SUPPLEMENT TO STATEMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 1918, 24 August 1888, Page 15

SUPPLEMENT TO STATEMENT.

DESCRIPTION OF RAILWAYS IN COURSE. OF CONSTRUCTION.

Heleusville northwards —On the railwayfrom Helensville northwards a contract is in progress to complete the line to a point in the Kaukapakapa Valley, about eight miles from Hellensville. When this is done 'the total length of railway northwards from Auckland will be 44 miles. The works now on hand are expected to be finished about the end of March next. A trial survey has been run for the construction of the line to uear Wellsford, 37 miles from Helensville, but it is not proposed to put any more works in^hand for the present. The vote required to meet existing liabilities on account of this railway will be L 15,000 for this year and about L4OOO for next year, leaving L 49.839 for further undertakings in the future.

Grahamstown-Te Aroha. — On the Grahams-town-Te Aroha railway the rails are laid from Grahamstown to Kaueranga, about five miles ; and the formation (without bridges) is completed between Kaueranga and Hikutaia, about eight miles ; and in progress from there to near Ohineniuri, about six miles. It is expected that the latter Jsection will be finished next month.

From Ohinemuri to Te Aroha (13 miles) the contract survey is complete. The total distance from Grahamstown to Te Aroba will be 32 miles. Plans and specifications have been prepared for a contract for the bridges and culverts on the Hikutaia and Ohinemuri section, but it is not proposed to call for tenders during the current year. The amount now required to be voted for this railway in order to meet existing liabilities, which include a considerable sum for land purchase, will be LSOOO, leaving L 32,926 for appropriation in succeeding years.

Putaruaru-Rotorua.- On the Putaruaru to Rotorua railway the first contract from Putaruaru to Ngatira (eight miles) has just been finished, but as there would be no traffic on this section by itself it is not proposed to open it at the Rotorua end. The formation on six miles between Rotorua and Ngargotato has been carried out by the Maoris in piecework contracts to the extent of L 5940 in a very satisfactory manner. The intervening distance between Ngatira and Ngargotata (about 19 miles) has been surveyed for contract. The total distance from Putaruaru to Ohinemutu is 32 miles. A survey is in progress for a road to connect the proposed station at Okohiriki, which is 18 miles from Putaruaru, with the Oxford-Ohinemutu road. The length of this road will be about six miles, aud it will strike the existing road about six miles from the Ohinemutu township. Beyond the completion of this road survey it is net intended to do any more in connection with the Putaruaru-Rotorua railway at present. The amount required now to bo voted for this railway to meet existing liabilities which will probably fall due within the current year is L 20,000, leaving L 36,103 for further undertakings in the future.

