The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-31 00:00:00

The Belgian Government would seem anxious to ob-
tain the goods traffic; fur it is stated in this Compte
liendu, that it is to the extension of it that the State
must look for any fresh increase in the net profits of its
railways. It has ben observed, however, that the rail-
ways do net maintain a very successful eoniptiLion with
the canals; for while in 1844 the goods carried by rail-
way amounted only to 52,000 tons, those carried by
canals amounted for that year to 400,000 tons. The
canal traffic of 1845 still showed an increase, and the
freights exceeded those of 1844 by'18,9451. It has been
inferred that the Belgian Government have not yet
sufficiently lowered their charges for heavy goods.
In France, by the law of 1845, the fares and charges
are in pence and decimals :

Passengers, per head per mile.--First class
If 19 1, Second

,/ „ ,1 Third ditto
Cattle per head per mile.—Bullocks, &c.
/f , , „ Calves, &c. .. 0'66
~ ~ Sheep, &c.
Fish, per ton per mile
Goods, per ton per mile.—First class
92 97 ft Second ditto
I, /7 „ Third ditto 235
VI „ And
Carriages, per mile.—Single bodied 4.18
Double ditto

The French charges are about 20 per cent. higher
than the Belgian for passengers, and considerably more
so for cattle and goods.
The fares on the lines of Austria and Prussia, and the
States of the German Confederation, are in some cases
even lower than those of Belgium. On the lines of
Austria and Baden, which were executed by the
State, they are the lowest. On the Austrian
lines of Budweis and Linz the fares aro only
three silver groichen per German mile, or 0.73 d.
per English mile, for second class passengers, and two
silver groschen per German mile, or 0.40 d. per English
mile, tor third-class passengers. In Prussia the fare 3
differ very little from those of Belgium. On the Berlin
and Potsdam line, for instance, the fares for first-class
passengers are 1-4 d. per English mile ; for second-class
passengers, 1.06 d. per English mile ; for third-class pas-
sengers, 0 6d. per mile. On the Berlin and Anhalt road
the fares fur first-class passengers are 1.47 d. per English
mile; for second-class passengers, 0.98 d. per mile ; for
third-class passengers, 0.61 d. per mite.
The following comparison is instituted in the Rapport
on the Proj et de Loi:on the Northern line, to the Cham-
ber of Deputies in France, in 1845, between the passen-
ger fares in England, France, Germany, and Belgium,
in centimes per kilometre, in 1844:•

First Class. Second Class.

Third Class,

England
France
Germany
Belgium

19 12
101 ; 71
9 1 6f
71 i 5 4-5

5 f- 10

3 7-10

These rates may still be near the truth with respect
to France, Germany, and Belgium ; but they are nu
longer applicable to England, where considerable reduc-
tions have taken place on most of the lines. But though
the difference between English and Foreign fares and
charges is not so great as it formerly was, it is still suf-
ficient to constitute a strong reason for control and in-
terference ; the fares on nearly all the lines are still too
high, and evidence has been given that railway com-
panies, when they have driven rivals out of the field,
have not hesitated to raise their charges, especially for
the conveyance of goods, on principles not perhaps
strictly in accordance with their own true interests, but
still less in accordance with those of the public. Yonr
Committee conceive this is far too important a matter to
be left to the arbitrary will of companies.
The greater cheapness of coal and coke in this coun-
try enables companies to convey heavy goods by railway
at a much lower rate than Continental railways can pos-
sibly do ; and the ability to lower fares increases in the
ratio of the amount of goods carried. A line with a
traffic of 750,000 tens per annum, could carry goods
with as much profit at Id. per ton per mile as the Paris
and Orleans line with a traffic of 150,000 tons at 3d. per
ton per mile.
The maximum rates fixed by Parliament in the dif-
ferent Acts are in all cases above, and in some greatly
above, what ought to be taken from the public ; and
thus, were no other check interposed, the community
would be entirely at the mercy of the companies. Be-
sides, as has been already observed, there is at present
the greatest diversity both in the scale and the mode of
charging on different lines. For these high fares no
justification can be found, either in the original outlay
on the lines or the expense of maintaining and working
them. Mr. Reed, intimately acquainted with the work-
ing of English and French lines, who is confirmed by
Mr. Brassey, extensively employed as a Contractor in
the two countries, states that the cost of earthwork is
much the same in England and in France ; that the rails
and chairs, which on the Soutnampton line cost 2,790/.
per mile, cost 4,6351. per mile on the Paris and Rouen
line ; that the working of the former line costs about
Is. a mile, while it is about Is. 4d. on the Paris and
Rouen line ; that the locomotive power and the carriages
cost about 141 per cent. on the former, and 16 1.3 on
the latter ; that the general expenses, including officers,
police, SGC., are about 12 percent. on the South-Western,
and about 16 per cent. on the Paris and Rouen ; so that,
in all these respects, England, it would appear, has a
considerable advantage over France. On ,some of the
English lines the balance of advantage is still more in
favour of England.
The cost of construction of the Belgian State lines
appears to have been very unequ it. According to the
report of the Minister of Public Works, the three
cheapest State lines were those from Ghent to Courtray,
from Ghent to Bruges, and from Landen to St. Trond.
The line from Ghent to Courtray cost per mile 6,6201.;
from Ghent to Bruges, 7,675/. ; from Landen to St.
Trond, 8,9901. The three dearest State lines were those
from Louvain to Tirlemont, from Liege to the Prussian
frontiers. and from Ans to Liege. The line from Lou-
vain to Tirlemont cost per mile 19,957/. ; from Liege to
the Prussian frontiers, 40,797/. ; from Ans to Liege,
62,3251. The average cost of the State line was 17,1321.
per mile. The items of this average cost are, per mile,
land and compensation, 2,9191. ; earthwork, bridges,
.
tunnels, &c., 7,1631. ; &c., 3,1461.; stations and
buildings, 1,1531. ; working stock, 2,2011. ; miscella-
neous, 5501.
The following is the cost of some of the French lines
executed and in the course of construction :

