The financial results of the working of the lines are exhibited in the following table which covers a period of ten years : Interest payable Average Loss. Loans. A fair proportion of the railway construction of recent years has been in country of a purely pastoral character, and it is manifest that a sufficient traffic to prove remunerative cannot be looked for immediately from localities possessed of only a scattered and limited population; but it is confidently expected that these lines will ultimately pay interest on cost of construction. Unfortunately, Queensland, in common with the other provinces, is burdened with lines of railway not warranted by existing or prospective traffic, and these will always be a handicap to successful management. Earnings and Expenses per Mile. While the results now secured cannot be compared with those of 1880, when the net earnings per train mile were a little over 43d., and per mile open £222, a satisfactory state of affairs is disclosed by a review of the figures for earnings shown in the subjoined tables. It will be seen that the net earnings per train mile, as well as the net return for each mile of line open, have, except in the four years preceding that just closed, been fairly well sustained. The fall in the years 1900, to 1903, as compared with the previous three years, is due to the fact that the continuance of the drought and the consequent loss in sheep and cattle have operated against the revenue from the carriage of wool and live stock, while the increased traffic which was obtained consisted largely of the removal of starving stock from and the carriage of fodder to drought-stricken districts, a class of traffic which had to be undertaken at unremunerative rates. The gross earnings, expenditure, and net earnings per train mile for the past ten years are shown in the following table : The gross earnings, expenditure, and net earnings per average mile open for the past ten years were as follow: : Coaching and Goods Traffic. The number of passengers carried on the lines of the state during the year 1881, and for the last ten years, together with the receipts from the traffic, and the average receipts per journey, are set forth in the following table :— The It will be seen that the years 1899 to 1904 show a far larger number of passenger journeys than preceding years; this was chiefly due to an extraordinary expansion in the suburban traffic. falling off in 1903 as compared with the three preceding years occurred almost wholly on the lines of the Southern Division. During the period the average receipts per journey show a decline, which may be expected to continue as the suburban traffic expands, so that in a few years the receipts per person carried will approximate closely to the average for the rest of Australia, viz., one shilling per journey. The amount of goods tonnage for a similar period is shown in the following table : In the foregoing statement the tonnage of live stock is not included, the information not being available, but the earnings shown include the revenue derived from this class of traffic. The general traffic is divided into seven classes, particulars of which, for the year ended 30th June, 1904, together with the receipts for each class, are shown in the subjoined table. No information is available as to the average number of miles each ton of traffic is carried, or the earnings per ton per mile. Up to the 30th June, 1904, four railways, having a total length of 37 miles 40 chains, were constructed under "The Railways Guarantee Act of 1895." In accordance with this Act the local authority, representing the ratepayers of a district, agrees to pay up to one-half of the deficiency in working expenses with interest at the rate of 4 per cent. on the capital cost during the first fourteen years after opening, the sum to be raised by means of a rate not exceeding 3d. in the £ of value of ratable lands. Should the operations of any year provide a surplus, half of this is retained by the Government and the other half paid to the local authority for distribution among the ratepayers in return for the payments made on account of the deficiency in previous years. When the line has been payable for three years, the Government may cancel the agreement. The results of the working of three out of the four railways do not afford much encouragement to apply the provisions of the Act to other lines which may be projected in the future. The Pialba branch, on which the expenditure to 30th June, 1904, was £46,352, showed, without taking into consideration the interest on capital cost, a net revenue for the year 1899 of £715; in 1900, £966; in 1901, £994; in 1902, £1,139; while in 1903, there was a loss of £219; and in 1904, of £255. Leaving out of consideration the interest on a capital cost of £11,457, the Allora branch shows a net revenue of £262 in 1899; £120 in 1900; and £105 in 1901; in 1902, there was a loss of £182; in 1903, a loss of £187; while in the year just closed there was a net revenue, after paying working expenses, of £431. A capital expenditure of £48,210 has been incurred in connection with the Enoggera branch, and leaving out of consideration the interest charge thereon, there was a net revenue of £159 in 1899, and £67 in 1900, while the loss in 1901 was £440; in 1902, £235; in 1903, £737; and in 1904, of £675. The Mount Morgan branch, which up to the 30th June, 1904, had involved a capital expenditure of £84,612, has given satisfactory results. The net revenue, leaving out of consideration the interest on capital cost, was £7,127 in 1899; £9,084 in 1900; £6,297 in 1901; £4,872 in 1902; £4,147 in 1903; and £6,671 in 1904. SOUTH AUSTRALIA. While the beginning of railway construction in South Australia dates as far back as 1854, very little progress was made in the subsequent twenty years, and in 1874 the total length of line in operation was only 234 miles; in 1880 this had increased to 627 miles; in 1890 to 1,610 miles; and in 1895 to 1,722 miles. The length of line in operation on the 30th June, 1904, was 1,736 miles, and the amount expended thereon for construction and equipment, £13,517,727, or at the rate of £7,785 per mile. The railways of South Australia proper are divided for the purposes of management into five systems. The Midland system, constructed on the 5ft. 3in. gauge, has a length of 236 miles, and extends from Adelaide to Terowie in a northerly direction, and to Morgan, on the Murray River, in a north-easterly direction. The Northern system has a total length of 1,0084 miles, 1,003 of which are 3 ft. 6 in. gauge, and 5 miles 5 ft. 3 in. gauge. This system includes that portion of the transcontinental line which extends to Oodnadatta, a distance of 550 miles from Adelaide; the line to Cockburn, which provides for the requirements of the Broken Hill district of New South Wales; and branches to Port Augusta, Port Pirie, Wallaroo, and Port Wakefield. The Southern system comprises a length of 2651 miles on a gauge of 5 ft. 3 in., and includes the main line connecting Adelaide with Melbourne, and branches-Wolseley to Naracoorte and from Naracoorte to Kingston, Mount Gambier, and Beechport. The line from Port Broughton to Barunga has a length of 10 miles. During 1887 the control of the railways was entrusted to three commissioners; in 1895, however, the number was reduced to one, who is responsible to Parliament. Revenue and Working Expenses. The net sum available to meet interest charges is set forth in the following table: The foregoing table shows that the gross earnings in 1901 were the largest during the decade, while the proportion of working expenses to gross earnings was lowest in 1900, the net earnings in the latter year |