North Island Trunk Railway. —At the northern end the line is completed and open for traffic from Te Awamutu to Te Kuiti, a distance of 25 miles. A further section of one mile is in progress, and expected to be completed in December next. This will bring the railway to the Upper Mokau Valley, a distance of 34 miles from Te Awamutu, and 134 miles from Auckland from the Mokau Valley. Working surveys have been made to a point eight miles south of Te Koura, 66 miles from Te Awamutu, but no construction work has been put in hand beyond the Upper Mokau, except the Parotarea tunnel contract, length about 1£ mile, which occurs near the 47th mile. After considerable delay, this contract is now making satisfactory progress, the work being well advanced towards completion. The amount requireu to be now voted to meet existing liabilities on account of this north end of the work, which will all probably fall due within the current year, is L57,00i), in the future leaving L 177,359 for further undertakings. At the south end the railway is completed and open for traffic from Mahou Junction to Raugitira, a distance of 19 miles. Working surveys and plans have been made from there to the end of tho Paengaroa section (51 miles). From Marton to the head of the Hautaupu Valley (61 miles) the lina has been finally located. This embraces all the rough country at the southern end of the line. The amount required to be voted this year for the south end works in order to meet existing liabilities, which will in all probability come in for settlement before the end of March next, is LBOOO, leaving L 114,756 for appropriation in succeeding years. The road works in connection with the North Island Trunk r^lway that were in progress when the last Public Works Statement was delivered have been carried to completion ; but no roads have been undertaken inland. At Patea a fair dray road has been made from the Rangitikei to Mowhana' (16 miles), and from thence to the Hautaipu (11 miles further) the track is just passable. Following the railway line itself there is now a good riding road all th« way from Hunterville to Mokau (about 170 miles), with a branch from Murimotu to the Wanganui river, Pipireku (25 miles)'. The amount required to bs voted this year on account of road works in order to meet existing liabilities is LI9OO, leaving L 690 for future appropriation for surveys in connection with the North Island Trunk railway, but paid for out of the vote'for surveys of new lines of railway under Part 3of tho Public Works Fund. An exploration has been undertaken for a line of railway to connect Taranaki with the Main Trunk line. This was commenced in January last, and the field work is expected to be finished about December next. A survey is being made of two routes— the Ngaire and Waitara. The Ngaire line leaves the Foxton-New Plymouth railway at a point near Ngaire station, about 33 miles south of New Plymouth, and practically follows the original Stratford route to Mihoniho; it then crosses the intervening range to the Ongaruhe Valley, near Maramata, where it emerges into the central route. The Waitara line follows up the coast from Waitara to the Minui river, and then strikes inland up the Minui Valley and across the intervening ranges into the Taugarakia watershed, where it joins the Ngaire route. It is impossible to give a definite opinion with reference to either of these lines till the surveys and plans are completed. The information obtained so far shows no insuperable difficulty, but a considerable portion of the country is very rough and broken. Beyond the completion of the works. and surveys that are actually iv hand it is not proposed to incur any further expendisure on the North Island Trunk railway for the present. The particulars as regards the purchase of Native lands out of th« loan for this railway will be found undi;r tLe heading of •• Purchase ot Native Lands, North Island " in my Public Works Statemtsnt last year. These particulars were given uudt.r the heading of the railway itself, but I have thought it better this year to deal with all tho Native land purchases in the North Island under one heading. Taking the North Island Trunk railway works as a whole, including departmental expenditure, purchase of Native lands, and charges and expenses of raising loans, &c., the amount required to be voted this year is L 135,711, and for for next year about L 2150, which will leave L 384.139 for future appropriation. Woodville-Palmerstou Railway. — The total length to be constructed from Woodville to the terrace end (one and a-half mile from Palmerston station) is 15 miles. Of this length four and a-half miles of formation in the Mauawatu Gorge is under contract, and expected to be finished in July next. Tbe works, which include heavy cutting, bridge, and tunnelling, are making fair progress. Tenders have been iuvited for the erection of the Pohianga bridge, and if a satisfactory tender is received it is proposed to erect it forthwith. The vote which we now propose to ask for this railway is L 50,000, leaving L 77.201 for future appropriation.

Wcllington-Wooilviile railway is completed and open for traffic from Wellington to Maugurahoe, a distance of 82 miles, and a com-

Consumption, Bochitis, and General Debility will yield quciker to the regular use of" Scott's Emuxsion of Cod Liver Oil with HypophosPHiTES,"than any other remedy know to Medical science. Read the following :— " I have prescribed 1 Scott's Emulsion ' and have also taken ifc im self and can fully endorse the opinion that ii is both palatable and efficient, andean be tolerated by al most anyone, especially where Cod Liver Oil itself cannot be borne. Mahtej Myles, M.D., &c. ■ Stantonbury,' Bucks, Bng. Large and small bottles at all Chemists, is 6d and •28 6d, - . • . ..,..•

