Other formats

    Adobe Portable Document Format file (facsimile images)   TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 62

Railways

Railways.

Some of you good folks may possibly think that New Zealand is still but a country of savages. If so, I am here to undeceive you, and probably I can adduce no better evidence of civilisation than by a brief reference to our system of railways. We have no less than 1,842 miles of Government railways open and in constant work, the total cost of which has exceeded £14,000,000, the cash revenue from which for one complete year was page 28 £1,121,000; and after deducting actual working expenses, showed a rate of £2 18s. 11d. per cent (little less than 3 percent) on the cost. In addition to these national highway's there were 114 miles of private lines open for traffic. Some idea of the extent to which these roads of iron are used may be formed from the facts that, during the year 1891 the train mileage was nearly 2,895,000 miles; the number of passengers carried, excluding nearly 14,000 holders of season tickets, was over 3,433,000, while the tonnage of goods and live stock carried amounted to over 2,134,000 tons. With such figures as these the last lingering ideas of barbarism may surely fade away into obscurity.