THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY AUGUST 22, 1910. THE RAILWAYS STATEMENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14918, 22 August 1910, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY AUGUST 22, 1910. THE RAILWAYS STATEMENT.

Theiik will be no lack of readiness in tho Dominion to congratulate Mr Millar on certain of the results disclosed in the report which lie has presented to Parliament on the operations of tho railway system driving tho past financial year. In various respects tho outcome of the year'n working compared more than favourably with that of the working of the system for tho previous year. Yet. v/iien tiio figures supplied with the report ar« closely analysed, the effect is to show that the relatively successful results which S'b Millar has been able to show are

accountable mora by, an unusual increase ill the revenue than by the introduction of pranoinks in tho management of the sorties. This comment is suggested in the first place by the fact that, while the net earnings for tho year were £265,605 in excess of thoso for the preceding year, the increased receipts were actually £320,264. Tho revenue - producing capacity of tho service, permanently strengthened as it is by the existence of the Main Trunk lino in the North Island and by the acquisition of tho WellingtonMajiavaki 1V.6, affords, indeed,, great cause for satisfaction. The occurrence of two Easter seasons in the past financial year vas, o". course, an accident that contributed in some measure to tho production ot a favourable result; but the

circumstance thai the earnings of the lailways o! Aew Zealand for ihe period .imour.ied in 98.75 d per train mile, as "omparfid with bucii figures as (for the yea-; ISCB-9) 88.6W in Victoria, 88.2-od in Western Australia, 80.06 d in New Soiit.ii wales, 80.01 in South Australia, aw' 68.25 d in Queensland, is a sufficient indication of the great potentialities of t.lv>. system in 1-lis Dominion ns a business onlfirrjriiv. The comparison in like/ manner o* the nei earnings per I rain mile shows, however. tha f Victoria, South AvsLvaiiO, and Xmr South Wales All

present ;i more favourable result than New 'innland floes. While t.'no net yield ir, >"civ .T-ealand was 52.51 d per train .mil-3 it was 33.05 in Victoria, 35.83 d in South Australia, and 37.55 din Ns;? Soutn iVaifiS. The explanation is necessarily In bp iound in the existence o* a- mucii nigher porcEutage of working nr.pens?3 in relation fo revenue in New

£eaiar.d tSan in any of these States. In Victoria toe working expenses absorbed £7.67 par cent, of the revenue; in South Auslralk * very similar result, was obtained, the proportion being 57.72 per. cent.; and in New South Wales if. was 58.72 per cent. In 2vcw Zealand, the proportion was 66.76 per cent. An examination of a comparison of the various factors in the cost of management of the system suggests that, even though Ml' Millar hss curtailed expenses under each differed heading, tho system in the

Dominion is managed more or jess extravagantly. The. locomotive expenses pov 1-vaia irale, ior msiance, although they wcro reduced last year from 25.56 d tn 25.35 d in Nov,' Zealand, are considerably in excess of the corresponding figures in tho majority of llie Australian States. In New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia these expenses range from 21.1 id to 22.44 d per train mile, and in Queensland they are as low as 15.50 d. Again, while tho traffic expenses in South Australia are as low as 12. SO per ccnt. of the revenue and in none of the eastern titat.es o,' the Commonwealth exceed 16.02 per cent, they amount in ..New Zealand to as much' as 18.96 per ceuc'. The returns of the exnenses of maintenance per mile of railway are, however, the most significant of ail. Last year they 'were reduced in Now Zealand from £258 to £230. Sinco tin's economy has, r.s the separate resort of the Chief Engineer of Railways shows— (or he states that '' tlm track has been msinta-ned in good condition,"—not been

femired j>.i the cost n£ anv. sacrifice o.f

efficiency of jiinintenancfi, it- seems a. reasonable conclusion that extravagant n;e!.!;e<js were employed in the preceding ysav. 'Die figures fov several preceding yews convey the like infe;enca. For it. is tho facli that up to-the' year 1005 the cost of maintenance ia the Dominion wM kept below £200 per mile of j-n Uway, and it is also the fact that in r.oiip, oi the Australian States doss ihe cost exceed that figure. In Victoria, where maintenance of the Uaek if more expensive than in any of the other Australian Stales—a circumstance that may douhtlcss lie attributable to the possessor: by Victoria of t-he widest, gauge,— tho cost : s £184 per railway mile. In \testi>ni Australia it is as low as £107 awl in Queensland as, low as £115. The heavier expense of railway management 'n ,\ T c\r Zealand, in comparison with that >n Australia, is not in all the points we have mentioned to he ascribed to the condition? •vinee, Mr Millar says, *iiffe'on'inva the Dominion system from the syr-teris hi operation in the State? of the Commonwealth. The proposal lie makes for the l'RKuctio'-i .of the prudes and t-V-es jmprovemei", o; (lie alignment of the

