D.--.2

XVI

Sheep, &c, decreased 39,378, owing chiefly to the freezing-works closing on account of the want of shipping. The very dry season caused a decrease in the export of chaff and grain. Nelson Section. Revenue, 31,478 ; decrease, £433. Passenger revenue decreased £73. There was a larger overland traffic in the previous year owing to the shipping strike. There were decreases of 800 tons timber, 400 tons grain, and 400 tons mechandise. There was an increase of 1,100 tons minerals. Westport Section. Revenue, £117,118 ; increase, £14,793. Passenger revenue increased £53. There was an increase of 145,400 tons of coal. The output, for the previous year was affected by strikes. Westland Section. Revenue, £161,075 ; increasd, £23,961. Passenger revenue increased £1,811, chiefly on account of Easter holiday traffic. The principal item of goods traffic was an increase of 194,000 tons of coal. The strike last year affected the output. There was also an increase of 3,286 tons of firewood (chiefly pit-props). Timber shows a decrease of 333 tons, and there Were also small decreases in chaff, green flax, grain, and merchandise. South Island Main Line and Branches. Revenue, £1,513,192 ; increase, £9,566. The principal items Were — Number. Number. Passengers .. .. .. .. 4,944,366; decrease, 163,090 Season tickets .. .. .. 100,547; increase, 3,029 Parcels .. .. .. .. 688,913; decrease, 20,888 Live-stock .. .. .. .. 3,161,097; increase, 21,132 Tons. Tons. Goods .. .. .. .. 2,369,993; increase, 67,008 The annual revenue per mile of railway decreased from £1,100 15s. the previous year to £1,095 7s. Id. for the year under review, but increased per train-mile from 9s. Id. to 9s. 2|d. The variations of traffic in the various districts Were approximately as under : Christchurch District. —Revenue, £693,047 ; increase, £16,245. Ordinary passenger and excursion bookings decreased by 93,614, while season tickets increased 2,549. Last year there were large bookings in connection with the visit of H.M.S. " New Zealand." Parcels decreased 2,798. The decrease from the towns was considerably larger, as from some of the country stations the number of cream consignments shows a substantial increase. Much of the decrease is attributable to postal competition. Cattle increased 5,109, calves 775, sheep 103,172, pigs 4,878. Chaff, &c, increased 8,022 tons, wool 2,623 tons, firewood 1,410 tons, grain 66,304 tons, and minerals 5,185 tons. Timber decreased by 14,558 tons, and merchandise by 4,571 tons. Dunedin District. —Revenue, 504,436 ; increase, £6,909. Passengers decreased 10,868, and season tickets increased 903. Parcels decreased 7,467 (at Dunedin chiefly). The position is the same as in Christchurch district. Cattle increased 5,986, but sheep decreased 54,309. Owing to the dry season in Canterbury there was no movement of store sheep northward. Chaff increased 834 tons, wool 2,524 tons, firewood 1,608 tons, grain 1,421 1,461 tons, and minerals 1.3,731 tons. Timber decreased 1,589 tons. Invercargill District. —Revenue, £315,709 ; decrease, £13,588. Passengers decreased 58,608 and season tickets 423. The passenger business has been affected by bad weather and the diversion of the Melbourne steamers from Bluff. Parcels decreased 10,623. Cattle increased 2,064, but sheep decreased 46,297. Chaff, &c, decreased 3,222 tons, firewood 3,174 tons, timber 6,742 tons, grain 5,982 tons, and merchandise 3,631 tons. The season Was very backward for all classes of produce. There was an increase of 7,851 tons of minerals. \* Lake Wakatipu Steamers. Revenue, £6,851 ; increase, £61. Passengers increased 2,541, and £126 in revenue. There was an increase of 5,400 sheep. Wool, grain, and minerals show slight increases, but timber decreased 200 tons and merchandise 122 tons.