■bined road and railway bridge has been constraoted over the Manawatu river at Awapuria, near Woodville. From Manguraboe to Ekatahuna (six miles) a contracb for formation and platelaying is in progress. Although somewhat retarded by adverse weather and other difficulties, the works have been carried on vigorously, and they are expected to be finished in October next. The completion of the railway to Ekatahuna will leave a gap of only 27 miles in the whole distance between Wellington and Woodville (115 miles). A . contract has just been entered into for protective works at the Awapuria bridge, the encroachment of the river having made it necessary to protect the banks and extend the approach on the southern - side. The completion of the works thus in hand will practically exhaust the present loan allocations, so we do not contemplate to undertake any further works on this line at preseut. Tbe.vote required in order to meet existing .liabilities Which will probably accrue this year is L 24.000, and for next year about L 40,000, leaving L 4844 for appropriation in succeeding years. ,: Blenheim-Awatere. — On the Bienheim-Awa-tere railway the formation is finished to the end of the Dashwood section (eight miles from Blenheim). It is not proposed to enter upon any further works for the present. The vote now required for this railway iv order to meet existing liabilities, which will all probably fall due during the current year, is L6OOO, leaving L 23.340 for appropriation in succeeding years.i Greyinouth-Brunnerton. — Considerable additions have been made to the shipping facilities at Greymouth. The wharf has been extended 650 ft, and two eight-ton hydraulic cranes have been provided for loading coal. , Greymouth-Hokitika. — At the Hokitika end the line is finished from Hokitika wharf near the Arahura river (four miles). Between that point and Kapitea creek (seven miles) the formation is nearly all done, and the Arahura river is bridged. At the Greymouth end the rails are laid for one and a-half mile, and the formation partly made to Teremakau river (seven and a-ha!f miles further). Tenders were received some time since for the completion of the Grey-mouth-Teremakau section, but in view of the determination to postpone proceeding with all other railways except the Otago Central and the Manawatu Gorge lines it has not been thought desirable to accept them. The Teremakau 'bridge is under contract. Construction is not yet here commenced, but the material is all provided, and some of it manufactured. The vote required for this railway in order to meet existing liabilities will be L 23,000 for this year, and about L5OOO next year, leaving L 20,064 for appropriation in succeeding years. Mount Somers. —On the Mount Somers Branch railway the earthwork has been done from Mount Somers to Spriugburn (four miles), and the line will probably be completed for traffic during the current year, and the balance next year. Otago Central. —The rails are laid from Chain Hills Junction to the crossing of the Taieri river (16 miles), and the formation and tunnels are completed to the Sutton (33 miles from Chain Hills). The masonry of the bridges is finished as far as the twenty-second mile, and in progress to the Sutton, and well advanced. The bridges and superstructures are finished to the Taieri, and under contract to Deep Stream at twentieth mile. A small station, which will bo an outlet to the Hindou country is in course of formation on the southern side of the Taieri, and a well-graded road is in course of construction and nearly finished between this station and Hindon settlement. The line will be ready ,for opening to this point early next summer. Tenders have been called for the contracb for the superstructures of the bridges between the . Deep Stream and Sutton, and if a satisfactory tender is received it is proposed to put the works in hand at once, and also proceed with the platelaying over the same distance as the bridges get finished. It is also intended to proceed during the current year with a portion of the formation work of the Middlemarch section. The vote proposed to be asked for this year is L 40,000, leaving L 62,822 for future appropriation. Catlin's River. — An extension from Romahapa to Abnriri Flat (five miles) is in progress by the unemployed, the culverts and drains being done by contract. The earthworks are approaching completion, and it is not proposed to put any further works in hand this year. The amount now required to be voted for the railway in order to meet existing engagements is L2OO, leaving L 27,472 for appropriation in, succeeding years. Riversdale-Switzers. —On the RiversdaleSwitzers railway the rails are laid from Riversdale to Mataura river, a distance of three miles. The formation, exclusive of bridges, is constructed for five miles further, and the contract for the survey is , completed. The total length from Riversdalo to Switzers is 14 miles. Tenders were received somu time since for a bridge over the Mataura river, but for the same reasons as stated in the case of the Hokitika-Greymouth railway, it has not been thought desirable to accept them or undertake any other works on this line at present. The amount required to be voted this year in order to cover existing liabilities is L 250, leaving £18,409 for further appropriation. 'The Edendale-Fortrose railway is completed and opened from Edendale to Wyndham — a distance of four miles— and the formation is finished for three and a-half miles further. A contract is in progress for another two miles, including a tunnel 10 chains long. This brings the line to the crossing of the main road at Glenham homestead. It is estimated that the tunnel works will be finished by about January next. Beyond carrying on works contracted for it is not proposed to incur any further expenditure on this railway during the present year. The amount now required to be voted for this railway, in order to meet existing liabilities, which will all probably fall due before the end of March next, is L9OOO, leaving L 11,084 for appropriations in succeeding years. Seaward Bush. — The Seaward Bush railway is completed and opened for traffic from Appleby to Oteramika, a distance of 11 miles. A contract; survey is made to Waimakaka, two miles further ; but it is not intended to undertake any more works at present. The amount now required to be voted for this railway, in order to meet existing liabilities, which will all probably fall due before the end of March 1 next, is LlOOO, leaving L 3609 for future appropriation. SUMMARY ON ACCOUNT OP RAILWAYS IN COXTBBE OF CONSTRUCTION. ' As a whole, the votes proposed to be asked fo>* tbis year will amount to L 433.900, leaving L 829,578 for future appropriation. Of these amounts L 75,240 and L 334.084 respectively appertain to tbe North Island Trunk railway, and the balance— namely, L 263.660 and L 495,434 — to other railways. REMARKS ON OUR RAILWAYS. In connection with the subject of railways in course of construction, I would wish to take this opportunity of making a few remarks on the question of our railways generally, retrospective and prospective. My object is to look back at what we have done during the last 17 years in order to realise what we have obtained for our expenditure in comparison with -similar expenditure in other countries. In doing this I

