MAGAZINE OF SCIENCE AND ART. 
11 
of the nature of the benefit which the country is supposed 
to derive from Improved means of communication, more 
this benefit, as measured according to some pecuniary 
standard. Now, the benefit which the proprietor of a 
railway derives from it is measured by the clear annual 
return of profit resulting from the payment made for the 
conveyance of passengers and goods, after all the cost of 
transport, and that of the maimenanee and repairs of the 
road have been defrayed ; but while this is a correct re¬ 
representation of the benefit which an individual or a 
private company can derive from the ownership of a rail¬ 
way, the case becomes very dilferent when the Govern¬ 
ment, acting for the community at large, undertakes the 
construction of such works. 
In this case the direct benefits which are measured by 
the profits of the railway as a speculative investment of 
capital, and the indirect benefits which are those resulting 
to society at large from the use of the railway, are merged 
together, the community being both proprietor and em¬ 
ployer of the railway; and the amount of these latter, 
taking their monetary value only into consideration, is 
very far in excess of tho former, as I shall be able to 
prove. 
Take for instance the English railroads. The direct 
return to the shareholders is estimated to be on an average 
from 50 to 55 per cent- of the gross receipts, that is the 
cost of transport and management, together with that of 
keeping the road in repair, absorbs about from 45 to 50 
per cent., of these receipts, leaving the above balance as 
profit. It is now found, however, that while the traffic is 
continually increasing, as is shown by the annual returns, 
the shareholders are receiving but a very small interest 
on their capital,— that is, the direct benefit , as before de¬ 
fined, is small. With regard to the indirect benefit, we 
have luckily the means of arriving at the amount of the 
saving in the cost of conveyance of goods in the fact, that 
the average cost of cartage upon a good turnpike road was 
Old. per ton pur mile, while on the railway it varies from 
2d. to 8d.,—that is, there is a saving of upwards of TO per 
cent, in the cost of transport of goods, — while in the con¬ 
veyance of passengers, if the actual money saving he not 
so great, the saving of time is fully TO per cent." Now, 
tho actual returns on the English railways, in 1855, 
amounted to upwards of twenty-one millions; and the 
saving on the above assumption, would amount to forty- 
nine millions ; while the direct return of interest did not 
exceed eleven millions. It may be said, however, that 
these returns can only be expected in a country thickly 
peopled, with an enormous trade already developed, and 
that in this colony wo must pass through all the various 
of road-making before we can hope to arrive at similar 
results. This, however, I conceive to be a mistake. The 
advantage to a community of any improvement in the 
means of communication must be measured partly bv the 
difference between the cost of transport upon tho old roads 
and upon the new, and partly by the increase given to the 
value of property. Now, the annexed table, which is an 
abstract of the retums furnished by the different benches 
in various parts of the colony, shows the present cost of 
transport throughout the colony; and it varies, as may be 
seen, from about one shilling to eleven shillings per’ton 
per mile. The average, however, may bo taken at from 
two to three shillings per ton per mile. 
f - 
Abstract of the Returns furnished by the different 
Branches in various parts of the Colony, showing the 
present cost of Transport throughout the Colony (al¬ 
luded to in the foregoing paper) :— 
Names of Places to 
and from which 
Traffic takes place 
Distance 
travelled. 
Cost of 
Transport 
per Ton. 
Cost of Trans¬ 
port per ton 
per mile. 
No. of 
tons 
con¬ 
veyed. 
mile 
Murrurundi to 
Maitland. 
100 
£7 
Is to 44d 
Names of Places t 
and from which 
Traffic takesplftce 
Distance 
travelled. 
Cost of 
Transport 
per Ton. 
Cost of Trans 
port per ton 
per mile. 
No. of 
tons 
con¬ 
veyed. 
mile 
Maitland to Mur- 
100 
.69 to £6 
ls91dtols2ji 
500 
Stroud to Glouces- 
ter . 
30 
£3 Os 6d 
2s 
100 
Stroud to Ray- 
mond Terrace. 
33 
£3 
Is lOd 
Bathurst to Tam- 
baroora .. 
To 
£10 to £15 
2s 10-ld to 
4s3id 
300 
Grafton to Tenter- 
130 
£13 10s to 
£16 16s 
2s to 2s Td 
Cooraa to Sydney 
250 
£20 
Is 7d 
Sydney to Oooma 
250 
£20 to £30 
Is Td to 2s 4Jd 
282 
Orange to Svdne) 
160 
£10 
0s 3d 
137 
Svdnov to Orange 
160 
£20 
2s 6d 
350 
Orange toBathurbt 
35 
£310s to £5 
2s to 2s lOd 
24 
Bathurst to Orange 
35 
£5 
2s. lOd 
28 
Warwick to Ips- 
wich . 
T5 
£5 
2s Id 
310 
Ipswich to War- 
wick . 
To 
£T lGs 9d 
2s 
600 
Tumut to Gunda- 
gai . 
25 
£5 
4s 
110 
Gundagai to Tu- 
mut. 
25 
£5 
4s 
140 
Tumut to Tarcutta 
30 
£8 
5s 4d 
T5 
Tumut to Adelong 
26 
£8 
6s Id 
180 
Gundagai to Ade- 
long . 
36 
£8 
4s 5d 
100 
Melbourne to De- 
niloqurn......... 
180 
From £16 
From Is 9d to 
Not 
to £100 
lls 
known. 
Maitland to Nun- 
die ... 
150 
From £8 to 
£20 
Is to 2s Cd 
312 
Dubbo to Svdney 
260 
£17 to £20 
Is 3d to Is Gd 
Not 
known. 
Sydney to Dubbo 
260 
£25 to £30 
Is lid to 2s 3d 
Not 
Campbclltown to 
known. 
Sydney . 
33 
£3 to £4 
Os I0dto2s 5d 
3000 
Svdnev to Camp- 
3T50 
belltown. 
33 
£2 10s 
Is 6d 
2000 
Albury to Mel- 
bourne . 
200 
£15 
Is 6d 
400 
Svdnev to Albury 
380 
£45 
2s 4d 
200 
Penrith to Sydney 
34 
£3 
Is 9d 
Braulwood to Ara- 
luen . 
10 
£3 
6s. 
Not 
Shoalhaven to 
cnown. 
Braidwood. 
85 
£12 
Is 8d 
Not 
Maitland to Tam- 
cnown. 
worth. 
175 
£10 
Is 3d 
Not 
cnown. 
Sydney to Mol one 
163 
£18 to £30 
2; 2d to 3s 8d 
415 
Molong to Svdnev 
163 
£18 to £30 
2s 2d to 3s 8d 
500 
Windsor to Svd- 
36 
£2 
Is Id 
2000 
ney . 
£3 
Is 9d 
100 
£4 
2s 2d 
2250 
Sydney to Wind- 
sor . 
36 
£2 
Is Id 
2800 
Eden to Maneroo 
00 
£15 
5s Od 
2000 
Rvlstone to Mud- 
gee . 
30 
£3 
2s 
126 
Rvlstone to Svd- 
nev. 
150 
£8 
Is Id 
120 
Svdnev to r Ryl- 
stone . 
150 
£18 to £21 
Is 5d to 2s 9d 
120 
Raymond Terrace 
to Maitland ... 
5 
£1 
4s 
400 
Maitland to Wari- 
alda . 
300 
£23 10s to 
£28 (Is 7d to Is lOd 
540 
