OUR RAILWAYS.—THE STATEMENT FOR 1903. TO THE EDITOR.

Evening Post, Volume LXVI, Issue 45, 21 August 1903, Page 2

OUR RAILWAYS. — THE STATEMENT FOR 1903. TO THE EDITOR.

Sir — In my last I pointed out that during., the past three years the net revenue of the Auckland section of railways had increased £31,073, that of the Wellington, Taranaki, and Hawkes Bay | sections £31,570, while on favoured) | Huranui-Bluff section the net revenue had actually decreased by £26,959. It ought to be remembered that in order to produce the rate of interest said to be earned the Auckland line was assisted to the extent of an average of 6 per cent., Wellington to 44 per cent., and the Hurunui-Bluff to 47 per cent, out of loan money spent on "additions to open lines" — in other words, charging to capital wlhat ought to have been charged against the revenue of the sections named. The percentages given above may not be exactly correct, for no account of the expenditure on rolling stock for the different sections is given, but, assuming that it is in tie same proportion as that in the permanent way, then during the three years the Auckland section had £64,636 of loan money, Wellington, ! Taranaki, and Hawkes Bay £476,931, and the Hurunui-Bluff £717,331. These three sections comprise practically the whole of the New Zealand railways. In the North Island there are only another 61 miles m the three little detached bits north of Auckland/ and the 13 miles at Gisborne • the.se cost £379,288, on which, according to the Statement, they earned an average of £3 5s 5d per cent., or Is 9d per cent, more than the completed Hurunui-Bluff section. In the South Island there aro outside of the Hurunui-Bluff 210 miles costing £1,328,886 and paying an average of £2 19s 2£d per cent., or 6s 2£d less than the outside Auckland lines. If we compare the result's obtained from the two Northern sections with those of the Southern one the outcome is startling. The North Island sections have a combined mileage of 807 miles costing £7,326,961, and during the last three j-ears they show an increase in net revenue of £62,408. Let it be remembered/ that this is only the increase in net revenue from two detached sections. On. the other iand, the Hurunui-Bluff is a continuous section of 1213 miles, costing. £9,986,178 and connecting two great provinces and numerous towns, yet the net revenue on this great section during the last three years actually decreased £26,959. So we see, sir, that this section having 406 more miles and costing £2,659,217 more money gave the country a worse result by £89,367 than the two much smaller Northern sections did. I ask, sir, if the facts given above do not prove conclusively that there must be something radically wrong in the policy pursued by our railway administrators, for it is manifest that the more our railways are extended the worse the financial result. The Wellington, Taranaki, and Hawkes Bay section, which connects wi£h tthe capital towns of three provinces, pays worse than the Auckland section, which stops in the wilderness, and the Hurunui, which also connects with three capitals and has the advantage every way, pays worse than the Wellington section, and is, in fact, the worst investment of any of the three sections. People will naturally ask who is responsible for this state of things? I presume it is the Ministry and the chief officers of. the department. Is it not their business to see to the safe and profitable investment of the large sums of money expended on our public. works? For what purpose does the Minister for Public Works exist, if not to advise as to wheie tthe public funds can be safest and most profitably invested? It is quite clear that some one has neglected his duty in this matter, and that the public funds have been largely invested where they have given the worst paying result. During the existence of the present Ministry £765,328 has been expended on the Auckland section and £1,658,965 on the Hurunui-Bluff. For this Auckland lias obtained 76 miles of rail at an average cost of £10,070 per mile and the Hurunui-Bluff 112 miles at an average cost of £14,812, which shows that the Southern section has been constructed and fitted in a far more costly fashion than the Northern section. I cannot show the came comparison with, the Wellington, Taranaki, and Hawkes Bay line, because that section was nob completed until much later. I regret very much having been driven into the provincial aspect of this question, but will show the necessity for it in- my next. — I am, etc., SAMUEL VAILE. Auckland, 3rd August, 1903.