OUR RAILWAYS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2246, 4 September 1914, Page 7

OUR RAILWAYS

A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

MR. HILEY'S FIRST REPORT

TE ARO LINE CONDEMNED

LIST OF SUGGESTIONS

SHORTACE OF ENGINE POWER AND ROLLING STOCK.

'K highly interesting report on the Now Zealand railways and the working of them by Mr. E. H. Hiley, General Manager, was presented to the House of Representatives last - night.-. Mr. Hiley took office .as General Manager on November 1, 1913, and his report is dated August 1, 1914. Some of his criticism- -is approving, and some of it adverse,-and.he makes suggestions for improved the staff organisation, and for expenditure on material atid improvement of tehninal and other facilities, of : £3,250,000, spread over a. period-of five years. Ceneral Remarks, ','The conclusion arrived at after reviewing the railway situation in New Zealand," saidfMr. Hiley, "is'tliat the aystem has outgrown its present organisation. Established, no doubt, on sound lines in-the first instance, it is evident that " the rapid : growth of the . system land expansion of business has rendered the machinery for .traffic -control unequal to the demands, put upon them by existing circumstances. The staff requires to/be and the staff : arrangements remodelled in some case's. This is particularly necessary, in .the traffic branches. . "The' Department is short of enginepoweT and rolling stock for dealing promptly with the busings now offering. The terminal. accommodation is inadequate at several important centres, and a forward jjolicy is necessary in regard to duplication of congested suburban lines, regrading of main lines; bridgestrengthening,. and' additional, signalling equipment if the tjaffio of the Do: minion is to be fostefed and handled economically, safely, and expeditiously. ' Staff Organisation. ' , "It is apparent throughout the system : that the principal officers have to spend too . great a portion of their time / oh office routine duties instead of being ' ; able to : devote themselves t6 matters of principle affecting tho administration of their respective branches and obtaining .first-hand information as to the.re- ' quirements of the wide area served by the Government railways. ' This is dia-. tinotly detrimental to efficient control." The 'officers' themselves realise _ the importance of personally supervising such matters,-but aro debarred from doing, this to, the extent necessary owing .to the faot that they have not sufficient responsible assistants to carry on the routine! duties of tlie business during . the absence of the chief officers from ■ headquarters." This evil, as Mr. Hiley remarks, starts at the very fountain head, the General- Manager and his assistant being often immersed, in.; minutiae' and in routine duties that could very well be done by officers of lower grade. These officials should be free to devote them* selves, to general'.administration and management, and to this end the Head Office'staff should -bereorganised. He declares that the present designation of Mr. R. W. M'Yilly'as chief.clerk is. en-, t-irely. a misnomer,, that he is and has been'for ■ several years in effect Assist-ant-General Manager, and that ho ■" should lie given this title., He insists that the General 'Manager and the branch officers ought to travel frequently, so as to keep in touch with the'publio and the railway staff, and s to bo able to form from direct personal observation, their own conclusions as to'the manner in wh'Yh the railway business is being conducted, and. the efficiency o f • this staff in different localities. , Traffic Control. "When reviewing the method of traffic management on the New Zealand railways," says Mr. Hiloy, "[was forcibly struck by the lack of systematic outside supervision by responsible officers, yet in no branch of railway business is personal supervision so essential. In this branch the traffic has completely outgrown the existing organisation, and the strengthening and remodelling of the Chief Traffic Manager's and District Traffic Managers' offices must be undertaken to put matters on a'satisfactory. fobtmg. TJndor the existing arrangements not-only is there an insufficiency of outside supervision, but control from indoors is restricted owing to the limited amount of information recorded regarding traffic operationn. Ip..order to provide for improved outside supervision I recommend the strengthening of the staff of the Chief Traffic Manager's office by the appointment of an Assistant Traffic Manager, a position* that can be filled by Mr. Piper, at present Traffic Superintendentin the North Island. - The appointmenii of an assistant will enable, the necessary additional outside supervision to be given without interfering with tho other important duties 'of the Chief Traffic Manager's office. I nlsr> recommend the strengthening of the District Traffic Managers offices in Auckland. Wellington, Cliristchurcb and Dnnedin bv the appointment of Assistant District Trnfnc Managers, such officials to be regardedas assistants. for outdoor truflio ' n, 0 " 1 ?' On .the other hand, under the scheme outlined, the nositions of Traffic Superintendents will be abolished. Oie of tho reforms which Mr. Hiley hones may he achieved bv the of the Traffic Managers' in' , }' lme records of trains nrLrft m °l ? CloS -J, 7 , watcl r s . "Id more prompt notion will bo taken to, seciiro punctuality in running. A.Commercial Agent. One of the suggestions made by the General Manager is that a new officer a commercial agent, shall be appointed to induce new business for tho railwav». J. he duty of the agent will be to increase the_ sale of transport by everv and he will usually bo romewhat at variance with the Traffic Manager's economical views. The Traffic Manager, by reason of his trainnig in economics, naturally views schemes involving additional train servicesor facilities with disfavour, and the bait of additional business with scepticism. The Commercial Agent, oil the other hand, will lend a ready ear to proposals in regard to new trade. He will act as_the sympathetic advocate of tho public at anv discussion between - departmental officials as to revised train services, questions of rating, improvement or increase of rolling-, stock, or any other means by which passenger ot goods business can in his opinion be attracted to the railway. Tho officer controlling traffic working Inay be a pessimist as far as suggestions from_the public are concerned, tho Com mercial A s;ent should be an ontimist of a pronounced description.- The Traffic officer may ho trusted to act as an effective brake upon the Commercial Agent when the Jatter's efforts tend to spoil tho average of operating costs or loading returns. The function of the General Manager is to hold the balance between these two extremists. It will not be harmful to the General Manager to liavo attached to his staff a respon-

