THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF RALLWAYS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 225, 22 September 1871, Page 4

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF RALLWAYS.

[The^followjni^apg^ j w£ IJii reaa *^ Ifitr-ljustice Chapman, at! the v. ,-Qtago Insfcitate, r oh;- the 24tfr ;.-, The snbjeQt upon .wjuch^l prpppse to address l^ott^^s/ey^p^r^r'been'.-briDagnfe pr>ininently under public notice^ofia^eV by what is commonijo known as the fidaTjicial policy of the Government. „ ; Ofihat policy generallKlV wonld be unbecoming '"'in me io speak, nor is r ife, indeed,, a.^fitting subject C for discussion in this One !part of jthat- - policyrhowever; r consMts "of a proposal ito establish .anTextensive 5 system of "Railway's throughout tiiecolony by means-ofaloan raised inEngland;' and „ a s; J ihat.jprpposal:: involves' ! c«rtain principles, of, "; ecpnpinicaL". science, , I connect those with my subject Lby the title which T have given • ; tb.tbi's paper,;andl think you will find that the; t oijse"rvations,\and:;the -calculations, which I am/ about to pfesent-.to.ybu, will fully bear out the ( title.which-1 have -.chosen.;, :I ;mayj here observe ' •thalti't is" only a liifiited portion of the results and consequences of Bailway enterprise which I propose to diBCUBS, r "n : aineiy,'' the effect, upon the „-public.,wealth.' ■ > ;<ln'thus confining 1 my sell within '"niarrow boundaries. I am sensible that I leave out [ Jmuchimore than- l embrace! r ßail wa y s are % c , :b2spring,pf an-advanced : civilis?tion. They also 1 react-upon: and tend to develop the very civilisa-. ; r tion .qf u wjiichi they^'arie the "fruit. Thus they, assume the characteristics of both cause «nd consequence. They..are fraught with important social and political" results. . United, with the / electric telegrapfip tile BteamshipJ and a free press '/.— the ;dp<eratioria i of { whicti they tend to facilitate —they aid in promoting peace among nations, and the interchange of the best thoughts current . throughput the A world. , ; These social and political • advantages, however tempting they may be, I must leave entirely untouched, -for/ the present, • and I Bhjflf only ' pertnit glimpses of " th em to appear when I think it necessary to remind you of the limits which Jhave chosen. .You will understand()therefolcei .that' ij' intend to confine myself... to an investgation of the modes, in which railways tend to. augment .and distribute the wealth of the country. As I had .some sharein parrying into; operation^ an exten/sivelßailway system in a 'neighboring colony, I ' naYe 1 necessarily; turned my thoughts a good deal to that which I have ventured to call "the political econbmy:of railways ; " and it is to the colony of ,, Victoria that -j shall tuinfofthe facts and illustratipns to, which I am about to. direct • your attention*. ' .'..' The Colony of > Victoria has now in operation about 252 miles— of Government Eailways, . namely , fr,otn. Melbourne t o Gteelorig arid ; Ballarat, about' lbOmiles/andfromviMelboiirne) to Cast|emaine, Sandhurst, ' and Echuca, <on the River iMurray, about 152' miles. '.rTnerje are also short railways radiating ffoiir Melbourne" to the port and suburban district^ making about 20 mile 3 more. ■ „ ; • • Tius 'Victoria" has "now completed about 272 miles of railway.