*5 EMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^0 i 4 (/ &. ^ 1.0 I.I 11.25 ill liiM !t 1^ 1.8 1.4 III 1.6 V] iant engineers and a clerk — the aggregate salaries of the whole four amounting to $5,160 pei' annum. In the Mechanical Department, there is the Chief Superintendent, Mr. Whitney, with a salary of $1,800 per annum. lie has si.K clerks in his office. There is also a locomotive foreman at Halifax, with a salary of $1,400, and two clerks, with salaries amounting to $700 per annum. This makes the total of the Mechanical Department at Moncton and Halifax $8,050 per annum. This docs not inchido the foremen at the different out-stations. The aggregate of these salaries amounts to a total of $52,333 per annum, and this may be taken to represent the cost of maiuiging the railway. Second, — I will now proceed to deal with what I found upon an examination of irtments. rai ha^ Agi of Car tone office unnc aboli I have r Chen Pictoi bo rec ] polls I They ) eharg( roquir in all i I unnoci ciency There upon thougl urgeni depar the different The General Superintendent has full charge o*" j^verything connected with the Lnttrcll, arics aro ). Thoy, nt, Mr. G. to 83,400; t, and two erks, with in's salary •ies of thia ite salaries t Monclon, oncry, and salary of ^ab, with a aries of the r. "Whitney, $1,400, and and Halifax out-stations. annum, and amination of ited with the I railway; his orders and directions arc supremo, and all departments and all offlcors have to take his instiuclions, and (o apply to him for orders upon all points. The Assistant Superintendent, Mr. Goor£;o Taylor, acts as General Freight Agent, and his duties appear lo bo nmiiily coiitincd to the fioij^ht, but by a species of "rod tape," which I do not lliiiik is do-^irablo, all orders which are .i^'iven by Mr* Carvell to his District SiiperJntcndenis have lo go through the As;sistant Superin- tendent, Mr. Taylor. In my opinion, looking to the length of the line and the traffic upon it, tho office of Assistant Siiporintcndenl and General Frciglit Agent is entirely unnecessary, and tho whole of this office, costing 83,400 a year, ought at once to bo abolished as unnecessary and embarrassing to the proper carrying on of the service* Tho two Assistant Superintendents, the one at Moneton and the other at Truro, have the working of the line divided between them. Tho one at Moneton lakes charge of the working from St. John to Point du Chene, and from Painsec Junctiou lo Truro. The one at Truro takes chai^gc of tho working of the line between Halifax and Pictou, including, at present, tho branch from Windsor Junction to Windsor. The one has, therefore, 22G miles under his charge and tho other 144 miles, to bo reduced to 112, if tho Windsor branch is handed over to tho Windsor and Anna- polis Eailway Co. These District Superintendents practically carry on the business of tho road. They see to tho proper running of tlio trains ; have on tbeir respective districts the charge of the statf at tho dirt'erent stations, the distribution of the cars as they aro required for purposes of loading, and generally n.ttend to tho working of tho traffic in all its departments. I consider that tho division of the line — itself of so short a length — is quite unnecessarj-, costing more money than it should do, and tending to weaken the effi- ciency of the service. This is especially the case in tho distribution of the oai's. There is at present too much sectional feeling in regard to the road, and if cars get upon tho Nova Scotia roud, or upon t.\o Now Brunswick road, it appears to be thought necessary to keep thom there, whether wanted or not, although thoy may bo urgently needed upon the other section. As an instance of this, I may mention that I had the stock of cars at wovk on each district taken by telegraph, on a particular day, and I found that whilst all tho cars upon tho Moneton district woro in full use, and that thoy could havg 6 profitably nsoil others if (lioy liail hiul tlioin, tliorc wore at tho same tinio 23 box and 50 plaff'orju cars on llic Truro district, whicli wore not in iiso or rcfpiircd ; but whicb, if tbo arrani,aMiKMit iiad liooii in tho bands of ono man, would of course bavc been shifted from wbcrc they were idle, to tbo points where business was waiting for then) *" ti'ansport. The whole !eiii;t]i of tiie line, excluding the Windsor Branch, will be not more than ;{39 iniies. ami wiili the amount of traliic upon it. there is no noeossity for more than one i>istricl Sui)erintondent. and ^jreat advantage, both in unity of workiui,' and in the ])ro|)ei' distribution and handlin*^ of cars, will bo ari-ived at by abolisbiuL; one district, and having' only one Assistant .Sui)erintendent over tbo whole line. I will deal first with the ofliees before prncoedinij: to refer to the result of my enquiries in roi^ard to the iioneral tratlie arranu'enients. In tho A'couiitant's Office, tho bead of whicb is Mr. T. Foot, tho. work appears to be carried on in a ^afi^l'actol•v manner. Tho work is well u]i, and as far as I was able to form an o|)iiiion, 1 think .Mr. Foot and his stall' are competent to carry on tho duties which are entrusted to them. I do not think^ either, that the stall' in that office i- too lari^e for tbo work to be done. In the Audit Office, the bead of it, Mr. J. J. Wallace, appears to be a pains- takini,' and careful oflic m'. and with some chamvos of system, which at my suggestion, ho will. lam sure, readily adopt,! think the work in bis office will be properl}' carried on ; and tho stall' in it is neither too largo nor too small, for the work wbicb is to bo done. There is ono defect in connection Avith the Audit whicb ought at once to be remedied, and whi< h would prove of great benefit, as will be soon from what I shall sub.sofpiently say. All returns from tbo different stations arc sent promptlj-, and regidarly, and with full information to the Audit Office. They are there examined and collated, but there is a want of a perfect and regular system of inspection, of tho accounts tbomsclvcs, at each individual station. There should bo attached to *ho Audit Office a Travelling Auditor, whose business it should bo to visit ]ieriodically, but without any idea of its being done at regular or stated los, every Station, making on the spot a close examination of tbo accounts at the Slalion, and counting tbo cash in band, .so as to be certain that the balances whicb are re]jorted U) be duo are really debts iluo to the Government, and are not sums of money retained improperly by the party in charge. One person ought to be able to do tins work properly, and ho would, if acti\o, bo able to visit i'.l intervals of not less than two months every station upon the line. 10 23 box ircd ; but iirse have H waiting not more ossity foi" I unity of ived at liy t over the suit of my fk appears ir as I was carry on ho stair in a pains- Hiffgestion, irly carried wliicb is to once to be /iiat I sliall ularly, and i. nd colliited, 10 accounts litor, whose ling done at uition of til ain that the I'unient, and One person Ic to visit i'.L I shall deal further with this question of the accounts at the Stations, when I como to speak of the Stations themselves, The next office, that of Paymaster has at its head Mr. IT. W. McCann, and ho has two assistants— one at $1,000 a year, and one at SHOO. The duties of these officers are to loceive. properly certitied, the pay rolls of the ditVorent De|)artraents, and all the accounts which have lo be paid for sujiplies and everything else. The pay lists, which are made out and paid monthly, are paid by one or other of the Paymasters going out upon the line, and paying the men, individually, the amounts due to them. The system in regard to the ii.'iymont of accounts, is that the accounts, when certified, for stores, fuel or wliatever else it may be, are haiuled to the Paymaster, who makes out a che(|iie for the amount, M'hich i.-. signed iiy tlie General Superin tcndent and the Accountant, and he then takes the money and paj's it to the party, to whom the amount is due — taking his receipt for it. It does not a])pear to mo that this is the proper way in which accounts should bo paid. The paj'mcnt of wage:; is properly and correctly done, and that is what I under stand the duties of. Paymaster to be, but T lliink the payment of accounts should bo done direct from the oflice of the General Superintendent, until the work bo- comes of sufficient magnitude to require the appointment of a Trca.surcr, wliich at present, I do not think it does. There is in my opinion, one objectionable feature in t'lO arrangement of tho Paymaster's Office. Instead of making a separate cheque for every accouVil of stores, fuel, &c., to be made payable to the order oftlio party who is to receive it, and having the endorsemt nf of that person upon it, as well as his receipt, the accounts arc frequently grouped together — in some cases as many as 2;j of tliem, which I counted in one cheque. The Paymaster gets this cliequo cashed, takes the money loose, to tho different points where tho accounts aro duo and pays thorn as ho would pay wages. I think this is wrong, and that the duties of the Paymaster should bo confined to the payment of wages, and that all accounts for stores of all kinds sliould be p^^'d by separate cheques, for each account — payable to the order of the jiarty to whom tho amount is clue, and transmitted after proper verification and being duly certi- fied, through tho ofiice of the General Superintendent to the party to whom it is due. There is no necessity, in my opinion, for three persons in the Paymaster's Office. If the work is arranged in the way in which I think it ought to be, one man is quite sufHcient to pay all tho wages upon the lino. They are only paid '?«?! 8 once a month, ami probably a week in each monlh will or. ble a Paymaster of active habits to go over liio entire length of the line. There are considerable returns made by thePaymaster in the shape of accounts to Ottawa, whieli F tiiinlc are in niiicli more detail than is necessary. At any rate, those accounts should go with tiio oihcr details, from the Accountant's office, if they arc absolutely required, and if iliat is done, one active man can perform all the duties of Paymaster. The Cashier's Office, as I have already slated, has two men in it— one the Chief Cashier, Mr. G. Evan, (late 31. P. for one of the counties in New Brunswick,) and an assistant, whose salary is !?(!00 a year. There is not the smallest necessity for more than one Cashier. In point of fact, the work is now done entirely by ilie second (ilr. Brush), the chief, Mr. Ryan, doing absolutely nothing. This enumeration deals with all the divisions into which the general office? are divided, but does not include those relating to distinct departments. I will now speak of the state of affairs at the ditl'crent stations. I may say that I personally examined at every station on the lino, the books and balance sheets, and am thus enabled to form a very correct opinion as to the mode in which the different stations ai'c worked, and as to liie eondilion of their accounts. I commenced at St., John, and am not ahle to report that the management at that station is in a very satisfactory coiulitioii. 1 fuiind that the Auditor had been at that station six weeks liefore I was there, but that no audit had taken place at that important station for two years previously. The balance against the station at Mie date that T examined the accounts, was $4,866.80, said to be for goods in store i)ut not delivered. Upon examination I did not find this to bo an accurate statement of the case. Upon examination of the ac- counts, I found that one item, §803.88, was for charges duo by the railway, for the carriage of its own materials, it did not, of course, afl'ect the cash bi'lancos, but made the apparent b.ilance at the station much higher than it actually was. There was an amount of 80.58.08 owing by the Coldbrook Rolling Mill Co., for goods which had been delivered to the mill, biit which had not been paid for, on delivery. There appears to have been a habit of allowing this mill to have a weekly au count, as a matter of convenience. It is an account for freight on old rails, which arrived bj water, taken from St. John to the mill, and for coal brought for the mill from Spring Hill and other places. The amouni which was due at the time I made the examination of the aceoiinls was for a very much longer period than a week, and, as far as I could ascertain, it extended over a month. There is no reason why thia account should have been allowed to run on so long. I found alsotho Spring Hill Coal Co., who have a yard at St. John, owed 8100 for freight on coal, which had been unloaded into their yard, but the freight on which had not been paid. There was also an amount of $80S.90 duo by the firm of Schofield & Beard, for oats which had been brought over the Railway from Point du Cheno to St. John. All these car loads of oats had been delivered, but contrary to Ihe rci;ulalions, and contrary to what ought to have been the ca!^e at cvory such station as Si. John, the parties had not been required to make (ho payment when Iho goods were delivered, but the account had been allowed to run on, until it reached liie amount which ^ have stated. I believe the amount has been o'lbsequcntly paid, but it is obvious that a groat risk is being run, if individual dealers arc permitted to have so large an amount of credit, or, in fact, any credit at all for goods which they take away. There was another item of $G4.80 owing for oats, also delivered to a person of the name of Barber. I also looked into the question of the time which cars were allowed to remain in the yard, without being unloaJed, and in looking over the books for the month of May, I found two cars, numbered respectively 115() and 1208, consigned from Point du Cheno to Schofield and Board, which arrived on tiio (Jth of May, but wero not unloaded until the ?Mh — lying tlu'rcforo in St. John Ic) t!io lo,-s of the railway for a period of 20 day.'j. Demurrage, I was informed, had boon charged upon these curs, but the consignees declined to make any payment for demurrage, contending that they ought nut to bo compelled to remove their properly promptly, or in fact until they are enabled to find a sale for it. This of course, is entirely wrong. It appears to me to have been a p 'actice for dealers to make the cars of the railway, warehouses for (he property whici they im- port, and that they do not think it necessary to take that properly away until t joy have found a market for it. Tt is quite obvious that if buch a .sy.Ntem is permitted, it will take a very much larger stock of cars to work the railway than is really necessary, and I can seo no reason why any meirhant in Si. John, or at any other point on the line, should not bo compelled to take his pi-opcrty away as soon as it arrives — find- ing at hia own cost, the necessaiy warehouse acconimodalion for it, and if he does not do this, ho should be charged such a rate of demurrage, as will be an inevitable incentive to him to take his properly away as i'a|iidl'- as possible. I found also that at St. John the mode of collecting the money due for the carriage of frieght was not at all in a satisfactory position. The rogulatioii is, that all freight bhall bo paid for, as it is taken away, and 10 there is a casliicr at the station. Mi". Mack, whoso duty it is to receive tiic money and transmit it to the casliier at Moncton. Instead of this, however, it apjioars thai a young man of twenty years of age wlio was a). piiinteil rather more than a year ago. goes ahout the town collecting money, two or three times a \veel\. lie told me that lie frei|m'ritly receiveil iu this way as much as a tiiou.