Colonial.

Lyttelton Times, Volume X, Issue 591, 3 July 1858, Page 4

Colonial.

NEW SOUTH WALES.

The following account of Railways in New 'South Wales is summarised from the 'Sydney Morning Herald.' _ The Chief Commissioner of Railways has just issued his second general report on the internal communications of the country. It con- - tains an explicit statement of the financial re- ! suits of the-colonial railway policy up to the close of last year, and suggestions as to the best plan for increasing the receipts, and making the undertaking self-supporting. The accounts for the separate lines have not been kept distinct from the commencement of the works; but all the vouchers in the office have been overhauled, and each undertaking has been now credited with what, as nearly as can be determined, is its fair share of the expenditure. The result of this calculation shows as follows:—The line from Sydney to Parramatta cost £795-875 4s. 5d.; but part of this expense may be fairly charged to extensions, as the rmoney was laid out in a manner that makes it .applicable to the whole extent of the works. Thus, £58,649 Is. lid. was spent in rolling stock, which was sufficient to work the Liverpool extension. Then again, £35,332 19s. Id. was invested in the Darling Harbour Branch. The sum of £19,057 was also represented by -stores in stock and available for use, and £15,142 13s. 7d. by permanent-way materials. 'Captain Martindale shows that if these four < items, amounting altogether to £128,181145. Bd. * were deducted from the gross cost, there would r remain an expenditure of £667,693 9s. 9d. for :; the 13| miles of railway, 0r49,458 7s. per mile. ''This includes the entire cost of workshops, storehouses, and machinery for repairs, which, though stationed at Sydney, are available for the whole. If a reasonable allowance for this is made, the cost of the line to Parramatta may be put down pretty accurately, in round numbers, at £50,000 a mile. It is a double line ■throughout. If this were the normal and inevitable cpst, we might bid good-bye to any further •extensions for many years to come. But, fortunately, the causes of extravagance have been removed. The extension to Liverpool cost £124,888 19s. 6d. for the eight miles and ahalf, or at the rate of £14,692 Bs. This portion is a compromise between a single and double line, the way being double, but the line single. By lumping the whole together, it will appear that the average cost of the Southern line to Liverpool (making the deductions referred to" above) would be within a fraction of £36,000, but without those deductions it would be £40,000 a mile. The Campbelltown extension is not included in the report, which makes up the accounts only to the end of the past year. But as the cost for the whole 12 miles will be about £9jOOoUijnile, .rolling stock included, the Vaverage cost^of the' whole line now opened would be very nearly £30,000 per mile. So much for the outlay: now for the returns. Up to^ the date of the opening of the line to Liverpool, the gross receipts were £28,589 12s. 4d., of which sum £17,817 2s. 4d. were swallowed up in expenses, leaving a net receipt of £10,772 10s., or one and a-half per cent, on the cost of the line. The opening of the extension to Liverpool by no means improved the state of the accounts. Up to the end of the year the gross proceeds were for that interval £12,208 14s. IGd., and the expenses £9,930 Is. leaving only £2,998 13s. lOd. clear, which was equivalent to a return of only 1.05 per cent. The proportion of the working expenses had increased from 62.3 to 76.8 per cent, of the proceeds. In the year 1857, matters- slightly improved. The working expenses were brought down to 72.9 per cent.; the gross receipts were £35,935 2s. 2d., and the expenses £28,386 12s. 5d., leaving a net return of £10,548 9s. 9d., which gave 1.16 per cent, on the capital invested.

The accounts of the Great Northern Line are eveu less cheering than those of the Southern Line. Prom Honeysuckle Point to East Maitland, a distance of 16| miles, the cost has been £305,200 13s. 9d., or £18,497 per mile. If rolling stock and inateiials in store are added, the gross cost will be £366,514 3s, 3d. TMs, however, includes the cost of workshops,

machinery, and stores, which will be available for future extensions. During the portion of last year that the line was in operation, the receipts were £4,451 9s. 5d., and the expenditure £2,963 11s. 7d., leaving a net revenue of £1,487 17s. lOd. or an interest of only '64 per cent, on the capital. The working expenses were 66J per cent, of the proceeds.

Fatal Encounter with the Blacks in the Northejjn Disteict. —The ' Moreton Bay Courier ' of the 28th May contains the following particulars of an affray with the natives, which recently occurred at the Pine Eiver : —" A few days ago, as a party of eight native troopers, under the command of Lieutenant Williams, were patrolling at the head of the Pine Eiver, they were attacked by about 300 blacks, who were encamped in one of the scrubs. The _ onset of the blacks was sudden, and, as hostilities were not expected, partook almost of the nature of a surprise. A trooper, riding immediately on the left of his commander, fell dead, -pierced by numerous spears. Two other troopers were wounded. Lieutenant Williams and his men sustained the attack with determination, and succeeded in utterly routing and dispersing the blacks. About 40 rosewood spears were left in the camp by the assailants, which the Lieutenant and his men destroyed. The trees were hung with choice portions of beef, doubtless the produce of adjacent runs. The trooper was buried on the spot. The actual loss of the blacks is not known. They belong to the Ningi-ningi, and when they were making their onslaught cried out in English, ' Kill the white fellow,'and (addressing the Lieutenant) 'You b—-y coward.' It is supposed that the general forbearance of the troopers is construed by the ignorant savages as an evidence of cowardice. Notwithstanding the small number opposed to them, it is believed that the blacks have received a severe chastisement. There are now only five effective men under the Lieutenant. We must express our opinion that the party are neither sufficiently armed nor mounted. Each man is supposed to have two horses, but we hear the party only possess half the complement, and no provision appears to have been made for remounting them. It is probable that the blacks will.not encamp in the neighbourhood of the Pine Eiver for some time to come. The severe punishment they have received may deter them from future attacks, but the force appears to have been wholly inadequate for active pursuit. An unprovoked and daring attack upon the native police should have met even more condign than it did. It is clear that the attack was instigated by blacks who have associated with white men. Allowing for the necessary contingencies of sickness, &c, we can hardly imagine an effective party being always ready out of a total force of eight troopers."