- I do not propose to say anything more on .thershprt railways constructed by private companies,, or to draw any illustrations or inferences upon them. „ , ,Tp make my remarks as intelligible^as i pbs9iblej Isliall confine myself asr. nearly aa; possible to round numbers, calling' the iengthjof the -lines 250 miles,- and ■ the capitjal ; expended in ttheirr r construction £8,00O;000;' Thus, '. the^ priinecost|of .the. Viptprian railways, including' Btatioris and.the first outlay :for irolling stock, ■was no less than £ ; 52,00Q~.per ,- mile; Perhaps j a very mfoifie)anaiysis- -of t!ie 'different classes pt expenditure .wpuld| bring put- .a rslightly^dififerent - result,' but 'dealing : as.. I, .do with, round -numbers .this' isiaccarate'enbußh for" my "purpose . Now, when.it is' considered; that the Government h«|d no 'Parliamentary 'charges "to pay, beyond tlie ordinary-expenses of "printing a public , bill, and that the necessary-legal expenses were" included ' inthe generaHegal 'expenses of tiik law ofiicerp' department, and that there was' very little to pay as compensation for, land taken, the cost per mile must r be, ..considered large:;— but" 'it :had beeb • delibeT^tejy decided ;hy,the"..,Legislature that trie "railways " shpiiTd jbe"..©©^^^^!^;^^ the most ■ substantial'^anli duraole manner V : Stfd so far m 'Victoria' is concerned— a wealthy.country without debt, I believe that decision to have been a wise one. Moreover, it, should; not-be forgotten, that > owing to ' recent 'i improVed methpdsj ihe work could now; be done much more economicaHy than was possible | welye 1 "Jjears 'agp^rlia .tliis colonyj, rJFhere 1 we" have to 'cover S'grefttf JBJxtenij' of country with only moderate means,' so a system would be altogether inapplicable, and it is anticipated that ouryrauwSysrfw'iltoiot cost more than one-fifth or one- sixth- of the above sum. This may perhaps4urn out-tobe a somewhat sanguine estimatejbut'lf We fail in the end to obtain; 15,0p miles' oi cheap railways for seven. millions and a 'half-of money, the ultimate ,t s otal , will not fall many hundred "miles Joelbwift. > ; jf ■ "- j Now our new Zealand railways are at present so completely in f the r womb of ;the futureVthat t mustWMessarfl^resoVt/to 'what Has |een dpnfeid ;jVy[ptoria) fdr f :lth'e ;j prinbiples^upori ; wliich|^'ajn' , a^putitoiexpatiatev "■ liim'not'dis^ose^ll^.^^^iii the speculative, but I- think ( ydu : will perceive fhac the inferences which i am about to draw apply to! our c»Be.aß .well as, to the; (jase.of- Vict&ria. Thd difference between the- two will be a difference of degree 0n1y.,. < ~.. : . y,. - rv „.-;•: ,- ;•■,- •, j •I willfegin with the loan. Here I must remind; .you-that the -condition of a colony presents; economical features 1 the reverse of tlipse presented by what is "calletd la"abldj;buntry. InEngland everything is abundant" aud cheap, except land. / relation" «to capital and .labbi'l is j limited, and therefore dear.'- ' > ; 'Inline ' ciblbniesron the contrary.'eyefythingisJßcarce and. dear except j land. 'tTridecupied land, is abundant and cheap, j Capital and labor 'are ;r arii'dng the plentiful and cheap things in England;' they are among the! scarce and dear things in ! the 'coldnies— meaning always.in jrelatioh to lahdl WWlSt'w.^ akefleld called systematic cplonisationj^as I distinguished from mere emigration, consists in transporting what jB-abußd^^japd>jßheap|in England, ( an 4 espeoially r> capital and Habbr tnot' the one without the . other)to theiiew-;ann~inior eT^exfenaißdf'fierd . Taking advantage of the abundance of mere money capital in England, Victoria borrowed £7,000,000 outof the £8,000,000 destined for railj^mthej^^Ebnadnfe'mofaey market. Practically, ;;whajbt ijjVictoria 7 propoHe^l^'-ito -the EngUshl capitajista t was.Uii»V: "You f caribarel^ obtajjp^ Mr ppti.^or jpur^ney, an<| tijat often on quettonfliblCsficurife simplicity I^tUitbraJdiviae^he advantage' JV|& ;,;;^iß,;pOT^nt|f9^b%\«;mS^

