138 PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS—SECTION H. 
spoil the insulation of the cables. The result has been that I 
agreed to brick pits being substituted, with drainage to the 
sewers, and construction of these was carried out by Messrs. 
Noyes Bros. in the most energetic and satisfactory manner. 
Shortly after the lst December two sets of engines, feeder 
cables, and permanent way were found to be in a satisfactory 
condition, and after a few days’ trial running of the cars the 
tramway was opened for traffic. 
No. 3 and No. 4 engines have now also passed the tests. Look- 
ing back cu the events connected with the construction of these 
works, I think it’ must be acknowledged that deducting the 
delay resulting from the building contractor’s operations, and 
the somewhat unfortunate accidents of hot bearings and in- 
efficiency of junction boxes, the time taken for designing and 
carrying out the whole was not excessive, and the department does 
not deserve the abuse which was hurled at it from every quarter. 
The abuse arose chiefly from the public not having been in- 
formed by the Minister of the magnitude of the works going on. 
It was July, 1897, before a decision as to methods could be 
arrived at; the building contracts were five and a-half months 
behind time, and the other delays, say, two months, these being 
beyond departmental control. It will be seen by a little calcula- 
tion that the net time occupied was about twenty-two and a-half 
months. The total expenditure is over £260,000. 
The traffic on the tramway is a most lucrative one. The 
ordinary traffic has been from the start very heavy, and instead 
of forty cars, as provided at first by Mr. Elwell, seventy or 
eighty cars have been running. The fares are one penny from 
the Circular Quay to the Redfern Station, 2 miles, and one 
penny along Harris-street, a distance of about 1 mile. On 
Christmas Eve the receipts amounted to £358, representing 
- 83,000 penny fares. 
PERMANENT WAY. 
IT will now proceed to shortly describe the work as carried out. 
The George-street and Harris-street electric tramway com- 
mences at the eastern side of Circular Quay, and following the 
curvature of the Quay, passes the wharves of the various ferry 
companies, thence by way of Queen’s Wharf to George-street, 
and along that street to its junction with the existing tramway 
opposite the Benevolent Asylum, running parallel with the exist- 
ing steam lines to a point opposite to Terminus-street. Follow- 
ing the existing steam lines for a few chains, it branches off at 
Harris-street, along which the line runs until John-street is 
reached, where it terminates. 
A branch is run into the Redfern Railway Station, and after 
passing in front of the arrival platform, curves round into 
Devonshire-street, on the existing Botany tramway, to opposite 