propose, for reasons which I shall .explain presently, to confine my remarks in the meantime to a comparison between the railways of New Zealand and those of Victoria, New South Wales, and Cape Colony, taking in'each case the latest date- that is to hand.,. In- New- Zealand, taking as in the other- colonies the working railway mileage, we had in March 1888, 1758 miles of railway which cost L 13,352,978, or an average, of L 7595 per mile ; in Victoria, they had in June 1887, 1889 miles of railway which cost 1.26,171,609, or an average of L 13.921 per mile ; in New South Wales, they had in December 1886, 1884 . miles oi railway which cos*. L 24.071.454, or an average of L 12.743 per mile ; and in Cape Colony they had also in December 1886, 1599 miles or" , railway which cost L 14,130,616, or an average of L 8837 per mile. These are the actual, figures, as given in the table attached to this Statement, but in order to do full justice to the cases of the other colonies, as they have greater lengths of double lines than we have, I have calculated the cost per mile on the basis that each mile of double line is equal to two miles of railway. The several lengths of double, lines are, as follows:— In New Zealand, Smiles; in Victoria, 236 miles; in New South Wales, 66 miles; in Cape Colony, 15 miles. This, however, is doing more than justice to the cases of other colonies, as the cost of constructing a double line is not in reality anything like double the cost of constructing a single line. On the basis which I have assumed, however, the case stands as follows : — New Zealand, 1764 miles — average cost, L 7570 per mile ; Victoria, 2116 miles — average cost, L 12.368 per mile; New South Wales, 1955 mile3 — average cost, L 12,313 per mile; Cape Colony, 1614 miles — average, cost, L 8755 per mile. For the purpose of more simple comparison of these cases I propose now to state, on the basis of the average price per mile in each colony, what the cost wpuld be in Victoria, New South Wales/and Cape Colony respectively of a mileage equal to what we have in New Zealand, and stating the case in that way the figures would be as follows :— ln New Zealand, at an average cost per mile, 1764 miles comes to L 13,352,97 8; in Victoria, at their average cost per mile, 1764 miles would come to L 21,817,15 2; in New South Wales, at their average cost per mile, 1764" miles would come to L 21,720,132; and in Cape Colony, at their average cost per mile, 1764 miles would come to L 15,443,820. From these figures it will now be seen that if we had proceeded on the Victorian basis our railways would have cost us L 8,464,174 more than they have dope ; and similarly on the New South Wales basis they would have cost L 8,367,154 more; and on the Cape Colony basis L 2,090,842 more. And a question which has arisen in my mind for consideration is whether we would have been better or worse off if we had adopted any of these bases of construction rather than the one which we have adopted. The first aspect ot the matter which naturally strikes one in this connection is : What has Victoria gained for" its L 8,000,000 extra co3t, and New South Wales for its L8,000,0J0, and Cape Colony, for its L 2,000,000? Presuming that in each case the railways, fulfil the requirements of existing traffic, the advantage or disadvantage of a more expensive class of line will rest mainly on the relative cost of its maintenance as compared with the maintenance of a line havine structures of a cheaper and more perishable .character. And it is on this basis that I propose to examine these cases. In applying this test of relative cost and maintenance, however, it is, of course, necessary to bear in mind the fact that before it can be' properly applied the lines must all have been in existence for a sufficient time for renewals of structures on the cheaper class of line to have become general, and to have become liable to periodical culminations or fluctuations to any great extent. I believe the New Zealand railways, as a whole, have already got into this condition; and. I think, therefore, that comparison may fairly be made between them and the more expensive class of Hues with which I am now comparing them. Aud I should here explain that it was for this reason that I have selected the Victorian, New South Wales, and Cape Colony railways for comparison, rather than cheaper railways in Tasmania and elsewhere. The conditions governing working expenses as a whole, and the relation of working expenses to revenue, are so intricate — depending on the situation of lines, character of traffic, the gradients, and the tariff rates, &c. — that it is scarcely possible to make any intelligible, comparison on that basis. The relative cost of maintenance, however, is not such an intricate subject, because'for similarly constructed lines the rates of wages and the prices of material are about equal) the cost of maintenance up to reasonable speed should depend almost entirely on the train mileage. When once a railway has got to such a stage that the cost of maintenance becomes uniform, the matter of the permanence or otherwise, of- the structures becomes practically eliminated out of the question, and fche only matter for consideration is whether the interest on the extra cost of tho more expensive line is greater or less than the extra cost of maintenance of the cheaper line. This is, of course, presuming what is already stated — viz., that; in either case the railway is good enough to fulfil the requirements of existiug traffia, and also bearing in mind that we are speaking of colonial railways, where high rates of speed are not required or justified by the circumstances, and in the cases of thu more expensive class of line does not show justification for its extra cost by a corresponding saving in working expenses. On this basis, then, its extra cost is not justifiable, as every expenditure beyond what is revenue producing or labour saving is merely luxury and extravagance. The gauge of the Victorian railways is sffc 4in, of the New South Wales 4ft B§in, and of the Cape Colony sft 3in, as against a gauge of 3fh 6in in New Zealand ; but this cannot affect the question at present under consideration in anyway unless it can be shown that that a gauge of 3ft 6in is insufficient for the requirements which have to be met. The cost of maintenance per mile per aunum of the various railway systems, as shown in the table, is :— New Zealand, L 14 1; Victoria, L 170; New South Wales, L 242; and Cape Colony, L 144. These, as in the former cases, are the actual figures, as given in Table A. They - are based, as is customary; on the average mileage open during the year. Allowing, however, as before, that each mile of double line is equal to two miles of railway, they would ; become as follows :— New Zealand, L 141; Victoria, L 150; New South Wales, L 23 3; and Cape Colony, L 143. This is, however, again giving the railways of the other colonies an advantage, as the cost of maintenance of a do.uble fine' for a given amount of traffic is little, if anything, greater than that of a single line. On this hasis the total cost of maintenance per annum in the several colonies foi a mileage equal to what we have in New Zealand would be as follows: — In New Ze-