sible officer whose role is advocate for the customers of the Railway Department. - / • Other Appointments 'Recommended. •Mr. Hiley* also recommends tho ap. pointment of an assistant _ inspecting engineer to reliov'o the oliief engineer of a number of routino duties,. and thereby to. enable the chief engineer to dovote more time to personal supervi- . sion of the important works' in progress -in the maintenance branch, or to making outdoor inspections. In order to relieve tlio 'chief engineer still further, he proposes to hand over sole control of tlie signalling and interlocking systems to!tho signal engineer, who is now attached to,tlio chioi cngineßi 8 staff. He. says that an assistant signal engineer should be api>ointed, and' that as thoro is no. officer in the New Zealand railway service, who has bad the training requisite, he recommends that, applications for the pusition he ■ called for abroad, the salary, to commence- to bo £400 per year. Eduoatlon of Staff. "The absence of facilities and inducement to - oho members of the Railway staff to qualify themselves in the u ! S^ ei branches of education as relating to the railway profession struck me. very torcibly, says Mr. Hiley. . "Provision ex-! i3ts for orediting juniors who passi the I'ublic Service Examinations and in shorthand and typewriting with periods of pervice varying from six to twelve months, but beyond this nothing ia done to encourage men to study tne higher branches of railway, The position in this country is m strong contrast to that in other countries where the railways are conducted by private enterprise, and tlie companies subsidise schools of economics to conduot classes dealing' solely with railway subjects. Where railway competition exists the rivalry to .obtain traffic brings out the inventive faculties of the staff, resulting in the' introduction of the best practical methods of handling and inducing business. A study of these is the best possible education for the student m railway operations. - In Ivew Zealand the, State has practically a monopoly of tlie whole railway business, and I regard it as obligatory, on the Railway Department, in the interests of both tlio State and the employees, : to provide in a practical way facilities for tho education of its staff in the fundamental principles of efficient and rp.il— nay operations.- Witli this eno in view I recommend that each year two candidates from the Locomotive and Civil Kn-. gineeringT Branches respectively _ at the age of twenty-three years be given a fcwo-years engineering course at Canter-, bury College, the Railway Department, paying their, full salaries and defraying college fees and costs of necessary books. Those desiring to compete for entrance to the College course would be required, after passing successfully the qualifying examination la-id down # in the regulations', to sit at a competitive examination, on the results of which the four candidates would be selected anmi ally. . ' Obsolete L'ooomotivßS. "In tho matter of upkeep the condition oi tho. locomotives, cars, and wagons and their equipment is most creditable.- The types at present in, the rajl.way workshops and. under contract in tlio-country are suitable and eatisfactory. , '•Tho locomotive stock, however, includes a considerable number of engines of types ,that are obsolete —altogether unsuitable for 'existing requirements. 'I'liey are deficient iii power and consequently costly to operate-. Their low tractive - power a:ud inability to take what is now considered a fair, load retard tho movement.of traffic, cause congestion, and,,add greatly to the: difficulties inseparable from single-line working. .Altogether some seventy-two engines of -various types come within, the scope of these remarks. It is imperative that thirty-three of these should be scrapped and replaced, at tho earliest possible moment: the balance .(thirtynine) being similarly treated as opportunity oilers, i'he present shortage of haulage power embarrasses the Department to a considerable extent, and emphasises the shortage of wagons.' No expenditure could-, make the engines to which I have referred efficient for pre-tont-day working, and it would be false economy ' to spend any ' considerable amount of money in overhauling, reboileving, or converting them. The manufacture of locomotives in New Zealand is confined to the Addington and Hillside, workshops End private workshops of Messrs. Price Bros., Thames. Each'of these workshops is .at present going at lull pressure building locomotives. The rato of output of new engines from this source is insufficient to. keep abreast of the current requirements. In' view of the seriousness of the position I am constrained reluctantly to recommend tho importation of twenty locomotives from abroad, ten of these to be Class A superheated simple engines similar to the New Zealand Railways Class A type, ten to bft-of the Garrett type (suitable for haußige on high . grades and sharp curves); if a contract for the Class A type is placed in America these engines can be delivered within a few months. A measure of relief of tho existing pressure will thus bo obtained at an early date. Passenger Cars. "The passenger accommodation is insufficient to meet the requirements of the traffic. There are a number of cars under Construction in the railwaj workshops,' and an effort will be made to increase the output. I am'.not obnvinced that'it is necessary at the present juncture' to go outside the Dominion for cars, and I am anxious.to avoid.this if possible. It would be uneconomical, to provide cars sufficient to meet the' heaviest demand made by rushes of traffic during the holiday season ; nevertheless, I am strongly of opinion that the : practice of withdrawing a. large number of wagons from traffic for utilisation as passenger vehicles is objectionable from both tho Departmental and the public point of view, and should bo gradually restricted. To supplement tho carriage stock for use at rush periods vehicles of a special type suitfable for the dual purpose of conveying passengers in cases of emergency and carrying goods at other' times have been designed, being, in an improved covered goods-van, with windows, ventilators, and lamps added. Vehicles of this type will provide more comfort when used in passenger service than tho tarpaulin-covered trucks at present in use. The usj of these vehicles will be extended if found suitablo for the business, as the day is far distant when the wholo of tho requirements of passenger traffic can be provided for with carriage stock. Tlie latest'types of passenger cars are designed on sensible lines, aro, comfortable, and well adapted to existing requirements. They aro not luxurious, and are sometimes adversely compared with tho passenger accommodation in tho Old Country. Such a comparison is unfair, unless it at the same time takes intoconsideration the difference between the passenger revenue of the two countries. The designs will be improved in somo respects, but there are many necessities which should bo provided on the New Zealand railways before wo indulgo in luxuries. , "The question of substituting electric lighting for gas on the main through trains is having consideration. Electric light lias obvious advantages, but its installation oil a. large scalo in New Zealand passenger trains would involve too sorious an expenditure to ho contemplated at the present timo. In order to arrive at the cost of fitting the principal express trains and deciding on tlio best system to bo adopted her© I have ordered complete electric-lighting nlant from the firms manufacturing the Lost-known systems. These will be fitted, in Now Zealand stock for experimental purposes, so that definite ' data can he obtained as to first cost of in-

