1856.

VICTORIA .

• R A I L WAY S.

REPOR.T

OF

ANDREW CLARKE, R. N., M. P.,

SURVEYOR GENERAL,

UPON' RAILWAYS',

Wr1'1I

APPENDICES.

l)HESENTED '1'0 BOTH HOUSES OF PARLIAMEN'l' BY COMMAND OF IllS lL'WELLENCY nm OFFICEll AD:l1INISTERING 'rHE GOVERNil1ENT.

t311 !a'utbotity: JOHN FERltES,, GOVERNMENT PRINTER, MELBOURNE. No. 33.-" J\

! , · .:' CONTENTS~'

P&ge. REl'OIt'f of Captain Clarke, R.E., to His Excellency Major General Macarthur, Senior Milita,ry Officer commanding Her Majesty's Forces in Australia. v.

APPENDICES. I.-Report of the proceedings of the Trustees of the Melbourne, Mount Alexander, and Murray Itiver Railway, from the date of their appointment to the 30th November, 1856 xlix.

II.-Correspondence inwards IlL-Correspondence outwards 43 IV.-Estimated cost of certain lines. of railway, submitted to a Committee of the Legislative Coullcil, in the Session of 1855-6, by whom those in group No.1 were approved 95 V.-Report on the estimates contained in Appendix IV., summitted by the Surveyor General to the Committee of the Legislative Council, in the Session 1855-6 ...... 100 VI.-Estimated cost of the railways contained in Appendix IV., at English prices for work and materials '" ...... • .•. ... •.• 103 VIl.-Estimatcd cost of the railways recommended to be constructed at present. The excavations, e~ban~ments, and w?rks of art are for a double line; the permanent way is only for a smglc hne ...... •. ... .•. .,. ... .•. . .. 108 VIII.-Estimated cost of the railway from Melbourne to Williamstown, submitted by the Surveyor General to a Committee of the Legislative Council, in the Session 1855-56... .., llO cr.-List of gradients on the several lines of railway which were surveyed in accoruance with a resolution of the Legislative Council, in Session 1854-55, and submitted by the Surveyor General to a Committee of the Council in Session 1855-6 115 X.-Report of the Engineer in Chief on works betwcen Melbourne and Williamstown 125 XI,-Report of the Engineer in Chief on the permanent surveys arid setting out of the lines proposed to be constructed 127 XII.-Report of Messrs. Darbyshire and Galt on the expenditure of the Melbourne, Mount Alexander, and Mllrray River Railway Company, previous to the date of transfer to trustees appointed by 19 Viet. No. 15 128 XIII.-Minute on the mode of obtaining plant, &c., from Great Britain, submitted to and approved by the trustees, 14th May, 1856 ... 132 XIV.-Further minute on the mode of procuring railway plant from England, submitted to and approved by the trustees, 7th June, 1856 ... 133 XV.-l'vIinute respecting the .acceptance of the tender of :aressrs. Dalgety, Cleve and Hammill, and the time to be allowed for completion of the contract, SUbmitted to and apprQved by the trustees, ~Oth June, 1856 ... 134 XVI.-Minute on the respective duties of the Engineer in Chief and Secretary 135 XVII.-Minntc on objections urged against the conditions required to be observed by tenderers for the supply of railw'ay material to be obtained from England, submitted to and approved by the trnstees, 6th August, Hi56 ...... ;. ... '" 136 XVIII.-Minute on the particulars of the purchase of the rights and property of " The Melbourne, Mount Alexander, and Murray Hh'cr Railway Company," and of their liabilities at date of conveyance to Government, submitted to and approved by the trustees, 27th August, 1856 137 Xcr.-Minute on the defects of the Melbourne, Mount Alexander, and Murray River Railway Com- pany's Act of Incorporation, submitted to and approved by the trustecs, 9th October, 1856 138 XX. ...:"Minute on the rejection of the tenders received from local manufacturers for the construction of a certain quantity of rolling stock, submitted to and approved by the trustees, 6th November, 1856 139 XXI.-Minute on the mode of letting public works by contract, submitted to and approved by the trustees on the 18th November, 1856...... 140 XXII.-Minute on the offer of Messrs. Miles and Co. to ballast a portion of the Williamstown Branch Hailway, submitted to and approved by the trustees, 25th November, 1856 141 XXIII.-Abstract of all local contracts 142 XXrV.-Abstract of all contracts for imported plant ... 147 XXV.-Detailed abstract of the tenders for railway plant, received 21st May, 1856 148 XXVI.-Artic\es of agreement for local contracts 156 LXVII.-Articles of agreement for contracts for imported plant 161 XXVIII.-Conditions of contracts for imported plant 163 XXIX.-Specifications and conditions of local contracts 166 XXX.-Copy of certificates of work on local contracts 190 XXXl.-Specifications of the several descriptions of plant included in Messrs. Dalgety, Cleve and Hammill's contract, dated 21st June, 1856 ... 195 XLXII.-Specifications of locomotive engines and tenders includccl in Messrs. De Pass Brothers and Co.'s contract, dated 23rd August, 1856 208 XX,Xll.-Spccifications and schedule of' plant and machincry included in Messrs. De Pass Brothers and Co.'s contract, dated 26th September, 1856 218 LXXIV.-SIlccification of the rolling stock proposed to be manufactured in Victoria 222 XXXV.-Gradients on English railways 224 XLXVL-Gradients on German railways ill. IV Page. X)'xXVII.-Gradients on American railways:; , , , , 224 XXXVIII.-Extcnt and cost of railways in the United States at the end of the year 1855 225 XXXIX.-Memorandum on the revenue and expenditure per mile on th: railways of the United Kingdom, 1855 ...... 226 XL.-Receipts, on the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Hailway from its opening on the 13th September, 1854, to 31st October, 1856 ... .., ·227': XLL-Expenditure on the 1\fclboume and Hobson'sllay Hailway from 13th September, 1854, to the 31st October, 1856 228 XLII.-Form of bond used in local contracts 229 XLill.-Form of notice to landowners, and schedules attached thereto 230 XI;IV.-Instructions to Inspecting Officer or :Engineer in England, with reference to the contract for railway plant, entered into on the 21st, June; 1856, between the Trustees and Messrs. F. G. Dalgety, Cleve and Hammill 233 XLV.-Statement of receipts and expenditure of the GecIong and Melbourne Railway Company, to the 31st May, 1856 234 " XLVI.-Instruetions to Messrs. Smith and Oldham in inspecting the works of the Geelong and Melbourne Hail\vay 235 !l XLVII.-Geological report on the Mount Alexander line, between Melbourne and Gisborne 236 'XLVIII.-Memorandum 'on the gauge of railways in Australia 238 XLIX.-Despatch from His Excellency C. J. JJn Trobc, Esq., to Sir J. Pakington, No. 58, of 15th March, 1853 239 L.-Extract from despatch of His Excellency C. J. La Trobe, Esq., to Sir J. Pakington, No. 43, of 2nd March, 1853 242 LI.-Despatch from His Excellency C. J. La Trobe, Esq., to His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, dnted 19th November, 1853 ib. LII.-Report of :Uessrs. Mungo Park Smith nnd Thomas Oldhnm on the prescnt statc of the works on'the Melbourne and Geelong Railway...... 244 LIll.-Message of His .Excellency the late Sir Charles Hotham to the Legislatiye Coullcil, by whom it was referred to a special committee, on the 15th, Mnreh, 1855 ...... ••• 249 LIV.-Report of the Select Committee of theJ-egisla,tive Council, appointed ou the 29th , September, 1853, to take evidence and re1)ort upon the best gauge for railways ill this Colony... 250 L V.-Report of the commissioners appointed ~o inquire into the best m()(]e, of . providing . for the internal communication ofthe Colony...... •. .... 251 LVI.-Progress report of the Select Conunittec of the JJ€gislative Conncil 2n raihmys, 21st May, 1855 ... '" ... '...... 254 L VIT.-Progress report of the Select Committee of the Legislative Council on railways, 13th March, 1856 255 LVIIL-Report of the Select Committee of the Legislative Conncil appointed to take into . consideration the manner in which railways in this Colouy should be constructed and managed, 19th March, 1856 256 LIX.-An Act to enable the Government of Victoria to purchase aU the property amI other interests possessed' by "The Melbourne, Mount .Alexander, nnd Murray l-tiver Hailway Company." (Assented to 19th March, 1856.) 258 LX.-Accouut showing the amount of purchase mOlley paid for the rights and other interests of the Melbourne, Mount Alexander, and Murray River Railway Company 260 J;XI.-Account showing the amount of the liabilities of the Melbourne, Mount Alexander, and Murray Hjyer R'tilway at date of conveyance to trustees ib. LXII.-Liabilities incurred on account of the Melbonrne, lIfonnt AleXltnder, and ],;Inrray River Rail- way, including the 'Villiamstown branch, from date of cOllvey:tllcc to 30th Noyember, 1856 261 LXill.-Expellditnrc on account of the Melbourne,. Mount Alexander, and Murmy HiveI' R.ailway, including the 'WiIliamstown braTwh, from'date of conveyance to 30th November, 1856 ... 262 LXIV.-Expcnditure on account of railway surveys, from :March, 1855, to 30th November, 1856 ... 263 JJX}V.-Expcnditure on account of Secretary's department, from 1st ],;L'ty to 30th November,1856... ill. LXVI.-Abstract of the accounts contained in Appendices J.X., LXI., LXII., J.XIII., LXIV.. and I;XV. ... ' ib. JJXVIL-Retllrn of the appointments which have been: made in the offices of the Bngineer in Chief and Secrettu'y .. . 264 LXVIII.-Abstract of those applications for the office of Secretary to Railway 'frustees which wcre . imhmittcd to the Executive Conncil, May 3rd, 1856~...... 265 LXL"{.-Copy of Contract between the Melbourne, ]';Ionut Alexander, and Murray Rhcr Railway Company lLnd the Government, under and by virtue of an Act, intituled, "An Act to enable , the GO')Crmnenl of Victoria to purchase all the property and other interests possessed by the Melbourne, liiount Alexclnder, amI Murray River Railway Company."...... 266 LXX.-Retllrll showing the qualltity of land taken by the late Melbourne, Mount Alexander, and Murray River Ultiiway Company, the names of the persons in whose fnvor awards \Yere mude, the sum awarded 'in each case, the, amounts paid, the amounts unpaid, and the reasons tor nonp"yment, also the names of the valuators and the costs of the·yltluatiolls... 275 LXXI.-Corrcspondence between the Surveyor General and the Directors of the Geelong amI , Melbourne Huilwil.y Company, with reference' to the" Report of Messrs. Smith and Oldham on the present state of the works of that company," with counter report by l:lr. Snell, the company's engineer ...... '" ...... 276 LXXII.-Let~er from :Mcssrs. DaJgety. amI Co., eontractors for the supply of railway material, to the Trustees of the Melbourne, Mount .Alexander, and Murray River Railway, received per Oneida" 24th December, 1856 280 REPORTo

