The Sun.
London, England, 1869-01-08 00:00:00

THE IRISH RAILWAYS COMMISSION.

:be second report of the commissioners appointed to
inspect the accounts and examine the works of railways in
Ireland has just been presented to Parliament. It is dated
December 7, and is signed by Sir Alexander Spearman,
Mr. John Mulholland, Mr. John Fowler, Mr. Seymour
Clarke, and Mr. C. Johnstone.

Soon after the publication of the first report presented
by the commissioners, they were requested by the Trea-
sury to furnish :-1. An approximate estimate of the im-
mediate loss which would probably be occasioned by such
a reduction of fares on the Irish railways as would assimi-
late them to the principles on which charges are levied on
the Belgian lines, and their opinion as to the probable
period that would elapse before the increase of traffic to be
anticipated from the reduction of fares would overtake
the whole or a moiety of the loss to be incurred. 2. An
estimate of the saving to be effected by the concentration
of establishments under one or more administrative
departments. 3. An estimate of the " diminution of
charge which could be effected by placing the whole of the
debenture capital on a uniform rate of interest under
Government guarantee." In pursuance of these directions
the commissioners have made such inquiries into the
fares, charges, and traffic arrangements on the Belgian
and other foreign railways, as they considered necessary
to enable them to submit a report upon the whole subject.
The result of these inquiries are stated at some length,
and occupy by far the larger part of the report. The
fares and charges in Ireland and in Belgium are next
compared at some length, after which the commissioners
come to the recommendations which they have decided
upon submitting to the Lords of the Treasury. They
point out that the traffic of Ireland requires special
stimulus and development for short and moderate dis-
tances both for goods and passengers, and continue :
" We are, therefore, of opinion that the reduction in
passenger fares in Ireland, to have its full beneficial effect,
must be on short' and ' long' traffic equally ; and that
the reductions in goods and cattle charges should be
arranged on the principle of a rm. form mileage rate for all
distances, but subject to a minimum charge. After care-
fully considering what would be the result of reductions,
we had no difficulty in coming to the conclusion that a
slight diminution in the charges for the carriage of pas-
sengers and goods would be simply a loss of so much
money.
That to give an impetus to the intercommunica-
tion of the inhabitants and the moving of goods from place
to place, and to and from the ports, and to promote the
increase of the cattle traffic, already so valuable in Ire-
land, and generally to de.velope traffic to an extent calcu-
lated to overtake at no very distant period the effect of
the lowering of charges, it is necessary at once to make a
large reduction, and after a certain fixed minimum charge
to make the mileage scale for the several classes of traffic
applicable to all distances."
In the fares for passengers they recommend that the
first-class fare per mile should be I'2sd. ; the second-class,
'7sd. ; and the third, '.50d., being a reduction on the
present rates of 31, 45, and 42 per cent. respectively. With
this low scale, return and season tickets should be dispensed
with. Goods are divided into six classes, and the scales
of charges for varying distances are given, the reduction
ranging from 47 to 78 per cent. The decrease in the
receipts upon the existing traffic through these changes is
given at £645,701, but a saving of £BB,OOO a year would
be effected by a reduction in the rate of interest on
borrowed money and floating liabilities, and of £32,000 a
year by concentration of management, leaving the net
deficit £525,701, supposing that the traffic remains without
increase. They assume, however, that an immediate and
considerable increase would take place, that it would be
continued in smaller proportions year by year ; and
bat for the first year the rolling stock and the accom-
modation at stations will be sufficient to meet the in-
creased traffic. After the first twelve months a yearly
sum will be required to provide for the necessary increase
of rolling stock, sidings, and station accommodation to
meet the increased traffic, and in the calculation this
amount is charged to the revenue of the current year, as
are also the revenue expenses of the original and increased
raffle.

In conclusion the commissioners say : " If our antici-
pations of the increase of traffic resul:ine from the
reductions be realised, the public using the Irish railways
would pay for such increased traffic during a period of
twelve years the sum of £12,000,000 less than they would
have paid for such traffic at the existing rates ; but instead
of this advantage being obtained by means of any perma-
nent sacrifice on the part of the State, a clear profit of
£50,000 would be secured in the twelfth year after the
payment of working charges, cost of increased accommo-
dation and additional rolling stock, and interest on all
capital previously advanced, and a profit of £90,000 in the
thirteenth year."

A CUNNING PRISONER.—A few weeks ago a
man, named Lewis, escaped from Merioneth Gaol by a
bold manoeuvre. He was permitted to take the usual out-
door exercise in the prison yard, and perceiving a ladder
which had been temporarily left against the wall by some
men engaged in repairing the prison, he, in broad daylight,
nimbly ran up the ladder, dropped clown on the other side,
and was away across the country before the officials
had recovered from their astonishment. Great efforts
were made to recapture him, but without success, and it
was concluded that he had left the country. On the day
preceding that upon which his sentence expired he, how-
ever, presented himself at the gaol, and quietly suffered
himself to be locked up. The secret of this extraordinary
conduct transpired on the following day, when Lewis
demanded his liberty upon the ground that the term for
which he had been sentenced had expired. He appears
to have thought that the imprisonment allotted to him by
the judge would absolutely terminate on the day fixed,
and that if he gave himself up he would receive his dis-
charge in due form, and his misapprehenska th4l part
of, the iaw was _with itifitcultviemoved.r