The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 1908. THE RAILWAYS LEAKAGE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 256, 22 July 1908, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 1908.

THE RAILWAYS LEAKAGE.

9 A favourite device of the Prime Minister and his allies, when the finances of the Kailway Department are subjected to criticism, is to gird at tho critics for their failure to suggest a way of doing things bettor. It is, of courso, the business of the Government to find ways and means of correcting the defects. Before they insist upon " constructive" criticism, Ministors should show some willingriess to be convinced by criticism of the "destructive" kind. This, however, they steadfastly refuse to do. Mr, John Duthie's letter which we print to-day, therefore, may not be welcomed by tho Government, but it will, be of value to tho public, and to members of Parliament, for its disclosure of one o£ tho main sources of waste in our railway systom. The railway accounts are so presented that only a patient analysis can lift the v.oil from the carefully covorcd up ■ defects' of administration. Anyone can see, of course, that tho finances of tho Department aro in a bad way, that all kinds of things which should be charged to rovenuo are paid for out of loan monoy, and that

even this fortifying of revenue does not prevent the system from representing a burden of from £300,000 to £500,000 per annum on the general taxpayer. The finances of the railways, as everyone knows, arc thoroughly bad. But the causes of this unhealthy condition of things are by no means easy to get at. Mn. Duthie has discovered one serious source of waste.. He takes the three chief " sections " —Auckland, Wellington, and Hurunui-Bluff—and examines the figures relating to these' sections in the years 1900, 190-1, and 1908. While the' revenue per mile at track has increased from £518 to £1113 in the eight years on the Auckland section, and from £912 to £1609 on the Wellington section, it has only increased from £777 to £946 on the Huru-nui-Bluff section, which is half as large again as the other two combined. The total net. revenue has increased by over 100 per cent, on the Auckland and Wellington sections, and has dropped from £343,470 to £287,195 on the Southern trunk. In 1900 the interest earned on ' the Hurunui-Bluff section was £3 16s. per cent., which was far greater than the interest earned on oither of the other sections. In 1904 the relations'had been just reversed, and in the. past year, while the Auckland section earned £3 17s. Id., and the Wellington section £4 lis. Bd., the earnings of the Hurunui-Bluff section had dropped to £2 7s. lOd. pc. cent. The proportion of working expenses to earnings on both the Auckland and Wellington sections was between 67 and 68 per cent. On the Hurunui-Bluff section it was 76.44 per ccnt.! The position was put in another way by Mn. Herries in his speech on the Financial Statement last week, when he quoted tfye following table showing the net earnings per trainmile:— 1900 1908 s. d. s. d. Auckland section 1 lli 2 4 Wellington section 1 llf 2 3i Hurunui-Bluff section ... 32| 1 What is the reason for this extraordinary result from the largest section in the system 1 The gross revenue per trainmile was a little greater on the HurunuiBluff section than on either of the other two sections. But the gross expenditure was very much greater. The train-mile-age on the Southern section, for example, was about 55 per cent, greator than the train-mileage,on the Wellington section, but the " traffic expenses " exceeded the Wellington " traffic expenses." by 91 per cent. I No doubt the additions to the HurunuiBluff section during the past year have had something to do with these startling figures. Since 1900, 31$ miles of railway north of Waipara have been built; tho Otago Central line, which covered 77 miles in 1900, is now over 134 i miles long; the Makarewa-Orepuki, Catlins and Tapanui branches have been extended. As will be seen from -Mr, Dutuie's table, 241 miles of railway have been built in tho South Island, against 129 miles in this Island during the past oight yoars; The further the Department extends its operations in the South, apparently, the greater tho loss to the country. It is clear that it is the Wellington-Napier-New Plymouth section'which has to support tho non-paying lines. On this section the net revenue wa3 .£255,852, or £4 lis. Bd.' per cent, on capital; if the Hurunui-Bluff section earned the same rate of interest its return would be £549,888 instead of tlio £287,195 actually received. Here at once is £260,000 of waste. And here wo may leave for the present what becomes more and more clearly recognised as one'of the most extravagant railway systems in the,-,world. Members will bo rendering the country a valuable service if they will press the Government for an explanation of the enormous money-wasting capacity of tho largest section in the system.