D.—2

XX

K'lilni Section. Revenue, '- 1,319 ; increase, £ 16. The variation was due bo a slight improvement in passenger and parcels traffic. Gisborne Section. Revenue, £12,956 ; increase, £1,864. Tin-chief increase was in gravel traffic. Sheep, chaff, and wool also showed improvement, but there was little variation in other items. North Island Mam Line and Branches. Revenue, £1,566,251 : increase, £205,232. The principal items of traffic were, Number. Number. Passengers .. .. .. .. .. 5,584,650; increase, 400,396 Season Tickets .. .. .. .. .. 116,559; .. 7.492 Parcels, &c 484,970; .. 52,271 Live-stock .. .. .. .. .. 2,604,994; decrease, 292,178 Tons. Tons. Goods .. .. .. .. .. 1,394,195; increase. 24,028 The revenue pel mile of railway rose from £1,434 ss. 6d. last year to £1,472 os. 10d. this year (an increase of £37 15s. Id.), and per train-mile from 7s. 2.1 d. to 7s. 6d. The variations of traffic in the different districts were approximately as Follows: Auckland District. Receipts, £575,724 ; increase, £89,824. There wen- large increases in all classes of traffic. There was an increase of over 200,000 passengers, chiefly in the Auckland suburban area and south of Taumarunui. The inclusion of two Easter periods in the year under review counterbalanced to some extent the unusual attraction caused by the visit of the American Fleet in the previous year. The increase of season tickets is chief)\ on the northern line. The issue of workers' tickets in Auckland and suburbs has increased from 16,248 in 1906 to 23,146 last year. There was a large increase in parcels traffic, mainly consequent upon the connection with the lines in the southern portion of the Island. Cattle increased 13,237, and pigs by 9,000, but there is an apparent falling-off in the number of sheep. This falling-off is caused by the through railage of sheep which were formerly driven for a part of the journey and reloaded in the Auckland District. During the past five years the live-stock traffic in the Auckland District has almost doubled in volume. Chaff, &c. increased 8,806 tons, wool 1,170 tons, firewood 2,960 tons, grain 8,905 tons, merchandise ">,721 tons, and coal 34,656 tons. Timber, and minerals other than coal, showed small decreases. The shipments of butter from Onehunga increased by 1,000 tons, and in addition the direct shipments from Auckland were considerably greater than during the previous year. The district is very prosperous, and the business is expanding rapidly. Wiinganui District. —Revenue, £334,317 ; decrease, £64,202. The decrease is only apparent, and is owing to the rearrangement of the districts. Taking the restricted district and comparing ii with the same portion for last year an increase of £9,719 is shown, being chiefly derived from stations on the main trunk line. The passenger traffic shows a slight falling-off as compared with the previous year, during the greater part of which the passenger traffic to and from Auckland went via New Plymouth. Local traffic continues to improve except at Wanganui, where the installation of electric trams has reduced the Wanganui-Aramoho traffic. In parcels traffic a steady increase is shown. There was a considerable falling-off in sheep and pigs from the northern portion of the district. Cattle, however, improved. Increases are shown in the tonnage of wool, grain, and road-metal. Decreases are shown in chaff firewood, timber, merchandise, and coal. Butter shipped at New Plymouth and Patea shows a decrease of 960 tons, but cheese shipped at the same ports increased by 2,588 tons. Wellington District.—Revenue, £656,210 ; increase, £179,610 The increase is due largely to the inclusion in this district of the line from Wellington to Palmerston North. In the absence of details of the traffic on the Manawatu Company's line prior to its acquisition, comparisons with the figures for the previous year are of little value. The passenger traffic shows an increase of 458,749 ordinary passengers, the major part of which is represented by the traffic on the Manawatu line. There is also an increase in the suburban traffic on the Hutt line, except at Te Aro. Season tickets show a corresponding improvement. There was a general increase in the parcels traffic throughout the district. Larger numbers of cattle and pigs were carried, but sheep show a decrease of over 70,000. Chaff. &c, and wool show considerable increases, but timber and coal show a falling-off. I'icton Section. Revenue, £28,554 ; increase, £2,539. Increases in passengers, live-stock, chaff, grain, and merchandise. Decreases in wool, firewood, (amber, and coal.