-and dollars a week — some of it in money, and some of it in olie(iues, jiayalile to hearer, which he takes to the dilferent banks to cash, and tlicn deposits the wliole >um he lias receivi'd with the cashier. He frequently in thin way gets as mucdi as .SI, (100 at a time. This is entirely wrong. It is putting undue temptation in the way of a nuMv lad. and the rule should he imperatively carried out, that no pi'ci|icriy i- dclivcr<'d until il i> paid for, anl the payment should Ite made to the I'ashier, who is I'lcre in the otlice for the purpose of receiving it, aiul giving tlie necessaiy receipts. There appem-s to he a divided responsibility at St. John. The station-master, Mr. Colenian, is the recognized head, but his duties ap]iear to be confined almost entii'oly to the passenger business. Thoi'o is a freight agent, .Mr. Pick, who remains at the freight office and who is responsible to .Mr. ("'oleinan for the ])ro])er eariying out of the work'. How well that is done you will be able to understand from tiie desci'iption I liave giveu you of what I found to ))e the facts. After ascertaining these fads, I went to ^Ir. Coleman, and in the course of conversation with him. for.nd that he was utterly ignorant of all that I have now stated. In fact, he kiu>w them iVom me (or the first time. I consider the stall' at the freight office unduly large. According to the pay- rolls for the month of April, there is the station-nnisler, .Mr. Coleman, whose salary is $1,,J00 per auinim. There is then Mr. Pick', the freight agent, with a salary of 8000; and thou they have, includ.ing the cashier, and the clerks and (heckers of freight, thirteen clerks, whilst tlu' number of laborers om])lo3'ed in the freight shed, according to the i>ay sheets, are oidy seven, and on(! man uw seven da}'s during tho month. This is entirelj- an undue stall' i'or such a station as St. John, and ought at oneo to bo remodelled, which can be done at a very large saving of expense. It appears that the same staff is kept up from one year's end to the other, although the traffic at one period of the yea;', is fre(iuentl3' double what it is at others. The staff of clerks now at St. John is nuudi more than sufficient fi)r the very busiest season of the year, hut it ought to be made to vaiy with the business. 1 am also of opinion that the general cost of working the St. John Station might be considerably reduced, apart from that relating to the Freight Uepartnienl, to whieh 1 have speeittlly rol'crrcd. 11 • the money years of atio \.-u co'ilot'tini; eiveil ill this some of it in ish, and then ontly in thin It is puttin.u; impevalivcly vyraentshouUl f receivini;- it, station-master, ontined almost ificc and who is irk. How well ve n'ivon yon of lo :Mr. Coleman, li-ly iirnorant of :irst tinu'. uv^ to the pay- 1, whose salary with a salary of 1(1 rluH'kers of he freight shed, lays during the i \d ought at once : use. It appears hough the traffic rs. The stalV of husiest season of St. Jolm Station ight Department, There is one pcint connected witli St. Jolin to which T ought to call your attention; and that is, by the autliority of the late (iovernnicnt, an account is allowed to bo kept with the Chief Justice, both for freight and for sales of passenger tickets. I mention this simply to show that, as far as 1 jtm awaro, this is the only authorized account which has been allowed, and of course, apart from the general question, the fact of there being this special authorization, should have been conclusive evidence to ail those at the station, that no accounts should have been allowed to lie incurred by any one else. Ujion the general question of the balances due by the several stations, T think that proper care and attention to details ought to considerably reduce the amounts. Titus, the total trallic of the line for the month of April tlus year was 8^7,500. The amount of the balances due by (ho stations at the end of that month, according to their returns, was 81[1,00S.5'.t. This amount is certainly larger than ought to lie due n])on so small a traffic. Yon wi'i see fi-om what T have said in regard to St. John how easy it would I)0 materially to reduce this item if jn'oper attention were ])aid to the details. I had a list of all these balances taken out, and at once pointed out to the Au- ditor, that except in the case of the ticket agents at terminal stations, there wiw no ne- cessity for there being any balance whatever at the end of the week. They make up their accounts weekly, sending their balance sheets to the audit olHce, niade up to ever^' Saturday night, and their orders are to remit by Monday morning's train, all the money the}' had receivedup to the .Saturday night previous. That being the case, I a:n at a loss to understand why St. .John should show for the week ended 23rd May, a balance of cash on hand of §251t.02, (irrespective of S13G.;50, due by the Chief Justice,) or why the ticket clerk at Eichinond should show a sum of $.']20 at the end of the week. I shall speak presently of the ticket clerk at T?ichmonil. I had a statement made out of the cost of handling freight per ton at Die dift'eront important stations. I found it to be so various that it is (juite cleai' there is considerable room fjr economy, if this matter is properly watched and attended to. Clerks ap2>ear to be apjiointed at random, and when once appoii 'ed they seem to remain jtermanently on the stall". A return should bo made from all the principal stations weekl}', of the total quantity of freight handled, showing the amount which that freight had cost, both 12 for clerks and porters, and it would thus soon bo shown, where the work was econo- mico.lly done, and where it would be possible, as I am sure is the case, for instance at St. John, to make very considerable reductions. I left St. John by special train and stopped at all stations. I found othiiig ■which appeared to bo in any way irregular until I got to Point du Che but I must repeat the general remark which I have made already, that the balances at all the stations are larger than they ought to be. At more than one place the agent admitted that ho had returned as cash on hand, money which was not in his possession — that he h.nd delivorcu goods to parties whom he knew would pay him in a da}- or two, as a matter of con- venience, and while lie admitted ihat he was responsible for the amount thus duo, ho equally admitted that be was not carrying out his inslructions in what ho did. I have rto reason at all to believe that there was anything wrong at any of the stations, but undoubtedly there is a laxity in the remittance of inoney, and there is a want of that thorough understanding, which ought to exist, that money ought to be paid before the goods are delivered, and that the money so received ought to be at once remitted into the coflei's of the Government at Mono ton. At Point du Chene, I found matters in anything but a satisfactory condition. The balance at that station for the 30th April, 1874, (the month of May not having been made up,) was stated to be $2,754.82, of which 81,29().74 was put down as being cash on hand, and a sum of $1,090.90 as due by steamers and vessels to which goods had been delivered, and for which they were responsible to the Agent. I first enquired into the particulars of the cash balance on hand, $'',290.74, and the Agent was compelled to admit that in closing his accounts ho had no such amount of money on hand. lie endeavored to explain this balance in the following manner: First, — There was a sum of $239.39 against the station owing by a ticket clerk named Cannon, who ran away in 1872, and who was then found to be that much short in his accounts. Then there was a sum of $150 owing by another ticket clerk, named Martin, who had run away in September, 1873, and was found to bo that much short in his accounts. There was then a sum duo by the steamer " Roth say Castle" (which has since been burned) for coal sold to her, but which had been overcharged, and which was put down at $89. There was then for a loss in the year 1872, in the charier of a schooner to Bathurst, owing to a mistake in tiio telegraph, $100, and there were claims for overcharges on freight in 1872 and 1873 which have not been adjusted, $192.76. 18 "^as econo- instanco , ,'Othiiig u but I ices at nil d as cash rcu goods ev of c'on- DUTit thus n what ho wrong at itlanco of t to exist, ho money rament at ndition. ■ May not put down vessels to ho Agent. !90,74, and ad no such I following ckot clork that much her ticket ound to bo or Eoth bad been in tho year telegi'aph, yhich have Those various items make a total of $771.15, but do not account for a sum of $525.59, for which there was, when I was at Point du Chene, no satisfactory explan- ation, except that the Agent .said he ought to be paid $120 for rent of an office, which had been used in his liouse, at a time when the buildings were being altered, but which had never been allowed or promised. I then enquired into the amounts said to be due by various vessels and .steamers. The praclice appears to be that goods are shipped from St. John, and other places, to points ou Prince Edwaid's Island, i?,u'hibuctoo, Chatham, Daihousie, Newcastle, and other points along the coast, and that the agent at Point du Chene, has to make arrangements with tho steamers or schooners, to got the freight conveyed from Point du Cheno to those different points. It appears to have been the practice to deliver these goods to the steamers and sailing vessels, and they were expected to bring back the money for the freight when they returned to Point du Chene. These matters were arranged solely by tho agent, and neither the Suporinlcndent nor the audit office had any knowledge of or control over tho mode in which these accounts wore adjusted, but had to take the statement of the agent without the possibility of checking it in any way. Upon enquiry into the amounts owing by tho diflevent vessels, I found the following facts to be the case : Some of the amounts ho stated ha be greater than it otherwise would be, if thai Company's trains are to go there, and for this a certain sum ought to be charged. Tho Annapolis Company's trains being in Richmond Station involvedtho neces- sity of using two shunting engines instead of one, which would bo sufficient for tho purposes of the Intercolonial Railway alono. Tho extra shunting engine requires men to attend upon it, and without taking into account any sum for interest upon tho cost of the property and buildings which will be used by the Annapolis Company, I am quite safe in saying that the 17 ng of tho mortgage iciont the is to got use tho Irey Foot, orally in a 3.06, but of lich sum is ily account the rcspoct- ,ree months 1 ftothoro is if not, they titteution to 3(1, isi'urried (inpany, and ) Halifax, to work of not 10 Annapolis | ,nd tear will ! U have to bo there, and red tho necoB- acient for tho thout taking ind buildings ying that the uctinl money outlay, which will have to bo paid by the Intercolonial Railway for llio W'H-k done for tho Annapolis Railway, will Ijo n';t loss ilmn $15,000 a year and will probably oxcood that sum. It is right to bi^ar thi^ in mind in considering,' liio qnostion of the Arnapolis Railway ari'angenients, 1 will deal in a separate report with the exten.sion of the I'ailway into Halifax New Wor/iS Jiitjulicd. — In regard to the ([Uestion of the anioant of accommoda- tion now existing along the lino, and what is reipiired to [)rovide what is nocossai'v 1 may i^ay generally that there is almost everywhere hUlHcient accommodation at present. Halifax, of conise, 1 shall deal with separately, but outside of Halifax tho most urgent is an extension lit' facilities at IMelou Landing. TIkto are in addition to this a few niatlers which 1 thiid< ought to bo done this year, not, however, costing more than 815,00(1, and which, when done, will, with what 1 understand has already been authorized in the lasi estimates, place the entire system in a Ccuiditiou which will be satisfactory, for a considerable increase over tiie pro-ent traffic. Of coun-e, if traffic should dovolope itself rapidly, there would arise a necessity for further outlay, but I do not myself see that that is likely to be the case at jiresent. TratUc, in my judgment, will grow slowly but surely, and the necessity for any additional i'aciliti' , iieyond what 1 shall hereafter sj)eak of, will not be large, and should only be allowed as iho necessity foi- them bectunos indispensable. COAL TRAFb'ir. 1 may as well here refer to the coal traltie, and the ari'angements for carrying it on, and upon this subject I shall have to maUo some recommendations. The coal business arises almost entirely at two jwints upon the line, Stellarton and New (ilasgow (near Pictou Landing) and Sjiring Hill, on the Cond'al Division. Al I'iclou, there are live mines in operation, viz., the (jieneral .Mining Assucia lion, the Intercolonial Coal Company, the Xova .Scotia Coal Company, the Arcadia Coal Mining Company, ami the Vale Colliery Compan}-. The three first have their own independent lines from the j)il"s mouth to sliip})ing points in i'ictou Harbour for purposes of shipment by water, and do not use the Govei'ument Eailway at all. The (.ieneral Mining Association and the Intercolonial Coal Company have both connections with the Go\ernment Hallways near Stellarton, ly means of which shipments of coal are muii^ along the line of the railway, and, during the winter, 18 to Halifax, while Pictou Harbor is clo-oil hy ice. Tlio Nova Scotia Company has no connection witii llio CiovcrMmcnt Jtaiiways. 