Rangitikei Advocate. MONDAY, MARCH 22, 1909. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9400, 22 March 1909, Page 4

Rangitikei Advocate. MONDAY, MARCH 22, 1909. EDITORIAL NOTES.

IT seems surprising that there should be any discussion as to whether the railways ought ,or ought not to pay interest on the money spent in constructing them. Yet things are in such a topsy turvy state that we are told by the New Zealand Times that “the Government has never attempted to make the railways pay. It has been

a cardinal point of Ministerial policy that the railways should be regarded as a great public convenience, that they should be conducted so as to promote settlement, travel, and the general development of the country; that they should be run with that aim almost entirely; and that they should not return more than 3 per cent—any excess of earnings in that direction being returned to the public by increased privileges.” If this principle is accepted there is no reason whatever why it should not apply to the postal and telegraphic services, the State coal mines or the Government Life and Fire Insurance Departments. The result of the socalled three per cent, policy is that people in the back blocks who are already handicapped by not being near railways are deliberately penalised by having to pay a share of the taxation required to balance the loss made on the railways. Similarly those who can buy State coal get it at less than cost price at the expense of all the taxpayers who are not close to a State Goal Depot. Once the principle to making each State undertaking pay for itself is departed from it is impossible to put any limit to the concessions politicians will he ready to give in order to gain votes. No man should he given the power to use public services, like the railways or post office to bribe the constituenoies, hut this had been done in the past, and is still being done. Even if the railways were paying interest on the cost of construction it would still be possible for a skilful Minister to work many points by granting an extension to a line here or an extra train there, but his power would not be a fraction of what it is at present When ordinary prudence is thrown aside and concessions made with the object of obtaining political suppoit. Mr Millar says that lie intends to make the railways pay, and we wish him all success in the endeavour, but even should he prove successful it will be no proof that the management would not be better in the hands of trained business men who had devoted their whole lives to railway work.

WE referred on Saturday to the enor-. mens increase in the official staffs of all Government. Departments which has taken place in the last ten years. The same story is told by the appropriations for the various Departments, and the figures serve farther to illustrate the great extravagance that prevails. The charges for the Colonial Secretary’s Departments have risen from £73,000 to £120,000 in spite of the fact that printing formerly debited to the Department now appears as a separate item amounting to £46,000. Turning to education we find that the appropriation has advanced from £447,586 to £856,842. No one grudges reasonable expenditure on education, but When we note that the number of children in primary and secondary schools has only increased from 149,000 to 159,000, it is evident that the addition to the cost is out of all reason. It must’alao cause considerable surprise that during ten most prosperous years, and in spite of the establishment ofj old ago pensions, the expenditure on lunacy and charitable aid has advanced from £59,000 to £104,000. It is unnecessary to quote more figures, though ic would be an easy matter, in order to establish t,he statement that the greatest extravagance prevails in most of the Government departments and that a very careful scrutiny is required to prevent the waste that is going on.