The Temuka Leader THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1885. MANAGEMENT OF OUR RAILWAYS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1314, 12 March 1885, Page 2

The Temuka Leader THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1885. MANAGEMENT OF OUR RAILWAYS.

Mr C. Yaile who is, we believe, an auctioneer in Auckland, is at present on a stumping tour through New Zealand, lecturing on how our railrailwajs should be managed. On last Monday evening he lectured at Napier, and from the condensed report of his address which has reached us, we gather that he has formulated a scheme for reducing the freight charged on the railways, though none of the details are given. We take the following from the report:—

“The little line in Westport was the only line in the South Island that had improved in position since its construction, and in 1884 it earned £3 Is 5d per cent over working expenses. In the North Island the Wellington railway earned £1 8-i 6d ; Wanganui, 10s 6d ; Taranaki, 4s 6d per cent over working expenses. The Napier line was the best paying line in New Zealand, and in 1882 it earned £3 13s od, in 1883 £3 4s 6d, and in 1884 £3 9s 91 over working expenses. The North Island railways contrasted very favorably with those in the South Island although the latter paid slightly higher rates of interest. The railways in the South had been going to the bad, earning leas year by year, while the North Island maintained their position. The rate of interest on the whole railway system had fallen from £3 8s 2d in 1881 to £2 16s 6d in 1884 ; thus the loss had been increasing, and in 1884 amounted to £377,186.”

To commence with, Mr Yaile is wrong in his facts and figures. The best paying line in New Zealand is the section between Teraukasnd Waikari. According to a return submitted to Parliament on the 22nd of August, 1883, the Te-muka-Waikari branch had returned £29,293 Is lid after having allowed for working expenses and 5 per cent for the cost of construction, while there was a dead loss of £6,i1l 8s lid on the Napier line, which Mr Yaile says is the best paying in the colony. It is rather strange that any one undertaking to educate the public should start with such a gross blunder os this. He also said that the North Island contrasted favorably with the South. Quoting from the same return we find that there was a loss on every line in the North Island, while there were two linen in the

South Island which returned £45,098 3s 5d over and above working expenses and paying 5 per cent on the cost of construction. Where Mr Vaile got his figures from is a dark and inscrutable mystery, for he seems to have got hold of the wrong end of the stick somehow. After having disposed of these figures he continued to argue that the railways should not be asked to pay interest on their cost any more than macadamised roads should, and that the Government made a great mistake in trying to secure from them not less than the interest on the cost of construction. This is all very well, but who is pay for them ? If the people who use them do not pay, who will ? The only alternative is to levy a tax, and any one who looks into the matter will, we think, admit that it is fitter that the man who uses the railways should pay than the unhappy “ cockatoo” who delves and digs from years’ end to years’ end. The money must be raised, and the fairest way to raise it is to make those who use the railway pay. Further on, he said that

“ In England it was calculated fifteen pasengers weighed a ton. Now the firstclass fare from Waikari to Bluff would be 18s 7d under his system, the distance 436 miles ; the present fare was £4los 6d. Uia proposed second-class faro for the sama distance was 14s Bd, as against 30a 9d, A ton of goods of the highest class was carried that distance for £5 9a 3d, and a ton of passengera under his system of reduced fares would corns to £lll4s 4d. He had yet to learn that it cost more to haul a ton of passengers, and the passengers could unload themselves in addition. Ships’ goods were taken from Timaru to Lyttelton,loo miles, for 15s per ton. Under his system a passenger would travel that 100 miles for 3s 6d, and fifteen passengers, equal in weight to a ton of these goods, would come to £2 12s fid. The Department was really driven into this position ; it must either confess that it never carried a ton of goods at a profit, or that it could carry passengers at these rates.” The comparison made between carrying a ton of goods and a ton of passengers is certainly very telling. It seems reasonable that if they can carry one at a certain price they can carry the other at the same price, but this brings the question hack to the same point : Are the'railways to pay for themselves or not ? Mr Vaile says they should not be asked to do so ; we say they should, except under certain circumstances. Let the Government impose a protective duty on all goods imported into this colony, and by that means raise a revenue that will pay for any deficit in the railway receipts. This would have the effect of stimulating industry, and prosperity would undoubtedly be the result.