The " Bufchless Old Visitor lime " takes pride in whitening and thinning the abundant locks of his victims. The most efficient <illy against bis outrages is Mrs S. A. Allen's World's Hair Kestorer, which never fails to restore grey hair to its youthful colour. It acts directly upon the roots of the hair, invigorating them, cleanses the scalp, removing dandruff, rendering the hair soft, silky, and glossy, and disposing it to remain in any desired position." Sold everywhere, »-

land, 1749 miles at Ll4l per mile, L 246.450; in Victoria, 1749 miles , at Ll5O per mile, L 262.350; in' New South Wales, 1749 miles at L234per mile, L 407.517; and in Oape Colony, 1749 miles. at L 143 per mile, L 250,107. Bsferring again to Table A, we find the train mileages for the year under consideration were in the respective colonies as follows :— New Zealand, 2,944,786 train miles ; Victoria, 7,991,378 train miles ; New South Wales, 6,470,265 train miles; Qape Colony, 2,522,149 train miles. These, are the total train mileages for tho several railway systems, irrespective of their length. Converting them, for the purpose of comparison into ;• traiu miles'' per mile of railway, they beco.ne as follows : — New Zealand, 1784 train miles per mile of railway ; Victoria, 3942 train miles per mile of railway ; New South Wales, 3491 train miles per mile of railway; Cape Colony, 1564 train miles per mile of railway. In this calculation the mileages, taken as before, have been the average mileages open during the year, with a length of double line added. From this date tho following results arededucibloby simple proportion :— First, taking the pass as between Victoria and Zealand, if our railway had )>een constructed, on the Victorian basis, with bridges and other structures of the more durable character obtaining there, our charge for maintenance last year (on the basis of tbe relative train mileage and the cost of maintenance in Victoria) would have been L 134.166 loss than it has been ; but, as against this, we should have to pay interest on L 8,464,000 additional capital, wh'ch, at say 4 per cjut., would have come to L 348.560. It would appear therefora that we are better off by L 204.294 per annum than if we had built, our railways on the Victorian plan. Similarly, on the New South Wales basis, our charge for maiutenauce last year would have been L 49.761 less than it has been ; but, as against this, we should have had to pay interest (on additional capital of L 8.367.000) to the extent of L 334.630. ..We would therefore appear to be butt r off by L-284,919 per a'nnuni than if we had adopted the New South Wales plan. .Similarly, again, on the Caps Colony basis our charge for maintenance last year would have been more than it has been by L 23,129; and in addition to this we should have to pay interest (on additional capital of L 2.0 91,120) to tho extent of L 8364,50 that we are better off by L 106,760 per annum than if wo had adopted the Cape Colony plan. In considtriug the cost of our railways as a whole, there is also an item wlrch should not be forgotten—viz , that this cosi includes the Lyttelton tunnel, which is the largest undertaking of the kind in any of the colonies. It would seem evident, therefore, that we have acted wisely in New Zealand in adopting the cheaper class o railways, which, though cheap, are nevertheless quite adequate to our requirements. And b ■ also evident from the low cost of maintenance that we must have good work done in the construction of our lines, and" that the supervision of their maintenance has been careful and painstaking. All that' "we "require, therefore, ia further agricultural development and consequent increase in traffic In order to produce from our railways a handsome dividend. Coming now to the cases of the colonies having cheaper railways than ours,' the data as regards theso lines in comparison