Railway Fares.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 45, 21 July 1885, Page 2

Railway Fares.

Mr Samuel Vaile ;x>f^|pLuckland, th« well-known railway, refimner writes as under : — " Some friend has posted to ma a copy of the San Franciscp Chronicle of the Ist Juiie last, wliicti contains an account of a lecture dejiyere^'i^that citT by a Mr W. p: Southworp^e advor-. cates the taking over-.the railjiriys by the American Sb^hmeritii^ that they should works thenl. at* low:- '&$&& He states that at tlie^ rate \o;f:a ' 'cTpTl^r p«r head for the whole jpurineyJjaWoss the continent,, the profit made 'would' be so great that it would __'pp,y the ejafire cost of purchasing the railroads '-in :;bno:year ;'and he quotes figures to Bhdw tfrajithe cost of carryinff a^passenger puglrt^lnot to be ■more than twp'^.nd a half ceiits. per 100 mile's, or m our' money, one -penny farth. ing per 100 nules. ;^ who think I do -not kiibw-i-what I am talkingaboutj when I put the cost at4id say to this? To sjhow; that Mr Southworth is not'so very far put m his calculation, and to prove that mine is a very safe one, I may mention that it is every, day work on. one of the principle lines m Great Britain; to carry gpodscafc an average minimum rate at one-eighth of apenny (£d) per ton per mile. This, m weight, is equal to carrying a passenger one mile for the one hundred and twentieth (120 th) part of a penny. The price wo pay for transit is simply ridiculous. J The more I study this question, and the more information I; gather from all parts of the world, the more I am convinced that we could. make enormous reductions m our charges, and at the same time add at least half a million per annum to our Revenue. I believe that by a wise ad. minißtfatib'n 'of bur railways we could speedily bring back to this country such an era of .prosperity as has not dawned on it for many -a day. > , •