'i'he Acadia Coal Cf)nipany ships its coal from tiio mine \llicry coal passes along lluf Intercolonial Railway is eight miles, i'rom New (rlasgow lo the shipping port at Pictou Landing. Both the Acadia Company and the VaK' Company provide their own shipping Btages at Pictou Landing, the railway running its track- upon those wharves, and the coal company discharging trom tiie cars direct into the holds of vessels. Tiie charge at present made to the Acadia Comjiany for the carriage of the coal from Stellarton to Pictou Landing, is '2') cents a Ion. The Intercolonial Rail- way provides the use of the track from the junction with the line of each mine to the landing, the use of an engine, with driver and lireman,and a conductor and three brakemen for each train. The cost of course is the same, except for the diil'erence in wear and tear of the track between .Slollarton and New Glasgow. Whether the coal comes from the Ac.ndia Company or the Vale Company, 1 am of opinion that no ditference should be made to ihe two collieries. The service in fart costs the same for each, and they .should he, in my judgment, charged the same price, and that ju-ice slnuild be 25 cents a ton. That does not leave more than a fair protit. It requires the use of a separate aJid independent engine, a separate staff of men for the traii\, and, looking to the gradients between Stellarton and Pictou Lauding, and the weight of the trains, very considerable I'islc is run — the cost of any accident, of course, resting, after the train is once in motion, with the Government and not with the coal company. Each train carries 40 hopper cars, each car containing 5 tons, eo that each train carries from the mine to the shipping port 200 tons of coal. To do this requires 19 120 ciirs — 40 to lip loailint,' a( the pit, 40 to bo in motion between the pit and tho ■-liipitinf,' point, and 40 to lie at tiie sbip]iin'.i,- point disciiar;.ciny into vo^jneis. Jf tlio liii>im'>s is brisk. ]20 cars ran pass live trains between (lie ]»it'M nioutli and tiie sliippin^ point daily, in 1~ iioiirs, wiiicli would enalilu each mine to ship 1000 tons a .lay. As some earn would, of euiirse, always be under repaif, it is safe to say that it rcfpiircs 150 cars to enalile eat li niiiio worUiny over tiie Intercolonial Eailway to i-liip 1000 tons of coal a day, and if tlie s than 1000 Ions, the tiamo imnilier of cars will be required. Three hundred car.s, therefore, are required during the shippini^ season at Pictou Landini^, for the use of tho two mines, which iilono, at present, have any conneiijon with the Intercolonial Eailway. The Crovernment now own tJ5fJ of tiiese cars. Tlie Spring Hill Collieiy is just about getting into operation, a branch about six miles in length, which has been built from the Mine to the Intercolonial Railway ; but unlike tho lines built by tho Acadia Company, and tlio Vale Colliery Co., tlio Spring Ilill branch has had part of its cost defrayed by tho Government. Tho arrangement I understand to have been that the Spring Hill Co. graded tlie road beti and provided the ties, and the Government laid tho rails and are now ballasting tho Hranch. 1 went over the line, whiih is at present in a very rough state, butwhichby the end of tliis month will be in comparatively fair order. It is an exceedingly crooked lino, with very steep gradients, and will be costly to wiii'k and keep in repair, ^so tirrangeinent has yol been made in regard to tho working of that branch, and F am of o|)inion that tho same practice which is in force at Pictou should be applied at Spring Hill. The present point of shipment for the Spring Hill Comjiany is intended to bo at Dorchester, where a branch hari been constructed to thu Mucan River, a tidal river running into the Bay of Fuudy. The distance from the Junction of the Intercolonial Railway, with tho Spring Hill branch to Dorchester, is 38 milo.s, or to the mines 44 miles. Tho Spring Hill Colliery will, I have reason to believe, endeavour to make their ship])ing place at another point on tho Maccan River, about 12 miles from the junction with the branch. I think it is unfortunate that tb' Spring Hill branch has been constructed, in any way whatever, at the e.xponso ol the Government. That company should have been treated, in my judgment, jirecisely the same as the Acadia and the Vale Collieries, and required to make their own line from the pits mouth to ft junction with the 20 railway, and I would strongly recommend that if they cannot bo induced to purchase, even al a very kiuhII lu'ico. (ho whole of (he branch from their mines to the Intercolonial Ivaihvny. il woiild he far heller lo malce them an ahnolutc prcHcnt of it, and to let them wo''k it themselves. It will he a costly line to keep in order and to worix, and from the eomlition of its curves and gradients, will always bo liable to serious misha])s. If the}- will not lake it either b}- purchase or as a gift, I would insist upon their doing, as the two compiinies at E'ictou do. tiiid their own engine and work the tratiic between the mines and tlie junction. In order lo force lliem lo do this, I would \>ni such a price for working as would make it an object to them to provide the necessary engine jmwei- themselves. The chiirge for haulage from the mine to the junction, if no arrangement can bo made with them, either to take the line or to work it themselves, ought not to be loss, considering all the circumstances, llian L'O cents a ton. If they make their shipping point at Dorchester, it will idiuiiv rather more cars than aro necessary cither for the Acadia or the Yale Colliery, the distance being greater. But I think it is safe to say that tho three Collieries ol Spring Hill, Acadia and Vale, can be supplied with suflicient cars to enable them each to ship 1,000 tons a day, by devoting 450 cars to that purpose. That will still leave 200 cars for the general trade along the line, which in ray judgment ought to be ample for a considerable time to come. Of course, when tho shipping season both atPictou and the Maccan Eiver is closed ly ice, the cars which aro in use during tho shipi)ing season, arc available for the transport of coal to Halifax and St. John, and there are now sutlieient hopper cars, in my judgment, for tho carrying on of the local business along the line, and the shipment of coal at Ilalifax during the winter season, as well as in the shipping season at Pictou and Maccau Eiver. It would have been better if, in tho start, the different coUioi-ies had been re quired to own their own cars, and a ciiargo made to them for hauling those cars over tho railway. 1 am afraid, however, it would now be exceed- ingly diflicnlt, owing to tjicir want of capital, to get them to buy these cars, and therefore the matter having gone so far as it has, there appears to bo nothing to do j but to bo satisfied with the arrangements as they now exist, and make reasonable and proper charges for tho transport of coal in tho cars belonging to tho (Jovorn- ment. At present there are about 200 of the coal cars, lately pui'chasod, not in use. Tho last 100 that wore obiaincd from Portland have never had any coal inl them up to the present time, and are lying on sidings near St. John, ready for usel as soon as tho coal traffic may render it necessary. the las are the T Bi. Brc f^onger s Ste the enti W The 21 I may mention thiit tlio total ([iiantitv of ooal sliippcil from the Acadia mino over tlio Intercolonial Jlaihvay to I'iftoii Landini^duriii^ftlioyeai' 1873 was 85,41 i ton^J v,'hieh was an avoraf^o of 270 tons a day for each working day, Imt asforneurly half the year tho shippini^ at Pictou wa^t suspended, by the harbor bein^; frozen over, it is fair to assiiiiie that llio average daily .shij)mcMit, d'lritiij,' tho noason of navigation was about 300 tons per day, which would be equal to two and-a-half trains. As tho coai busine.' 'r^s luudi more brisk last year tlian it is this, it is not at all likely that tho coi ' .! shipment of tho Acadia and Vale collieries during tho present shipping h^iason Will roach an average of 1,00(1 tons a day between them. The facilities at Halifax for shipment during winter, by the arrangements now in progress, and which will bo completed within the next three months, will permit, if necessary, of the shipment of from 3,000 to 3,500 tons a da}-. This is, in my judgment, very much larger than tho coal traffic is likely to bo for a very long time to come, and tho facilities at Halifax, therefore, for the shipmcntof coal will, by tho end of tho present season, be fully ample for the utmost requirements of the trade. The same arrangements which are provided for the shipment of coal at Hali- fax, will also provide for tho shipment of timber and lumber, and for these latter articles, there will be, before tho close of the present season, tho most ample faciiitio which tho trade can possibly require for some years to come. ■ „ Apart from tho fixcilities which are to be provided by sums already included in the last estimates, all that, in my opinion, is necessary to bo undertaken, at present, are tho following, and the cost of these will not bo large. They principally arise on tho Nova Scotia portion of tho line. Bedford.— At Bedford, a jjlaco near Halifiix, and to which and from which passenger traffic goes in summer, a now passenger station is very urgently wanted, and tho present building should be converted into a freight house— there beicg no accommodation of the latter kind at all. Tho cost of this will be $1,800. SuuBENACADiE.— At Shubcnacadio, a new passenger station is also absolutely essential, and tho present building there should bo turned into a freight house— the accommodation now being entirely inadequate— and a platform erectoa for tho handling of Itimbor. The cost of all this at Sliubonacadio will bo 82,250. Brookfield.— At Brookfield tho present building should bn turned into a pas- senger station, and a new freight house 'erected, which will cost §1,800. Stellarton.— At Stellarton, which is the second largest shipping station on the entire line, the accommodation is entirely inadequate. [^ The present station building bhould bo removed and turned into a freight shed. 22 which will give them nil tlic accomraoJation, at present, that is necessary, and in its place a new passenger station slioiild be erected. Another siding also it< wanted at that station for the accommodation of the coal traffic coming from the Aciidhi aii.l Intercolonial mines. The cost at this station will bo $[]~i5{). New Gi.a.soow. — At Xew Cihisgow the bringing in of the Vale Colliery and the general increase of the business there requires another siding, which will cost $500. PiCTOt; LANDrNO. — At Pictou Landing there is at present a great want of faci- lities for liandling the coal trains .ns they arrive at the shipping points, both for the Acadia and the Vale Collieries. Tiiis can be overcome by the construction of a new siding h ing between the two linos approaching both the shipping stages. There is jijao a new siding very much wanted at Piston Landing, for the general tragic, which is increasing at that place. The total cost at Pictou Landing would bo $2,700. Greenville. — The Greenville Station, on the Central District, has clearly been placed in a wrong position. It is a mile aw.ay from the main road, and with no approach except the one which carries the railway over the river, which intervenes between the road and the station. It has evidently been put there for some reason, other than that connected with the traffic of the li' a, and is very loudly and justly complained of by the sections of country through which the roads crossing the railway pass. 1 saw the people in the vicinity when passing there, and they have agreed to give all the land that is necessary for the placing of thf station in a proper place. The cost of removing it and the siding will bo $1,r iiiiloadin,!^' them. That is to say, eitlier an elevated track has to ]sengcr fares are based upon a charge of .'5 cents a mile for first cla.ss and 2 cents for seeoiul, up to lUO miles. Up to 150 miles, the rate per mile is reduced to nearly 2'j' cents foi' lirst class, and above 200 miles to not quite 2i cents a mile. Tliese rates arc fair and reasonable, and, I th'idv, need not be altered. Jiut in addition to tliese rates there are two cla.-ses of tickets issued, one of which I consider exceedingly objectionable. The one is a family ticket, issued by any static i i good for 12 jmssages between the stations named upon it, and that ticket is st a reduction of one-half the regular fare. A man who is engaged in business, which requires him to travel at all frcquentiy. can buy a ticket enabling him to pass 12 times over the line, at one-half tlie price ])aid by an ordinary traveller. 1 think this is entirel}' wrong, and that it .should be at once abolished. It is a class of ticket wlrch it is exceedingly dilficult to deal with, and is liable to very great abuse. The fares are low enough, in compa- rison with all other railway fares in Canada, to render any such reduction entirely unnecessary, and 1 recommend that this class of ticket be entirely abolibhed. In place of it, I recommend that the course whicli is usually adopted in Canada be followed, and return tickets is.