1895, he had the offices of the commissioners abolished, and the Government resumed control. During the ten or eleven years that have elapsed, the business of the Railway Department, which has been mostly in charge of Sir Joseph Ward, has increased enormously. Mr. Seddon and Sir Joseph, from the commencement of their administration, laid down the policy that the railways must first be treated as adjuncts to settlement. They did not wish them to earn large profits so much as to secure benefits for the people by giving settlers a cheap and convenient means of transporting the produce of the farms to the markets. Any surpluses gained after paying 3 per cent. on the capital cost of the lines have been returned to those who use the railways in cheapened freights and increased facilities. The wisdom of this policy is proved every year. About £680,000 has been returned to the users of the lines by means of reduced freights. Ordinary and suburban passengers, holders of season tickets, delegates to conferences of religious bodies and friendly societies, pupils of technical schools, judges attending agricultural shows, and competitors at gatherings of rifle associations and other bodies are amongst those who have benefited by reduced fares. Lime used by farmers for manuring farm land is carried absolutely free. To relieve the congestion of the cities and enable workers to live under more healthful conditions, workers’ cheap tickets are issued on the suburban lines near the four large centres of population. These tickets are available for one outward and one homeward trip a day and for use by trains that arrive at their destinations before 8 a.m. The prices of the tickets are based on a uniform rate of 2s. a week for distances up to ten miles. Large numbers of these tickets are used, and the concession is highly appreciated by the workers.
To Mr. Seddon, railways were always the principal means of settling the country. He had an undying faith in the saying of an English writer that “next to a prolific soil and the possession of other great natural resources, no adjunct of material progress is so generally important, and exercises so vital an influence on national characteristics, as the growth of the railway system,” and he would have added to those remarks that no railways are
