THE RAILWAYS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LVII, 18 August 1910, Page 4

THE RAILWAYS.

In an article on" railway management tho Wellington Post points out that in the pre-Millarian era of political control — thajt is to say, for the fourteen years following 1895 — the overmanning oi; the service — one of the surest results of political management — proceeded apace. "The ratio of expenditure to revenue has been increasing with hardly a check ever since the Commissioners were ousted. The railway revenue had steadily increased, but (the exepnditurc has increased still more rapidly. Tin: percentage of expenditure to revenue in the Commissioned last complete year (1893-4) was 62.70; in ten years it had increased to 65.98; in the iadt year for which the figures are i available (1908-9) it was 72.19. In Australia, on the other hand, the tendency is all thu other way. In 1900-1 the ratio of ex penses to revenue on the average Australian railway was almost the same as ours — 64.76 per cent as compared with 65.30. From 1902 there was a steady decline in the Australian ratio, until in 1906-7 it was as low as 57.18 — a remarkable contrast to the New Zealand percentage for 1908-9 of 72.19 already quoted. How is it possible to resist the conclusion that the freedom of the Australian railways from the curse of political control has at any rate something to do with the contrast? We hope that when Mr Millar submits his statement for 1909-10 it may show tlvt he has done something to check the dangerous down-grade tendency."