^ucd, good for a journey from the station at which they are issued to the station to which they go and back aga'.a, at a reduct'on of one-quarter of the double faro. That is to sa}-, that a return ticket should be issued from one station to the other at a fare antl a-half, instead of two single fares. There may, of course, bo some abuse, as there always is, by parties selling their half of the return ticket, if they do not want to use it, but with so sparse a population, I do not think it is likely to be a serious question, and at any rate it would be very much better than continuing the present system of family tickets issued at half price. Season tickets are also issued at rates which 1 think are far too low. These 26 Heason tickets slionld only bo issued at certain points, and the rates should bo revised, but tlio precise rates to be adopteti, I should roijuire to i^ivc some further attention to, oefore I could possibly advise what should be done in this particular. But in regard to "family tickets," they should bo instantly abolished, and return tickets substituted for them. FHEiailT TARIFF. In regard to this question, T find that there are practically two tariffs in force. It appears that there woro two separate tariffs in existence previous to tiie amalga- mation of the Railways, one in Nova Scotia and one in New Brunswick, the rates in Nova Scotia being higher than those in New Brunswick. For instance, for distances of fifty miles, the four classes in Nova Scotia wei'o 19c., 16c., 13c., and Iflc. per 100 lbs., — whilst in New Brunswick they were for fifty miles, l(!c., 14c., 12c,, and lOe. ; and for 100 miles in Nova Scotia they were 32c., 28c., 22c., and l(!c., — whilst in Now Jh'unswick Ihcy were 27c., 23c., lOc, and 13c. When the line from Painsec to Truro was completed, forming a junction between the two systems, and the whole line brouglit under one management, the tariffs in force in Nova Scotia and Now Brunswick upon the old linos were retained, and a now tariff, applicable to the piece of railway' from Painsec to Ti'uro, and for traffic coming off the old linos on to the now lino was issued, based entirely u]ion the Now Brunswick or the lowest rates. Those, therefore, are the arrangements at ])rosent in force, — the old t.uritVs in Nova Scotia and Now Brunswick being still employed, and the New Brunswick tariff being applied to the now piece of railway,, and to the traftio coming on and oft' the old linos on to the new one. I have had a statemont taken out of fho tarifls in force upon the following railways : — The Intercolonial Railway, as I have already explained it, and the Nova Scotia and Now Brunswick Railways, The European and North American Railw.iy, between St. John and Bangor and Frodoricton, The Maine Central, between Bangor and Portland, The Grand Trunk', The St, Lawronco and Ottawa, The Toronto and Nipissing. 26 The Toronto, Groy and Bruco. The Groat Western of Canada. The WindsDi- and Annapolis — the latter being tlie tariff in force, sinpc they raised their rates some little time ago. I append a (>npy of tliia statement, and a perusal of it will show thatthcNew Brunswick taritl" i-< lower than that of all the othor.^, especially for distances less than 50 miles, and that the Xova Scotia tariff, althi>ii!i;li higher than the New Brunswick one, is c(in!.iresent in force on tiie Windsor and Annapolis Hallway. I am of opinion that the rates should bo assimilated throughout the whole of the system, and that thcie should he no ilitforoncc in the rates between those por- tions of the railway, according to distance, lying in Nova Scotia, and those lying iu New Brunswick. Why the ditrercnce. when the lines were brought together, was allowed to con- tinue, I cannot understand, hut it is obvious that the tarill' should be assimilatcil in both Provinces, and that one tarill' should bo applied to the whole system of rail- ways. Considering the fact that the railways up to this time have cost the country considerably more to work them than they have earned, to say nothing of the interest involved in the outlay for their construction, I can see no good reason why the rates should be lower than they arc upt)n other railways in the Doniiiuon, or why the people of Nova Scotia and Now Brunswick should have their property con' vcyed at lower prices than the })eople in otiier parts of Canada, simply because (he railway belongs to the (jovcrnment, and does not belong to a private company, which, of course, wouM try to make both ends meet If a private company couhl not do so without a rise in the tariff, there is no doubt that they would put bU(di a larilf in operation as would liring about the desired result. Acting u2)on this principle, I therefore submit (Appeiidix A) a revised tariif, which is based upon an average of the rates in force in other parts of Canada, and adjacent portions of the I'nited States, and which is on the whole slightly lower than the rates charged upon the lines to which 1 have rcferre'l, and which ajjpear to me to be according to the rules which govern the prop.';rUons of tarill's upon rail- waj's— a tair and ado4ua!e arrangement, taking into account the service which is performed. tai otl Iti'l 27 -0(1 tiiritr, nada, and liy lower ;i]ipe!vr to upon riiil- > wliU'li irt It is a well-understood rule that rates for short distances must ahvaj's bo pro- portionately higher than those for lonjf ones. The same cost of handling occurs, whether' freight is carried 10 miles or SO, and it is obvious that a train wliich passes over a piece of line, say 100 miles in length, is not juit to much more expense in delivering its freight al the longer distances than it is at the shorter ones. The expenses of a train are Ujipliod, of course, to the whole lentrth which it runs, and a local freight train, such as the trains which run on the Government IJaihvays of the Lower Provinces, is not filled to the capacity of the engine during the whole length of the journey. It would he fair, therefore, in fixing rates, to hear this in mind, and the tariff which I now submit puts, as it ought to do, higher proportionate rates for short distances than for long ones. I also recommend that a revised coal tariff be jiut in operation, based some- what upon the same pi'inci]^les as those to w^ich I have referred. It will not very materially vary from the tarilV which i-; at ju-esent in operation, but will be more equable in its terms, and will, at the same time, I think, proiluce a large)' amount of gross revenue to the raiiwa} . The rates I have already recommended from Stellarton and New (ilasgow to Picfou Landing should be 25 cents per ton; and proviy schooners. These schooners charge very low rates, but ti.o parties getting goods by them are put tosomo inconvenience, owing t;; tho distance which they have to carry the property from •where it is landed, No effort has been made to get this traffic for the railway, which could bo done by quoting special rales from St. John, and the I'cason given for this is that tho tariff which has been established has not been allowed to be departed from, on tho ground that no special rates should be given to one place which are not given to others. It is the practice of railway companies to meet water competition whore it 11/ 28 ih' arises, as in this case. It is dono, in point of fact, liotwcon Halifax and Pictoii, and between St. John and Point du Chenc, wiirro tiic rates for traffic brought by water arc considerably lower tlian the ordinary tariff rates in force. I SCO no reason why, by proper mana<,'cment, a portion of the business towhich I have referred ought not to bo secured for the railsvay. EXPRESS CHAUOES. I find that the charges at present in force for the carriage of express matter over the railway amount to a very small sum imiced. Thei'o are two expresses running over the line — one called Fishwiclc's Express, which runs from Halifax, and pays a Gross revenue of. SI, 081 44 per annum. The other — the Ivistern I'.xjircss — running from St. .John, pays l,f);57 04 " Making a total of 83,(j18 48 " " The ex])ress companies are allowed to cany l,r)()0 lbs. weight per day, on which tho above payments are based. I do not think aii}' check is made upon tho weights they actually carry, and I believe the amount they really carry is considerably in excess of tho authorised quantity. No contract is in force, so that the contract can be terminated at any time. I have requested Mr. Carvell to ascertain, if he can, about what iire tho gross earnings of tho Express Companies, and I then propose, as soon as that is ascer- ained, to make an arrangement with them similar to that which has lately been made by the Grand Trunk IJaihvay, viz : to carry whatever weight the}' have to send without limitation as to quantity, but to require them to pay a percont.ago of tho gross earnings they get from the business, as the railway proportion for doing tlie work. If this was done, it would undoubtedly considerably increase tho revenue. At present, I am quite satisfied the Express Comiianios are getting very much more than they_ought to do. TRAIN SERVICE. I have carefully considered the present aiTangcment of trains, and espooially tho urgent demands which have been made for tho running of a night train between Halifax and St. John. Tho train service as it is at present, is amply sufllciont for all tho business that is passing over tho road. di ail Iif StI 29 on Ihiit The ffcneral times at which the trains run ai-c convenient, the speed is sntisfac- toiy, ami thero is no necessity at present, at any rate, fur increasing the rate at which the trains are run. The present arrangements include one throi .1 train each way daii}-, between Halifax and St. John, running through hy daylight, without any night trnin. The present trains leave Halifax and St. John at 8 o'clock in the morning, arriving at St. John at 8.30 p.m. and at Halifax at 8.40 p.m. Those trains give the necessary accommodation to the local business upon either end of the line, and give more facilities than are wanted by the amount of traffic at present, between Moncton and Truro. I have carefully considered the advisability of running an additional train at night, which is what has been urgently asked for. I have had taken out the total number of passengers who have gone between Halifax and St. John for the whole distance, from the 1st of .lanuary, 1873, to the 30th April, 1874. a period of sixteen months. The total is 7,385, or an average of !1 passengers each Avay daily. I have also obtained a return of the number of passengers going between Halifax and St John, across the Eay of Fnndy, and by the Windsor and Annapolis Raihvaj' during the same period. The total has been (3,517, or an average o*' nearly 8 each way daily. This malces a total average daily number of passengers of not ([uite 17 each way, by the two lines. It covers, of course, the oidy two existing routes between Halifax and St. John, and it gives tlic whole of the tratlic, except that which will always go to points in the States, from Halil'ax by water. It is quite clear it will not pay to put on a second passenger train, to accommo- date so small a traffic as 17 passengers each way a day, going by two separate routes ; and there is no reason to anticipate that the putting on of a secoTid train on the Intercolonial Railway would so increase the traffic as to enable it to be a paying operation. The fact is that the traffic between Halifax and St. John is exceedingly small. If a night train were put on in addition to the day train, the whole of the traffic would go by the night train, and the day train would bo loft solely for local pur- poses. I cannot therefore recommend the running of two trains between Halifax and St. John.^ In examining the .sales at the different stations, I observed that the number of passougers passing from tho New Brunswick line or the Nova Scotiu line, on to the i ^ .jjhd M u ir«irMnrr-«"TlMift i- T i s i 80 1 1 now pieeo of line botween the tvvo, or vice versa, is exceedingly small, and that the traffi(' between Painsoe and Truro in ]>a8songors is at present extremely light, and beyond what siifli a train at its })resent rate ol' speed ref^uii-es. 1 therefore recom- mend that an alteration, according to the schedule which I have preiiarod, be made in Iho running of the trains, and that the tiiroiigh day train betwcc: Ilalifax and St. John bo withdrawn. That a passenger train leave 81. John cvor3' morning for Point du Cheno, returning in the ai'tcrnoon. That a ti'ain leave Halifax every morning for Pictou, returning from thence in the afternoo.i. That on the arrival of tho>o train.s at Truro and Moncton,. respectively, a mixed rain be run, during tiie da}-, along tho Central District, doing the whole of the freight business, with a passenger car attadied to each train. Those will be aini)lo for the present business. And to meet what is undoubtedly a want much asketl for, a through night train, in place of a day train, be run between St. John and Halifax. That night train would leave Halifax at a convenient houi' in the evening, and would accommodato (he local business all the way to Truro. It would pass over tho Central Division during the night, reaihing St. John early next morning and accommodatin'r the business reijuiring to get early into St. John, at tho stations between it ami Moncton. Tho train from St. John would leave after the arrival of the day train from Bangor. It would accommodate the evening travel from St. John, and would arrive at Halifax at such an hour as would well accommodate the local business between that place and Truro in the morning. There is no intention, I find, on the part of the railway between Bangor and St. John to run anight ti'ain this year, as was tho case last year, and therefore all passengers and mail matter, to and from Halifax, must lie over 12 hours in St. John, in both directions By tho arrangement 1 now propose this delay would be avoided, and passengers and mail matter would be expedited as between Halifax and Ottawa and all places in Canada, by 12 hours over tho ])reseut arrangements. It would not add to the number of miles run daily by trains, would only slightly increase the expenses of working the railway, would give i'uU accommodation to tho local traffic, and undoubtedly be a convonionce to tho through business, and be calculated to draw more of it' from the Windsor and Annapolis Railway than the pi'escnt arrangements oan ever do. Twd tiiii-l Mr. Thei ollid 1 ai 81 rht, from The only extra rollinj,' stock tliiit would bo required to cany this plan out would l>o three sleeping or I'ulhnsin cars for the ni/^ht service. There are an>iile cars, Iioth (mliriiiry passcni^cr and bagj^aj^e cars, for the service, and I believe that arrangements can be made with the Pullman Co., if desired, to place, .say by Ibo first week in July, Ihrc? of their cars ujion the line, between Halifax and St. John, upon the terms usually charged to Railway Companies for similar services, and this would be all that would be ncee.sMary. ! think this covers the whulo of the matters which may be considered relating to the general management of the line and the traflic arrangements. 