tr;in< jinw, Tlth a view 1.0 a reduction in the operating expenses, will be favourably iw.eived -v, a step that is amply jusiifieri iby lit considerations the Minister mentions in liia report, but it is morn fha-n likely that there are less intangible and more immediate causes' of wastage to which Mr Millar may profitably direct Jus attention.

THE POSTAL DEPARTMENT. It war, with ;i good deal of justifiable pride that Sir Joseph Ward boasted recently that the postal service in New Zealand is the cheapest, fnai is pro-vitl-otl among the civilised naiioiw ol tho world. Progrc&'ivensss unquestionably marks the control of the Post ami Tele graph Department. And as the work ot 11) at department is closely associated with tlio life of the,community, its results, may be taken to reflect. >:p 'o ceruiin point, :iie general proves- 1 01 tlio Dominion. It is the mora satisfactory, therefore, to iind Mat cfte Posimsate."gonoral's report for % year 1 909.1 {) ton . veys no suggestion that, the period -iider

review was one of commercial ".tvingency

or oi ies3 than normal national progrcrj,

It records aa increase of business and an increasing revenue, the accretions to which we rather more than balanced by '.hose to expenditure. For tins i?.twi Trot, however, r. satisfactory explanation is given, and ihe outstanding resiil!'. cf the year's operations was a credit balance of £105,440, which, it is claimed, bears witness to the success .both of tile administration of the Department and cf the policy of providing additional facilities without oxtra charge. Ten years ago the revenue of the Post and Telegraph Department amounted to 3503,835 and the expenditure to £418,271. Last year tin revenue reached" £961,500 .-.net tho expenditure £858,059, so thai, m the decado tho figures nave nearly doubled themselves m the case oi revenue and have more than done so in the case of expenditure. Kew Zealand, we imagine, is not falling short of her reputation established by Universal Postal Union statistics, of surpassing in proportion r<> her population, all other countries in respect of tho volume of letters and post-cards transmitted. • ll'any of the suggestions emoodied in. the ''eport by the Secretary of the Department after his visit to Btirope have been brought into fores with marked auccess, and the lull effect of the annual saving that is anticipated should, •«?« are told, soon be apparent. The recommendations made by Mr .Ttoberison, .it may be remembered, were expected- if carried out, to keel 3- saving <y~ .-810,000. As regards the ocean mail services, the country has received from the Post-master-general in Parliament a great deal of information more rcccnt than any contained in the report. The Government entertains hopes that a more satisfactory connection with Canada may be secured than the present ono, under which, as >Sir Joseph Ward justly says, New Zenland occupies a position analogous to that of the fifth wheel oi! a coach. In the meantime, we are chiefly dependent for our British mails upon the services maintained through t!it Peninsular and Oriental and Orient linos. The cost to tho Dominion last year of the Suez service was £28,203. To resident.! at this end of !Ne\v Zealand this service has proved very satisfactory by reason, of 'is regularity, but other parts of the Dominion have complained of the lack of a prompt connection with the mail steamers at Sydney, and negotiations for the expediting of tho delivery are still proceeding. The intentions of the Government with regard to wireless telegraphy are recapitulated, and the results which should accrue from the erection of five wireless stations to meet the requirements, in the way of ready communication, or defence, the navy, and the mercaatik snaring- service oi thu Do-

minion, are not ppoken of in terms more' sanguine tnan t.-lieic 'ifjonilners should evo long justify. K aostai system is not cevfactect in a. day, and jfe p-ould not lie reasonable in the comparatively sicail towns of Kew Xealaad to ihc

existence of posiai facilities audi 53 e*o provided in many of the great, centres of the vrorld's population. T,hs Postmastorgeneral reasonably, claim thai ilie Department under his- control is showing stsoif progressive in Sis methods, and that as a reflection on ife> conditions obtaining generally among the popalatiorf, in die limitea extent to which they tare influenced thereby, ils operations giro a eery satisfactory, impression-