SURVEY OFFICE, MELBOURNE, 15th November, 1856. SIR, I have the honor to submit for your Excellency's consideration the following Report on the important subject of Railways ;- In it, besides giving what, I trust, may be considered a clear and detailed account of my proceedings in the execution of the duties entrusted to me, I have attempted to trace the progre~ of railway enterprise in this country from the period when active measures were first initiated to the present time. In doing so, and in appending thereto a variety of general infonnation on the subject, I have been actuated by a desire not merely to review the causes which have led to so little having as yet been done, but to furnish material for the guidance of those whose duty it will shortly be to detennine upon the best means of providing a comprehensive scheme of internal communication, suitable both to the present and probable future require­ ments of the country. Although some correspondence took place between the Home Government and Mr. La Trobe prior to the year 1852, with reference to the gauge and other general regulations to be adopted in the event of railways being undertaken in this country, no practical efforts were made for their construction before the middle of that year. Previously, neither our population nor the extent of our internal trade held out sufficient inducements for the prosecution of such enterprises; and it was not until the arrival of large accessions to that population, and its concentration in the interior, consequent upon the discovery of gold, that the necessity of constructing railways became apparent} as the only means of effectually providing for the extensive internal traffic in goods and passengers which then sprang into existence. That necessity was so keenly felt during the winter of 1852, that in the following spring a general disposition was manifested by the public to promote the establishment of railways by means of joint stock companies. However much I am now compelled to differ as to the applicability of associated enterprise for accomplishing this object, I cannot be surprised that the decision then should have been in favor of that principle; for a large proportion of our population at that time, -being recent arrivals from the mother country, where railways and other large undertakings are invariably prosecuted under the auspicies of joint stock companies,-were naturally predisposed to consider that as the best method of effecting similar objects here; while another portion of our population, consisting of thm:e who had been long resident in the country, was also predispomd to aid in the establishment of railways through the instru­ mentality of public companies, by the exaggerated accounts which they had received from Europe of the individual advantages to be derived from such undertakings under that mode of management. One portion of the community unrefiectingly favored a particular system from the mere force of custom, while another portion followed their example from the want of experience in such matters, and the consequent fallacious hopes which were entertained of reaping extraordinary profits. b vi