iprofifrTfl^he^lwpe^^-piemiam^mOT £358,000, <|Naw,rin es^rting^upjjecOTtiesjfaircj Engla.nd'where^mer'e nianejrcapitatis- constantily '; -aecumul^ti^ir,^ and^-outgrowjng- <jtlßp' rPSj-^PjOT* s^ kj|ofteai|!e investment! what ffeasonj ¥nP"?j[*2l -suppose (providdi rat- money^irohxeV-w juaiin principle if; not in degree,, toihrt exhibited, by/ loan W-l believe that the public in England have'a very vivid, and I may add a fist, impression of the^tea^naiural-resources of New| Zealand.../ JChelintegrityl of our-public men4s* ..beyond question. jr; l Whyr.:then r ,Bhould I wg/not; that/as we the -bprro^grs j^ant lender*, and as they the lenders ate' equally on the alert to find, good; .bdrrpver^f;¥.e a secure ;BQtne-, profit on.our securities^if_ai%vorable.condition of fthjynbney mar¥et be chpsen,fttiough?it %ould t>e .utfflQubtedJyktash to attempt w anticipate -the figure.or perrcentage ? ;:.,-> 1;;; :r vi r ■'■-^.V > T ' ' Tndw desire. yoUj, attention to that .which -I-. -consider the mb'st'impijrtan^ecpxid^iicar result ,'. of, cheap transport;! and 'especially of - railways",' as .exhibited Icpnspidously. by .. those, of /Victorian "All that l'atn(aboob..tp point out-,to y,oii is equally j true'pf.'eonimoii roads'; ; bufc Wrhen.'wespenda Bum-, 'of r> money oir : a T nja(?adatp\s.e^ J rbad;: 'it , becojoes^ quite impossible^to"' 'keep-Jtiie'- sort !i 6f -account which I am-about to present to you.* To enable you p>y, appreciate -the;;* change-whichs-has-been,! broughKabout>l must': carry you back tc;-what;i copsidering-the rapidf march bf^the -colonies, -Iwill take leave to cajl ancienf^timeis.,. r When .gold was] first : discovereil in; Victoria— not quite' 20 years agdrrjthe^couutry^hiras without' -reads, arid. twasTtoo ..poor to make ' th em . ■', The | population : was 7l 5 ,b6b Ispread"over1 spread"over a country without f ;inlan.rt towns and without much internal "trade. As miners, or^rather. diggers (for mining p.roper..djd < not at first exist), seated themselves where gold vas most abundantj:;tfie:lt.o.w.ns; of ;:Ballaarati: Oastlemaine, Sandhurst;, Maryborough,, and. some. ■few others' greY up>na traffic- 'with' horse and bullock drays increased - : to .me<et< the: wants of the population.- In jointer the old bush, tracks became so cut up as J to be almost -impas ri sable, and as much as £<JO, £80, and £100, per ton has been paid for the carriage -pf goods to Sandhurst. These high prices, however,. w>re partly due to the abundance of mo.hey.r From, , 1852 to 1858 -very large sums ;were. expended in the construction' of roads," and just ; the opening of the Northern Railway ;as' far as Sandhurst, the cost of carriage was reduced to .£6 -10s.'. per ton in winter, and. to, Jgs- I.o's. "in' summer^: the mean rate being about ■■£&; per. ton;- .T,o: Ballarat the mean rate for' the year was, about £i lus per ton. As lan merely .engaged,. in working out a principle; it is unnecessary to 'seek for perfect accuracy;. lefcus [therefore assume'that at the time of opening the railway to ; Sandhurst, the average rate of "cartage for the whole distance. was.