The Southland Times. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1874.

Southland Times, Issue 1986, 21 September 1874, Page 2

The Southland Times. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1874.

Vague statements as to the expenditure which is being incurred upon public works in this Colony are very frequently made by persons who profesa to see in this expenditure some undefined cause for anxiety. Clear and accurate information is not so often to be obtained from these critics, many of whom appear to think it unnecessary to examine and understand the policy which they con-den-in. A few leading outlines of the present state of the railway system now in process of construction may serve to put this policy iv a clearer light before some of our readers, than the vague jgrrumblings which we refer to have yet thrown upon it. For the purposes of comparison, and with a view to judging of the probable ultimate result of the policy of railway construction, the experience of the neighboring colony of Victoria affords valuable data for reference. In Victoria, on 30th June last, the money spent up to that date upon railway construction had reached the sum of £10,657,000, interest upon which was being paid at a rate somewhat over 5| per cent. For this sum of money there were open for traffic, at the same date, 415 miles of line. These figures give an average cost of construction exceeding £25,000 per mile. The Victorian railways, it is well known, have been constructed upon a most expensive scale, and many serious losses were incurred during their construction, by difficulties with contractors, imperfect agreements, litigation, and otherwise. Yet, notwithstanding the costly extravagance of the construction in the first instance, and the expensive mistakes which attended the progress of the work, the Victorian railways have proved a great success. They do not, as yet, indeed, pay all the annual charge for interest on the enormous sum expended on their construction, but they are rapidly approaching that position, and in a few ; years they will afford a valuable revenue, over and above that interest, to the State. In 1870 the consolidated revenue had to contribute £311,331 to the deficit on interest on the railway loan, which the annual receipts failed to meet. In 1874 the amount which had to be made good in that way was only £158,787, and considerable further progress towards the complete extinction of this charge is expected to be made during the current year. These results are exceedingly encouraging. When we consider that they have been achieved, speaking in round numbers, by 400 miles of railway, constructed "at; a cost of £10,000,000, raised at 5^ per cent, interest, the comparison with what is being done in New Zealand becomes very simple. It is a comparison which is in every point in favor of our own scheme. The amount appropriated for the railways authorised up to the present time by the General Assembly of New Zealand is £5,575,400. The average interest paid on the amounts hitherto raised for this purpose is 4f per cent., as against 5£ per cent, in the case of Victoria. But the most striking point of difference between the two cases is to be found in the cost per mile, and consequently in the extent of mileage which New Zealand obtains for her expenditure, as compared with that of Victoria. For about half the money, New Zealand obtains more than double the number of miles of railway. The exact figures show that in New Zealand there have been authorised up to the present time 1010 mile 3of railway, for which appropriations have been made amounting to £5,575,400. This gives an average cost per mile of about £5575 for the New Zealand lines, as against £25,000 per mile for those constructed in Victoria. Of course, it may be said that it does not follow that the sums appropriated repre* sent the actual cost of the works when completed. It is, of course, impossible to prove that this will, be the case, and all experieuce goes to show that such works commonly cost more than was anticipated in the first instance. Yet, to judge from the work already done, there is no reason to fear that this average of cost will be very largely exceeded. Even if it were, and brought up to an average of say £7000 per mile, the advantageous character of the comparison in favor of New Zealand would remain almost as striking as before. It may be urged that the New Zealand lines are constructed on a narrower gauge, and of lighter materials than the Victorian lines, aud that therefore they are not so valuable, even if they cost less In one sense, there is some truth iv this view, but it does not in the least affect the real merits of the comparison we have drawn. For all practical purposes, the New Zealand lines are as good as the Victorian. They will open up the country as efficiently, and they will meet all the requirements of traffic as readily and easily as the more expensive lines, while the workinc expenses, from the absence of unnecessary dead weight, will be less. Thus the comparison is, in every respect, vastly in favor of New Zealand. It is a fair inference, then, from the results of the Victorian experiment, that the expenditure now being incurred upon railways in this Colony is thoroughly sound in policy, and will, ere long, prove not only capable of repaying annual interest, but of yielding a direct profit to the State. If this result is now so nearly approached in Victoria by a railway system constructed at an original cost about four times that of tho New Zealand lines, and with money borrowed at higher interest than we hare to pay, it is by no means unreasonable to hope that the railway system of this Colony will prove not only a vast indirect benefit to the country, but a signal financial success. The debt which it is necessary now to incur to provide the means for completing this system may, in the light of these figures,

be regarded not only without anxiety, but with satisfaction, as representing an outlay for which the Colony will, ere long, be amply repaid.