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New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 17, 27 April 1907, Page 17

The growth of tiamway trafiic in the 'United Kingdom is demonstrated by some startling figures in a return just issued by the Board of I'radc. I’or every mile of tramway in IS7S there are more than eight today; for every passenger then there are fifteen now; the receipts have grown more than sixteen-fold during that period; and the capital expenditure has increased from four to fiftyeight millions. To-day tin* London County Council lines are long enough to reach from Leicester to London; their passengers last year far outnumbered four times the population of the United Kingdom; and the cars covered a distance equal to 6341 trips round the earth, representing an average daily run of little less than 43,300 miles. Much more startling are the figures relating to the tramways of the United Kingdom, the lines of which are now long enough to link Liverpool with Constantinople. Over these lines in 1906 2236 millions of passengers travelled 40 per cent more than the entire population of the earth; and their aggregate journey was equal to a return trip to the sun with more than 20 o ninthly journeys to the moon. All the worjd y s a /stage —but the majoriy of us sit in the gallery and throw things at the performers.