stallation, cost of lighting s and upkeep, as compared with gas lighting." Mr. Hiley ' recommends improved methods of car-cleaning by vacuum method, stating that appliances and sheds for this work are included in the plans for the new stations at Welling- | ton,! Auckland, and Christchurch. Acoelerated Time-Tables. "The time-tablo to be Irought into force on November 1 vil: curtail materially the time cccupied in transit between Wellington and Auckland (1 hour 2o minutes) and Wellington and Napier (64 minutes), and effect somo improvement between Wellington and New Plymouth (30 minutes) and other stations i in tlio North Island, but it can only be regarded as a first revision. The time-tablo will again bo revised in a i few months from the -.lata already obtained and from actual exper ; eicq of the working of the November retiming. Additional crossing-places and some duplications are necessary, hs well as regradin'g, before a satisiacfory tlnovgh train'servioe can 1.0 run brtwy.n Wellington, and Auckland. In tl-o reiision now contemplated tho economy in time has been mainly effecisd b> saving time at stations and'by rearrangement of the schedule so that crossings - between opposing trains may be effected less I waiting timo. The data . obtained, which will bo useful for future timetable revisions, bring out very clearly the extent to which the running of tho so-called express trains is spoilt by stops at wayside.stations for odd passengers, to tho inconvenience of the majority. Stops at several stations of minor importance will liavo to be eliminated from the 'express trains before a satisfactory time-table can bo presented. Building New Railways. "The arrangements under which new railways are authorised and built ill the' Dominion, are, 1 would respectfully suggest, capable of considerable improvement. At the present time a now line is undertaken without any consultation With the Railway Department, and in consequence iflo only official estimate available before the country is committed to: additional expenditure is the Public Works .Engineer's estimate of tho cost of construction. The Department which will ultimately take over and work the new railway is not consulted as to the route, grades, and al/guweiit, nor are the plans submitted to it be-, fore the new line is commenced. No estimate is obtained-from tho Railway Department as to the cost of building the additional rolling stack required. No estimate,is made of tho annual cost in the shape oi working expenses, and no figures aro prepared by the Kaihvay Department as to the probable revenue from the proposed line, therefore no reliable calculation can bo made as to whether the net revenue yill represent a prolit or a loss. • "I believe I am correct in stating that there aro over twenty now railways in course of construction at the present time, and I submit that this is not an economical method of procedure. It must be obvious that if the work of construction was concentrated upouj say, five of these railways, the cost ot supervision would be' lower and tlio speed at which the railways would bo finished' and become traffic-hearing and revenue-earning' would bo at least four times as rapid. Over twenty uncompleted and unremunerative railways are a serious handicap to a comparatively small undertaking. Tho Working Railways Department is vitally interested in economical construction, because the expenditure ultimately becomes a portion of the capital upon which interest has to be earned." Heavy Grades. After general remarks upon the desirability of easy '■' gradients," Air:--Hiley goes on to say: • "Between Palmcrstoii Ncrth and Paokakariki. (61 miles) the existing gradients' are easy, the ruling grade being 1 in 100. Between Paekakariki and Wellington (27 miles) tlie load of southbound trains is- governed by a grade of 