1 will now proceed to deal with the other departments. KNOINEER'S UEl'AUTilENT. As I have already stated, this depai'tment has at its heiul .Mr. Alex. MacNab, the engineer of the line, with a salary of 8-, 100 a year, and lie has two assistants, i[r. (Iray and .Mr. .St. George, each receiving 81,200 a year, lie lias, besides, .Mr. Maeken/.ie, a draughtsman and clerk, who receives $lt(jOa^oar, and he pays iialf the salary of one of the clerks in the accountant's office, making ii total anioun! of 8tJ,ltiO as the cost of the engineering sujjcrvision. In addition to this, there are a number of track-masters, in which department some reduction has (|uite lately been made. The trackmaster on the western division is Cioorge Rannie, who receives flOO per month. ITe has had up to the ])resent tunc an assistant, whose services, how- ever, are about to be dispensed with. On the central district the Roadmastcr is Mr. Trites, who also receives 8100 per month, lie has had until quite lately an assistant, but the .services of the latter have now been disjienscd with. The roadmaster on the Kastorn Division is W. Faulkner, whose salary is $100 per month. He has under him three a.ssistants, each of whom gets 82.25 a day. Two divide the road between Halifax and Pictou, a distance of 112 miles, and a third is upon tlie Windsor branch, 32 miles in length. I am decidedly of oj)inion that the two asssistant Engineere, employed under Mr. McNab, ai'c useless, anil that their services ought atonce to be dispensed with. They were appointed, as far as 1 can understand, more to satisfy claimants for otHce than for any other reason ; but whatever the object *ionally be required, and to make plans, &c., and a clerk to keep the accounts of the office. That will bo an amjde stall' t()r the management of the Department, unless, which I do not anticipate, any very large amount of extra work should require the employment of temjMn-ar}- assLstance. 1 am also of opinion that one track master on each division is quite sufficient, and that no assistants should ho allowed to any trackmaster. I have carefully loriked into this matti'r. and have formed a very decided opinion as to the merits of the men who are now employed. They are all appointcaliincc left (.f the nritciiial iron, witli wliicli tlio Nova Scotia Railway was laid. I Iiave lull! Mr. MacNalt tlie wliol'^ ol' this iiou iiui>,l rmno out tiiis year, as ii is hutli iiiisalo ill tlio wiiitiT ami most rosti}' to inaiiilaiii. JK'will iisc 20 miles nt'stool to take out Iha! much of'tho old iron, and willbring from othtT parts ol'thc lino llio hcst of the i>ld rails whicii come out, so that by tho end of tho present year, the whole of those very bad rails and chairs will bo entirely out of tho road. There will still l)o nearly 7 miles of tho same class of iron, in sidings, and this should all lie talren out next year. On the Pictou line, which is 51 miles loni;, there is at present 5 miles of pteel, leaving 46 miles of iron — thus making tiie total quantity of iron rails which will be in tho whole system at the end of this year 172 miles. , Having carefully gone over the wiiolo system and tliscu-sod tho mattoi- thorough- ly witli the Engineer and Iloadmasters, 1 am of ojiinion that it will require not less than 20 miles ot steel rails per annum lo be us<;d for relaying the tracks, which will take the entire quantity of iron rails out in rather more than S j-ears. Twenty miles, I am sure, will do for the next three or four years, but if the old iron rails should wear badly, or the traftic should be heavier (htm i at present anticipate, it may bo possible that after three or four years, the quantity may require to be somewhat iiicieasod. Very little ballasting has been done dining the last few years upon tho old portions of tho line. Some is, however, now being ilone, and if what is proposed is carried out, the road will be in a satisfactory condition as regards ballasting b}- the end of the present season. But it will bo necessary always to spend from $5,000 to 810,000 a year for some years to come, in ballasting portions of the line where damages take place from winter weather, or where tho cuttings O'-o bail and wet. I strongly advise that very careful attention be paid to the drainage of tlie line, especially in JiU cuttings; and I think it would bo advisable, whore rock cuttings exist, which they do at several places, to ba%'c a quantity of stone broken up and taken to the worst and wettest cuttings, lo bo ]ihiced in tho bottom, 60 as to raise the track out of tho mud and give them a fair chance for drainage. This will not I e at all costly, but will undoubtedly add to the periuauonce and BoliiMty of tho road. There will be for some years to come, especially on the new parts of tho line, more or loss runninir, both of cuttings and embankments, until ther have all bo come well solidified. 36 FENCING. The fcncinp: upon all parts of tlio line is in fair order, except between Moncton and St. John. Tiiis is in a wretoliodly bad ntato, havini,' been entirely broken down and decayed by the lapse of time ; very little work indeed Laving been done to it since the road was fir.-t built. I am inf5)rnK'd tliat a contract has been let for thi.s fencing, but hardly anything is being done, and the season is rapidly iias.-ing away. The man to whom it is lot I know to bo a very unsati^tai'tory contractor, — he having built BOine stations for the Intercolonial ('omniissioncrs, — and 1 feel vc:y great doubts as to whether this imporiant work will be completed this year. Great risk is being run of accidents from cattle straying on to the track, and considerable sums have to be ]iaid for cattle which are iLilled, but which fortunately, so far, have not thrown any trains oil' the track. I stronglv advise that if the Engineer reports that che contractor is not making proper progress, the work he done either directly by the Government, or that other »nd responsible parties be employed to do it. SLEEPERS. In regard to sleepers I find that the total number now in the track, includin>< sidings, is rather under 800,000. From the date of the amalgamation, that is, the opening of the Central district, on the 9th N^ovembcr, 1872, up to the close of the present year, there will have been reJiOwed 31.'), 000 sleepers, or more than one-third of the whole. At the end of this year, the condition of the sleepers generally will be in very fair condition, and it will not reijuire, in my judgment, more than an average of about 100,000 a year in future, t(j keep the line in a pro])erand satisfactory condition. The very large number of sleepers required since the lines were connected together arises from the small quantity that were renewed by the bci)arato roads previously. Thus it appears that the total number of sleepers on the Nova Scotia roads — 145 miles in length — was about ;{37,000, of which oidy an average of ;i2,892 annual- ly wore renewed in the five years preceding the amalgamation, And as regards New Brun.swick, there arc on the 108 miles, 251,000 sleepers, and (luring the five years previous to the amalgamation only an average of 14,874 wore renewed in each year. The sleepers on both roads were therefore in a very bad condition, and it has 37 oncton n down ne to it ly thing )m it id tiuns for .her tliiii acU, and .unately, t making hat other including il district, have been )e in very iverage of condition. Lonnected rate rouds tia roads — 392 unnual- lecpcrs, and 14,S74 woro and it has required the largo number to which I have referred, during the lant two years, to put the road in a satisfactory condition. SIDINf S. Witli tlio addition of the sliijjht rocummondations wliich I have muho y vessel to St. John instead of a part boinj? deliv- ered at Halifax. The rails were jun'chased at two prices— a part at £IC> 12s. a ton, and part at £17 10s. a ton, They were ail ]mn(iied for fish plates, and the fish plates, which were of iron, were charged. ]iart at .t:i 1 10s., and part at £15 a ton. The ixjlts and nuts, which were also of iron, were shipped at £30 a ton. The parties pureha^ini,'. viz., Me.ssrH John Ilawes & Co., eharf,'ed a commisHion of 2h per cent., and havinii; examined tlio hills, I find that their eommi.ssion and all ehar^es, inclndinu' fVeiifhl and insurance to delivery at St. John, was £1 Via. sterling per ton. Thoso rales — both the oriijinal price, and the cost of freight and insurance — were higher in my opinion tlian they ought to have been. The highest price paid last year by the (Irand Trunk Railway Co. for stool rails, boug.it at the same time as these were, was .CKJ a ton. The fish jilates were worth, not to exceed £12 a ton, and bolts and nuts were purchased by the Grand Tiaiiik Co. at the same period for £24 a ton. The cost of getting the rails to Montreal last year was from 28 to 30 shillings a ton, as against the price of .32 shillings which they cost to St. John. The rails for tiiis year have been purchased in the same way, through Messrs. John llawes& Co. 1,700 tons were ordered for St. John, and a letter from Messrs. Hawes & Co. to Mr. Carvell of the 1 Ith December, 1873. r.tatcs that the quantity has been placed at the price of .£15 10s. a ton f.o.b. in Liverpool, and a second letter dated 22nd January, 1S74, advises that the 1,7G0 tons for Halifax have boon placed at £15 15s. per ton f.o.b. at Liverpool. Yon will remember that, acting upon your instructions, in the early part of the present year, 1 ordered 3,000 tons of rails to complete the balance of the Intorcoloniul Railway, and which were placed, delivered at St. John, at £15 10s. a ton. 41 Assuming that tho cost of getting the rails this yeiir from Liverpool to St. John and Halifax is tlio same as it was last year, hy Messrs. Ilawos k Co., tho cost of delivering the rails will bo higher by £1 15s. a ton than those which I ordered for th« Intercolonial this year. There can bo no doubt that in tho purchase's of these rails for 18'73 and 1874 tho cost has been from £I),000 to £10,000 slcM-ling more than it should have been, if proper arrangements had been made for the purchase. Of course ttiO extra price paid for those rails will be so much added to the cost of working, and increase to that extent, tho loss incurred in the working of the railway. Last year rails were ordered with tho ordinary fish plates, but the rails for this year were ordereu to be made for "clips." I am clearly of opinion, from long ex- perience, that tho clip does not make a satisfactory joint, and that it is far inferior in overy respect to the universally adopted fish-plate. In this opinion, both Mr. MacNab and Mr. Schriobor entirely concur, and I therefore directed Mr. Carvoll to cable to England to have as many of the rails as possible made for " fish -pi.-xtos" instead of for '• clips." The dilfercnce in comfort of travelling and in wear and tear is vorj' grout in favor of the fish-plates. LOCOMOTIVE DEI'AIITME.NT. The Locomotive Department is under the charge of Mr. II. A. Whitney, with a salary $1,800 a year. Tho shops at liichmond arc und^r tho charge of Mr, Johnstone, and there is a considerable stafl' of foremen at the main works at Moncton, and a foreman at each of the out-stations, viz: St. John, Point du Chene, Pictou Landing and Truro. I have examined the loconiotivo stock, and have received a certificate from Mr. Whitney that the whole of the engines shown on the list are on the line. The total number is 72, of which 36 have been placed upon the lino since the beginning of the year 1870, and si.K more arc now under completion at the work- shops at Hichmond, being those which were not finished by the original contractor, Mr. Montgomery, Those 36 have all boun obtained from good makers, viz: Dubs & Co., of Glasgow. Tho Portland Company. Grant Locomotive Works. Tho Baldwin Locomotive Works. Danforth Locomotive Works. There are also five ongiaos bnilt by the Canadian Engine and Machinery Cora- 42 I»any in 1H(?7 and 1800, whicli arc in <.'oo(i onlcr ami will answer well for a ron- Bi'.lcrul)itwjiiitib(!r of ycarH, «() tliul wlien the Moiiti^oiniTy cni^iricHarc fonijdc'tcii, thcro will 1)0 17 on;^iiit;s iijion llio liiii-, all in t^o.xl onlor, anil of c.omiiarativcly rf'ccrit, iiiatiufac.tiiro. Tlioso onf^irxiH, iti iioiiil of laii, an-. nnf^ines arc; ls siip|)lied at St. John, by th(! Boston Fiocomolive Woi'ks, and by the Portland Co., ouL(ht to be put asid<' and no nioiicy spent uprjii thein. The total number of (Mi^^incs at present reijuired for the d; ily Iraflie of the line is not quite 40, ho that it i* clear there is ample engine power, without usinj^ any of the old en;;inert to which I hav(! rofciTcil. Of course, il" the i^auj^e of tlu' road is chungeil, the.so are th- on>;inea that woulil Im; broken up and sold. CAR KTOOK. In regard to the ear hloek, an inventory was taken in the early part of May. I have Hcen the party who took the inventory, and have every retison to believe that it WUH correctly taken. The rortultof that cotiHus is that all the pashenii;er car.s, lirsl-elaKH, Hocond-cdanH, and ba^i^ai^e, are ujion the line, including those which are in the shops boinij,' rejjaired and rebuilt. In rc;,'anl to freight cars, I found 13 were miHwing, which evidently did not exist a! all. thUH W.T-^ 48 the line In aildif ion t Huh, Ihoro aro, as nearly as I can ascertain, about 20 frcif^'Iit earn wliidi aro cDndoniiiod, or arn sofanltioaycMl (liat itisof iin uso altoinptin^ to repair (hem, ho t'lat from 30 to .'{5 oarn, juirl liox ami part platform, will liav now in the shop at St. JdIhi receiving what is cfjiiivalent in m)|ih? cases to an ciilirc rcl'tiiiding. When turned out, they will l)(^ in first class condition. There arc live in IIk! shop at .Mundnn undergoing similar repairs, and there are four at Richtnonii being treated in tlie same way. All th<'S(! cars will be coinjilclcd by the end of .(iijy; when the [lasMcnger car stock will general!