There is no doubt indeed, that at one time all classes shared in the deceptive enthu­ siasm caused by the gold discovery: and that, during that period of excitement, the advantages of railway companies, as affording means of profitable investment, were much exaggerated; whilst the practical difficulties to be encountered were either little und8rstood or vastly underrated by the community generally. To these causes I attribute the disposition, at first evinced by the public, to assist in railway undertakings; but it is now clear that the system then adopted received only a partial and imperfect consideration: it was too hastily concluded that, because such a system had acconlplished great results in other countries, (forgetting that still greater results might have been obtained by the system now proposed) its introduction here would be found equally successful. Sufficient reflection was not given to the important question, whether the circumstances ofa young country with a limited population, favored the introduction of a system applicable to older and more populous states: in short, the main question was almost wholly disregarded, namely, whether we had amongst us the social and -pecuniary means which would render it advantageous, or even possible, to carry out great public works by means of associated enterprise. Subsequent ,experience has, however, answered this enquiry m the negative. The colonists have so little disposition to embark their capital in such undertakings, that even ;with ,a dividend secured by a Government guarantee, it has been found wholly impossible to carry out any extensive scheme of railways by means of local shareholders. - Colonialcapital­ jilts are -accustomed to rely upon their own judgments in the methods of. employing their '~a,pital; and where so many inducements are presented, offering large profits and speedy returns, the prospective interest derivable from permanent investment in railways, is too small and distant, to ensure voluntary subscriptions from this class. This will be readily understood when it is remembered that we have here, as a body, no brge capitalists, such as exist in older countries, living upon the interest of their money; .yhilst small capitalists 'look to other and more profitable means of increasing their principal than tl~ose which 'railway companies are likely to afford. Railway enterprise does not offer sufficient temp­ tations for investment to those who desire to become rapidly rich; whilst those who are ~lready wealthy do not constitute an extensive monied class, corre~ponding to the capitalists of other countries, willing to co-operate in carrying. out undertakings of such magnitude, as have- become necessary in respect to railways in Australia. This distinction in our social and monetary condition was not fully appreciated at the outset of railway enterprise in this Country; but it has since asserted itself concl~sively in the -fate of numerous companies, which have since been projected for various purposes, and failed. And, I believe. a complete change in public opinion has since occurred with, reference to tills subject; it being now pretty generally conceded that the joint stock system is inappli­ cable and ineffectual to promote the construction of lllain lines of railway in this country. *

"" The commission allu(]e with regret to the slow progress of railway communication. The expenses. attending these undertakings, as compared with the still limited extent of private means for their construction; have rendered the railway companies of this colony hitherto all but a failure. "The commission obserye with pleasure, his Excellency's late message to the I,egislature. It seems but reasonable to hope that the increased yalue of the land on either side of the proposed raihntys will supply a certain means of repaying the cost of the line at no great intenal. This is one consideration that connects the Government. of these colonies with its railways. It is eminently desirable that the great lines of this communi­ cation be at once definately fixed upon and correctly surycyed with a view both to stimulate cultivation and settlement in these directions, and to avoid the endless difficulties and expenses at a later period of dealing with numerous private proprietors. In the United States of America, no' interior town or district, however favored otherwise, is considered in a position to maintain the pace of progress manifested in that·country without 'a railway communication. " The effect of a railway in ameliorating the condition of the Gold Fields, would be almost incredible The miners themselves are similarly impressed. Their commerce and social comfort would be improved by the ~'ntroduction of many 'articles now denied to these remote and isolated districts, and a liealthi~l' tone 6st~blished by a better fusion of the colonial population from cheap, frequent, and expeditious intercourse.""':""Report of the Commissioners appointed to enquire into the war/ling of the Gold Fields, 1855. . . vii

The.late Legislature 'adopted this view on several occasions, and finally recommend that the management and control of these undertakings should be placed in the hands of a department.of the Government, as your Excellency 'will perceive hy reference to a subsequent portion of this report (page 12), and to Appendices, LV., LVI., and LVIII. A narrative of railway proceedings in this country will show very strongly the advisahility, if not the necessity, of the course recommended by the Legislature. I beg therefore to solicit your Excellency's attention to the following summary of those proceedings which I have compiled from official and other authentic documents. In the month of June, 1852, a deputation of influential gentlemen waited upon Mr. La Trobe to ascertain whether the Government would look favorably upon a scheme for forming a railway from Melbourne to Mount Alexander; and whether a bill for incorporating a company for that purpose would be aided by the Government in its pas&'l,ge through the Legislature. The deputation solicited other means of support; among which were, a grant from the Treasury in aid of preliminary expenses of survey, &c. ; a loan from the Treasury in aid of the share capital for prosecuting the works; a free grant of land, six chains (one hundred and thirty-two yards) in width the entire length of the line, with an additional area of one square mile in every ten along its COllrse; and a guaranteed dividend on the amount of the subscribed capital. To this application Mr. La Trobe replied, that he would advance the sum of one thousand pounds from the revenue in aid of preliminary expenses, on condition that a similar amount should be raised by private subscription; but he was opposed to the grant­ ing of a loan of money towards the formation of railways. He was however willing that a grant of land, one hundred yards in width, should be made to the company, with recesses where necessary for stations, &c., but declined to pledge himself to any reserve for a. terminus in the immediate vicinity oCMelbourne. Subsequently he stated in respect to a guarantee of five per cent. on the outlay of the company that the utmost he could recommend wa.'> a guarantee of four per cent. for twenty-one years on an amount actually expended on the works, not exceeding £100,000 sterling, and that only on condition that any amount thus advanced should be repaid out of the subsequent profits of 'the company and this repayment secured by a mortgage on the whole of their land and works. The complete dependence of the local Government of that day is shown hy the express stipulation that this and all other arrangements proposed and assented to would be made conditiona1ly upon the approval of the Home Government. During the few months which succeeded these early negotiations it became evident that a large and continuous stream of immigration would rapidly accelerate the settlement of the Colony. Under this stimulus it appears that railway projects came ~o be looked at more earnestly and from an enlarged point of view; for we find, in October of the same year, the proVisional committee of the company whose requests were in the first instance only partially assented to, renewing their application for 'assistance to an increased extent and in the following form. 1. An advance of the snm of five thousand pounds to defray preliminary expenses. 2. A guaranteed dividend of five per cent. for twenty-one. years upon the whole amount of paid up capital 3. And a free gTant of land for the Melbourne terminus and for the line and stations. To the whole of these proposals Mr. La Trobe eventually acceded. The sum of £5000 was granted towards preliminary expenses; a promise was given of a free grant of fifty acres for a central terminus, and a belt of Crown land a hundred yards in width along the entire length 'of the line, together with a guarantee of five per cent, interest upon tlle amount of capital lodged in the public Treas~y; the repayment of any amount so ... Vlll advanced ··to commence, and be continued till, ·by the application· of all profits from the working of the line exceeding five per eent" the full amount advanced had been .repaid. Whilst these ·negotiations were pending a company 'was projected for forniing 'a railway between Melbourne and Geelong; ·but considerable delay and loss of time were occasioned by the discussion of proposals for amalgamating this company with the Mount .Alexander before either of them had any legal existence. This proposed amalgamation having been submitted to the Executive Council, the Governor shortly afterwards announced his willingness to countenance the establishment of a company in the proposed amalgamated form, limiting, however, the annual charge which could possibly full upon the territorial revenue to £75,000, or five per cent. upon a capital not exceeding £1,500,000. Early in January, 1853, upon its being notified to the Government that the contemplated arrangements for the amalgamation of the 'two companies had fallen through, and. that combined action had been found to be impracticable, these terms were modified by limiting the guaranteed dividend of five per cent. upon the capital'of both companies to £1,200,000 instead of £1,500,000. (See Appendices XLIX. and L.) While these preliminaries were under consideration a third company was formed, for constructing a line between lvIelbourne and Hobson's Bay; and by March, 1853, the following companies had been incorporated by Acts of the Legislative Council ;- 1. The Melbourne, lvlount .Alexander, and Murray River Company, capital £1,000,000. 2. The Geelong and 1vlelboume Company, capital &350,000. 3. The Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Company, capital &100,000. To the operations of each of these companies, from the period of their formation to the present date, taking them in the order, just mentioned, I propose now to draw your Excellency'S attention. The Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Company was projected in 1852, ,vith a capital of &750,000. It was however soon perceived that that amount would be insufficient; the capital was therefore increased to &1,000,000, which was proposed to be raised by the issue of 40,000 shares of &25 each. The Act incorporating this company, assented to on 8th February, 1853, contained an extent of encouragement to which the hi.story of associated enterprise in connection with railways affords no parallel. The Government advanced &5000 towards the payment of preliminary expenses before one shilling had been subscribed by shareholders, and not more than &1500 of this sum had been expended when the bill passed. To those conversant with the nature of the information required and the amount of capital which it is necessary to have actually paid up before any legislation can be entered upon in the Parliament of England, having for its object the incorporation of a railway or other joint stock company, the absence of aU necessary information and the ad libitum powers which were nevertheless conferred upon this company will excite considerable surprise. A partial explanation may however be found in the anxiety which was. then so prevalent to expedite the formation of railways, and the extent to which the attention of the Legislature was absorbed by other matters of. a public and private nature. It would have been well however if the details of the bill had receiv{ld a little more attention; for, as it was passed, it conferred upon this company a complete monopoly of the chief rail­ way enterprise of the country. 'l'he right of eventual purchase by the Government was also badly provided for. It could only be exercised after the expiration of ten years, and between that time and twenty-one years, on condition of paying &250 for every &100 of the capital stOck of the company, or a StUD equal to twenty-five years purchase of the annual divisible profits, estimated on thE~ average of the three preceding years; in addition to which the repayment of all debentures and loans lawfully made to the.company was guaranteed. IX

