I . : •' A RAILWAYS COMPARISON,

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 582, 10 August 1909, Page 4

A RAILWAYS COMPARISON.

We have been much interested, in the. last few days to notice that while the Ministerial press has given a proper prominence to the interesting statements of 'Messrs. Beauciiamp, Duthie, and Baume on their return from Australia, it has carefully suppressed the praise which they'all bestowed on this Commissioner-'' managed railways of New South Wales! By way of supplement to the unqualified' preference of these gentlemenfor nonpolitical cpntrol of tho railways, we may quote some interesting facts and figures respecting the working of those railways for the year ended June 30 lastj the offi-cial-report upon which came tohand last night, together with the comments of the Sydney newspapers. The capitalist of the, railways stands at £47,612,666. ,The earnings amounted to £5,028,450, and the working expenses to, £2,075,626, leaving a net profit 'on working amounting to Aitor paying the interest on

capital,' amounting to £1,686,734, the Commissioner was able- to hand over to the Consolidated Fund no less a sum than £388,892. This excellent result was achieved despite the fact that reductions in the -rates were made in January to the extent of £60,000 per annum. Nor were the concessions confined to the public. The 25,000 odd employees received during the year concessions and. advances amounting to £207,587. Moreover, no® less a sum. than £1,213,943 was paid out of rovenue in .maintenance, and repairs and renewals of rolling stock. Most remarkable of all, the increase of £1,929,182 in the capital cost, instead of being fur-, nished out of loan money, was partly supplied out of the State revenue. The sum of £512,154 was thus applied. The State is actually building railways out of revenue! And'in New Zealand they cannot even : be maintained except with the aid of borrowed capital! To comparo in detail this result of nonpolitical management with, the depressing result of political control as it works lin New Zealand may perhaps be unnecessary. But the Comparison is valuable for purposes of reference. The position presents itself thus: New, South New , Wales. Zealand. (1807-8 figures.) Construction out of State revenue *£512,184 nil Upkeep charged ' to loans nil £243,261 Relief to Consoli- • dated Pond £388,892 nil Burden on tax- •'•. payer for deficit nil £190,387 (at least) P«roentage of net profit on work-,. • < . ing to capital... £4 Bs. lid. £365.8 d. Percentage. of ' l working expenses to earnings ... 58.72 70.59 "The traffic" of the New South Wales railways, Bays the. Sydney Telegraph, bearing, out the observations of Messrs. Beauchamp, Duthie, and Batjme, "was well conducted, and the chargqs for upkeep and renewal very substantial." "It would seem," Bayß the Herald, that the result ."supplies an effective answer to those who are opposed to 'borrowing for reproductive works." And it is quite certain; that the result supplies ample proof that only non-political control can make railway expenditure reproductive. We leave these'figures to speak for. themselves. Can any sane person come jto any other conclusion than that they amount to a final and unanswerable proof that the sooner this country itself ol political railway control the better 1