331

D.—4,

sheep by 20 per cent, over the entire colony. Therefore I think that, taking all circumstances into consideration, we are not likely to get much live-stock to carry. 215. Mr. Stringer.] Did you not try an experiment on the Government railways of running a special train to catch the coach ?—Do you refer to the Belgrove line ? 216. Yes ? —We did make a trial from the middle of March to about the end of May, as far as my memory serves me—that was during the present year, 1895. We ran a train from Nelson to Belgrove in connection with the coach, but we had to abandon it, as it did not pay. 217. Expenditure has been put down as including maintenance and locomotion. In your opinion is that a reasonable amount ? —So far as locomotion expenditure is concerned I am not an expert on the matter, and it would be far better for you to examine Mr. Eotheram. With regard to traffic expenditure, this estimate is low. We are proposing to work 240 miles of railway for about £9,C00 a year. This estimate is very low ; for instance, we might say that this line is practically about one-eighth as long as the railways of New Zealand. That would give us £25,000 a year for traffic expenses at the rate we are spending on the Government railways. I am quite sure that our traffic expenditure in New Zealand is just about £200,000 a year; so that you have £25,000, which is just about one-eighth of the amount stated. I assume that the traffic expenditure will always be in relation to the amount of business to be done; when the business increases the traffic expenditure will go up, and the same remark will apply to locomotion, but not to the same extent to the maintenance expenditure. 218. That will be a fairly constant quantity ? —Yes, of course it will. I do not mean to say that wear and tear means nothing. 219. Hon. E. Blake.] You have a certain minimum in traffic expenses. If you have to run one train a day, that is a certain amount to begin with, but after that the expenses vary according to the amount you have to carry ?—lt will not vary proportionately as the revenue increases. It simply means that we may have to employ a few more hands. In New Zealand we find that we can generally do a great deal more business with the same number of men. 220. Because you have to keep them, and have not enough business to occupy them ?—Quite so. •221. There is a minimum expenditure, on which you could do a larger or smaller amount of business?— Yes. 222. Mr. Cooper.] 1 understand that you were only occupied yesterday and Monday in preparing this material ?—There was Sunday morning and part of Saturday, as well as Monday and Tuesday. 223. Did you yourself make any inquiry into the traffic returns of the company during the time they had the line ?—Yes, I did. 224. Did you go into the details, as far as the passengers and goods were concerned?— I did. 225. Did you go into the number of passengers carried ?—No, but the volume of business done —the money value. 226. But did not go into the details ? —No. You will find in this return that there is evidence that it has been taken into consideration in connection with the traffic. 227. Mr. Eonayne said he did not take into consideration the passenger traffic? —I would like to point out that that has necessarily been taken into consideration, because we have 10,000 local passengers between Brunner and Heefton put down in connection with the knowledge we have. 228. I am referring to the time when the company was running the line ?—I know nothing about that. 229. Would you be surprised to learn that they carried 30,000 passengers in the local traffic ? —I would not be in the least surprised. 230. Has there been any great exodus from the Coast?—As a matter of fact, we know very well that when a line is in course of construction there is a great deal of traffic, owing to the materials which have to be carried, and the workmen moving backwards and forwards. The receipts are then abnormal. 231. But this line was constructed in 1892 ?—Work has been going on. 232. There has been nothing going on. Did you take into consideration an increase in the population on the West Coast, owing to the enormous possibility of these reserves ?—No. 233. You did not take into consideration any increase of population in the future ?—There would be a reasonable increase, in view of the construction of the railway. 234. But matters are now very much the same as they were in 1892, so far as the population is concerned ?—Yes; I do not think there has been any great increase. 235. Do you consider that Mr. Maxwell is a competent person to form an opinion on a question of this kind ?—I should say so myself. I think it would be presumption on my part to question it. 236. He said, in reference to the passengers, that it would be a fair estimate that the company would earn £20,000 on the passenger traffic ? —I disagree with that. 237. You put it at £B,9oo?—Yes. 238. On the 30th September, 1892, Mr. Maxwell said, " I do not think it is unreasonable to expect that the railway will produce £20,000 for passengers." He says, "If the company is permitted to charge something like the fares proposed, and is not, as it were, dragged at the heels of the Government and made to adopt Mr. Vaile's system, I think £20,000 will be earned for passenger traffic " ?—There is a difference in the season tickets which you have not taken into account. That makes passenger receipts about £12,000. 239. You do not agree with Mr. Maxwell in his estimate of the passenger traffic ?—No. 240. Do you agree that 70,000 tons is a reasonable estimate to take for the coal carriage to Canterbury —that is, over the railway ?—I think that is over-sanguine. 241. Mr. Martin Kennedy has also told us that he thinks 70,000 tons of coal would be carried. Is he not a competent authority ? —Yes ; I think se.