'0 :As I have already stated, when the bill was passed, the company still had about £3000 of the amOllnt granted from 'the public Treasury. It is remarkable that this was the whole,of their' capitril for some ti¢e afterwards; a fact which indicates that the support which they received fell far' short of that which they had anticipated. This was' attributed to apathy' and luke\varmness; but it was in reality ascribable to the causes mentioned in an early part of this report, viz:, the non-existence amongst us of the means of carrying out such works by associated enterprise, and the consequent embarrassment to which the project was subjeCted from its very commencement. . " Although no restrictions were imposed upon the company as to the route to be adopted (except that the approval of the Governor and Executive Council should first be obtained); although liberal giants of land were promised (as I have already mentioned), and shareholders ,vere 'guaranteed foi' twenty-one years a dividend of five per cent. upon their paid' up capital out of the public revenue; the directors found themselves compelled to meet the shareholders at the first half-yearly meeting of the company: very deficient in the means 'of accQmplishing their object, only 2281 shares having been subscribed for. 'Their eflortsduring several subsequent months did not materially improve their position; for, although they disposed of a sufficient number of shares (4000) to enable them to commence their works, and although they actually placed a portion of the Williamstown branch under contract, the directors were so impressed with the difficulties which surrounded the company about twelve months after its incorporation, that they offered to dispose of its rights and' privileges to the Government: a proposal, the discussion and considcration of which occupied,'several months, during which no works were executed. Matters continued in this position until' it became known that the Government declined to accede to the company.'s terms, or rather the demands of the contractors, who clairi:ted five thousand pounds for abandoning a contract only amounting to fifteen thousand pounds. Upon the receipt 6f inforuiation to this effect the directors determined to make a vigorous and fip.al effort to obtain the necessary means for completing the Williamstown branch (to which they now confined their attention), by the sale of additional shares. In this they were'so far successful that in April, 1855, the number on the share register had been increased to 5127, represooting a subscribed capital of about £130,000. This however constituted but a small portion of the amount which it was found would be required even for the branch line t{) Williamstown; and the commercial panic .vmch -very soon afterwards came with, such sudden violence upon the country, rendered it not only absolutely impossible to incre~se the number of re3ident shareholders, but, perfectly 'evidentthat'a considerable portion of the'amount of capital already subscribed would never be realized. These circumstances convinced the directors that their only hope of being able to finish eveil.ihii v:ery small portion of their undertaking must entirely depend upon their success in raising money in England; but this expectatIon also failed them, as will appear -from tKe followipg statement :,- , ,Iii 'December, 1853; the necessity of looking' abroad for the greater portion of the capital of the company induced the directors to dispat~h Mr. Ginn to London with what was then supposed,to De' sufficient authority to obtain the required pecuniary assistance. He was' authoriEed-' . ( 1. To carry out the provisions of the Act of incorporation as far as the same ~night be~ppl:icable In England. , _ " , 2. To forni'al;>oard of map.agement in London. 3. To .raise' capitFl ~y,the sale'of 25,000 shares entrusted to him; and 4. 'fo conduct the general busip.e~s 9( the company ,there according to tqe instruc­ , :. tions 'he ~ghtreceive from the :board of ,directors. ' '.~~." Upon 4is~·ariival in England/and before enterip.g~upop. his duties, Mr .. Ginn Jiho}lght it advisable to ascertain whether the powers copferred\lpon him, either from their,nature, c ;;the rig:ht 9f !~;he' ic~mpany{ itC\g:r~~~ ;thenllJ,i,0r,'> the ,\Want .lof! ,power, on •his.-.part tol' bind the "compq,ny. py,hjs i~9:t~;fl;s ,theirq,gent'l j\Ve.l;e'teg~li al{d,sufficieht'to, carry ,out"these ,objects:':' :'~ . . " .'. F.9r, th~s .p'\lrpos~ w case ~as la,iqllefore,counseVw:ho _wete of, opinion: that; although ,there would bEl no illegality at com,mon law. in the execution 6f thetpowers· generally con­ ~~ ferred upon'Mr. Ginn, it wo;uldbe .impossible for·.him. to dispose· of the company's shares " in England, owing to the absence of any prov:ision in the company's

