A.—4

93

Excess fares are collected by blank-paper tickets issued in numbered books to the Stationmasters. The Stationmaster writes' both ticket and butt, keeping the latter and giving the former to the passenger, from whom it is taken by the collector Season tickets are issued as usual. There is only one flag-station, properly so called, for which the ticket is issued at the first ticket-station, or at the end of the journey Metal tickets for the watch-chain are issued, similar to those in Sydney School tickets are issued only for one month, except in special cases. Passengers are not allowed to enter trains without a ticket. All tickets are collected at the gates on suburban lines , at other stations they are collected at the doors of the carriages, which, as a rule, are kept locked. For trains arriving in Melbourne, they are taken at the last stopping station. An ingenious device is adopted in Victoria for rendering the forgery of railway tickets impossible. The numbering apparatus attached to the ticket printing machine prints the number in a peculiar type. The cipher is pierced showing the number in the colour of the ticket on a black ground, and this invention is made copyright, so that no imitation can be made in the colony Without going to the expense of having new machines constructed, the same result might be achieved by using' type of a peculiar form, cast for the purpose of printing the names of the stations on the tickets, and attaching a penalty, by statute, to the possession or use of similar type by any one but the Government Printer The cost of the type would be but trifling The rest of the coaching traffic, parcels, carriages, horses, and dogs, call for no remark, except as to parcel stamps. These stamps are issued for the values of Id., 2d., 3d., 6d., Is., 25., 35., and 55., the rates for stamped parcels being somewhat less than the rates for cash payments. A stock of these stamps are kept by the Sub-Accountant in the safe. They are printed at the Government Printing Office, and are dealt with and accounted for as postage and other stamps. They are issued to Stationmasters on requisition, and are sold by them to shopkeepers and the public generally, and the stock on hand at a station appears in the list of outstandings. The stock in the office is inspected monthly, and the paper and accounts of stamps created and issued are audited by the Commissioners of Audit. These parcel stamps are much used, and it is a question for consideration whether the stamp system for parcels might not be conveniently applied to the parcel traffic exclusively, and cash payments abolished. Whether the rate should be lowered, considering that additional expense is involved in creating the stamps, and that they afford increased accommodation to the public, is a question. The professed reason in Victoria is that stamped parcels are supposed to be carried at owners' risk, and every stamp contains a printed undertaking, which must be signed by the sender, to the effect that the railway is relieved from all loss other than that occurring through the wilful negligence of its servants, but, on various grounds, such an undertaking would probably prove of little value. Parcels sent "to pay " are immediately paid for by the receiving station out of the station change, and so cleared off the outstandings. Nothing seems to be gained by this, as, if a parcel be not paid for by the consignee, the outstanding must still exist in the form of a deficiency in the cash. A daily return of passenger traffic is made to the Accountant, called the " classification sheet," showing the totals of the tickets issued, with the commencing and concluding numbers sold, the former being filled in whether any tickets are sold or not, and on this form, in order to save the use of an additional form, is added a general summary of the receipts under all heads of traffic for the day. From very small stations this return is sent weekly From the " classification sheet" the " Passenger-book "is made up in the Traffic Audit, stating for each day, totalled for each week, the number of passes