The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, JULY 29,1880.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 179, 29 July 1880, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, JULY 29, 1880.

We have received a copy of the report of the Railway Comuiissiou which wa3 presented to Parliament on Monday night. That portion of it which refers to the proposed workd within the Nelson district was telegraphed to us at oace, and was published in our issue of Tuesday. The remainder we now propose to summarise. After a few preliminary remarks, the Commissioners proceed to say :•— "ln some — indeed in many— instances the opinions and recommendations which we shall submit to Your Excellency in this report are at variance with the tenor of the evidence taken in the districts interested in proposals for the construction of railways. It is, i,erhaps, scarcely necessary to point out that settlers in all parts of the colony take ail especial and not unnatural pride in their own particular district, and in the progress it has made, and that they are prone to attach a greater value to its exist* ing resources, and to take a more sanguine view of its future, than can be acquiesced in by a dispassionate and unprejudiced observer." The Commissioners were met, at the outset of their investigations, by the fact that the already constructed railways do nod pay one-half of the interest upon their cost, the leading cause, which can only be remedied by time and the gradual progress of settlement, being sufficiently apparent, namely, that the railways have in some parts been made far in advance of existing settlement, and consequently of an amount of traffic adequate to their support. The extent to which this has been carried put is shown by the followiug figures :— ln Great Britain the amount of population to- each mile of railway is 1961; in the Uuited States, 680; in New South Wales, 1108 ; in Victoria, 924 ; in New Zealand, only 3H2. Looking for other causes of the unprofitable results obtained from the constructed milways, the Commission turned their attention to the actual working and coat of the lines, and were led to the conclusion that the present expenditure might be largely diminished by convening many small and unremunerative stations into flag stations ; by greatly reducing the train-mileage on many lines ; and by making the rate of wages more in aocord with those paid by private employers. Their recommendation in refereuce to trainmileage, in short, amounts to this— that the running of trains should everywhere be reduced to the number that actually pay ; and the results of this, they consider, would be found, not only in the reduction of what is, ; strictly speaking, current expenditure, but probably still more in diminution of wear and tear of the permanent way and rolling stock. On comparing the railway tariff of New Zealand with those of the other Austrahau colonies, the Commission find that while the average charge on the Australian railways for wool and agricultural produce is somewhat lower than in New Zealand, for " minerals," which includes coal, buildingstone, bones, bricks, clay, lime, and roadmetal, it is far higher. For coal it is, for the first ten miles, 16 per cent higher ; from 10 to 50 milea, l\ per cent ; from 50 to 100 miles, 33 per cent ; and from 100 to 150 milea, 68 per cent. Whether the New Zealand lines are carrying on this important part of their business at a heavy loss, or whether the other colonies are deriving an exorbitant profit the Commissioners are unable to form a decided opinion, but they incline to the view that the New Zealand taxpayer is the sufferer. The evidence they have taken with reference to the timber traffic leads to the startling conclusion that whenever that product is carried under the existing tariff for a distance exceeding 75 miles, it is so carried at an absolute loss ; and if at the same time the haulage is over heavy grades, the cost to the colony amounts to 50s for every 20a received to the credit of the railway account I Surely it is time some alteration was made in this respect-. With regard to the general management of the railways, the Commissioners offer certain recommendations of a very sweeping nature. These must be given in their own words : — " We urge most strougly that the system of a uniform tariff should be abolished, and the railways conducted upon commercial principles — that is to say, by charging for each class of service upon each line a rate proportionate to the cost of that particular service upon that particular line, varied from time to time as competition shall increase or diminish. By this system some approach would be made to the spirit of the original proposal that every district through which a line was taken should make up by local contribution any deficiency arising from insufficiency of traffic to support the liae aud pay interest on its cost. There ia one other point in connection with the economical value of of the constructed railways to which we feel bound to call your Excellency's