-iSJS-per tbn';':ahi:;at this' reduced -fatelftne; carriers had the ad vantage, of (21, miles; ofirailway;.. During the first year^after the lines were^opened to Sandhurst .janjd ; Bailarat, K -ra|her 'more thanj 200,000 tons. of ..g6ddi*ere-.car'ried;'' fcC-have-not 1 . any /yery-re.cent,sta.tißticß,,but;.; from .4he./ratej of iricre'ase andtKe opening of ' jth'e-line ( M. Echiica, I believe that 300,-obot'oris of 'gbbds'aud produce" at least pass ; . pyer , ,the, two,. , lines-^-by • -far-,the. greater part being. pairr jed , to.and "from. the. ;great seats of population," and '"only ''*£''" small' portion, being" dropped by the wayfOJut for/tfieV, portion '"gpidfeppediltl will de&uctJbufcthird.-arid^base my "calculation r upon, v the ; assumption, that ;2po t op,o tons bf :I gobds and produce are carried., to. and. from Melbourne Ttp| thie great .seats oj~pop^lation;j The gain, therefore;; to the' ,conjß,umirig publicis on' 500,000 tons of goods carried r the whole way. :What is. that gain ? -■ At first -the charges- were 50s. per ton to Sandhurst, and ; 425. , per ton to Ballarat; but it lias since been reduced" to* about 355. to 405., and thus we have a net "saving of £3 per ton, or about; £(j>OO,ODOu .a^year.v This is the saving spread over the whole body, of ■consumers , ; by \means;: of (transport.; :Whether^this^ estimate be "precisely correct.br. not befieveit to b'ewithin the mark), it w abso-. lutely certain that". whatever 'is- saved by the itn- ' proved means of transport is so much-added to" the material wealth of the country. ,It may^notbe all preserved r as : wealth. ' -'Part; may be at once expended in immediate enjoyment, but part will remain as wealth.,., The subdivision in some cases' is so infinitesimal; that 1 it escapes appreciation. A saving of £3 per ton is about of a penny" perlb. This is .not much ,pn>eyjßry teaspobnful of sugar which is put into' the old dame's tea, but r it is something^ substantial on (thel four pound.' 'loaf^ especially when 'multiplied by all the loaves^ consumed by^farfitty in theyeapT^V": "/ r $ By way c of|p&rqp|ließis,.buLat;"!ihexißame time' not wholly unconnected with, my subject, it may . 1864, for'some of the articles of ordinary consumption, in a family. * I(_have jpaid ...355. p.er cw.t. fori potatoes) at the very same, time . tha,t. farmers . in some parts of the country .were complaiping that their pbt'atoe'a WOTe'-r'aitine-inUhe ground for want of labor to dig them, and of jpads-to, con--vey them to market. I paid 4s. perlb J foV butter, Is. Bd. per quart for milk, 6s. a dozen Tor^ eggs (they had just be(brei.lbeen''J9Blirperld6zeh'), 2s. 6d. for a cauliflower, and Is. 6d. forga cabbage. The health oT^tEe t'cTwn rpopulatibn fbin suffered for J;heCwant'df. friish v^getabfes. tlßreaVwas more than Is. for the 4lb loaf,, and _,bad,^,been-. higher. Labor was 20s. a day;"' and '-y"efc '-the 1 laboring classes really suffered_/rQm the in-, sufficiency of thei/w^gea^to PJ&r^ase food and! other necessaries. f Everything ""seemed out 'of joint-r- Af turkey £qst "^Os.t; In;; IS62;^ eight years afterwards,! could buy similar turkeys for 7s. 6d. ; Oats were 20s. per bushel^and hay £24 PJPfJipn; Fine times for. farnd^s^^ou; will excjaioii! | Nqt' so, however, for t^e^rea*er[ .pa>ti.oS!:th.eseßliigli prices was lost and" wasted in the cost of con-_ ; yeyance. I shall have to recuritb -this part of the subject in treating of: another branch of railway economy;. r , , „ , • r Hithertorl have only taken into aefcount the goods .traffic, but t tha v paeseDgertja||c*is ofrnearly equal* ibdpbrtaßceV and^ii' we were now considering comfort, healthrand social advantages I could shjjyr 'tbatltlibi ifcariiagfet'o?'^adsengers is eyep^nipja-im^ cotntnoditiies/ In the early days of the gold discovery the^o>sjy£££e frloim/Melboliini^io Ballarat was £6, and I believe even, more. As roadmaking proceeded tfce^f¥reC.was reduced to £4, theu to £3, and during- some short periods of competition, evenjto.,leßs rv T ltj»«, l -Almit l ffi3» dreary, and fatiguing jotmrey. The charge to BaJlwtfwafir^t-^laf^^ckeJfteßnow-jilr^hin^ M; an^%^^t^^i9i^4Qs-/> tor (Saadhurac] and

