The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-05-31
PUBLIC OWNERSHIP.
The Municlpul Tranns of New Zealand
 and New south Wales.

lNelF tram lines dfe OuHSQlHt CHIist- church and Wellington. The systems are comparatively new in all three. so 1t is difficult to say how the account between them and the people will stand eventually. In Christchurch the trans are controlled by a board elected by the people, Most of the lines have been operated electrically for more than a year, but some ex- treinely ancient steam equipment is still in use at this writing. The cost of construction is about $42,000 per mile, The excess of revenue over working expenses for the ten and one half months ending March 3i, 1906, was $49,022 Leaving depreciation out of the question, interest on the capital at only per cent. would amount to $59 547, and at least one-half of one per cent would necessarily be charged off for sinking fund The balance sheet on the date named showed a net pro- fit but it is plain that there was real fly deficit of considerable proportions. In that balance sheet the only inter lest item is $22,132 lon capital charged to net revenue,' and only s2.5S7 is shown to have been set aside for sink ing fund.
 Although the penny section plan pre- vails, and one may ride short distances cheaper than in the United States, the average fare per passenger carried in this ten and one-half months was AIS cents, no transfers being allowed.
 Duneoins tramways loan Is $1,44O,O0O, and the rate of interest is per cent on $77S,080 and 1-2 per cent. on the remainder The official returns for 1905 showed a deficit of $1S,64S. Of the PA two-cent sections into which the system is divided eleven are less than one mile in length, the longest is only 1 IA miles, and the average length is 96S miles each Crowded cars are relatively as numerous as in the United States, and the same may be said of every other publicly owned tram system in Australasia. The municipal debt of Dunedin proper, less sinking fund available, was about s110 per capita on March 31, 1906, $3,0540S1 fof the total debt of $4,79S, 4S1 having been accumulated on account of the municipality trans, abattoir and wa ter and gas establishments.
 Tn both Dunedin and Wellington re- sponsible persons asserted that politics 1 linterefered with the management of the trans. A man connected with the Wellington system said that it was practically impossible for the head of ficials to dismiss one of his employees, because of political influence. So mo- ticeable has been the effect of politics l in this and other matters that sngges- tions have been made looking to the designation of Wellington, which is l the capital of New Zealand, as federal ] territory, and to the Acknowledgement iof all it's residents. The District of Columbia Is cited as precedent
 The revenues of the Wellington tramways exceeded the operating ex- penses by $43,507 in 19O5-6 but the in- terest on the total tramways loan amounted to $S1, ,64S, and per cent, amounting to $1S,144 was charged off on account of sinking fund. Much dis satisfaction with the arrangement of fares and sections has been expressed 1 by the public, but the council has de- cided to make no change before the sys- tenn is completed, and until "circum- stances and the general interest rend- CTS any amendments expedient or inn perative." A project to extend the system to one of the suburbs could not be carried out because the federal gov ernment stood in the way of the per iformance of certain part of the work The explanation of it's attitude lay in the circumstance that a line of
 the government railways touched al
 the suburb in question, and the fed eral officials would not tolerate com petition. The people were the losers
 because the tram line was needed.
 All the tram lines in New Soutt
 Wales belong to the state government
 and are confined to the city of Sydney
 and it's suburbs, the city of Newcas. tie, and the town of Broken Hill. The
 total mileage in 1906 was only 126 mile!
 (single track, although the Sydney
 district alone has a population of hal
 a million. The inadequate service O
 the Sydney tramways Is evidenced by
 numerous lines of omnibuses drawr
 by horses, although their rates arr
 higher than the tram rates. The om
 nibuses, which are privately owned are well patronized The average cos
 of construction and equipment of tn
 tramways was S139,641 a mile Th indicates undue extravaganza, as il Melbourne first-class tram lines hay
 been put down and equipped for abou
 S4O,OO0 per mile.
 During the last fiscal year the line
 showed profit of s26S6OS without
 however, allowing for depreciation
 which, on account of the high capital
 ization, would exceed million dollar
 a year Even with no allowance fo
 depreciation, deficits have been
 general rule, in one year running Il to S6e, S6S.
 The tram lines are divided into sec
 tions, the average length of which
 about two miles; the fare per sectio
 is two cents, no transfers being allow
 ed. Between midnight and a. m. tn
 fare is increased to six cents per sec
 tion, with miximum of twelve cent
 for the complete trip over any one lint
 Politics enters very largely into tn
 operation of these llnes and discharg
 ed employees have the right of appe5 from the decision of the tramway su perlntendent. As the board of appeal is conscious of the enormous pollticf