways in New Zealand, and as it is fair to argue that the difference of result is largely due to the difference of system, the conclusion is unavoidable that the sooner we take a leaf out of the book of Victoria the better. As things are going railway matters we, in New Zealand, are but going from bad to worse, and it has long been evident that a radical change in the administration of our railways is imperatively neces-

sary. That change it is vain to look for under any Government so long as Minister after Minister permits himself to be trammeled and bound by the red-tape of the department, and persists in travelling in the old,well-worn grooves so dear to officialdom, and it is high time that Parliament determined that there shall be an entirely new departure to which the experience of Victoria clearly points the way.