with tho New Zealand oue3 will be found ih.thfi following table : — NEW ZEALAND. Mileage constructed, 1758. Average milfs open during year, 1743. Total cost, L 1.3,352.078. Cost per mile constructed, L 7595. Oust per mile construct -d, including length of d mble line, L7S7O. • Maintenance p r mile per annum of average miles 'open, Ll4l. Maintenance per mile per aunum, including length of double line, LMI. fi * Train mileage total, 2,914,783. Per mile of railway, 1681. SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Mileage constructed, 142. Average miles open during year, 1221. Total cost, 1,9,083,093. Co-t per mile constructed, L 6397. Cost per mile constructed, including length of double line, L 0356. Maintenance per mile per annum of average miles open, L9O. 1 Maintenance per mile per annum, including length of double line, 1.89. X Train mileage total, 2,102,85(5. , Per mile of railway, 1710. QUEENS r AND. Mileage consbmcteJ, 15 V 5. Average miles open during year, 1453. "Total coat, L 10 .154,802. Cost per mile constructed, L 6531. , Cost per mile constructed, inoludlng length of double line, L*s3l. Maintenance per mile per annum of average miles open, Ll5B. Maintenance per mile per annum, including length of double line. LI SB. Train mileage total, 2,664,201. Per mile of railway, 184.'5. TASSrANIA. Mileage constructed, 133. Average miles open during year, 106. Total cost, 1.872,33 a. Cost per mile constructed, L 6558. Msiiuti'iiance per mile psr annum of average miles open, £141. Mainte ance p t mile per annum, including length ,of double line, L 144. , Train mileage total, 224,143. Per mile ot railway, 21 4. From these data tho comparison between the several lines is arrived at as b n for« by simple proportion. In the case of South Australia, if the South Australian railway had been built and maintained on the New Zealand railway basis, their charges for maintenance and interest together would have been for the last year at the rate of L 135.606 per annum more than they have been. They appear therefore to be better off to that extent than we are, by reason partly of haviug constructed cheaper lines, and also' probably because their country is not so rough as ours 13, and. their maintenance csnsequently cheaper. Similarly, in the case of Queensland, they were better off during the last year than they could have been on our basis to the 'extent of L 57.623. Taking thase results in connection with those for the more expensive lines, it wonld appear that, while we have an advantage as compared with the railways which are more expensive than ours, tbe railways, on the other hand, which ar.e less expensive than ouro have the advantage over us. Ifc seems probable, however, that in the case of the more recent Tasmanian railways they have carried economy in construction to an . extreme, ' and that their maintenance in future will not probably be so cheap as it was last year while"the lines were new. The first 45 miles of their railways cost on the average L 10.344 a mile, while the latter 88 miles sost only L 4623 a mile ; and concerning these latter lines their general manager, in his report of July 6, 1887, says: — "Whilst our working expense* have fallen' to a satisfactory rate, both per mile open and per train mile, I am constrained to observe' that there is a probab : lity of an increase in this direction on new lines." The economical consfcrtiction of the railways has necessitated steep grades to most of the line?, which will' militate against profitable working should the* traffic increase as anticipated. ■ The gauges of- the last series of railways which I have been alludipg to are as follows (but as before stated, the ; relative gauges cannot affect the question at present under investigation) : — In New Zealand the gauge is 3f». (>< ; in South Australia it v sft 3in fos. about 490 wiles/and 3ft 6in for the.

