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Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 668, 19 November 1909, Page 6

UNKNOWN

The comments of our Southern friends on the monthly railway , returns in last night's Gazette should be interesting. On October 25, discussing the loturns for the four weeks ending September , 18, we quoted figures to enow that the North Island lines had made their usual springtime beginning to produce the usual annual superiority over the Southern lines. The figures now available, covering the four weeks ended October IC, show that the movement upwards has been intensified. We may quote again the tables we printed to show the results for the fourweekly period ending' September 18 last and the corresponding period in 1908: Period. Period. 1908: . ; .: 1909 . Increase, Southern linos— £ £ £ Net return ... 15.70G 15,865 159 Northern lines— , , Net return ... 20,326 21,111 818 The following table shows the earning power of tho two groups during the four weeks ended September 18: Not Net return Hil6s return per mile. open. J2 '" £ "K'd. South 1,550 15,805 10 4 8 North 1,135 21,144 18 12 G That the movement has continuod will be evident when we point out , . bhaM for the four weeks ending' October 16, the net returns in 1908 and 1909 wero as follow: 1 • - Period. * Period. i . „ 1908. 1909. Decrease. Southern lines— £ ' • £, £ Net return 22,557 20,305 2,192 Northern lines— ' -Increase. Net return > 18,051 21,717 3,066 'Tho net return from the Southern lines for the period is actually less than it was in 1908. The gross revenue in that island actually shrunk by over .Esoool—from £110,908 to £105,476. The gross revenuo on the Northern lines roso by over £17,000 —from £91,360 to £108,638. Of this £17,000, however, £13,000 was swallowed up in increased working expenses. The , one grain of comfort in the Southern ! slump is the fact that tho heavy fall in gross revenue was accompanied by a fall in working expenses. As before wo give a table to show the relative earning power of the two groups;

■ }■:'■■: : ■■Notfeturp ' ■ ■:••• :, ■„ ' ' •■; Miles ,-:.-. return. . porihilo. ;,.■ v --• '■open. ?.■;.'• '■■■•£('■;■■ : £ e.i. ■North .....„..;..... 1,133 r 21(717 19 2 8 Souths ............... 1,571:.;:-:■ ■■;20,365.■.■;■; 12.• 0- 6 : These figurcsspeakfor themselves. ~-',','".

In Parliament yesterday a member of the Ministry asserted that-if the Morm Party, came' into power they would>reduce wages to 3s. a day, T.his is a ridiculous story that is rather popular witli; a certain class of Government supporter. That it.is too grotesque Jto ' gain- any credenoe, or gain a single vote: for- the Government, .does not atfect the; impropriety, to use a mild term, of uttering it. An English example % to this' political method has lately been attracting some attention, 'The Radicals there aro stated.to have been posting agents outside the oldage pensions offices with instructions to assure the pensioners that if tho : Unionists get into power the old-age, pensions will bo abolished* Mr. Balfour wrote a letter, ■ which was published throughout the press, indignantly condemning'. these "unscrupulous and degraded methods'' of political warfare, and he expressed the hope that the Radical leaders would dis- , courage the system of lying; ; The fiction refused to withdraw in the face of per , , eistent denials; and~one .member of the Government, , ; Mr.\ Alexander ,Uke, ■ repeated it in hisspeecßes. The Westminster Gapdtc, .the. best Radical .paper, in London,' was unable' to let the matter pass as lightly as our own Radical newspapers .allow the "3s. a day" fiction to.pass. It protested against Mr. Uue's metnbds and said that his language . "justified Me. Balfour's complaints as'ito LiljeralVmisrepresentation of the Unionists on ' this point." The best comment that' can :be offered upon such statements is an" extract from an article in,a British Radical paper of recent, date. "Where,"- it said, referring to a statement by the Imperial Maritime League that tho British Govornmont > has nearly ruined. the Navy for party purposes, "where is this thing going to end) Must pojitics fall into the hands of-those who consider no'means too dishonourable to gain a party end 1 and that lie alone be reprehensible -■ that is found out before' the election is over A'. If so, it is, that that is going, to bring the country we love to the dust." : ;:; , ,

Some publicity given : in ■ the South to our own and Mr. Heiuiies's recent: discussions of Australasian railway roanagemont has greatly disturbed the official Government organ in. Ohristchurch.. Our contemporary has brought forward some flguree of its 1 own, the acoura'cy: or. inaccuracy of which does not .matter, since they i are" quito irrelevant ./in, any;caso. •We only call attention ■. to. the article in question to note its evidonce of tho hope'leashe3B of the. task beforp,' tho defenders of our.railways management; ■'For it-is a perfoct .example of evading the issuc, and evading it openly/and weakly; For example,, pnr contemporary • begins -by Saying qnite truly, that the recent ;comparißbna betTOeathß'balance-sheflte'of th 6