1 in' 53. and north-bound trains by a grade ot 1 in 35 out of Wellington. The capacity of this portion of the line is already very heavily taxed, and a means must be found at an , early date to relieve the position. No surveys have been made, but an examination of the country and information available indicate that it v would' be feasible to obtain an outlet for the Wellington traffic with' a ruling gradient of 1 in 100 between Wellington, and PaekakAriki by partial deviation of tiie line, 'duplication also being necessary.; To duplicate the existing line, retaining the heavy gradients, would bo a mistake if a grade ot 1 in 100 can be obtained by deviation at reasonable additional cost, in view of the large saving in operating expenses which would be effected thereby. . Although I have not included this work in the scheme of improvement to be undertaken immediately, because more urgent matters must have precedence I bring it under notice in order that the | project may receive consideration and the' country may be -surveyed reliable estimates prepared in readiness tor the time when the work must necessarily be put in hand. There is no gainsaying the fact that, the means of ' getting traffic- into and out of Wellington leaves milch to be desired. OtheT improvements recommended are the strengthening of' bridges on. the Main Trunk line'to eniblo them to carry the heaviest types of engines, duplications of lines t< avoid congestion of traffic, new stations at Auckland, Wellington, .Christchurch, Palmerston North, Hastings, Lyttelton and Timaru. ( New Wellington Station. ' 'The Wellington business Is at present carried on at two separate stations L»ot counting Te Aro), neither of which is laid out. in a/ manner conducive to economical or expeditious handluig, having been added to and patched as_increasing traffic has lue present method of working is inconvenient to tho public, whilst it is impossibly tor the Department to deal with the tralhc satisfactorily. It is estimated that the traffic to be handled in Wellington will, at the present rate of progress, doulilo itself in less than ten years, and as the stations aro now taxed to the utmost at busy periods, it . is clear that no time should be lost in providing the increased accommodation in a central position. 1 Plans have been prepared showing a 'passenger station fronting Bunny Street, and a goods station slightly farther to tlie north, with entrance off Waterloo Quay. Tho station is in an admirable position, considering the 1 area of ground required. It' is necessary that the station should be adjacent to the wharves, especially the Ferry Wharf, to facilitate the exchange of both passenger and goods traffic. The cost of Uie Wellington Central' Station is £475,000, anil the work will take five vcars to complete from date of commencement. . To Afo.Condemned. "The plan for tho Central Station does not contemplate tho continuanco of the To Aro Station,- and I propose that this branch lino be closed, the rails being taken up from Waterloo Quay, and the property occupied by To Aro Station sold as a credit towards tho expense of building tho new Central Station. I am awaro that there is a section in Wellington livipg in tho neighbourhood of Te Aro who not only wish the station to ho retained, but desire it enlarged to deal with goods business. I have received a deputation from that lection, and their wishes should be treated with every respect, hut I do not consider any caso has hcon mado out to justify tho continuance of a branch line through iho main street of the' town-to serve a terminus less than a milo from the Central Station. Tho sorting in Wellington of traffic for To Aro would involve two additional handlings in the central' warehouse, and finally a special train service to Te Aro, which would make the expense to tlio