I between the Government and the directors, the following terms were mutually agreed .upon, namely- , 1. '['hat on the transfer of the rights qnd property of the company to the Govern­ ,ment, they should pay to the company the amount of capital then paid up by the share- holders, such payment to be made in debentures issued at par, bearing interest at five per cent., and payable on the 5th of October, 1873. 2. That the' Government should undertake to execute any unfinished contracts ·entered into by the company, and discharge all their reasoIl<'l.ble liabilities, such liabilities :to be previously ascertained and scheduled. I irK • Xl

f' .,i .' I"t', .,,~,tJ;f,j.t .,<\,~),i '. ~:.j' ,':'- . :, .. !.,', ::! d ;'" 3. That"ih0'fompletion of, the purchftse O!l the terms agTeed,upon hetweerrthe , • >, -1 't '. ('! '." • ,,': I , Government alid the' company, should be contingent upon the J;;egislatu,re passing, ,an .4ct I, ". _,', .1 '. 1.' .1. .' , authorizing suchptli:chase to be made., ' " ' , 4. That in the meantime n~ new works should be undertaken, but those comprised in the existing contracts should be proceeded with. On the 19th of March, 1856, the Legislative Council passed the necessary measure. (See Appendix LIX.) Immediately afterwards the Government caused the works to be inspected and measured, and the books, accounts, vouchers, and liabilities of the company to be examined (See Appendix XII). These being found satisfactory, (with the exception of the sum of £"1149 4s. 7d., which the company had expended in celebrating the commencement of the works, and which the Government objected to pay) the conveyance, vesting all the com­ pany's rights and property in the Commissioner of Public Works and the Surveyor General, as trustees for and on behalf of the Government according to the provisions of the Act, was prepared, and finally on the 23rd May last, this deed was executed and the purchase money paid. (See Appendix LX.) For an account of the proceedings of mv honorable colleague, the Commissioner of Public Works, and myself, as Trustees, I beg to refer your Excellency to Appendix I. The Geelong and 'Melbourne Company's Act was assented to on 8th February 1853. The capital consisted of £350,000, divided into 17,500 shares of £20 each, with a deposit of £1 per share. The Act provided that before the works were commenced, not fewer than 4375 shares should be subscribed for, and the amount of £12,000 actually paid up; but with respect to several very essential points, it was altogether silent. A perusal of its clauses and the evidence of its promoters, exhibit the same vagueness and insufficiency of information as to the route and nature of the works, as it has been shown, prevailed in the case of the Mount .Alexander Company. The only provision which it contained at all indicative of the former of these important points was, that the railway should commence at Geelong and pass through the counties of Grant and Bourke to the City of lfelbourne. It is however but justice to state, that both in this instance and in that of the Mount Alexander Company, it was provided that the plans, &c., before they were carried out, should be submitted to the Governor and his Executive Council for approval. The Act also provided that the Government should have the power of purchasing the line after the expiration of ten and ,vithin twenty years, upon payment of £250 for every £100 of the capital stock of the company, or of a sum equal to sixteen years purchase of the annual divisible profits estiniated on an average of the three prececding years: and on the further payment of all debentures and loans lawfully issued and contracted by the company. Power was also given to the company to increase its capital to £"500,000 by the issue of additional shares, or by borrowing on mortgage to the extent of one-third of the amount actually paid up. Assistance was granted from the public Treasury towards the payment of prelimi­ nary expenses to the extent of £1000, and further aid was afforded by a grant of eleven and a half acres of land for a terminus at Geelong, together with a strip one hundred yards wide along its entire length, where the land remained unsold, with the necessary recesses for stations. A dividend at the rate of five per cent. per annum was also guaranteed upon 10,000 of the 17,500 shares. The first half-yearly meeting of shareholders was held in January, 1854, when it appeared that 13,137 shares had been applied for, but only those upon which interest was guaranteed had been allotted. Contracts had been entered into for various portions of the work, the commencement of which had been formally inaugurated by the Lieutenant Governor on the 20th September previously. During the next six months satisfactory progress was made; the report for the second half-year, ending 31st May, 1854 showing, that eighteen contracts for various portions xu

of,the work, including excavations, embankments, bridges, and' a supply oftirilberhad been mitered into, w}~ilq orders had been transmit~ed to England for rails, rolling stock, and other necessary material. Three calls, amountin~ with the deposit to six pounds per share, had ,been made, and with very few exceptions punctually met. Some of the shareholders had also paid their calls in advance, owing to a:decision of the board to allow interest on such advances' at the rate of ,eight per cent. perap.num. The total: receipts up to 31st l\fay, 1854, were as follows :-Government grant, :£1,000; calls on shares, £48,193 lOs.; calis paid in advance, J?5,112; registration fees, -£>3'128. 6d. ; interest on calls in arrear, £1~9 16s. 5d. :-total, £>54,578 18s. lId. Of this amount, £>41,217 7s. 4d. had been expended, leaving an available balance of £>13,361 lls.7d. Although the number of shares originally applied for amounted to more than were at first allotted, tl~e company afterwards found it impossible to dispose ~f more than the number (10,00()) upon which a dividend had been guaranteed by the Government. An application was c6n~equently made for an exte~sion of the guarantee to the remaining 7500 shares, a request with which, after some negotiatiyn, the Government complied. One-half of these shares were issued in th~ Colony, and the remainder were transmitted. for sale in England, ·where the company had establishe,d an agency for that and other business purposes. :The financi~l stateme~t ~f the company up to 30th November, 185,15, shows that of · the calls made amounting. to £100,000, the sum of £75,70910s. had been paid up, leaving £24,290 lOs. then due. It may fairly be, assumed that the directors had calculated upon receiving a-larger proportion of the amouIl;t actually called for than these figures indicate ; :otherwise, it \voul.d be difficult to account for the position in which, at this time, theyfound themselves placed by the insufficiency of;tlle funds at their disposal, and by the necessity · which they experienced of borrowing from their bankers to the extent of £16,582 lOs. 11 d. It IS satIsfactory however to record ,the fact that the measures then taken, including · an increase in the rate of interest on calls paid in advance to ten per cent., were instrumental in bringing the company safely through ~e most trying portion of its career. · Oi~ the 2nd November, 1855, an extraordinary mecting of the company W:1S held;to consider a proposition. which had emanate~ from the Sydney sha,reholders for .the sale of the line to the Go~ermnent. All inves~igation' into the state of the company's a££'1irs ,however satisfied these gentlemen that their interests would be best promoted by prosecuting the works to .completion. At the same meeting a'proposal was considered for the construction of a)ine to Ballaarat. After SGme 9lscl1ssion i(was determined that the co~pany's Act did not, confer the power t~ make a branch longer than the original line, and the project ~vas reluctantly abandoned. In June, 1855, the company obtained' an amended Act, containing. the. foll()wing important concessions :- 1. A formal recognitbn of the extended guarante~, thus placing the entire capital stock of the co~pany on an equal footing., , ' 2: Power to borrow tLl the extent bf three-fourths of the paid up capital, instead of one-third, as orlginnJly provided:,. , 3. The repeal of the clause' which. under ·the oDginallAct prottibited .lev.eJ crossings. During the, half~year ending ,july, 1855, thE! demf)-ndsof,theconttactors upon the company's funds ~xceededthe amo~ntreceived' from the quarterly calls,; intelligence

however cam~ I to hand' very' opp,ortunt;ly; announcing the sale of the ~shares which had b~en transmitted. to England, and the, ~ffairs of ~ the' company :tesumed their former condition. .. The l:1st half-yearly meeting of ~hareholdersw:1s11eld op:. the;1st July~ofthisyear; when the directors reported that the wh~le of.the worksJ1lild. been'contra~ed for,.. and were '. e~t~er fi?is~ed ol'.in course of execntion, with the :exc~ption of; th'e'plate-laying between; the river Werribee' and the junction' near,Wiliiams~wn. .. . . ". '" .- \ i I XliI

