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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 75

Their Railway Administration

Their Railway Administration.

It is very loudly claimed that the present Government have made a great success of their Railway Administration. Well, I can fairly claim to know something of this matter, and I fail to see where the success comes in; but before showing their failures in this respect, let me give them their just need of praise.

The eternal thanks of the entire country are due to them for their courage and prompt action in ejecting from office, or rather in refusing to re-appoint, the late irresponsible Railway Commissioners. For their action in this matter I give them the warmest praise, and claim to speak with knowledge when I say that it is impossible to estimate the value of the service they have rendered the community in this respect.

While, however, I say this, I deny that the present administration is, or has been, a success, financial or otherwise. The apparent financial success has been made by the very simple process of charging to capital account items which ought to have been charged to revenue account. If the accounts were correctly taken, it is probable—I believe, certain—that the last two years would show the worst results since 1880.

It must not be thought that I consider the Commissioners did any better; they did far worse. What little extra interest they claimed to have earned was simply obtained by increasing the charges, cutting off train services, and neglecting maintenance of the lines and rolling-stock They cut off 210 train miles per annum for every mile of railway opened, and they spent £30 per mile per annum less in keeping the lines and rolling stock in repair.

To say nothing of the train mileage, the expenditure "saved" by neglecting maintenance during the Commissioners' term amounted to £393,000, or just £8,000 more than we now find it necessary to spend to put the lines and rolling stock into proper repair and order.

The Government has been very unjustly blamed for the present position of the lines and rolling stock; it is quite clear that the damage was done by the Commissioners. This, however, must be borne in mind: when they were appointed, a considerable portion both of the House and the country demanded that this should be done. The change made was avowedly in the nature of an experiment, and it was the bounden duty of the Government in power, when the Commissioners' page 8 term expired, to have made a searching investigation into the then condition of the lines and rolling stock. Here the present Government seem to be at fault, and they must, therefore, accept the responsibility of having failed in their duty in this respect, or of having caused the damage themselves.

It is claimed that the Government have made "large concessions" to the public in rates and fares. I absolutely deny the truth of this statement. What they have done is to reduce the charge on some small items, but to increase it on others to such an extent as to raise the charges on the whole. If an example is wanted, I refer to my exposure of the late Parcels Hates Fraud, in the New Zealand Herald of 26th April, 1897.