THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1908. RAILWAYS AND FINANCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13674, 15 February 1908, Page 6

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1908. RAILWAYS AND FINANCE.

In another column of to-day's Herald will be found an interesting article, in which Mr. C. H. Gibbons, a well-known Canadian journalist, who recently visited New Zealand, has given to his fellowcolonists his impressions of our railway system. Mr. Gibbons, who says that when he left Canada " the glamour of nationalisation was full upon him," evidently would not endorse Sir Joseph Ward's favourite assertion that we have " the bestmanaged railways in the world." ', On the contrary, our Canadian visitor has come to the conclusion "that railway nationalisation, for a new country at least, is quite the maddest theory that irresponsible enthusiasm could advocate;" and he goes on to make the most invidious and odious comparisons between our State system and the private railways of Canada. We do [ not suppose that this or any other , criticism upon rival systems can be regarded as conclusive, and we should find it extremely hard to agree that our national railway system is hopelessly and irredeemably inefficient. But it is just as well to realise that neither a public nor a private nor any other system of railway control is perfect and complete in itself, but must be judged by its industrial and financial success, and by its influence upon and co-operation with the general progress and development of a country. Certainly we have found in New Zealand that " no portion of the mechanism of the political machine lends itself so conveniently to the purpose of the unscrupulous politician as does the State-owned railway," and there can be no doubt that the unsatisfactory state of our public finances—so closely intertwined with railway finance—is mainly due to the demoralising influence of politics in the guidance of public expenditures which should be directed by material considerations alone. Sir Joseph Ward asserted at Paeroa that "if there was any fault to find with our railways, he considered it was that we were spending too much on them." Yet it is notorious and incontestable that our rolling stock and haulage equipment are wofully inadequate for the business requirements of the various districts, and that this phase of mismanagement is felt on practically every line in the Dominion. We will say nothing about the discomfort to passengers entailed by. the systematic conversion of trucks into passenger coaches upon all holiday occasions; but it cannot be considered sound policy to rob Peter to pay" Paul, and this conversion always causes increased shortage in the goods-carrying branch. For everything is shorWengines, trucks, carriages. As an instance,, all the attempts made on the Auckland system to maintain the reputation of the Eotorua express have utterly failed to provide sufficient accommodation during this season, and similar complaints come from the South. This shortage is a monotonous one. It does not arise from any sudden expansion in traffic and passenger requirements, but from a steady and sustained growth of business. It amounts to a perpetual throwing away of money, simply because the Government takes no real pride in keeping the railway equipment abreast of demands, and because nobody is sufficiently concerned to take an interest from what are termed "selfish" reasons. The result is bad management everywhere, in the equipment of the service as well as in the construction of the lines, in the arrangement of the time-table without due regard to the public convenience, and in the bureaucratic dulness with which every claim for intelligent improvement is received. Our suburban services are disgraceful ; sometimes suspending when they are most required, sometimes i hauling empty trains because of adherence to red-tape charges. Ami our country services are conducted upon the cool assumption that shippers and travellers ought to be very grateful if they get trains at all. All this is cloaked over ■, by the imaginary advantage of "concessions," whereby districts are placated and politicians satisfied, and the sum of which is that an average ton is hsuied for considerably less in the South, Island than in the North* ' '* ■} i

If our railways do not pay we all know why, or ought ; '\io.'-fejOW'.'. if they are badly managed the cause 13 clear. It is not Sir Joseph Ward's fault or any individual's fault, hut the fault of x?ernieiows system, which may take a stronger man than the Premier to reform, but only takes an intelligent man to perceive and a sincere man to acknowledge. They are not built solely to ■ open up country, to push settlement, to develop traffic, but largely to solace political elements which fight first and always for their share of the " spoil." If this were not so we should not see great districts in the North Island paralysed by the failure of the Government to thrust railways into them, should not see our borrowed money so frequently squandered upon lines that cannot possibly pay, and that the country as a whole knows to be uncalledfor. Shrewd managers, strong and fearless organisers and directors, are net; wanted in the Railway Department unless they will hold their tongues and subordinate themselves to the political exigencies of the moment. It is to capture the electorates, to satisfy unthinking majorities who do not understand that ''good times" cannot last for ever and who do not take, the day of reckoning into consideration, that our boasted railway policy is mainly directed. And times are so good, trade is so brisk, prices are so high, that the whole community is indifferent to evils which would not be tolerated for a day if our national circumstances were altered. 'Does Sir Joseph Ward think that if business were hard to obtain, merchants and their assistants, manufacturers and their employees, mine-owners and their mines, producers and consumers of every class, would be so tolerant of railway shortcomings? And does he imagine that with a falling revenue and a tightening of the money market the Railway Department could afford to ignore business possibilities as it does at present 1 For the whole question, after all, turns upon the financial axis upon which most practical problems revolve. If our railways are badly managed compared with the Canadian private lines, it is probably because we are so prosperous. When the chill of hard times comes we shall probably develop energy enough to reform our whole State organisation! But what an Augean stable to reform unless we set to work at once! We are a prosperous State and have behind us illimitable possibilities of increased production and renewed prosperity, but our finances are evidently conducted as though there was no object in getting out of debt. The Auckland Chamber of Commerce has been discussing our Gilbertian method of charging against " capital" the replacement of worn-out railway plant: and the method extends from top to bottom of our administration. A building which' was built out of unpaid loan money is burned down, and is rebuilt from new loan money. An old engine which was bought with unpaid loan money is thrown on the scrap-heap, and is replaced from more loan money. And so on to the end of the chapter. . The result is that in these most prosperous times we are borrowing as eagerly as ever and without making any adequate provision for repaying our borrowings. Nor is this all. Our public debt is £67 per head of our present population, but we are going into more debt at the ( rate of about £100 per head of our increase in population. In other words, we are going into debt much faster than we are increasing, whereas the veriest schoolboy ought to know that our population should increase faster than our debt if our debt is to be proportionately reduced. A sound railway policy would be that no railway should be built which will not provide, interest: and sinking fund, and that no business should be turned away or discouraged for lack of plant. And a sound financial system would be -hat immigration should be encouraged more than loan-raising; and that an ample sinking fund should be im- ? mediately formed to take the place of the comparatively smalf one so unwisely abolished. If statesmen had to make formal provision for the repayment of their loans they might borrow even more, but they would take very good care how they expended them.