The Dominion. THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 1910. THE RAILWAYS STATEMENT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 898, 18 August 1910, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 1910. THE RAILWAYS STATEMENT.

In tho opening' paragraph of his Railways Statement, which he presented to Parliament yesterday, Mr. Millar says that the operations in the year 1909-10, "when compared with those of tho previous year, have on the whole been exceedingly satisfactory." It would, have been strango indeed if the year's working had not justified this claim, since the results for the year. 1908-9 were measured by the actual money loss, tho very worst in the history of New Zealand. Mr. Millar might justly have claimed a good deal more than an jmprovenient on that unpleasant showing. The "net profit on working" was 3.80 per cent, as against 3.13 per cent in 1908-9, and the percentage of working expenses to earnings 60.76 per cent as against .72.19 per cent. Speaking generally, tho year was the best for many years, and to that extent Mr. Millar and the country are to be congratulated. But this may be said .without prejudicing the counter-claim, which we present as 'firmly as ever, that even so the results arc far short' of what the public has a right to expect —far short of the results that good management could achiqvo without doing a pennyworth of injury to the railway-users or the railway employees. The betterment is almost entirely due to a very large increase in the revenue, and only in a very small measure to the application of the principle of economy in the management.. The increase in the "net profit in working" amounted to £265,005, which is due to the fact that while the expenditure increased by £54,659 the revenue increased by £320,264. To get in more revenue, it may.be urged, greater expenditure is necessary; but it is a commonplace of railroading that revenue from passengers and coaching may largely increase without, involving any appreciable increase in working expenses. It is merely the, difference between half empty wagons and sparely-occupied carriages and nearly full wagons and cars. ■■ But last year's Statement made it perfectly clear that within limits revenue and expenditure may vary quite independently of each other. For, in that Statement, it was shown that a vast in-, crease in .expenditure and in trainmileage resulted in practically no increase at all in tho net'revenue.

It is sufficient to say of the earnings that they increased by a sum just about double the increase,recorded a twelve-month ago. Of more importance is the expenditure. To keep the' increase down to '£54,659 seems, on the surface, to be a satisfactory, result in a system in which the annual increases! have averaged nearly £120,000 in the decade ended 1009, but an analysis of the train-mile figures presents the position in quite another light. The train-milo is the vital unit-in railroad accounting, and these ure the figures for 1909-10 and 1908-9: . 1908-9. .1909-10. Pence. Pence. Earnings' 91 98.75 Expenses' 67.89 65.84 Net earnings .... 26.11 32.91.' Two-thirds of the net improvement i 3 due to the.recovery of trade and business as shown in the revenue. One-third is due to a reduction in the cost of. working_ a train-mile. There were, infinitesimal _ decreases per unit under the headings "Departmental offices, 11 "head office," "traffic 1 ' and "carriages and wagons," .and an.increase under the heading "locomotive. 11 But there was a decrease of 2.25 penes under the heading of "maintenance." In the general totals there is an increase everywhere excepting in maintenance, on which £36,146 less was expended. The Minister declares that the lines have been efficiently maintained. If that .is so, then there has been gross waste under this head in the past. Certainly it, is very poor economy to cut at maintenance before touching anything else. A point worth.noting is that the only other direction in which a saving has been made has been, in the repairs of carriages'and wagons. We trust that when the opportunity offers those members who care about railways finance will ask Mr. Millak for a clear explanation of the reason why locomotive power keeps on costing more per trainmile each year. A little study of tho tables appended to the Statement will be study well spent.

We turned with special interest to the Minister's observations upon his visit to Australia, and we were not a little amused to find that. Mn. MiiitAK has greatly moderated his remarks- about the- system which lie controls. Ho says, it is true, that the New Zealand system "compares favourably" with the railway systems in other parts of the world, but he hedges •it round with such a palisado of qualifications and irrelevances and begged questions that his claim becomes almost meaningless. He sums_ up this portion of his Statement with the following sentence, which wo give with careful attention to his commas:

Taking into consideration all the natural difficulties existing in Now Zealand, and also the fact that no system of railway management is successful .in giving universal satisfaction, I venture, after impartially surveying Australia from a railway point of view, to express tho opinion that having regard to tho consideration given to the producers' interests, and the extent to which our railw'nvs have during the past fifteen years of "State management in New Zealand been used as a means of developing tho Dominion, tho New Zealand system will compare favourably with tho railway systems in other parts of tho world, and I have no hesitation in saying that in no part of the world does the question of the safety of the travelling public receive more careful consideration.

Could anything he more confused? Or more meaningless 1 The only comment that,one need make is this: that "the natural difficulties" in New Zealand do not exist. Mn. Millar says in another passage that "there is no doubt" that all the States he visited "possess advantages over this Dominion." And this although it is a notorious fact that New Soalaijd u nil oxtvaordm-

nrily good rcVL'.iuic held. For' the year 1908-9 (the latest year for which 'tho ■ figures are available) the revenue per train-mile in New South Wales was 80.06 pence, as against 91 pence in the Dominion. In New Zealand in 1909-10 it was 98.75 ponce. And Mit. Millar groans about the "advantages" of New South Walts (where, by the way, the net railway return was 4.45 per cent, a result that provided £388,892 in relief of the taxpayers' general burden). Still, on the whole, there is evidence of improvement, although the railways show another considerable loss, for, while the "net profits" this year pay tho interest bill, they do. so only because £318,090, which, in all the circumstances should have come out of revenue, was charged to capital.