}' Ix; in a good condil inn, all liougli i'nr (he next year or two there will be cunsiderabic outlay reiiuir(sl for painting and n.TKjvating some of them. KREIOIIT CAIl STOCK. In regai'il to the freight car stock, there are, as I have already said, botwoon .'JO and 35 to be entirely rebuilt, to supply either absoiultdy missing cars or cars that are in a condition wliidi renders it unwise to allernpl to rc|iairthein. There is also a go()ii deal to bt; done iipnn the nlder cars, ;ind which will require* the outlay in this department to bo tolerably heavy, in all |)rol)ubility for the next two or three years. On the New liriinswick road there were; not th(! (hcilitics in (^xistence for the ])ropor repair of eillier locomotives oi- cars, 'i'he con>equenc«^ was, that not u suf- licient amount nf money wa-^ expemled upon them, ;ind tliey tell nectv-s.'irily into a delapidatiHl condition. ,\ good deal has been done, iluring the ia^t year and a h;ilf but mmh will still re(]uire to be done. The ears that a.e being built a[)pe;ir to have beiMi built both substanliaily ;inil u|»on a correct |)al.tern. The endeavor now is, vt^ry ju'operly, to get the stock-, as rebuilding goes on, into one uniform pattern, whi(),156 88 Wood 31,402 60 Coal 19,006 87 Stationery and tickets 18,890 11 Track 115,763 04 Stations 7,795 20 nd I have 8356,004 80 The stock of stores proper, viz., the three tirst items, amounts to $162,246.32. The issue ol" that descri^iuon of stores, for thejear ended 30th of April, 1874, was 8267,2(i6.18, so that there is in store Itctween seven and eight months' supp'y, of all the articles that are used in carrying on the business of repairing engines an-^ cars. This is, at least, double what it ought to be, and i am quite satistied that by proper arrangements a stock, equal in the aggregate to two months' sujiply of tbo whole articles used, would lie amply sufficient, considering the iacilities which exist for getting whatever is wauteil rapidly, both from England and the United States, The ports of llalitaxand St. John are open to the sea all the year round, and there is noditKcult}- in getting promjjtly, therefore, everything that is required. I then obtained a list of the articles, comprising the stock of stores, and after a good deal of trouble received it in a not very satisfactory condition. The stock of stores according to the books at Halifax should bo The actual stock, as shown by the list of articles in store, with the prices at which they were being issued applied to them, amounts to or nearly loss than the books called for at the head office. $66,692 16 61,871 13 |5,00» 50 ■If ,! I ' J lill^ AtSt. John the vahio in stock according to tho booka is whilst by tho stock liHts handed to mc, it iu made to be. or upwards of. more than tlio books called for. At Moncton the books bIiow the ftock to be whilst tho stock list handed lo mo shows tho value to be. . , 15,396 68 9,595 53 $4,000 $90,166 88 89,706 53 Tho aggregate of the three show a variation of not quite 81,000. No store accounts that are properly kept should show such a variation as thig. Tho values of tiio articles on hand shouid always exceed what tho books cull for, and if the books wore properly kept, and tho work was properly managed, thi* would bo the caso here, in regard to wood and coal, there is no statement of where tho wood and coal arc. It is of course, somewhat difficult to take stock which is so constantly changing, but 1 am rather inclined to the opinion that when all tho wood has been served out, there will be found to bo an amount somewhere which will have to bo written off Tho Stationery and ticket stock I fancy to be about correct. In regard to tho track stores, artiouniing to $lli,763,04 I co\iId get no explana- tion whatever. The books relating to liiis matter in the storckcoper's department, were four months behind, and they will take somo time to wri*e up so as to give mo ft list of what that stock consists of. The explanation given of this is, that tbs- man who had charge of the work got drunk and was discharged some time ago, and his work has not been brought up. I expect to get, probably before I close this ro))ort, an a])proximation of what the stock consists of, but 1 need hardly say that this state of matters is unsatisfac- tory in the highest degree. Tho stock at stations, amounting to $7,795.20, ought never to bo there at all. It involves an ai ouut of book keeping whi( h is entirely unnecessary, and the amounts are rU loss than 8500, and in one cas'S as low as 89.50. Jt is absurd to keep 60 accounts, as is dono in this case, for so useless a purpose. Tho true plan to adopt in regard to these stations is to make them send a requisition on a specitiod day once a fortnight. Tho Assistant Suporiutondont, or whoever has charge of the actual working of the stations, sliould go over thoso requisitions, and, after being satisfied of theii recorsity, initial them, upon which tho store keeper should sond out once a fortuight, on a specified day, in a car spooially appropriated for that purpose, and in charge of one of his men, tho stores to bo given out at each station that they stop »t. In this way, and by tho .Slllli'l I li ■))!>■ iisclcs and jl wil '1 >iaiio fiuly of Hk 51 tl'^ man and his Siii»'iMiitoiiii('iil from tiiiu' Id linn- in liis visiis to (Iio sliUion.s .'•ociiii; how stores aro ili-iposod of, a [n-rloet cIiock woiiIi! Ko obt;!i.ic.I upon their use, aud an iinincnso and useless ainoiint of book i out to Mr. Carvell, aud lie atonoe <,'avo directions that this planshoidd ho innnedialely put in practice. ll will save niono\- as well as I'liliiiH^ laiior. That this is obvious i> (iuile clear when I mention that the stock of stores at >iaiiotis i-, nivt'ii at $7,T'>'5.-0, wliercas the total is>ues lor a }car to the stations aro only S1(),03'J.02. I iiavo now to explain the position in which I found matters, on an examination of the stoi'e l.iooks at Kichinond aud Mtmcton. 1 first examined Iliehinond, .ind takiny the li>t oi' articles on iiand, turned to the lodger in idl those eases where thei'C apj)eared to me to be a lai-ger stock than ought to exist, when the following facts appeared:— Ii> iho item of brass castings, there was on hand on tlie 1st Jidy, 1873, G.979 lbs. in the store. On the 30th May. 1874, the slock had run up to tt,(J39 lbs., being iii. incroHso of more than one-tbird iu that time. The consumption in the same jieriod was 6,l'.t0 lbs. Ill the item ol' iron the •■-tock was al^o nndiily large, being about six months, suj)ply, when il should not have been more than a month. In the item of Low Moor iron, the slock on iIk^ Isl .hily, 1H73, was 9,305 lbs., and on ihe ;ilst May, IsTI. it was 1'1,711 lbs. The quantity u.-ed in that time was 12,000 lb-., so thai now lliere in 21 months, mpply on li.'uid. In sheet iron, the stock on hand was 4,7'JO lbs, in .July, 1873. and 10,006 lbs. iu May, 187-1. In boiler )ilate, it had iInou from 27. '••27 lbs, in .Fiily. 1873, to 47.;:'> ■ ISO .springs were delivered in all, ofwlrtch 19 exactly have been used uj. to tiie ]iresent time. The stock that wa.« got in of that particular arlielo ..- sullirient to hi-t fur the next live or six years. 1 aski'd fur an cxiilanaticiu why, wilii so large a stock iii hand, of the articles which I have nienlioiied, and which I taice as saniplesof the store, further orders were heing scnl (Hil, liccau>c I nuticcd tiial diii'ing the lirsl low days of June, con- isiderable iiuaulitics oi' thu-e very articles which 1 have referred to were being delivered under a contract which had been let. The reply I got from the slui'ekeeper was that he only ordered them upon the requisition of Jlr. Johnstone, the Locomotive Supci'intendent, and the orders of Mr. Johnstone for these go( ds were shown tn me as evidence to that etleet. 1 of course called .Mr. .iuhiistdne's allcntiun to the matter, and asked for an ex- planation, but he coul I give nu'ihlng that was in the least satisfactory. I then enquired, seeing how large the stock was, what further orders were in tlie hands of the contractors Inr iron, and \\hich liad not, up to the time 1 asked for the information, been delivered. The reply I got was that they had orders for twenty-two tons, which had not been delivei-ed, but all of which would be didivcved before the entl of the month. The contract which was given (Uit in the winter was to run to the 30th June., 1874, and the principle of it was that no goods were to be sujiplicd, except ujiou orders which were to be given as the goods were required. That is, if no orilers were given, no lialiility wnuM be incurred, but that the cunlraclor would keeji such a stock (ui hand as, if oi'deis were scid 1o hiui, he woidd be able to su])]ily the goods. It is quite clear that this jdan has been entirely disrugai'ded, and that goods have been ordered, probably by great pressure from the contractor, and not because they wore wanted for the purposes of the railway. 1 asked Mr. Sadler foi' an explanation as to why he gave out orders in this way, and his answer was, thai he received the orders from ilichmond, which camo through the regular (diannel, signed by .Mr. J(dinstone, but as he had no knowledge him.self of what was in the store, or what the requircnients were, ho simply made out the order as it was upon (he reciuisitii.n, and forwarded it to the contractor, first submitting the orders to Mr. Carvell, whose initials in all cases I understand wore put to them. Mr. Carvell appeared to bo equally ignorant willi ^fr. Sadler, as to what wa,s being ordered or delivered, until I called his attention to the matter, in making tho inveetigation which I did. 58 y of car and .'livorod into of'wii-icli 19 it ill of that tlic articles tlicr orders f Juno, con- were being n upon the [■dertj of Mr. 1 for an ex- rs were in I asked for ch had not (he month. Jnnu, 1874, poll orders rdcrs were cop Mich a the goods, oods hove cause they 1 this way, liich camo cnowlcdgo iplj' made ictor, first Land wore what was aiting tho Finding tliat 22 tons more were coining in, wliich clearly were not wanted, ho telegraphed to the store-iveeper al Ualifax to coiinterniaiid the orders, ami to explain why such largo quantities had been ordered. The whole matter is extremely iiiisatisfaclnry, and 1 confess to lieiiig not quite clear as to the reasons wliicli have induced this most extraordinary ordering of articles which were evidently not wanted. I then examincil the .Monclon store iiooks. witli somewhat similar results. In the item of iron at .Moncton, 1 fdiiiid the stock had risen from l.'M''''- l''>'- i" July, 1873, to !)!),815 "js. at (he end .if .Alay, 1S74, being an increase of 5i;,l."):5 lbs. The total consiimiilion of ir.ui in 11 months was 21(;,000, so that nearly six months' supply was on hand on the .'Jlst -May. Contracts ^vel•e out in 'his cast? also, with a lii'in in St. .lohii. who had delivered in (wo inondis, between the Stli April ami lOlli June, S7.'sS0 lbs., nearly all of which apparently ought not to have Uwu (n'dercd. In boiler plate, the stock had risen from 4,77!> lbs. in July, 187:5, to 22,871 lbs in May, 1874 ; the consumpti.jn of 11 months having been 10,278 lbs. Castings in the .same way had increased from 53,000 lbs. to 100,7'»3 lbs. In sheet iron there was a stock for car rooting, sutVicient to complete oO box cars, whilst there were only 12 cars actually building. Hero, as at Eichmond, the stores" are virtinilly uiuler the mechanical superin- tendent, who makes out the orders for what he wants, and the store-keeper, in fact, instead of being a check upon him, is merely his clerk in issuing orders for what ho says he requires. Both a( Richmond and at ilonctoi it appears to be quite clear that there must bo some prcs.suro brought to hear by the contractors to have the orders issued, as I can hardly conceive it possible that any man with a grain of sense in iiis liead would go on issuing orders for articles wliicdi he knew iierfectly well ho could not use for months to come. In regard (o castings, it is quite true that, owing to the variety of cars upon the line, (iioy want more than would be (ho case if all tho cars were of one pattern ; but this in no degree accounts for the exorbitant stock which the}' have on hand. They give another reason for their stock, which is, that under the contracts which have boon accepted, thoy have to got their supplies frcm four difl'oront places. They have to send their jmtternH about, and are thus delayed in getting sup- plied. This is to some extent true, and is unquestionably a very batiii!42,'J ti5.8(!. Hut wlien analysed, the actual gross revenue is composed of tho lullowini;' items: — Heceiiits tVom passengers 8310,(578 M " freight 370,417 44 Mail- and Miiidiies 31,70(J 3(J One-tiiird of \\'iiid-(ir hrancli earnings 31,035 03 Rents 124 58 875(5,052 35 This in reality was the actual cash earnings of the line, but there arc added for locomotive ami car hire according ti> the ])lan I have ex]ilained S:!3.758 50 and for railway IVeighl 52,431) 01 ThcHC two last items, amounting to $Sl),l!(4 51 flre not either ca-h re('ei})ts or revenue. No money for them has ever ]i:i--e(l inlo the hands of the Government, and they are merely charged in the accounis of the Departments, ^-welling tho cost at ih the railway is apparently worked. There shouM. no doulil, he a clKirge made f)r engine-; and cats, when they arc used for ballasting ]iurp()se'<. and I'oi' the caniagc of maiei'ial over the line, but those charges should be as nearly us possible the actual outlay incuiied in perform- ing tho service, and the amount, in«;iead of being treated as a "ccci))l, which it is not, should be charged to ihe deiiarlnient which ii-esii, and ci'odil given to (he department which has to bear the exjiense in ]n.rf()rminu' the service. The present plan apjiears to make the recci])!-- much larger than they really are, and disturb- the calculations when you come to consider the annual increase ■which is likely to take jilacc in the traffic of the system. It may bo well to consider now the probable growth of traffic upmi tho lino, and to firm some ojiinion as to the probable co-(, after the jiresjnt year, of working it. In con>iderinu' this (]Ue-tion, it is right to refer to the hisioiy of tiio two lines in Nova Scotia and New IJrunswick when they were worked independently. T will l:dce the earninu's and expcn-es of both lines for the live years ui) to the 30th June, 1872, preceding the opening of liie connecting link', and tho bringing of the whole syatem into one. .