merchant prohibitive, having regard to the short distance intervening between the two stations. The expense and the iin\e lost in performing tho additional tonninal services would i entirely precludo To Aro Station being of any real valuo as a goods depot. Tlio plea advanced by the advocates of To Aro is that cartage costs would bo saved: tho additional railway charges would bt, considerably more than tho 3d., or at most- 6d., per ton for cartage. If To Aro is to be used for goods traffic, two lines of rails will have to be laid down Waterloo Quay across tlio entrance to the Harbour Board's property ; addi- • tional land ■ will have to be bought for a goods station at Te Aro,_ and a portion ot Taranaki Street praotically closed to vehicular traffics. It is not usual -to have two stations, within three-quarters of a mile of each, ither in towns such as Wellington. 'Tlio traffic at' present being dealt with at Te Aro is legitimate train traffic, and can be better handled by the trams. In my opinion, thG greatest good to the greatest number will be promoted by closing Te Aro Station altogether." Wellington Suburban Lines. "The necessity in the near future of relieving the Manawatu lino out of ellington by the construction of a now railway from Wellington, junctiomug with the Manawatu. line about Tawa "Flat, has been referred to in dealing with the improvements of the Main Trunk. Consideration of a deviation line to avoid the Rimutaka Incline is also refolded to in this report. When the latter deviation is decided upou the Hutt Valley line should be duplicated between Lower and Upper Hutt. Both the north lino and the Hutt Valley schemes affect the future of Wellington vitally, because it will not bo possible to cater satisfactorily for a nrach-in-creascd suburban business ■without additional facilities for working the traffic. The north line is the more urgent, because of the heavy through traffic and the limitation caused by the B'evero grades. The Wairarapa Incllno. "Train-working on the Wairarapa line is greatly interfered with by the heavy gradients existing between Upper Hutt and Summit, and the Rimutaka Incline between Cross Creek and_ Summit. The grade of the latter is 1 iru.ls, and the length 2. miles 79 chains. Special engines have to be employed exclusively for this jportion of tlio line. The •maximum load per engine is 60 tons dead weight (say, about 20 tons actual traffic); frequently four engines aro rimployed to haul a train of 240 tons, dead weight, from Cross Creek to Summit. The minimum time for the journey is forty minutes. Every train has to be remarshalled at the Summit and similarly at Cross Creek. This involves a loss of at least fifteen, minutes to a train at each station. On an average one hour twenty minutes ifl required to nogotiate tho three-mile journey up tho incline. This puts a definite limit upon the amount of business from the Wairarapa which can be dealt with. The cost per engine-mile ia 3s. Id. A special track with a third rail for gripping and braking purposes has to be maintained at considerable expenso compared with tho ordinary track. Tlie importance of this route and the productivity of the country which the existing and projected railways will sorve justify consideration of the abandonment of the incline and the-construction of a deviation with gradients that will enable all trains to be worked' wit-li the standard types.of engines'. A really satisfactory service via the Wairarapa route is impracticable while trains liavo to be worked over the Rimutaka Incline. A considerable expenditure will be involved in carrying out the deviation, but tlie work, nevertheless, will ' liavo. to .-be considered in the near ■future." ,

