THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1880.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3727, 4 December 1880, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1880.

In tbe issue of the New Zealand Gazette of November 25, there is a tabulated statement of tbe returns of traffic on jfew. Zealand Railways for the four weeks ending October 16th. From them we gather that there has been a marked improvement during the month of September-October, over the corresponding period of time last year. The returns during the month for the Kaipara, Auckland, Napier, Welling- j ton, Wanganui, New Plymouth, Am- i berley Kingston, Greymouth, West- i port, Nelson, and Picton sections, taken collectively amount to £56,005 7s Bd, as against £52,026 4s_ 2d, showing- an improvement of £3,979 3s 6d over the month ending 16th October 1879. The number of pessengers carried on all the sections was for 1880 44,914 Ist class, and 142,422 2nd class, as against 47,681 and 164,339 respectively in 1879. This -shows the total number of passengers carried during the month ending October 16th on the New Zealand Railways, to be 197,336. In this there is a considerable falling oflj the numbers carried in 1879 being 212,020, or 14,684 increase on the returns of this year. The largest number of passengers carried in the North Island was on the Auckland section, the numbers being^ 19,057, and the smallest number being conveyed on the Kaipara section, 1,160. In the South Island the AmberleyKingston carries off the prize with 133,445, and the Westport section (10 miles open for traffic) carried only 821 passengers. There was a large falling off in the number of passengers carried, but the amount of goods has largely increased. The total weight of goods' carried on the various sections during the month of October was 93,079 tons, as against 75,155 in 1879, being an increase of 17,924 tons. Re- [ turns for livestock carried also show a large increase. With regard to tbe working expenses of the railways, the expenditure on the railways in the North Island has been in the proportion of 77*98 to the receipts. The most expensive line is the Kaipara railway in the North, where it takes 98*69 per cent, of the receipts to keep it going, and the least expensive being the Auckland section, with expenditure in the ratio of 70*36 per cent. In the Sbuth Island, the most expensive line is the Mount Somers branch, being 11 miles in length, and being maintained at a cost of 410*84 per cent, of receipts. This is a most decided white elephant, as it costs four times the receipts to maintain it. The men who voted that railway must have been exclfedingly foolish, and from the fact that the total receipts on the branch have only amounted to £20 19a od; we should imagine that the dwellers in Mount Somers are not great patronisers.of the Iron Horse. The least expensive line is the Chvistchurch section, of the Amberl ey-Kingston line, which is maintained at a cost of 49*29 per cent, of receipts. The cost of railway maintenance in the whole of New Zealand is in the proportion of 67*42 per cent, of receipts. Although the Southern railways are maintained at a less average cost than those in the North, we can boast of not having any line in our island which does not pay expenses. But in the South there are nine lines of railway the average cost of maintenance of which is 16949 per, cent, of receipts, or half as much again. There is, we are glad to say, good cause tor coii-

gratulation, as from the facts just elicited we gather that the development of the country has, and is being rapidly assisted by the wonderful agency of the steam engine.