OUR RAILWAYS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 23, 12 September 1911, Page 8

OUR RAILWAYS.

Sir Joseph Ward, in his Financial Statement, thus dealt with the Dominion’s railways:— Owing to a heavy shrinkage of revenue in 1909, I asked the House to adjust the railway rates for long distances, and I think, in view of the satisfactory position of our revenue, these may' now be readjusted, and I propose to do so, partly to the public and partly to the railway employees, with a view to facilitating and encouraging long distance travel. 1 propose to reduce the fares for all distances of 200 miles. The present rates arc ltd per mile for first-class and Id per mile second-class, irrespective of distance. Under the proposal I am submitting the rate per mile fur all distances over 200 miles will bo 1.5 d per mile first-class and ;,'d per mile second-class. The value of this concession on the basis of existing traffic will be £50,000. The whole of the long-distance second-class carriages arc being converted from the present longitudinal seats, to reversible chair seats, and this will greatly add to the comfort of the larger-section of the travelling public. Proposals will also be submitted to the Mouse for amendments to the schedule to the Government Railways Act. This will provide for increase of pay to certain sections of railway workers, permanent and casual, and involves the expenditure of about £OO,OOO over and above the amount required to provide for scale increases accruing under the Act in the ordinary course. These scale increases of pay in the Rost and Telegraph Department it is proposed to increase the minimum wage—day wages (men) from Is to Is lid per hour (equal to 9s per day of 8 hours). In regard to the remission of taxation and concessions in charges it will lie interesting to unto what lias boon given by way ol reduction of taxation, w' ieh is approximately £85,000, and,, tal-mn m conjunction with the amount stated, the gross increase will be about £95,000. The alteration in respect of casuals will He in the direction of the minimum payfnent of a rale of is J.-d per hour, equivalent to 9s per day of eight hours. .During the time 1 have had the honour of being the head of the present Government the reduction of taxation upon the Customs amounted to the sum of £1,764,070 and increases £860,523. Deducting this amount, from the .reduction it will ho scon that the net saving to the people by the reduction of Customs amounts to the large sum of £1,403,547, which amount has been saved to the people during rny term of office as Prime Minister. Articles required for the breakfast table, including coffee, cream of tartar, dried fruits, mustard, rice, salt, spices, and sugar, which were dutiable, have been placed entirely on the free list. Concessions in fares and freights in the Railway .Department to the amount of £115,000 iiavo been granted, and out of this sum the agriculturists and pastoralists have benefited to the extent of £400,000. There has boon no increase in the rates, excepting for long distance travelling, and this 1 am dealing with later on. In addition to the reduction referred to in those two important Departments, there have been concessions made to the public in the Rost and Telegraph Department to the amount of £B/8,V45 per annum. r J ho total reduction to the public in the three directions named during the period to which I have just referred amount to £685,793, so that critics in order to ho fair must not overlook the enormous reductions that have been made. The amounts stated above have been carefully compiled, by each Department concerned and can he relied on, I attach detailed returns of the same to statement, which will well repay perusal of all who take an interest in the well-being of their fellowmen. I desire to further point out that during the same period increases in pay and concession hours in the Railway Department amounted to £879,0ut), while in other branches of the public service the annual increment of salaries during the period 1 have been head of the Government amount to £888,580, so that I am fairly entitled to say that the public service has not been overlooked. As J, pointed out during the last session, the end of our puolic works scheme is now in sight. The main arterial systems of railways will not take many years to complete, and the cost of tins and the future main roads of tne Dominica can now be approximately ascertained. Tnc'-wholo should bo completed within a period of fifteen to twenty years, there will bo no important departure from the plan as now laid down. The only question to bo considered is tnis; Are. tiio works to bo. completed out of the icvcp.uo or by loans, or partly by one and partly*by the other method Y Ju my opinion, it weald be wrong to tu'row tiie whole burden of constructing them on the present generation. vV'e will hand them on to our descendants, and some of the cost should ho borne by them. The most businesslike method is to spread the cost over two or three generations, the moneys required to bo borrowed for finishing them being repaid by the sinking fund now established. The policy of the Government in this will be to borrow sufficient to push on as quickly as circumstances will permit the railways, roads and other public works tiiat arc ’most urgently required, supplementing the loan moneys each year by as much as can lie transferred from the Consolidated Fund. It would, in my opinion, lie a good plan to have the question of what are necessary railways in each island once and for all determined by a commission of members and experts, and that only such works should lie completed with borrowed moneys. Any further sums required in excess of a certain amount per annum would be found out of revenue. This method would give a finality to our scheme of railway construction, and it is desirable from many points of view. By such a course the country would know what was necessary over a period of years, and an amount annqaily could then ho devoted to this purpose. I wish to state emphatically that tiio Government will carry on a vigorous policy of railway construction, recognising as I do that they are reproductive, and that it is of the most vital importance to cur settlors and our business people that the fullest facilities should lie given for currying on the work of those settles] on our lauds, ,iud those intending to settle.