THE ANNUAL STATEMENT.

INCREASE IN EXPENDITURE. The Railways Statement was presented by the Prime - Minister on behalf of the Minister of Railways (the Hon. W..H. Herries), who is'indisposed. The Statement shows that notwithstanding the smallpox epidemic in the north and the industrial upheaval caused through the unfortunate strike, ■the earnings exoeeded those of the previous year by £72,326. The mileage of lino open for traffic on March 31, 1914, was 2863 miles, and the average miles operated during the year 2861 milos. Tho only lino opened during the yoar waa the.Dmiollierßewanui section of the State collieries lino, 3 miles 6'chains in length. Tlie capital cost of the'lines opened for traffic, including plant and steamers on Lake Wakatipu. advanced from £31,611,220 to £32,355,097. The net revenue, £1,163,005, is equal to a return of 3.61 per cent, on the capital invested in the open lines, and 3.33 pei cent, on tlio capital.; (£34,950,57G) invested in opened and unopened lines.. Although tho gross revenue exceeded that of the previous year, it fell' short of tho estimate by £156,672, as a result of the abnormal conditions 'llie net revenue per trdin mile declined by 2.46 d- in' the North Island and by--4.75d. in tlio South Island. The net earnings per average mile of railway open was £408. Tho failure of the revenue to meet the estimates- was due to. a falling off of the goods traffic, the restriction of travel by the smallpox epidemic, and tho -loss of tho Easter' holiday/excursion traffio. A largo programme for rolling stock, construction is now in hand. This will serve the dual purpose of providing inoreased capacity for dealing with the traffic offering and keep the workshops' staff fully employed on the remunerative work. Tho expenditure for the year absorbed 71.24 per cent, of-the revenue,, an increase .of 3.11 per over the ( previous year. The increase is directly traceable to advances in wages, employ--ment of extra staffs, and providing increased .accommodation at stations, and extending provision of safety appliances. Tlio .actuarial report on the Government Railways Superannuation Fund having indicated that am additional subsidy was necessary to place the fund on a satisfactory financial basis, the Government has arranged to pay an additional ammint- of £25,000 to the fund, malting the Government subsidy for the year 1914-15 £50,000. Results of Working. The following is a summary of results of working for year ending March 31, 1914, as compared with 1913:— 1 Year ended March 31. ■ Particulars. 1913. 1914. Total miles ' . open for ' traffio ...... 2,860 2,863 Average miles . open for year 2,840 2,861 Capital cost of opened and unopened lines £33,831,783 £34,980,576 Capital cost of open lines ... £31,611,220 £32,355,087 Capital _ cost '• per mile of open lines ... £11,053 . £11,309 Gross earnings £3,971,002" £4,043,328 Working expenses ...... £2,705,609 £2,880,323 Not profit on working ... £1,265,393 £1,163,005 Percentage of profit to capital invested 4.04 3.61 Percentage of working expenses to ' earnings ... 68.13 /1.24 Earnings per averago mile open £1,-100 £1,416 Working expenses per ■ ' ' averago iuile, open 1 £954 . £1,003.