« - , ihe gross )S8 revenue fiilded for S:i:{.758 50 r)2,4;!i) 01 ?SU,1!I4 51 iimeut, :ind Llie cosl at n tlicy live e lino. Lilt perforni- lifh it is ,011 to !72, 8225,816, being an increase in the tive years of 70 per cent., or rather less than the increase in the receipts. The result of tlie worUiiig of the five years of the Nova Scotia Railway was that in thai jieriod the expenses exceeded tlie receipts by 814.332; and in the case ot the New J'ruiiNwicdc Railway.s, the expenses in the same five j-ears were less than tie receipts by 8341,708. In quoting ilie>e ligiire>;, it i>;. however, right to say that in the tive years under coiisideraiioii. ihe Nova .Sfotia Railwa^ys renewed their ti'ack with 2.2.33 tons of iron rails, whil>t only 63!l tons of new rails were laid in the track on the New Brunswick liailway, ami that ]!17,353 new ;-leepers were put into the Nova Scotia road, as against 8!V245 new sleepers put into the New Brunswick road. These two items of rails and sleepers will to some extent account for the ditfer- encc in the results of ihe two systems. It is also quite clear that both lines had about run to the extent that they were able to do, without very heavy renewals, and that they in fact had not expended as much iliiring the tive years as tli-'y ought to liave done, to keep their lines and rolling slock in proper coiulilion. And, no doubl, one cause of the present hirge outlay is the providing for the deflcioncios wlii( h existed wiien the roads were brought together, and the real fact, IHi 68 I Biippose, is that during tho flvo years which I have been considering, the earnings and expenses of tlie two linos, as a whole, woro really somewhere on a balance. The gross earnings of tho Intercolonial lino for tho year 1873, I have shown to be $750,052.35. The gross earnings for the first tivc months of tliis year (from January to May) for passengers, freiglit, mails, &c., and rent, leaving out the special items to which 1 have referred, amounted to $23fi,647, and for tho same months of this year to $296,4)99, being an increase of $60,352, or rather more than 25 per cent. I do not consider, however, that this is a fair criterion of the increase which is going on. During Janu."iry, Febrnary and March, 1873, the line was so blocked with snow storms, that its traffic was exceedingly limited. Tho winter of 1871, on the contrary, was .1 very open one, and tho business, therefore, was very inncli larger in comjiarison, (lian it would have been under other circumstances. The increase in the month of May docs not show much more than 10 per cent. Taking the.se facts into consideration, and looking at the increase which took place during tho last five years on tho railways when they wore .«« parated, and remembering that the larger the traffic, the smaller the percentage of increase is likely to be, I thint it would be safe to calculate tho increased traffic on the figures of 1873 at not more than from 12J to 15 per cent, por annum. That is to say that the existing traffic, if such a rato of increase should be achieved, will double itself within tho next eight or nine years. If that is arrived at, there will, of course, bo a greatly increased business, nniil at the end uf the time I liave mentioned, the traffic will be aliout a million and a half dollars per annum. Taking the traffic for the year 1874 as rea.diing $850,000, I am of opinion that after this year, by carrying out the roccommondations whicli I have made in this report, by having a proper staff, well organized, and efficiently supervised to work the lino, that sach a traffic should be worked without loss. It will take nearly all the rest of this year to get the staff properly organized and a system of careful supervision put in force, but I have no doubt that from tho 1st January, 1875, tho lino can bo made an far as Newcastle to pay its way, and to bo un burden upon tlie general revenues of tho country. RKCOMMK.NDATIONS AS TO STAFF MANAGEMENT. I will liow proceed, as briefly as post- jle, to indicate the sort of management and stutr that 1 recommend; 69 The General Superinlmdent should l)o the chief officer, having control of uU the departments, and having in Iiis office proper clerks to iitlond to the freight tarilfs, and matters relating to them, and the issuing of the cheques in payment of store and other accounts. Tie should have one Assistunl Superintrmlrvt stationed at Monoton, having charge iif the stations and trains and arrange the movement of cars. I recommend Mr. Luttroll for this office, as the most competent man now on the line. The Audit mid Arcouniant's Offices to remain as they now are, with the addition of a Travelling Auditor. One Pat/mailer only to bo employed. Also one Cashier only. The Engineering Department to be under Mr. MacNuli, whom I consider quite competent for the office, under proper supervision and advice. His stafT to ho a draughtsman and one clci'k. Also three roadmasters. who should be sulijoct to his control, and not ii|ipointed liy order in (,'otincil. The Mechanical Department to he put under a competent Superintendent, who is to bo responsible for ihe whole of ihe stoek, its repair, and all the workshops, liopairs to bo concentrated at one place, and the number of foremea to be carefully limited and kept within proj)or bounds. The Stores Dipartmrnt to be |iul under a eompetei'.t Storekeeper, who has a knowledge of the difrorenl articles used and the [)riccs at which they ought to be Kupplied. The main stores to be kept ntMoueton, and the stock at other places to be very largol}' indeed reduced. The Assistant Superintendent to be rc>poa^ible for the stafT at the station.-i, and not to allow more clerks and porters to be emploj-ed than are necessary for the work going on at the different stations. Trainmen to be paid by the trip, and not by the month. Under such an organization, witli the n\en properly selected, and a proper system of supervision and control established, I have no doubt of the result 1 have before named being accomplished. I believe the slock of stores can bo reduced from its present amount of S;i5f),000 to not exceeding 8200,000. A proj)or and careful system of tenders and contracts should be established, and large orders like those for rails, coal, sleepers, &c., &c., should not bo settled by the local officers. 60 Of course, under this plnn, tho services of a oonsiiiorablo number of men will bo dispensed with. Some mi^lit with advantai,'o bo jnit upon the Prini'o Kdward Island Railway, where it is important to start atonco with a sound and correct system. There is ample stock to work the lino from Moncton to Newcastle, and I can arrange for the workini^ of that line on very cheap terms. Very little additional stock will have to be purchased to work the line between Newcastle and Riviere du Loup, and I can arrange for the working of that lino on very reasonable terms indeed. But I must very strongly indeed press upon your attention one indispensable condition, if the lir.o is to be workcil successfully and vithout loss to tho countrj'. I allude to tho severance of all interference from political patronage. That has boon tho main cause of a very great redundancy of staff, and the em])loymont of many incompetent men. "When roadmasters, for instance, know that they owe their places to political influences, and believe that they can berotained regardless of their cflicioncy by such influences, tlie head of their department has no control over thcnv Tho same cause has foisted upon tho line, incompetent cashiers, too many pay- masters, an incompetent storekeeper, costing the Government many thousands of dollars annually, tluplicate establishments for repairs, an unnecessary statV of clerks, as at St. John, and a useless staff of assistant engineers. It lias also put a useless class of men as station masters on tlie new central dis- trict and is clearly involving the risk of consiilerable doticiencies in their accounts. Men have come to mo whilst on the line, to ])oint out their political influence, as reasons why they should be promoted. I have not beard them speak of their cfli- cioncy as reasons for advancement. The s\-stom is a most vicious one, and can onl}- end, if not jiut a stop to, in a constant lavish and increasing expenditure, and a most inefficient .system of carrying on tho business of tho railwaj'. It must not bo forgotten that tho men employed on a railway have both the lives and property of tho public entrusted to them— perfectdisciplino and control must be established and maintained, if the greatest dangers are not to be encountered. IJailway working requires intelligence and knowledge, anJin fact as a rule the lie-t men of tho country are needed for it. Now the mombors for the difibront counties claim the right, bocauscthc railway INDEX. li the iitrnl tcrcd. c the PAOB. Present Syfltem of Managcmont 3 Exumination of various departments, doticioncios, &c 4 New works required 17 Coal traffic 17-'J1 Coal dropa 21' New Mill, Sidings, &c 23 Passenger Fares 2t Freight Tarif!" 25 Express Charges 2S Train Service 28 Engineer's Department .'il Condition of the Permanent W-iy S'.i Fencing .3iJ Sleepers .']fi Sidings .'57 Stock of Old Rails ;{8 Men employed on Track 38 Rail purchases 'M Locomotive Department 41 Car Stock , 42 Stores Department 48 Boundaries at Stations 54 Statement of Revenue 65 Rocommondatious aa to Stalf and Management 58 ihvay I]^ SlIPPLEMEmRY REPORT BY MR. BRYDGES, ON HIS INSPECTION OF THE PortION OF THE INTERCOLONIAL RAILWAY NOW IN OPERATION. fv''7 I NT ERCOI;ON I A L R A I LW A Y . Oomjiissionkh's Office. Montreal, ISlh August, 1874. Sir, — I have now to report upon the stops which have been taken in carrying out tho Order in Council appointing mo General Superintendent of the Government Railways, and in pursuance of the instructionrt which 3-ou gave nic upon tho various matters referred to in my tiret rejjort, dated 20th Juno, 1874. During my stay in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, I had several long and fuU discussions with the Ministers of Customs and of Marine, when all tho points which I am now about to refer to, wore fully and freely gone into. It may be as well for mo to give you, in the first place, the results of the working of tho railway, during the two years ondod 30th Juno, 1874. You Avill romombor that, for tho year ended .30th Juno, 1873 (tho present system of railways havin;^ been fully brought into operation on tho 9th November, 1872), tho gross receipts amounted to $ 703,458 26 and the expenses for tho same year were 1,011,892 60 showing a loss in tho working for that year of. 308,434 34 There was expended upon capital account, during the year ended 30th Juno, 1873, the sum of. 374,266 66 The total outlay, therefore, during the year ende^. 30th June, 1873, for capital and loss on working, amounted to tho sum of. $682,701 00 beyond the gross receipts of tho railway. — For tho year ondod 30th Juno, 1874, tho gross receipts of the railway amounted to the sum of 6 893,430 17 and tho gross expenses for tho year amounted to the sum of 1,301,560 08 showing a loss upon the working of tho railway of. 8408,119 91 It thus appears that tho gross traffic for tho yoar increased by tho sum of $189,972.17; but inasmuch as tho entire railway was not opened until the 9tli November, 1872, it may bo safe to calculate the increased traffic at about the sum of $150,000.00. The expenses increased during tho same porioavld Pol tinker, (Jenoral Storokoopcr 81,500 David Leiishman, Bookkeeper 800 John button. Storekeeper, M(jncton 700 H. M. Williston, Cioik, " 540 Edgar Smith, '• " 400 M. Hoiioliaw, Issuer, „ 420 J. R. I"Va8or, Storokecpor, Halifax 700 J. L. Haekott, Clork, " 500 J. Naylor, IsHuer, " 313 S. Watson. Storekeeper, St. John 720 E. L. Perkins, Clerk, '• 700 O. mois. Ticket Clerk, Monetou TOO 7,993 Total 838,423 You svill oh^-rve that the aggregate of thoHO walarieH amountH to 838,423 This is as against the .•«um of 32,332 wliieh WRH the aggregate of the salaries, under the organization which existed when I went down to make my report. 3,G00 1,200 1,000 5,500 7,993 $38,423 «38,423 32,332 existed Whilst, thorcforo, I imvo no doiiht that a very considcM-ablo improvemont in ofllciency has ijcon effected, you will notice there is a saving in the salaries to bo paid of 8I3,y0'J. In addition t ) this sura, rortain c-hnn-^'os and reductions which have been made in the stalFat St. Jolin, Point du Chcno and Richmond, will make an aggregate sav- ing in the salaries of between $17,000 and 818,000 per annum. It is right I should add that Mr. Busby, who ]ias been Assistant Superin- tendent at Truro, and who has conducted the duties of his office in a satisfactory manner, will be placed in charge of the lino from Riviere du Lou])to Metis, the oflSco which he has hitherto held being abolished, it being quite sufficient to have one Traffic Suj)erintendent only, for the whole of the existing railways in Now Bruns- wick and Nova Scotia. The reduction in the cost of fuel under the new contracts, will bo about $25,000 per annum. The reductions in the price paid for stores and in the quantities pur- chased will also be large. In regard to the Mechanical Superintendent, Mr. Whitney, whilst I do not in any way change the opinions which I have previously ex- pressed, I thinkjt will be desirable to give him a further trial, lie is now in a position to exorcise full authority over tlie entire line, which was not the case whilst Mr. Johnstone occupied a semi-independent position at Richmond. Tho headquarters of the Mechanical Department arc now conceniraled atMonctou; and Richmond, as well as all other locomotive stations, placed under the charge of a foreman, subordinate to the authority of tho Mechanical Superintendent. Inasmuch as it may fairly bo said under past circumstances that Mr. Whitney has not had a fair chance of showing wliat ho is capable of doing, 1 roctmimond that he bo retained at any rate for tho next six months, during which time careful consideration will be given to the manner in which he carries out the duties of his office, and it will then be possible to judge as to the proper course to pursue, in order to have this very important Department worked in tho most satisfactory and economical manner. It now costs upwards of $300,000 a year, and is clearly capable of con- sidorablo reduction. Tho Storks Accounts are unquestionably the most unsatisfactory upon the rail- way, and tho more they are gone into, the more unsatisfactory do they appear. On tho 30th June, 1873, tho stock of stores amounted to tho sum of $350,235 25 On the 30th June, 1874, they amounted to 381,757 49 Being an increase of. $31,522 24 There is no doubt whatever in my mind, that the etock of stores ought to be, and will bo reduced to a sum not exceeding $ 200,000 8 I tlui>k it is iny liuty to point out some of Iho facts which have come out on the completion of the analysis of the accounts, up to the 30th June last. You will ircollocl tlisU in my ionnor report I called attention t(~ the very largo quantity of springs which hiwl boon taken into store at Richmond, at the end of Octolier and hcf^innini^ of November last year, am' that the quantity ho puiThased will not in all prohaliilily ho used for the next four or five years at the earlioHt. J have looked into the account for those springs and find that they have been clnu\:^ed to the i-aiiway. and jiaid for at a cost of rather more than 21^ cents per lb., which is at least double the n\arkeL value of the springs, at the iimo they were ordered. I find,fiirtlior, that the same tii'iu, throngli whom these springs were ordered, supplied goods to the Railway at Richnmnd, between the 9th November, 18T2, and the end of Octobej-, 187.'