RAILWAY MANAGEMENT.

Waikato Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 3490, 6 November 1894, Page 7

RAILWAY MANAGEMENT.

The Sydney Mail says,:-Mi have already referred to the action taken in New Zealand for the discontinuance of the partially non-political management of the railways and the restoration, of political control. Amongst the reasons'cited for the change was the alleged failure of the nonpolitical system in the other colonies where it had been tried; and, with 1 a singular disregard of facts, New South Wales was named as one of the colonies where this failure had occurred. The statement was supported by the assertion that "complaints" had been made agaiast the working of the system here. But complaints that have been made by disaffected men who, for the public good, have beeu deprived of some influence, or have siifferedaa the result of reforms in the, establishment, are really illustrations not of failure but of success. Nonpolitical management in New South Wales has been successful beyond the ex» pectations even of sanguine men; and it' is to be noted that if equal results have not been obtained in other (colonies where the system was introduced, ! there are reasons for tracing the comparative failure to the intrusion of political influence in spite of the arrangements and efforts made to keep it out. Heee the exclusion of political influcencs was carefully provided against, and in the main successive Governments have loyally endeavoured to work out the scheme in its integrity, notwithstanding incessant attacks inside and outside of the House. Some of the results have been.shown, in an interesting comparative statement of the; earnings of the railways in, the' various colonies of Australasia just issued. From this it appears that the capital invested in our railways amounts to £37.104,057 against £37,748,563 invested in Victoria, and £48,175,905 invested in the colonies of South Australia, Queensland, New Zealand, Tasmania, arid Western Australia. These are the figures' for'the year ending with June last. For the same period the gross earnings 'were as follows :-New South Wales, £3,091,735; Victoria, £2,726.159 ; and the other five colonies. £2,376,354. But here we come to the figures that serve best as a test of management. The net earnings.were in New South Wales in Victoria. £1,090,740; and in the other five colonies, £1,243,932. according' to the latest returnsl : In thVothe'r "colonies the non-political principle ihas been more or less iuvaded by the interference of the Executive Government or the politicians, here it has been'allowed to work out its due results; and here, with a smaller capital invested, and, as compared with the five colonies, a smaller total of gross returns, we have led the whole group in the amount of our net earnings, which go towards the payment of interest.