South Canterbury Times, THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1882.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2753, 19 January 1882, Page 2

South Canterbury Times, THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1882.

There is published in the general government “ Gazette,” every four weeks, a return of the railways working account showing the revenue and expenditure for a four-weekly period ended about a month before the publication of the return, time being required for the compilation of the return, together with a statement of the revenue and expenditure during the portion of the current financial year expired at the end of the four weeks for which the return is given. Abstracts of these returns are telegraphed over the colony on. the appearance of the “ Gazette ” containing them,. but these abstracts convey but little information to the ordinary reader. The returns, as gazetted, might be made more valuable by the addition of another column or two of figures, but taken as they are a little industry will enable anyone to obtain some interesting results from them. According to the last four-weekly return, published in the “ Gazette” of Jan. 12, there are naw 1306 miles of railway open for traffic in New Zealand, of which 449 miles are in the North, and 857 miles in the Middle Island. During the current financial year (i.e, from April 1) to Dec. 10 a total of £237,784 was received from all lines in excess of working expenses. Of this amount the 449 miles in the North Island contributed £42,927, or at the rate of £95 12s per mile ; the 857 miles in this Island £194,807, or at the rate of £227 Gs per mile ; 256 miles, comprising the Christchurch, section and North Canterbury branches contributed £86,803, an average net revenue of £333 3s per mile. It has been often urged that the railway changes should be reduced in Canterbury, for the purposes of developing the trade of the district. The above figures show that the Canterbury lines are paying a great deal more than a fair share of the total net revenue.