D.—2

X

increased facilities. The wisdom of the policy adopted is manifested in the results of the past ten years' working of the railways and the prosperity of the colony, and has enabled valuable concessions to be made to the general community by reductions in fares and freights during that time. It is estimated that the amount returned by the railways of the colony to the users of the lines in the matter of reduced rates has approximated £680,000, cf which sum £480,000 has been given in benefits to the agricultural and pastoral community. The most important concessions have been made in respect to ordinary and suburban passenger-fares—reduced on two occasions; season-ticket rates; travellers' ticket rates ; inauguration of cheap fares for schools, factories, and friendly societies; issue of workers' tickets on suburban lines; inauguration of holiday-excursion fares ; concessions to teachers, newspaper reporters, delegates to religious bodies and friendly societies, to judges attending shows, pupils attending technical schools ; inauguration of checked-luggage system; more liberal arrangements in respect to carriage of ordinary passengers luggage, commercial travellers' luggage, and theatrical companies' luggage ; reduction in rates for parcels, race-horses, hunters, polo ponies, hounds, milk, bicycles; abolition of the rate of Id. per mile for goods carried over branch lines and the extra rate charged on the Eimutaka Incline ; reduction in rent of private sidings; free carriage of lime for manuring farm lands; reduction in rate on returned racehorses and show stock, frozen meat, live-stock, firewood, grain, wool, chaff, lime, timber, fruit, butter, cheese, honey, ham, bacon, poultry, manures, cement, phosphorked pollard for destruction of rabbits, bricks, clay, coal, coke, New-__ealand-grown fruit, vegetables, nuts, green flax, onions, artificial manures, guano, manure salt, rock salt, linseed, beans, bran, native flax, flour, peas, sacks in bales and bundles, acids, tar, tussock-grass, bark, store sheep, material for manufacture of colonial earthenware, stone, stone piles, settlers' biscuits, sago, tapioca, weed-killer, steel, groats, patent fencing, circus material, furniture, baskets, sheep-dip, paper bags, and very many other articles of every-day use. In addition the train services of the colony have been largely added to at a cost of many thousands of pounds, and with a view to meeting the convenience of the general public. The condition of the railway-lines has been materially improved, large sums of money having been spent in the betterment of the lines, new rolling-stock, the equipping of the rolling-stock with automatic brake, the installation of safety appliances, improved accommodation at railway-stations, erecting of new stations, conversion of obsolete rolling-stock, the enlargement of workshops, erection of new workshops, and improvement of workshop machinery. Pintsch's gas system, which has been adopted for car-lighting, has been fitted to all the bogie cars and many of the bogie brake-vans on the principal sections. Second-class cars have been fitted with cushions, and a very large number of the cars with lavatory accommodation. The condition under which the railway men of the colony laboured has also received very careful consideration. It was found in 1895 that the pay of the employees was unsatisfactory and many grievances existed. The Government, having taken steps to inquire into the condition of the men and satisfied itself as to the position, prepared a classification scheme, which came into force in 1897. The passing of this Act conferred very material benefits on railway employees, and resulted in the then existing staff receiving during the first year the scale was in operation £5,500 more than they would have otherwise obtained, and this amount increased yearly. In 1897 an alteration was made in the Classification Act by which apprentices, crossing and bridge keepers, firemen, and carpenters received an increase of pay involving an additional expenditure of £6,230 on the Department. On the Ist January, 1899, all men in receipt of 6s. 6d. per day were given a special allowance of 6d. per day. The value of this concession will be recognised when I state that for the three months ending 31st March, 1899, £2,856 was paid to the men entitled to receive the additional 6d.; for the year ending 31st March, 1900, the amount so paid was £12,383; for the following year it reached £15,352 ; and for the year ending 31st March, 1902, £20,951. In four years, therefore, the Government granted to the low-paid men in the Second Division of the railway service no less a sum than £51,542 over and above the amount provided by the Classification Act of 1896.