RAILWAY MANAGEMENT.

Tho presentation of a purse of three hundred sovereigns to Mr. Frederick Back on his relinquishing the offioe of Traffic Manager on the Canterbury Railways, is a striking proof of the esteom felt for him in Chrißtchurch and of the publio appreciation of his ability as a manager. We are not surprised at this. Mr. Back fonnd the Cantorbnry Railways in a thoroughly disorganised and unsatisfactory condition. No one was satisfied with the traffioarrangements, and the papers were fall of complaints from all classes of the oommunity. In a very Bhort time, by the exercise of rare powers of organisation, great taot, pleasing manners, and natural business ability, he managed to effeot reforms which pleased everyone. So far as 100-il management of the railways has been ooncerned it has been rare for some years paat to find a singlo complaint in a Canterbury newspaper. Mr. Back was net an engineer ; he had no professional " fads." Ho had not even railway experience. He was simply an intelligent, hard-working man of bußineaa, and not in any way above the work he had to do. His success, as wo have said, was marvellouß, and it is a really sad thing that thiß colony should now lose the services of euoh a man. Ho is the only man the oolony has ever had in its Bervice who has praotically shown himself posseßSod of the knowledge of how railways ought to be managed. Instead of allowing another colony to secure for itself the bonefit of this knowledge and of the praotioal experience whioh Mr. Back has gained in Canterbury, and improved by a reoent visit to England, a wider fiold should have been found in this colony for the oxeroice of his abilities Instead of being practically driven out of the servioe as another good man, Mr. Allison Smith, was before him, because he was too good a man to suit those above him, he should have been required to apply to the whole of our railways the systom and the principle of management which had proved so successful in Canterbury. As it iB, wo retain tho sorvicos of those who have shown their unfltness and incapacity for the task, and wo allow another oolony to seoure the services of a man of proved fitnoss and oapaoity. The Tasmanian Government baa shown itself far wiser than tho New Zealand Government. We observe that Mr. Back, in his valedictory remarks, expressed an opinion that with good management the New Zealand railways oonld be made to pay Bplendidly in a few years. He probably intonded this as an encouragement. Wo regard it as a moßt disheartening statement, beoauso we oan see no probability of the attached condition being fulfilled. There is very little obanoa indeod of the New Zealand railways paying as they should do while tboy are managed on the principles dear to Mr. Maxwell's heart ; with an utter disregard to all ordinary business considerations, although perhaps in strict aooordanoe with engineering formula. Thoro is little ohance of the railways paying while the system of management leads to such men aB Mr. Allison Smith and Mr. Baok joyfully seizing the first suitable opportunity to stver their connection with the servioe, and thoro is very little ohance of any other oolony offering sufficient indnaements to Mr. Maxwell to follow tho example of the gentlemen we havo named. Thore ia thus, we fear, very little ohance of tbo good time ooming whioh Mr. Baok considers probable on the one condition of good management boing secured.