Per mile.
The Paris and Orleans
.... £24,390
The Paris and Rouen
The Strasbourg and Basle 18,485
The Amiens and Boulogne 20,000
The Ronen and Havre 28,300
The Avignon and Marseilles 28,600
The Orleans and Bordeaux ....
The Centre
The North, with Calais Branch 19,900
The Paris and Lyons . 24,840
The Lyons and Avignon, w ith branch to Grenoble 25,800
The Austrian line from Olcciitz to Prague, 152
English miles, cost 11,657/. per mile ; that from Braun
to Bohmisch-Thibtli, 55 English mi?ei, cost 16,360/. per
nii'e.

The cost of construction of the Prussian lines appears
to have been generally lower than that of the Belgian
lines. Accordirg to the elaborate work of Baron Von
Ryden, the cost of the Berlin and Potsdam line was
12,323/. ; of the Manlgeburg and Leipsic was 10,1791. ;
but the Rhenish line from Cologne to the Belgian fron-
tiers was to cost 28,33 IL per English mile. This last
line, though lower than most of the English lines, is
higher than that between Edinburgh and Glasgow by a
trifle, and considerably higher than most of the Scotch
lines. Mr. Legoyt, a respectable authority, estimates
the average cost of the German lines at 170,0001. per
kilometre, or 10,9401. per English mile. The Prussian
and other German lines pay less fur land and law
charges then the English lines.
The following is the cost per mile of some of the
principal lines in this couutry:—

- Average cost per mile.
Arbroath and Forfar £ 9,214
Chester and Birkenhead 34,198
Dublin and Drogheda 15,652
Dublin and Kingstown
Dundee and Arbroath 8,570
Durham and Sunderland 14,281
Edinburgh and Glasgow 35,024
Eastern Counties and North Eastern 46,355
Glasgow, Kilmarnock, and Ayr •... 20,607
Glasgow and Greenock
Gravesend and Rochester .
Great Western 43,885
Hartlepool
London and Birmingham
London and Blackwall
London and Brighton 56,981
London and Croydon
London and South-Western
Manchester, Bolton, and Bury
Manchester and Birmingham
Manchester and Leeds
Midland 30,949
Newcastle, Darlington, and Brandling
Newcastle and Carlisle
Newcastle and North Shields
Norfolk
North Union and Bolton and Preston
Preston and Wyre
Sheffield and Manchester
South-Eastern
Taff Vale 21,610
Ulster
York and North Midland, &c.
The extravagant expenditure in England in buying
off powerful landowners, from whom opposition was an-
ticipated, and in the proceedings before obtain'ng Acts,
no doubt swelled very much the outlay on many of the
English lines. In the mere purchase of land the outlay
was often as great in France, if not greater than in
England. Mr. Legoyt averages the purchases and com-
pensation on the three lines of Orleans, Rouen, and
Nistnes, at 40,000 francs per kilometre, or 2,5721. per
mile. Mr. Reed states that on the Paris and Rouen
line, the land damage and law charges cost 3,1321. per
mile (the law charges being very trifling), while on the
South-Western they cost 3,6231. per mile. But if the
outlay has been unnecessarily great on some of the
English lines, and they run through districts of which
the traffic does not, as is alleged, yield the usual returns
on capital, that can surely form no reason why an ex-
travagant scale of fares should be adhered to. The pro-
prietors of a bridge would not be allowed to charge high
tolls because moderate tolls would not yield such a re-
turn as they might wish to obtain for the capital ex-
pended by them.
Mr. Peto says, he has several times stated to the
directors of lines in agricultural districts, that if the fares
be low they will have a larger traffic, but not otherwise,
because the people in such districts cannot atford to pay
largely for their travelling; that unless you bring it
within their means they will not come to you; and that
if low fares will Rot pay, high fares never can,