COMPANY RAILWAYS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3916, 2 October 1873, Page 3

COMPANY RAILWAYS.

TO THE EDITOK OF THE INDEPENDENT,

Sir, — Your correspondent "Forethought," in coming so readily to the conclusion that the statesmen at home have now quite abandoned the idea of Government management of railways in preference to private management, chiefly because of an opinion given in the "Saturday Review" ' on that subject, seems to forget that there is another side to the question. Some leading statesmen may have such an opinion, but there is plenty of evidence in the tendency of various movements now going on at home to show that popular opinion — which is powerful enough to move even great men — is surely setting towards the idea, not only of Government management of railways, but also of Government management of the land of the country. The Government postal system has not been without its lesson ; it has led to Government telegraphs — railways come next. The immense profits annually made for transit by railway of persons and goods are attracting attention. Last year about fourteen million pounds sterling was pocketed by railway stock shareholders. Such a sum would be a nice addition to the 'revenue, and would leave a pretty wide margin to cover bad management, of which there would be little reason to fear. Public servants are easily displaced for wrong doing ; private owners can Bcarcely be got at. If with such great outlay as railways occasion to private proprietors at home through having to pay high prices for land, compensation, law suits, and so forth, such large profits are made, it is certain that the advantages of Government ownership— if profits were the chief aim — would be far greater. In New Zealand the Government has the great advantage over the mother country of being chiefly in possession of the land. If private owners are allowed to take the railways, they will be allowed to monopolise and derive the chief benefit from immense blocks of land. The tendency of opinion at home now is to break up the land monopoly. "Rents from land in Great Britain and Ireland, ■without the expenditure of labor or capital by the landlords, is computed at £120,000,000 sterling per annum. Knowledge of this kind sets people thinking, and the question arises, why should such immense wealth be kept in so few hands, seeing that it is in no way created by . them but by the increase of population. Men of ability, and whose sympathies are with the people, seeing the danger likely to result from allowing questions on . such subjects to go unanswered, are endeavoring to educate the people in a manner that will leatl to "reform without revolution. To such end are established a number of associations, under various names, agreeing generally in principles, but differing as to mode of action, for effecting land reform. The more intelligent of working men are associating in a variety of ways to gain similar ends. Cooperative colonies are being formed for practically testing theories in regard to land.

Instead of the tendency being against Government management of railways, it would seem that opinion is decidedly Betting in an opposite direction, and, as well as the railways, would place under Government control endowments, public trusts," and the land.

In the face of this it would be a retrogressive step for the Government of this colony even to entertain the idea oi giving a company such a power in the country as the ownership and control of the railways would give. The plea that the pur-

chase of the railways by a company, and the handing over of the money to the Treasury, would save the necessity of further borrowing, will not do. Interest would have to be paid for the money expended by the company, and a very much higher rate than would have to be paid by direct borrowing on the part of the colony, while at the same time the benefits accruing from the outlay would go to swell private incomes instead of benefiting the colony as an addition to the revenue. In the one case it would be known what was actually being paid, whereas in the other case the unfortunate public would run the risk of being bled by high traffic rates, trading with stock, and other such abuses as are common in many places where railways exist and are in private hands, to such an extent that it would be impossible to know what was actually being paid. Your correspondent refers readei*3 to Brogden's pamphlet. I think it would do anybody's eyes good, except those for whom the pamphlet was specially written — the representatives of the people — to catch a sight of it. — I am, &c, A Working Man.