remaining 930 miles; in Queensland it is 3ft 6in ; and in Tasmania it is sft 3in (by means of a centre rail) for about 45 miles and 3ft 6in for the remaining 88 miles. In view of all these facts I am convinced that the proper principle for adoption in a yonng colony like this is to construct our railways from time to time in such a way as to march along with, but not outpace the requirements of the existing traffic. In that way the real requirements of the country* will be provided for as they arise. Lavish expenditure on stations and dther works, in anticipation of traffic which may never ensue, will be avoided, and the burden of the interest on the cost of construction will fall gradually on the country as it grows able to meet it, instead of bping opposed before its time in the shape of a dead weight of taxation on account of expenditure for which there is no adequate return. My remarks in this direction have been to some extent prompted by what has struck me as a tendency which has recently been growing up to buildour railways of a much more expensive character than was adopted for the earlier lines, or, in other words, to construct our new extensions of a character up to which it has been found necessary to bring the older railways ; and I think myself that this is a mistake, as there is clearly no necessity to construct new railways, which are of the character of pioneer lines through comparatively unhabited country, of as high class as the extending lines in populous districts where large traffic has been already developed. I would recommend therefore, if we are to further extend our railways in the future, that we should revert to the less expensive type of railway originally adopted, bear« ing in mind that these cheaper railways (provided that good grades are obtained in the first instance) can readily be improved and further equipped from time to time so as to meet all requirements that are likely to arise; and I should gather from the facts which I have adduced in this connection that such railways as we require in the shape of new extensions should be produced in the average country. The conclusions which I have arrived at on this question may be concurred in or they may not, but in either case I do not think that I need apologise for having introduced such a subject as this. The question of the Bcope and type of our railways is, to my mind, the most important question which can engage the colony in connection with public works. The determination of such questions as this, in fact, necessarily affects the whole of our present and future policy in connection with railway construction, and as it is the determination of such questions as this, with wisdom or otherwise, which makes or mars the fortunes of private companies, so must its determination to a great extend go towards promoting or retarding the welfare of a colony.