The financial statement (See Appendix XLV.) submitted to this meeting, exhibits the following results :-The receipts from calls on Colonial shareholders had amounted to £248,033 lOs., and from the sale of shares in England to £'52,580 19s. Id. These sums, together with £3414103. 8d., intere3t received from Government, a sum of £'7365 19s. lId. advanced by the company's bankers, and other minor items s40w that the total receipts up to the 31st May, 1856, had been £315,834 5s. 2d. The expenditure had amounted to about the same sum. This company has apparently been successful; but it should be remembered that the country through which the line passes is peculiarly favorable for the construction of a railway, and that the attractions of a guaranteed dividend on the whole of the shares, ena,bled them to raise money in England virithout much difficulty. It may be remarked however that the line is now generally perceived to be a misdirected enterprise, not only as regards the interests of Geelong, but those of the country generally. The time occupied in the execution of the works deserves a remark. No line of country more favorable for a railway could have been selected, a fact which the Commis~ sioners on Internal Communication thought it necessary to mention to guard against any inference being drawn therefrom in support of the belief that railways generally can be constructed in this country for the sum for which it is asserted this line will be completed. It is admitted indeed that the natural features of the country are such as to constitute this line a remarkable exception to the general character of other parts of. the Colony through which it is proposed to carry railways; yet the works which were commenced in September, 1853, are not likely to be completed for some months to come. At the com. mencement of the enterprise it was calculated that the line would be completed before the end of 1855, and a promise to that effect was laid before both the English and Colonial public; but experience has shown that the execution of the works will occupy nearly double the time originally represented as sufficieut for that purpose. Desirious of placing before your Excellency an accurate and impartial account of the character and present position of this Company's works, I appointed, ,,,ith the consent of the directors, two gentlemen to report upon the same. This they have done at considerable length and ability, as your Excellency will perceive by a perusal of their report. (See Appendix LIt) The Act incorporating the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Company was assented to on 20th January, 1853, ,and authorized the raising of a capital of £100,000, in 2000 shares of £50 each. It also conferred the power .of doubling this .amount of capital by the issue of additional shares, and of borrowing on mortgage to an amount not e:x:ceeding one-half of the capital actually subscribed. Two years only were allowed for the completion of the line; but the Governor was empowered to extend that period for anot4er two years if deemed advisable. The right .of purchase was reserved to the Government after the expiration of ten years, upon condition of paying £250 for every £100 of the company's stock, or of a sum equal to sixteen years purchase of the annual divisible profits, estimated on the average of the three preceding years. No guaranteed rate of interest was either asked or given, the scheme being, in the opinion of its promoters, capable of paying a fair per centage upon the nece~ sary outlay without such,assistance. A grant of land was however accepted, consisting of a piece one hundred ya~ds wide, along the' entire length of the line; and sites for termini -at :lYielbourne and Sandridge,. thl( former containing 9 acres 2 roo(ls 85 perches, having a frontage of 1340 feet to Flinders-street; and the latter 24 acres 2 roods 15 perches. The inadequacy of the:compiIDy's capital for the completion of the line becoming apparent W1thin twelve months ,from the date of. its incQrporation, the directors exercised "the powers given them by their Act, and issued shares .to th~ amount of £200,000. 'They -also found.it necessary· to exercise their borrowing _pow~rs ; for, owing to the rate d J xiv of ther;t current . ~d the novelty of the undertaking to those who .had charge of it, the Iwork C0st twice the amount of the origInal estimate. Notwithstanding these and other ob~tacles, the directors were able to open the line for traffic in Septemb~r, 1854. I 'For some time afterwards, however, owing to the non-arrival of locomotives from England, passengers only were carried; and even this traffic was suspended altogether for;amonth, from the insufficiency of the motive power then available. , j.. comparative ~tatement of traffic for the half-year ending 30th April, 1855. sh9wS that the carriage of goods had rr:cr~~sed during that period fl:om 180 to 3872 tons per month, and that the total tonnage, conveyed over the ljne durinO' the first tIJ,ee months after it wasl opened for traffic, was les~ than the weekly average in A;ril, 1855. T!\e number of passengers conveyed during the sa,n;.e six months was 151,036, and the a~ount received from them £11,988 13s. 6d: tHe quantity of goods was 9523 tons, and tht returns therefrom oe4233 15s: l1d~ The wprking e~enses and incidental charges dupng that half-year tmounted to £/ S83 lIs.: 6d., leavmg, a balance of revenue of £8927 2s. 9d. . . I , ~ " 1 The report for the SlX monthsendmg 31st October, 1805, shows a falling off ill the re6eipts for passenger traffic to the amount ofJ£4000; but this may be ascribed to a.: tw~-fold cause-the season of the year, and the r~duction which the directors had made in th~ fares. The receipts:from the goods traffic however, showed an increase of .£2000. The nu'inber of passengers ,who used the line during that half-year was 119,372, and the qu'antity of goods carried 18,622 tons against 9523 tons in the previous half-year. This in~rease' in the goods traffic of nearly one hUl{dred per cent. was partly owing to the q~ntity of wool (not fewer than 5054 bales) conveyed over the line, and partly to the infreased pier accommodation provided by the company in Hobson's Bay, which allowed . thb discharge of 8958 tons of goods from thirty-t+o foreign vessels, 1333 'tons from Colonial ve~sels, and 5269 from inter-ColQnial f!teamers du;ring the half-year under consideration. I The receipts for. this period were .£8026 ;13s. 8d. from passengers; .£6087 16s. 3d, from merchandize; parcels, .£590 16s. 1d.; storage, .£142 17& 3d.; rents, transfer fees a,Jd interest on calls (in all £756 ]5s. 2d.), making a total revenue of £15,424 18s. 5d. T*e expenditureamourtted to .£9389 lOs. Sd., l~aving a balance of .£6035 7s. 9d. With tI¥s, and the net balance of the previous 'half-year (£8951 15s. 10d.) the directors found th;emselves in the possession of ,£14,987 3s. 7<1., with which they declared a dividend- I t~efirst--at the rate, of eight per cent. per annum. on the whole of the company's BI1bscribed capital. In consequence however :of certain liabilities, to which I shall :ptesently refer, it was 'not deemed prudent to pay this dividend in cash; a distribution , I " o~some'of the compa.nj's unsold stock in lieu the~eof being considered the preferable course. ;. At an earlier period of the company's existence than that noW under consideration, o~g to the difficulty, which was e~erienced 'in disposing of the whole of the second i&!Jue of shares, the dir~ctors had borrowed £50,<:>00 from the Bank of Australasia. In the w.:onth·of July, 1855, as the bank was pressing fOf the repayment of this loan, the directors d~emed it necessary to :convene a special meeting of the shareholders to devise the best Jeans of meeting a demand somewhat unexpectedly made upon them. At this meeting J earnest appeal ~as' made to -the shareholdex;s to increase their interest in the compaQY bt :subscribing for additional shares. To a ~iill extent this was done, cash and bills h~ving been received to the amount of.£9050. ;With this and au advance from the Bank of Victoria, the amount required ('£46,036 2s. 1d.) to payoff the claim of the Bank of !8!ustralasia, was obtained. .; , . I' " I On 19th March last the company obtainqd an Act enabling them to make a ,branch

