The Railways.

In his youth Sir Joseph Ward had seen some service in the employ of the Railways Department, and throughout his political career he dealt with the affairs of the State lines with inside knowledge. Mr. R. A. Loughnan, in his excellent biography of Sir Joseph, wrote of him as Minister that, “he plunged into the intricacies of railway affairs with a brave heart and a clear head. So doing he kept both eyes open—fixing one on the travelling and trading public, without losing sight of the weight carried on the railway account by the taxpayers, and the other on the personnel he relied on for efficient and cheerful working of the railway system.” He did not want the railways to pay all charges, recognising that the development brought by railways required time for the return of profits. At the same time he held that the lines must pay something more than their expenses, some fair margin of profit. Roughly speaking, he arranged for a profit of about 3 per cent., leaving the balance of the overhead charges to be paid from the Consolidated Fund. He took up the burden of the system soon after the Railway Commissioners had laid it down, pursuant on the new policy of direct Ministerial control, a policy which, as Mr. Loughnan summed it up, gave good results. Certainly the Ward regime was greatly satisfactory both to users of the lines and to the staff of all classes. Sir Joseph introduced the legislation establishing the Railways Superannuation Fund in 1903; it is one of the numerous measures for the public betterment that stand to his credit.