^, to an agirregate amount of nearly 870,000, and upon examining their accounts, 1 find the [iriies charged to be in many cases excessive. 1 may mention, as an instance, that throughout their accounts, bar iron ia charged at 4^ cents a pound, which is at least a cent a pound higher than the regular price at the time the orders wt're issued. Such an utter absence of supen'ision in regard to prices, and sucii a most unwist^ ordering in regard to quantities, has unquotilion- ably Jidded very materially to the cost of working the railway, ami will continue to add to the expense until such time as the large stock of stores kept on hand and purchased at very high prices is consumed. The stock of general stores at Halifax amounts to no less than $73,275 82 and at .Monct(m to $100,397 30 I liave no doulit whatever that at both these places the careful examination which I have directed to be miule, will show that there are considerable quantities of stores which are now obsolete and not capable of being used, the result of which will be that these obsolete stores must be disjiosed of at the best prices that can be obtained, which will involve a deficiency in the stock account, and nocesHitato, to trial extent, a larger charge in the cost of working the railway for the next few months. The fuel account is .nlso extremely unsatisfactory. There arc now on hand 4,800 cords of wooit stending in the books at an aggre- gate value of «a0,723 84 or an average price of $0 40 per cord. A considerable quantity of this wood, I am iuforraod, has Ijcon on the railway for several years. A p(H'tion of it in Nova Scotia, liRving been part of an old con- tract, about which there was very great difficulty and loss. 9 Wood fuel which Is kopt on hand for more than a year, rapidly depreciates in quality, and I have no doubt that when thin wood comes to be used, a largo portion of it will bo found to be unfit for use, and that a considerable loss to the stores will bo found to exist in this item. No further wood will be used, it being cheaper to burn coal ; but I need hardly add that wood at $G 40 a cord is about three times more expensive to burn than coal, at the price at which it is now being purchased. It would not be possible to ascertain the loss upon this Wood until (ho whole of it has been consumed, which will not be for several months. The stock of coal has also turned out to be in a most unsatisfactory condition. I was surprised to find that on the .30th June, there was a stock of coal on hand of 2,'<50 tons, which is standing in the books at a cost of 815,491.10, or rather more than $5 60 a ton. This stock is distributed over 39 stations, having been deposited at the different points, I am informed, in order to be prepared to coal engines in winter, in the event of the road being blocked with snow. Assuming that to be a sufficient expJanation, it is clear that these sheds ought to have been cleared of coal b}' the close of the -snnter, ?, 1 that no such stock as now exists should be on hand in the middle of summer. This is the more important, because in order to clear off the coa! debit it will be necessary to charge this coal at 18 oonts a bushel, whereas the coal wliich is now being purchased, owing partly to the reduction in price, will bo charged at 10 cents a bushel, so that in consequence of this stock of coal, purclmscd at high prices, being on hand, the quantity so on hand will cost as part of the working of the railway nearly double what should be the case. But there is no necessity for having coal at so many places. I iiave instiiicted ^Mr. Carvoll to have all the coal oti hand at the different points used up, before any more coal is purchased, and that in future not more than 50 tons at each place shall be kopt for winter storage, and that only at about ton places outside of the locomotive stations. Hnt the railway having the advantage of getting coal al two mines, at ditTcrcnt positions on the lino, every da}' in the year, ought not to have any considerable stock of coal on band at any time, and certainly the amount at out-stations, required during winter, ought not in the aggregate to exceed 500 to (JOO tons, and care must be talccn in future that whatever is so deposited in winter, is used up before the commencement of summer. But there is another very unsatisfactory feature about the coal supply. Cer- tain stations have been cleared of coal, and after deducting the amount charged out 10 from each of those stations, from the quantity dolivorod to them, thoro has turned out to be a deficiency of about 2,500 tons, at a cost of $11, 7^9.85, which thoro arc no apparent moans of accounting for, and which has had to bo charged out to tliecost of locomotive working, daring the last year. This very startling state of facts onl}- came out on the completion of the balance shoot, tho day before I loft Mnncton. I have caused enquiries to be made into tiic matter, and shall before long have further particulars upon tho subject, but u is incomprehensible how in a year's supply of something like 20,000 tcms of coal, thoro sliould bo found to bo at a few stations so enormous a deficiency iis 2,500 tons, involving a loss of nearly $12,000. There must eitiior have been tho most gross carelessness in the system of charging out the coal to the engines at the different stations, or more coal must have been paid for than has been received. ISic utter absence of proper supervision over these accounts is further evidence, if any wore wanting, of the ineflicioncy of the management of tho Stores Department. I only hope that when tho stock of coal fuel on hand at the 30th June is ail dis- posed of, thoro will not prove to be any further deficiency in this item. EXPIIESS C0.MPANIES. In my former report, I called attention to the inadequate payment made by the express companies using tho railway, for tho work whicii was done for tlioni, and I havo now to report that having had communication with tho two companies working the express over tho lino, an arrangement has been made by which in future they will pay one-third of their gross receipts, svhalover those receipts may be, to the railway for the carriage of their express matter. The railway to have the right of examining their books and satisfying them- selves of tho correctness of the accounts rendered. Tho express comj)anies to be .solely responsible for all damage, no matter how caused, to any express gootls carried by them on the trains of the railway, and also to hold the railway harmless against any claims made by em[)Ioyeos of tho express companies who may bo injured whilst travelling upon tho trains. Tho arrangement to commence on the 1st September, and to be for one year, and bubjeet thereafter to six months' notice upon cither side. This, for tho present, is a satisfactory arrangement, and will give tlie railway about double the amount for the carriage of express matter which it has hitherto been receiving. PAS8EN0ER KARES. The altoi'od piuseu^or fares uro now in full operation. 11 Return tickets are now issued to and from St. John, Monoton, Point du Chanp, Truro, Pictou, Pictou Lamling and Halifax at a roducfion of 25 poi cent upon the ordinary faros. Those tickets arc good for two days, e.xcopt between St. John and Halifax, in which case they are good for four days. In addition to this, commutation tickets are being issued at a reduction of one- third upon the ordinary rates, in batches of 25 each. Theoldsystem of family tickets is abolished, as it was liable to very groat abuse. There can bo no difficulty in the way of commutation tickets, as the bundle of 25 has to be used soparatoly, one being given to the conductor upon each occasion of the railway being tnivolled upon. The system of season ticketti, which was upon an exceedingly unsatisfactory scale, will remain in fjroe during the romaiinlor of this Reason, hut a revised tariff, as follows, will be put in operation on the 1st April, 1875. The tickets to be from St. John, and good for three months. To Moose Path, .Smiles $G 00 To Brook villo, 4 " 7 00 To Torryburn, fi " 8 00 To Riverside, 7 " 9 00 To Rothesay, it " 10 00 To Quispamsis, 12 " '. 1.3 00 To Nauwigewauk, 17 " 18 00 To Hampton, 23 " 2100 From Halifax the rates will be as follows : — To Four Mile House, 4 miles $7 00 To Bedford, 8 " 9 00 To Rocky Lake, 11 •' 12 00 To Windsor J unct., 13 " 14 00 To Wellington, 21 " 23 00 To Grand Lake, 23 " 24 00 The organization of the management being now complete, I have given Mr. Carvell written instructions in regard to various matters iu the working of the department. I have also arranged that a regular monthly system of .iccounts shall bo made up and forwarded regularly, which will give a full insight into the operations of the railway, and show exactly what is being done. This will include a monthly statement of the receipts and expenses, showing the loss or profit in the working for that particular month. 12 Tho difTerent dopArtmonts will also forward biilanco shoots, Hhowing thoir oper- ations in 8iich tiotail as will enable me tu see exactly what they are doing, and whether or not there is any undue expenditure in progress. In regard to storos, I have arranged for tho present tho following plan. Tho atore-koeper, when any articles have to bo purchased, will send out a print- ed form to tho parties who aro in tho trade, asking for tenders for the buj)ply. Those tenders, when schodulod, will be submitted once a fortnight to the General Superintendent, with tho recommondations of the store-keeper as to the quantities that ought to bo ordered. IIo will at tho same time produce a statement of tho quantity of the articles so w.-xnted, if any, which are in store at the time, and the General Superintendent vnW thus be able, if he gives proper attention to the matter, not only to chock extravagance in the quantities purchased, but also iu tho prices to be paid. I have also directed that all tho orders shall bo issued as much as possible, only onco a fortnight, excepting, of course, in cases of omorgency. All tho orders so made, at the fortnightly ordering, to be entered in a book by the Storekeeper, and when approved by tho Superintendent, his initials to bo placed in the book against each item so ordered. A copy of this list of orders with the information which I have described, will bo Hont to me onco a fortnight, and I shall thus be able to see exactly what is being or- dered, and whether tho quantities ordered are excessive or whether tho prices paid aro higher than are current elsewhere. The Storekeeper will also by correspondence make himself acquainted with the prices which are being charged for the articles required at other places in the- Do- minion and in tho United States, and in this way I have no doubt that by careful attention and judicious arrangements a very large saving can bo etlbcted iu tlie pur- chase of stores, and everything that is required obtained at the lowest market rates. These different returns and statements will commence with the month of July, and I hope that they will bo completed and forwarded from Moncton by the end of the present month. After that they ought to be ready about tho 15th of each fol- lowing month. If these returns aro properly mido out, and carefully supervised, it will bo im- possible for matters to go far wrong, witiiout their being detected, and with this system onco fully in force, an ocuiisional visit, not necessarily very frequent unless on special emcrgencio-i, but not at rc;;iil.ii' or -ta.'c 1 intervals, to the i-ailw.'iy, will enable such a supervision to be oxcci c i i.e.' '.vliaL is being done as will prevent the possibility ol such teoriou.-) orro:.-. a-i aavo existed up to the present time. 18 TRAIN 8£RVICE. Tho ftrrau;,'omont of trains is working satisfactorily. Tho night train has doiio c m-iilorably better than I oxpoctotl would bo the caao, and it has undoubtodly had tlic otl'oct of increasing the traffic upon tho railway. Tho Pullman cars, as has proved to be tho case whorovor thoy have boon put on, aro tho host possible advertisomont tliat a railway can have, and, as has boon tho case elsewhere in Canada and tho United States, they have undoubtedly cfFootod a material increase in tho travel. I consider the train service at present upon tho railway in oxooss of tho wants of tho travelling public. Thero now five trains leaving St. John daily, and five arriving, all carrying passengers. On the Western Extension from St. John there aro only two trains a day each way, 80 that the accommodation out of St. John upon tho Intercolonial Railway is very much greater than by the other line. Tho rates of fare are also even now lower. Tho ordinary rates are three cents a mile on tho Intercolonial Railway, whilst on the railway westward, they are 3J cents per mile in Canada and 4 cents upon tho portion in tho United States. On tho Intercolonial Railway return tickets on a very liberal scale aro issued at a reduction of 25 per cent, whilst on the Wostei u^xtonsion from St. John, return tickets on a much more limited scale aro issued at a reduction of only 20 per cent. The issue of commutation tickets is also upon a more liberal scale on the Inter- colonial Railway. The train, which, when tho through night train was put on, was run at 5 o'clock from St. .fohn to Hampton, is now extended to Sussex. This has been done in response to a very general expression of a wish to that effect on tho part of the people. The train was originally fixed to go only as far as Hampton, because tho officers of tho railway stated that that was the farthest point to which residential country traffic to and from St. Juhn existed, and it was upon that advice tliat the t«rminus was fixed at Hampton. I expect it will bo found that the number of passengers using tho train between Hampton and Sussex will not be large, but under the circumstances it was considered desirable to extend it in tho way that has been done. ^■r 14 I«moaaHingareturntob«raado weekly of the number of pas^^i^^^^Tiii^ the day and night fra\m, and it will then bo soon which i« the ono which givos tho {jreatoai- aocommodation to tho travelling public. I will give thorosultH of tho working f)r the mouth olJuiy, a. soon iw I rocoiv« tho returns from Moncton. I have the honor to be, Sir, Yonr obedient servant, Tli» E \ A. Mackenzie, Minister of Public Works, Ottawa. C. J. BRYDGE3. ^mr a UHing 7nn tho •ocoivft