railway to St. KiMa. I To raise funds for this purpose power waS given to create new shares to the extent of .£50;000, not as prefer~ntinl stock,but as a portion of the general ~pital orthe company; Provision was als'o rdade tilll,t this branch line should be c9m- rileted within eighteen ,months from the date last mentioned. Th~ charges for the ,carriage. &'1 .' 1 . ,'. t ~ xv of goods and passengers were also limited to the following scale, viz. :-Carriage of goods from M.elbourne to St. Kilda or the cont!ary, lOs. per ton; from Melbourne to Emerald Hill or the contrary, 5s. per ton. Conveyance of passengers from Melbourne to St. Kilda, first,.. class, one shilling; second-class, ninepence; from Melbourne to Emerald Hill, first-class, sixpence; second-class, fourpence. The latter rates. apply also to the traffic between Emerald Hill and SI4 Kilda, with the exception of second~class passengers, the maximum. charge for whom is fivepence per head. The report referring to the half-year ending 30th April last, shows that the affairs of the company continued improving. The return of passengers and goods traffic gives an excess over the previous six months of 82,665 persons, and of 14,203 tons. Contracts had been entered into to extend the pier 500 feet in length by 60 in width, and the Bank of Victoria had agreed to increase the amount of its loan by £50,000 at eight instead of ten per cent. interest, so as to enable the company to proceed with the construction of tha branch line to St. Kilda. The profits during the half-year amounted to £89231s. Id., being equal to five per cent. on the paid up capital of £166,950; but a dividend of only four per cent was declared, leaving a surplus of £2245 Is. 4d., of which £2000 were set apart as a reserve fund, and the balance carried to the credit of revenue account for the ensuing half-year. The report for the half-year, ending 31st ultimo, shows a still further improvement in the affairs of the company. The unsold portion of the company's stock has been taken up, and the whole of the capital of £200,000 is DOW in the hands of the proprietory. Since the date of the previous half-yearly report, the pier has been extended 250 feet in length and 60 feet in breadth, giving 20 feet of water at low tide, thus enabling vessels of 2000 tons burthen to discharge. It appears also that the directors, owing to the incre:1sing traffic on the line, have determined upon a further extension of the pier by 500 feet, and the laying down of a second line of rails to Sandridge. The works on the St. Kilda branch have been somewhat delayed; but it is confi- dently stated that they will be completed by February next. . The financial· statement for the half-year shows, that the gross receipts have been £122,443 -17s. 6d., and the gross expenditure £10,090 8s. 2d., leaving a profit of £112,598 lOs. 8d., equal to 6i per cent. on the paid up capital of £200,000 ; but, as it is not intended to declare a dividend of more than five per cent. fo~ the half-year, a balance of £2598 lOs. 8d. can be carried to the reserve flind. The Ilumber of passengers conveyed on the line has been 190,744, yielding a revenue of £8,903 14s. Id. The carriage of 36,015 tons of merchandize has returned £11,683 7s. 10d. The receipts and expenditure tabulated (See Appendices XL. and XLI.) show, that the total revenue of the company from all sources since the opening of the line to 31st October last, has amounted to £79,713 lOs. lld., of that amount the sum received for passenger traffic has been £142,044 3s. Od., representing the transport of 711,269 persons over the line; and the amount received for the carriage of merchandize has been £132,182 5s. 7d., representing 96,975 tons. The total expenditure during the same period has been £40,196 17s. 3d., leaving a balance of £139,516 13s. 8d., which is equal to a dividend of nearly ten per cent. per anuum, upon an outlay of £1200,000. The working expenses of the company since the line came into operation, have thus been equal to about fifty per cent. upon the gross income, while it will be seen by reference to Appendix XXXIX. that the average of working expenses on railways in the United Kingdom is about forty-five per cent. But it must be borne in mind that, besides the ll;lcreased rate of wages, and enhanced cost of fuel here compared with such charges in Great Britain, short lines, such as the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay, necessarily incur heavierproportionate expenses than lines of greaterlength. XVI