New Zealand railways and the railways of Australia have been made "for the purpose of showing the superiority of management by commissioners." Immediately afterwards, however, it .says: "Wo do not want to diecuss the respective merits of Ministerial management and commissioner management just- now." Of course not. Yet it is really the solo poirfi at issue.; Our contemporary blunders along, but finds that it "cannot go 'iar without meeting another obstacle,, in the shape of the "three per cent." policy. As before, this unlucky defender of the indefensible frankly evades the issuo with the observation: "We do not even want to discuss the soundness of this policy at present." Once again, of course not. Tho public must not conclude from this that the phristchurch paper is .clumsy or stupid, for as a matter of fact it is the cleverest of the Government's organs. Obviously, the case for the railways administration must be hopeless indeed when its most ingenious apologist cannot write ten lines in its defence without giving the' case away, quite openly.

The Prime Minister's speech which closed the Financial Debate on Tuesday evening was really: a' very good' party speech., He made quite a number of of-] fective points, but, unfortunately, in his references to Messes. .Allen ana Herdman he allowed his feelings to carry him too far, and tho tone of uis remarks fitted ill with the dignity of his office, No doubt the two members in question are vciy searching critics, and it must be as»'_med from the attitude which tho Pmme Minister almost invariably adopts to wards them that their criticism penetrates rather more- than.6kin deep. He would be wise, however, to bear; in mind that bjis extreme heat,is likely to : cause com--tnent and concentrate attention. on. critio|sms: which it would be to hisadvantage to have forgotten. One remark" of the Piiijib' Minister's was a rather rash" de-' claration. ; "Mr. Allen," he said, "could not find a single instance wherein he; the speaker, had-misled the House ; with his financial* judgment," ' Bie Joseph a-mo-ment before had been preaching \at Mr. HEupMAN-on the virtue, of humifijjy! i Mr. AjuJSN, no doubt; could; direct "attention to the failure of the Minister for .Finance in the direction challenged on'a .good taany 'occasions. .We, however,'in the cause of humility,' would as may he interested to' the Budget of 1908, which- concluded with, these words : =

"With energy, and enterprise, duly tempered •by prudence-equalities for which New: Zealanders have never been found wanting—l- am confident that the financial result of the current year will, be as satisfactory: as the last."' Let us see how far this forecast, wag realised. 1 Here are the .figures from .the Budgets of :1908' and ' 1909 for the years' stated :—•-';./■"..' ■,f •:•-■. ; ■.-■■••.■• . ■:::.■>{-'-■ 1907-08. ,:,• 1908-09. ■ '■■■ : v -.•■;:■.■"■■"■ •" /■'.■ :'-'■■.:-&" ■:. Balance brought: forward ;. ; ■:.;..-..':• ;.. ,- At,rill „.....;:.................:-'717.825 767,849 Revenue and other receipts 9,083,989 9,001,985 i Expenditure during: year .8,213,965 , .'8,785,513 Excess or receipts over :■■.*■ ■;-..' ■:..;■." : ~ •expenditure .'......:..... v..'..'; '850,024 :.: 216,172 Traneferto Publio Works .-,.'.' '-■",- -, ■:'■:. ;-Pund; : ........:...v..;;;.,....V..: 800,000 /800,000 ! Balance March 31 ...h»»-";"7P,8«.;r v. 184,321 Our readers' can: see for themselves' that ■Sir Joseph Ward-. was .very'rash;in issuv urig>hiß.;.ctfalle'nge.'.. The,-figures speak forthemselves; and show that his prophecy that the-financial .result of the current' yfiar, ; :i9oß-09jwould ; ;be; as satisfactory as. the .'p'revious- year' , ' proved;' very mislead-; ing;, .The .revenue" dropped; expenditure' surplus ioll' away; by: nearly. Apparently, however, .tho. lesson of >his failure' has not, taught Siß l Joseph that'; humility whichvho: preached so; eloquently.to tho. member, for Wellington Northi j.Biit: for, tho'. blpmishes ; men-: in -hie best,style,'.and- he'ina'de'Uhe 1 inoet of, tho-points 'put forwarUiin;- defence of, I ; , ..^;':';.^;;;';-':';>>..';.