atteution. Prom the evidence of Mr John Henry Lowe, the Engineer in Charge of Constructed Hailways in the Middle Island, there appears top much reason to believe that even the unsatisfactory contribution which tbe railways in operation are shown by the public accounts to make towards the interest upon the cost of their construction is not wholly substantial, and that no inconsiderable portion of that contribution should in prudence be placed to the credit of a depreciation fund. It may be urged that by the time that the present cost of repairs and renewals shows an appreciable increase, the traffic will have so far expanded that the additional expenditure will not be felt. We trust that this may be the case ; but in considering the economical value of our railways at tbe present time the matter cannot altogether be ignored. The question of the administration of constructed railways is one upon which your Excellency has not commanded us to inquire and report ; but, as it has been strongly impressed upon us in the course of our lengthened inquiry that many of the evils which it has been our duty to point out— such as the uniform tariff, the maintenance of unremunerative stations, the running of nnremunerative trains, and the adoption of a scale of wages above tbe current rates — are to a great extent the result of political pressure, both upon the Minister and upon the Commissioners of Railways for the North and Middle Islands, we venture to make a recommendation upon the subject. We are of opinion that the constructed rail ways of New Zealand should not continue to be, a 9 at present, un'ier the management of Commissioners, subject to the control of a Minister; and we recommend that, in place of that ayßtem, a Board of Management Bbould be constiiuted, consisting chkfly cf men of business knowledge and business habits, free from political influence, and having as nearly as may be the same status, holding the same powers, and exercising the same functions, as the Board of Directors of an English railway company," The recommendations made by the Commission upon each line of partly constructed and proposed railways are classified un <3er |

four beads, and given as under. The capital letter after each line nnmed is the initial letter of the Provincial district in which it is situated, A staoding for Auckland, C for Canterbury, H for Hawke's Bay. M for Marlborough, N for Nelson, O for Otago, T for Taranaki, W for Wolington, and Wd for Westland: — To BE PROCEEDED WITH AT ONCE: Kawakawa to Deep Water (A) Whangarei- Kamo tp Limeburuers Creek (A), Auckland to RiVerhead (A), Auckland Station ReclamaI tiou(A), Hamilton to Cambridge (including four miles towards Te Aroha) (A), Kopua to Makatoko (H), Stratford to Hawera (T), Waverley to Kai Iwi (T), Featherston to Maateftou (W), Mastertcn to Mauriceville (W), Opawa to Blenheim (M), Foxhill to Bellgrove (N), .Nelson Creek to Bruunerton ( N), Amberley to Huriinui (C), Lincoln to Lake Forsyth (C), Tinwald to Mount Somers (C), Albury to Fairlie Creek (C), Ferrymead to Sumner (C); Oxford. to Sheffield (C), Sheffield to Hawkins (C), Duntroon Station to Duntroon Village (O), Windsor towards Livingstone (ton miles) (O),Palmer-s-on to Waihemo (O), Waipahi to Kelso (O), Kelso towards- Swiizers (four miles) (0), Edendale towards Toitois (0), Riverton to Orepuki (0), Oiautau towards Nightcaps (four miles) (0). TO BE PROCEEDED WITH WHEN FURTHER jFUNDS are available: Pukekohe to Waiuku (A), Hawera to Waverley (T), Mauriceville to Woodville (H), Woodville to Bunnythorpe (W), Blenheim to Awatere (M), Waimate Branch Extension (C), Duntroou to Hakateramea (0). To be postponed: Kawakawa to Hokianga (A), Whangarei - Kamo Limeburners Creek to Deep Water (A), Hamilton to Te Aroha (A), Te Awamutu to New Plymouth (A), Tauranga to the Lakes (A), Makatoko to Woodville (H), Napier to Taupo (H), Normanby to Opunake (T), Bellgrove to Roundell (N), Roundell to Nelson Creek (N), Nelson to Motueka (N), Greymouth to Hokitika (Wd), Lake Forsyth to Little River (C), Fairlie Creek to Burkes Pass (C), Coalgate to Rakaia Gorge (C), Sonthbridge to Rakaia aud Waterton (C), Orari to Kakahu (C), From four miles beyond Koiao to Switzers (0), Balclulha to Catlin'a River (O), Lumsden toMararoa (O). Not recommended: Helensvilie to Kaukapakapa and Whangarei (A\ Taupo to Murimotu (A), Napier to Walliugford (H), Napier to Gisborne (H), Wellington to Foxton (W), Greatford to Bulls (W), Bulls to Sandon (W), Petone to Waiwetu (W), Awatere to Hurunui (M), Blenheim to Roundell (M), Westport to Inangahua (N), Hokitika to East Coast (0), Brunnerton to Oxford (C), Greymouth to Amberley (N & C), Little River to Akaroa (C), Cave to St. Andrews (C), Sheffield to Waiani waniawa (C), Coalgate to Temuka, Canterbury Interior (C), Otago Central (0), Lawrence to Tapanui (0), Kelao to Waikuka (0), Lawrence to Roxburgh (0), Wakatipu to Lake M'Kerrovr (0), Green Island to Kaitangata (0), Outram to Clarendon (0), Kingston to Cromwell (0), Invercargill to Seaward Bush (O), Mararoa to Otautau (0), Wiuton to Nightcaps (0).