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Manawatu Herald, 4 February 1879, Page 2

The railway returns for the month onding December 14 have been published in the Gazette. From them we learn that the receipts on the Wanganui- Foxton line for the period mentioned amounted to £2,540 16s 6d ; the per centage of expenditure to receipts is 70-03. For a twelvemonthly period average to date, the receipts were £340 lis sd, against an expenditure of £240 5s 2d. The following are the particulars of receipts* on the Wanganui iino for the month referred to : — Passengers, 9,277 ; live stock, 153 ; goods, 2132£ tons; Foxton wharf dues, £89 12s 5d From the table ot returns, we notice tha', setting the Greymouth line (which is only eight miles long) on one side as an exceptional line, Napier heads the list for the month as far as profit is concerned, the per centage of expenditure to receipts being 69.51 ; then comes Wellington with 69.60, whilst the WanganuiFoxton line holds third place with 70.03, and Christchurch - Dunedin follows with 71.63. Excluding the Greymouth line from consideration, tho earnings per mile of railway are greatest on the last-named line, being on an average £807 per mile, Wellington next with £717, Auckland third with £478, Napier fourth with £409, and Wanganui fifth with £340, Westport being last with only £134 per mile. The Westport and Kaipara lines are worked at an actual Joss, the per centage of expenditure to receipts on the former being no less than 131.65, and on the latter 106.47. The total length of raiU ways open for traffic in the colony is 1,094 miles. The total receipts for the month ending December 14 wore £57,357 8s Bd, the total per centage of expenditure to receipts bein^j 74*96. We congratulate Mr Rotherham upon the very respectable position our line occupies on the lint.