456 REPORT — 1891. 



goods and per passenger, which has been arrived at after a 

 careful consideration of the truck- and carriage-mileage and 

 the quantities of traffic. 



The divergencies in passenger - traffic between the New 

 Zealand railways and the American example quoted are small 

 relatively to those of the goods-traffic. Our passenger- traffic is 

 large for our small and scattered population. The passenger- 

 mileage is greater than the ton-mileage, while on the American 

 roads it is only from one-seventh to one-twelfth. The New 

 Zealand expenses do not differ materially from the American 

 per passenger -mile. The average fare is also much the 

 same. 



One object of this paper is to draw attention to the character 

 and extent of our light railway traffic in contrast with that of 

 other railways, where the population and traffic are very large, 

 or where the distances carried are considerable, so that the 

 subject may be considered on its proper level. It is very 

 difficult for those of the general public who are familiar with 

 railways in the older countries to understand why the refine- 

 ments, luxuries, speeds, and cheap services obtainable there are 

 not also attainable here. English and American railway- 

 managers are sometimes startled to find a system of over 

 seventeen hundred miles of railway on which trains do not run 

 continuously through the twenty-four hours, and they do not 

 appreciate the lightness of traffic, which makes such a practice 

 out of the question. 



The economies in all processes of working and in accommo- 

 dation which are essential in a colony, such as this, where the 

 mileage of the railways has in many parts outrun the capacity 

 of the population, to utilise them profitably, are unknown to the 

 workers of railways in the older countries, where the denser 

 population and great manufacturing industries demand an 

 entirely different treatment. High speeds, gas and electric 

 carriage-lighting, continuous brakes, separation of traffic, 

 carriage-warming, baggage-checks, and many other luxuries, 

 must be foregone where population is very sparse, grades are 

 steep, and rails are light, and where at least one-half of the 

 stations are without any resident clerk or other officer, on 

 account of the traffic being insufficient to justify the payment 

 of one man's wages per annum. It is not difficult to realise 

 that the traffic must be very light if it is considered that the 

 population only averages six per square mile, and in many 

 parts where railways have been built there is probably not one 

 inhabitant to the square mile over large areas. 



Private investors would not venture to build railways where 

 one train per week is more than is needful for the traffic, or 

 where two or three very small trains a week are all that the 

 traffic of the district warrants. 



