But the point of view he wished to bring out so far as the passenger business went was its commercial aspect. The position was well in hand, and the commercial competition with the railways in New Zealand was not growing to any material extent. The Department had instituted cheap excursions, which had saved the situation from the point of view of the railway passenger returns. It was almost a wholly new traffic, and the result had been that the passenger traffic had now assumed more substantial dimensions. It was certainly a “bread and butter” line, but from the point of view of service to the community it stood very high indeed. It was found to-day that the people whose pecuniary position was not strong and who were to a large extent crowded together in cities were now able, through the railways, to get out and have a breath of fresh air at a rate that was within their means and could not be given by any competitive form of transport. This was something for which the Department was entitled to credit, a credit that was by no means directly represented by the figures in the revenue account.—Mr. H. H. Sterling.