Net earnings : per average mile open ... £446 £408 Earnings per train mile ... 105.50 cL IOd.OOd. Working expenses per train mile' ...) 71.84 d. 74.00 d. Net earnings train milo ... 33.66 d. 30.00 d. Passengers, ordinary ... ,-13,123,879 13,355,893 Season tickets 265,259 287,037 ' Goods tonnage 5,957,005 5,661,340 | 'Live stock ton- . n ago 280,123 358,293 Train mileage 9,016,224 9,319,268 Locomotives 51.3 534 Passenger-cars 1,282 1,363 Wagons and brake-vans ... 19.615 • 20,251 Revenue on tho Lines. Following was tho revenue on tho several sections of railway opou for traffic: — Whangarei Section: Revenue, £42,721: increase, £1311. Kaihu; £4988; increase, £286. Gisborno: £23,503; increase, £4980. North Island main line and' branches: £2,158,101: increase, £122,104. I'icton Section: £32,250; increase, £858. Nelson: £31,911; increase, £2764. Westport: £102,825; decrease, £22,151. Westland: £137,114 j decrease, £7609. South Island Main Lme and branches: £1,503,626; decrease, £29,985. r Lake Wakatipu steamers: £6790; decrease, £231. QUESTIONS IN THE HOUSE. When the reports were presented several questions were asked. ■Mr. G. 4V. Russell (Avon) "inquired: Does the Government commit itself to tho proposals made by the General Manager? The Prime Minister _ said that his answer was in the negvtivo. The recommendations of the General Manager were put forward for the approval of tne Government and later of Parliament. Those proposals which were approved by the Government would be indicated subsequently by Bills introduced to give effect to them. Sir Joseph Ward: Has the Minister of Railways approved tliemP Mr. Massey said that he was not pre[itiied to answer the question in the absence of Mr. Herries. He added that the statement and Mr. Hiley's report comprised the most important Railways Statement ever submitted to Parliament. - _ Later in the evening, Sir Joseph 'Ward said that he had glanced through the Railways report, and that it seemed to bo an ablo compilation. There were many things in it with' which ho agreed. He called attention to the fact that it was proposed to spend £3,250,000 on working railways out of loan money, and ho recalled the criticism which had been levelled at him in the past. Though lie did not agree with the policy of the Government in appointing an outsider as general manager, he admitted that the manager's report contained aorao valuable suggestions. However, ho was opposed to the proposal to import twenty railway engines, and considered that they might be mado in tho country. He was pleased that it wa.3 proposed to have an assistant-gen-eral manager- of railways, and that it was suggested that tho position was to be given to one who deserved the recognition. Mr. Russell, also, objected to the proposal to import engines. Hon. P. M. B. Fisher: How many could be made here in. the same time? Mr. Russell: .That is not the point. Hon. A. L. Hordman: How long would we havo to wait for' 1 tliem ? " Mr. Russell adversely criticised the idea, of getting some of the engines fiom America.