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expcnditurc.
376 A16 77iOUJ' i 1" SOC'LA L A'Efi'ORJJ.
that traffic involves EL constaut increase both of capital and
current ~ This is tho main di5culty in railway
economy at the present tirnc, and it mill continue to be so.
Now, the railway reformers declaim at the same time
agtlimt thc extravagant expenditure of capital by the present
companies aud t.he high rates of charges. They do not seem
to seo thut a reduction of charges would necessitate a further
great expenditurc of capital. It requires the ut,most skill and
care in tho preseut traffic-managt~s to meet the strain upon
tho carrying powers of their lines occasioned by t.he progressive
naturd iucrcase of trdfic, al~il, if a11 the railways were managed
by a few grcat ofliciuls in Lo~ldoll, they would indeed require
superIluturn1 skill to cawy, say a cloublo or treble weight of
persons and goods upon thc same liucs wit,h equal sped and
general efficicucy. Yet tllis is what the railway reformers
roally contemplato and pron1i.e.
The general conclusion ttt vvl~i+ I arrive concerning the
scl~en~eu of Govcrnmcnt purchase is, that they arc absolutely
iml)ractictllle, and tlmt the time, lubour, print', and paper
speut upon the discussion arc wasted. Before 1 bring this
Essay to a close, however., I wisll briefly to examine the
grounds upon which objectious aro raisod to our present
system. I feel sure that those ubjectious are to a great extent
erroneous, rmd that iu nl:lny points the schemes put forward
woultl grently aggravrltc such evils as :LW at present existing.
'l'llere CLLU bc 110 doubt,, for instance, that the punctuality
of tho pmscuger service has in the last two or three years been
gradually groming less satisfactory, and ulucll attention has
Lecn drawn to an apparent excess of railway accidents. I
should liko to see completc and accurate statistics of these
nccideuts, and compare thorn with the amounts of traffic,
before attaching so mucll importance to them as has of late
bocrl attributed to them by the newspapers. But taking, for
the sake of argument, the worst view of matters-to what are
such unfavourablc results due? There is absolutely no evidence
that railmnp mnnagcment is becoming more las; on the contrary,
it is well kuon.n that, the block system, and improved
m?tLods of signalling, are being gradually applied to all the
lines of the kingdom ; that the main trunk lines are in some