* In ten y.ears endlng4B6l, Victoria expended, Carta^f£s|^^^^ ratw mentioned Inrtne'xext to some *6 or £8 per ton ■ The capital expended was equal to /a^pferpetual annuity o^ s|3oo,QPO a^^ar; ttf^gain.was'jJerhapß - fbnp oit flvfi ftimei uhab Mnoun£k' i « «- ' ,

twb-flnfas of|Tn*e" 'fitst.f jl caanoT; beftfuife qfertaih of these rates, as .I^Tiave Even!, the itsecoSa^ifiii accoKrab^ti^'islS 4mora J^S^'feaK i COD " "^tniS'ed coaches. Travefling" has, ol course, ngreafapincreasedi! Talcingnheislibrt stages with jthe long; .'perhap.Si teft-time^ j wMtJO yras in the old coaching days. A. man can now go to Ballarat or Castlemaine, transact his business, " dine pr\mao?y aTwif^ and return -without fatigue to-Melbo'urne^in the same day. LTtfemsltigrQf Jaine;.thejincreiase ofiicomfort,; the .absence; of, fatigue are gains which really possess a "money "value, though they bafile a money estimate;i>iTl*eiW6ther"oati'-with ease visit a sick -.child, th(3 daughter-a dying-parent. Thf»e : and Ssimilaf advantag'ef cannot Be set-dbwn in ©gures, -yet they ? are' c gMn's'ior whidirevery oue ; *is willing to pay ih>shape..pf: tax.-. /.Taking: the money gains alone upoa the .passenger traffic, I r-am.-. convinced . ; that it T is not' an,over' estimate tp.- .set it ( down at between £30P;66.0 and : £400;Q(J0 a-year; 1 spread over a vei'y large proportion bf-the population of )yictqn?',.who",are.becc>ming > iunder:the hew rail,way facilities,' as<inuch.:a travelling people; as the population of -abouc j thre"e-quarters bf armillion.'wejiave a total J gain A of|irearly one million. lßdjed|in the present J yea'iij'itjprobably exceeds that amount. But(;th;isisaßr.osß!andnot,a!;nergain, and it - ; becomes i Wcessfr^' w "tro"-'enquirr l 'vrHa't'*'the people collectively in their .chraacter of tax,, payers, in order to secure this : gain' '6f a million which . reaches ttiem. individually. ''This'we^can;:ascertain ; .with-- more ,. exactness -than '<, the computation: of:,. the; gross gains' was susceptible "of. ' " Tlie railway loan_b earß , interest at the fate" of " 6 : per cent.#per annum. ;i I have already J pointed "but t tKat it " yielded "a profit lot:' £385,000/: wh'icbAis equivalent to a reduction; of .inter^stvj , I .» ycill ■ nptr however, 'embarrasethecalculation, with^^.top great precision, /but will. : set 'down ! the charge^agurist the cpnsolidatedVjTe. venue; -to" ; which' ail>tax payers .contribute, . at .£500,000.; T ;l6 ; ia^mnne'eessary to ' take the.capital into consideration, for.- if it were '' paid off to-nijorrow, it could prily be paid of£ with , ' colonial funds, 'which' would yield an .interest: or ;prdfi|r ;if /otherwise .employed. "Suppose the Goyernnient;were Jo find- a;great deposit of gold "wprtli J £.B ) dp6 i o6Q,,and : w i ere-to..pay,,oft the loan therewith, aiao! so'extinguish' the annual interest, the f 'saine interest' or 'something 'near :.it, ought still to .be'."aeeflied r a:charge ; againßtthe railway ..enterprise' of; the ;colony., ; because: that interest- ' would, be; yielded if, the; new eight, millions were inyesteia otie'rwisej'instelia.'of,' 'in paying off