D.—2.

11

The passenger traffic in the Wanganui District also shows great improvement, and in goods traffic there are increases under all headings, the principal being in timber, chaff, firewood, coal, and other minerals. The sheep traffic has also increased over the previous year to a considerable extent. Auckland Section. The passenger traffic in the Auckland District, same as elsewhere, has increased very considerably during the year, 235,165 passengers having travelled and 4,728 season tickets having been issued more than during the previous year. The goods traffic has also increased to a large extent during the year, the total tonnage being 261,311 tons, an increase over last year of 25,113 tons. The principal increases were in timber, grain, coal, and chaff. The sheep traffic also shows considerable advance, 16,674 more sheep having been carried. The traffic in dairy products continues to improve. The number of gallons of cream carried was 360,502, an increase of 10 per cent, on the quantity carried during the previous year. There were also carried 3,550 tons of butter and 281 tons of cheese. Kaihu Section. The growth of traffic generally has been considerable, the number of passengers travelling having increased by 17 per cent, during the year. In goods traffic, although there is a decrease in merchandise due to a falling-off in the production of kauri-gum, there is a large increase on the whole, the timber traffic having increased by 5,338 tons for the year. Whangarei Section. There has been a large growth of business on this section, the number of passengers travelling having increased to 51,068, as compared with 37,423 last year, an increase of over 36 per cent. The goods traffic has also increased substantially, the total tonnage having advanced by over 12 per cent. There is an increase in all classes of goods except merchandise, the advances being principally in timber and coal. Kaiuahaiva Section. There is a general falling-off in nearly all branches of traffic.

The year's operations for all districts, notwithstanding that large annual increases have been the rule for several years past, have again resulted in a large increase of revenue over the previous year. The gross revenue for the year amounted to £1,874,586 9s. 7d , as against £1,727,236 Is. Id., an increase of £147,350 Bs. 6d. The total number of passengers carried amounts to 7,356,136, an increase of 1,112,543, the revenue being £575,697, an increase of £72,646. The revenue for excursion traffic still continues to increase steadily, 770,391 tickets having been issued during the year, producing £142,279, an increase of £34,112 over the previous year's business. A large portion of this increased traffic was attributable to exceptional circumstances—the visit of their Eoyal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, the departure of contingents for South Africa, and the two Easters falling in the financial year under notice, inducing travel to a greater extent than ordinary. The visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York to the colony resulted in a large influx of visitors to the chief centres, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. It is satisfactory to know that the Department was equal to all demands in meeting this heavy traffic. The arrangements throughout the colony were excellent, and were carried out in a manner creditable to the staff concerned. The following is a statement of the traffic to the various centres in connection with the Eoyal visit: — Passengers. Revenue. No. £ s. d. Auckland... ... ... ... ... 18,128 2,332 1 11 Rotorua ... ... ... ... ... 4,015 3,116 10 5 New Plymouth ... ... ... ... 1,568 549 13 7 Wellington ... ... ... ... 27,264 5,693 16 11 Christchurch ... ... ... ... 34,325 6,666 15 7 Ashburton ... ... ... ... 266 25 2 6 Timaru 749 79 9 11 Dunedin ... ... ... ... ... 27,201 7,022 2 4 Total ... 113,516 £25,485 13 2 In goods traffic 3,529,177 tons have been carried, an increase of 189,490 tons as compared with the previous year. Increases occur under all the various headings, the largest being in grain and timber, the traffic in each class, with the exception of wool, being the largest on record. The number of sheep carried for the year amounted to 2,724,860, an increase of 312,669 over the previous year. The revenue from goods and live-stock traffic amounted to £1,110,575, the increase over last year being £58,880.