the railway' loan: ; 'Five tiundrect thou'saridlpounds a . year , may: ; therefore l be set f dowii ' as ' the dead ..weight,of;tlie;rairway;enterpfißeb'f Viotoria. But as. the." gross, gain, jte not. all profit, so this . dead wti^nt is not atl'lbss. -It "13 partly met out ;pf jtlie <rev;eriueL of the railway for goods and passenger traffic, after deducting therefrom the" .working expenses, ©f allrthe lines. I have no latercreturns than tnW'of-1864-5, which I regret, - as,later accouats W|Ou;ld'be,much more favorable. yTlie trajffic . receipts: of ,that jear are set down at L £s4i6,boOJ and' : the" charges against this are as 'Jbllp^s;:—:.::^!-':'.;.: !•;'.:■ .•':-:.■!-- ; ; -~]:if Salaries and ; wages : IL. ... £33,350 | , Departmental' contingencies- -22Q,372r • ■ Ttital working expenses ... '253,722 Deducting this' suin'frbin" the traffic returns, we ■find thjenet revenue to be 1£292,278, and deduct.in c g-that4um from 4he interest^on the debentures, which I have called the dead weight, the net deficiency is £207,722. But,.although.this is a real deficiency, it can only be i Regarded as an apparent ;, lpsß..Clt ial ihksum-^whicli'the people of Victoria are. willing to pay, and do pay, out of the general taxatipn,p.f the .country, in order to secure a gain which I have ventured to estimate at £1,000,000, ,- distributed over. the whole population.;, though, ;as L'shall hereafter show, not^with exact eqaality, •and in- ! aU cases in'the same shape. I cannot, of course,- pretend tp^speculate. as to the results of ' the future railways of New Zealand, but the ianie" principles apply, here ..as in Victoria. At first our: railways may only-just pay their working expenses, or. perhaps, a little more. In that case what I have called the dead weight will- be subject to little deduction. But I can scarcely conceive the possibility of the gross gain from cheap, transport failing to exceed very considerabljrthe! dfea'd weight." That excess, whatever itmay r be, is the. pefr profit of ( the.^ railway system. 'Comfort/ healtfi, ease, the saving of . time,-the facilitating. of business,*" and the interchknge of ; the ; 'famjly^aftesti6ns,iaire substantial advantages wnicti I3b~n6t~immediately belong to -my subject, but which ought not to ;be .left out of consideration, although we cannot reduce them to figures. t ' ■ -V ' Our roads in this' country, except for a few miles outsideoftha principal towns, are much' in the- condition. of manyjof the English roads at the'etfd of" the last century, when General Wade .rfirstf, improved the Great North road beyond ..Leeds, ;]lf:you'g'; seen, fc'ut 'those roads before they were made, , , «-- T - •■?•• YofilwouldihoH.Jip yoiir hands and bless . General , ■J.MaieL X.i- -'-• - A - i ~ -■*- : , Englishmen r-who have only known the transition ! frbW'the ifbuf-'horse coach of 1830, so splendidly . appointed so well.rworked, to the railway of ' recen^"djate,l.caji ;iorm!- noi-conception of the change ~' in, Victoria,-. ,or,- ':the-, change iwhich- the ».'- railway system ~ "Will produce here. It is a change from misery, not v dapger,.to comfort and safety— a sudden |fiaj>.fr.pin|ihe fjmiddle of |tj|e eighteenth to the .JElfttdleiJofiLHihe.. nineteenth*- century. Mr. Wentworth, , in 1851, said, "The dis- "; covery !^bf l gol& has precipitated us. into a nation."" The idea was excellent, but the mode of .expressing it -was not happy; but may we not /say, that awell-cohsidered railway system will; go far to elevate us into a nation 1 ? : -- To be concluded 'in our next. "