A company having the title of the Geelong, Ballaarat, and North Western 'Railway Company; .was projected at the close of 1853, with a capital of .£1,000,000, for the purpose of constructing a railway from Geelong to the gold-fields at Ballaarat. According to the prospectus issued by this company, it was, contemplated to continue the line "through a perfectly level country to Swan Hill, on the 1\1:urray River, 200 miles from . Geelong, and thus' command the whole Murray and !Iurrumbidgee' districts." . -' Beyond this announcement and a' fallacious estimate of the cost of the undertaking 'the promoters presented the scheme to the Legislature devoid of all necessary and reliable information as to its objects and means; in consequence of which, and the conviction 'experience had impressed upon the public mind, that works of the magnitude contemplated ;by this company could be best performed by the Governn:ent, the bill was' rejected on its ':second reading in the session of 1855, notwithstanding a general admission: of the nec€ssity ,of the undertaking. Having thus narrated the principal, incidents connected with the several railway 'companies which have been established and projected in this Colony, it ;vilI probably meet your Excellency's convenience if I now enter upon a review of those proceedings of 'the late Legislative Council which had reference to the subject of railways. The earliest pToceedings of that body, in respect to railways, appear to have 'occurred towards the close of 1852, and to have beeu cOllsequent upon the introduction of the bills for the incorporation of the companies, whose operations I have already detailed. Subsequeutly the extraordinary proceedings of the Legislature of New South Wales . :in altering the' gauge which it had been previously agreed hy the Governments of New "South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria should be used in the construction of railways in these Colonies (See Appendices XLVIII. and LI.) induced the appointment of a select \ committee to take evidence and determine .on the gauge best adapted to the circumstances 'and requirements of this Colony. ' , Mter a careful consideration of the whole subject, this committee reported to the "House in favor of the medium or five-feet-three gauge. (See Appendix LIY.) The recommendations, of this report were shortly afterwards confirnled by the House, and they have been consistently carried out on all the railways which have since .' been undertaken in this country. During the next six months, o;ving,to a variety of circumstances, but chiefly to the fact that the construction of the main line to the interior had been entrusted to a joint stock company, the question of railways occupied but little public attention. In June, 1854, however, it had become apparent that tlle means which ll.:l,d to that period been relied upon for providing us with milways were insufficient and inapplicable for the attainment of tllat object; a commission was therefore appointed by His Excellency . J. V. F. ]!'oster" the Officer administering, tlle Government to inquire into the mode and kind of internal communication best· suited to the circumstances of the country. ' This , commission sat for three months, and their report· was laid on the table of the Legislative COllncil, on the" 26th September of the same year. (See Appendix LV.) , The report states that twenty-six witness,eswere examined, whose testimony convin- cingly proved, that the public and private interests of the Colony suffered material detriment . from the inefficient and costly mode of transporting goods and pru:isengers between the sea­ '. ports and the gold fields; that tlle charges incurred for the carriage of goods often exceeded ,their first cost;' that it most jnju.rious delay frequently o,ccurred, and that numerous other , difficulties and losses ensued "harassing and vexatious in the extreme." The' amount paid 'for the inland carriage of goods alone was estimated by the Commissioners at the. enormou!3 , sum of ii'om two to three milliOIis of pounds sterling per annum, and this does not appear ~to'have been an'exaggera~ed estimate., Happily; although the m~ lines ,of road are not yet completed, tht) rates of ,cartage h,1,ve been since considerably redilced; and .the miners on tlle princi~al gold field.s xvii are now consequently protected from the unnatural ana almost intolerable enhancement of the price of the principal articles of consumption, which resulted from the imperfect means of communication then available. There is however very good reason for believing that the reduction .which has taken place has been in the rates of cartage only, .and not in the amount ·ofthe aggregate expenditure. In seeking for the best method of remedying these .evils, the Commissioners turned their attention to the advantages of tramways and plank roads, both .of which they pro­ nounced to be insufficient for the main lines of, traffic; whilst any improvement in the ordinary macadamised roads of the Colony would, they stated, fall far short of the present, and much more so of the future, requirements of the Colony. Under these circumstances the Commissioners appear to hav.e unanimously concluded that the time had arrived when earnest measures should be adopted for the construction of railways as grand national undertakings. The report accordingly recommended that steps should be immediately taken to annul any legally acquired rights which might prevent that mode of communication along the main lines of traffic from being proceeded with. The Commissioners reported also that· except for short and inexpensive lines, private enterprise would be unavailing; that undertakings of the magnitude required could only be carried out bytp.e Government; .and that therefore subsequent mquiry should be almost limited to the best mode of action by which this object could be accomplished. The Commissioners were further of opinion that it would he impossible to obtain the requisite means and appliances from local capitalists and contractors; they therefore recommended that these should be sought for beyond the Colony. The substance of the recommendationS of these Commissioners was, that immediate meps should be taken by the Government for the survey of a line along each of the three following routes :- J. From Melbourne toCastlemaine and Bendigo. 2. From Melbourne in the direction of Sydney; and 3. From Geelong to Ballaarat. ' On the 15th of March 1855, the aate Sir .Charles Hotham submitted a minute (See AppendiX LUI) to the Legislative Council, .:in which he suggested a scheme for the construction of railways by means of borrowed capital. His Excellency proposed to make the repayment of this borrowed capital a con­ dition on which it should be asked :-to construct only such lines as would be likely to be remunerative to the State,-the minimum of remuneration being an amount of profit equal to the interest on the cost of construction ;-and, with this indispensable condition observed, to determine the lines to be constructed so as to provide for the probable future requirements of the Colony, as much as for its immediate wants. To repay the capital borrowed at the expiration of twenty-one years, His Excellency proposed to reserve the unsold land on each side 'of the lines of railway; and to provide for the payment of the interest till the works became reproductive, he suggested that the vote for internal communication might be charged to the extent of £200,000. per annum while another £100,000 might be raised by additional taxation, and to tbat extent alone (£300,000) he thought it advisable to charge the annual general revenue. His Excellency also proposed that single lines should be constructed in the first instance, and that upon the completion of .each line, or p~rtion of a line, the contract principle should be applied to its working and maintenance. This minute was discussed by the Council, and a select committee appointed to consider it, together with the entire subject of railway communication. On the 21st May this committee brought up a progress report (See Appendix LVI) confirmatory of the result of the deliberations of.the commission previously mentioned, that e xviii

the leading lines. of railway ought to-[be' under the control of the Government, and that it was objectionable for the State to' gUarantee !i fixed interest upon the capital employed by private companies. This report also pointed out the advantages of having a comprehensive scheme '. of railway communication under a central authority; the evils resulting from the con­ struction of competing lines by private compailles, and the increased rates. of toll and , the wasteful expenditure of capital thus entaJ.led upon the community. These considerationS--particularly that of placing railways under Government control -seemed to have'so impressed. the minds of the committee that they recommended the House at once to authorise the Surveyor General to sUrvey certain lines of railway not exceeding two hundred miles in length, at an expense of £80 per mile, 'or such

I reasonable sum above that amount as might be found necessary for the vigorous prosecution of the work. This committee also recommended that the most desirable lines to be surveyed were­ First, a direct line from Melbourne U;. Castlemaine, with a view to its e~tension to­ the Murray. Second, a direct line from· Geelong to Ballaarat with a view to its extension to ,the westward, ,. In accordance ·with the recommendations of this report, surveys were undertaken , and the result submitted to a committee of the Legislature, chosen by ballot in January last on the motion of the Chief Secretary. (See Appendices IV., V., VIr:, VIII., and IX.) This committee' having had before ~hem the reports and evidence of previous committees and having also examined additional witnesses, reported on the 19th'March last (See Appendix LVIII) that a regular sy~tem of railways under Government control, would rapidly develop the resources and greatly increase the prosperity of the country; that Government should be entrusted with the task of raising and expending the, funds required to defray their cost; and that these necessary funds should be raised' by the issue of transferable debentures of not less I~han £25 each, payable in fifty years, and bearing interest at six per cent. ' The committee also suggested, that power should be given to the Government, by an Act of the Legislature, to raise the whole sum requisite to complete any scheme which might be determined upon; but that the amount y> be raised in rany one year, should be fixed by a resolution of the future House of Assembly. To carry out these objects the committee further recommended, that.the task of constructing and working the lines determined upon should be invested in a commission acting under the sanction of the Legislature. I, After a full consideration of all the interests concerned, the committee thought it advisable that the line from Melbourne to the Murray by way of Mount Alexander, and that from Geelong to Ballaarat, should' be u~dertaken simultaneously, if the resources of , the country permitted; and that the Williamstown line should be at once complet~d, as ii the basis from which other lines should commence. I' " The Government took immediate' measures for carrying out the latter recommen- dation; but as a complete monopoly of the liile to the Murray had been previously granted , to a joint stock company, it was necessary in the first instance to remove this obstacle by Ithe purchase of tlie company's rights and prop~rty, which was accordingly done at the time , and in the manner already mentioned. I have next to solicit your Excellency's' attention to the proceedings of the surveying . staff, the orgamsation of which I commenced immediately on the adoption of the resolutions

it of the Railway Committee of 1855. I ' In carrying out this task the difficulties which had to be encountered were con- siderable. The survey which up to this time. alon'e existed gave but little information as to I what was to be expe~ted from the relative'sections. XIX

A feeling had gone abroad, and had for years taken hold of the public mind, that no country possessed such facilities for railway undertakings as this. Subsequent surveys have shown how erroneous these common impressions were, and have corroborated the opinions which.those who had observed more closely had held. Keilor Plains, hitherto regarded as a " dead level," give a steady rise from the coast of one in one hundred and twenty-seven for a distance of twenty-four miles. The summit of Buninyong was held to be but 1570 feet above the sea. It was idle to urge that to get to its base from the port of Geelong, the stream at its foot was that height alone above the tidal mark. To dispel these popular errors evidence, both corroborative and conclusive, was required; nor can blame for this condition of the knowledge of the physical character of the province be attributed to any individual. The surveys left by my predecessor, Mr. RoddIe, bear ample testimony with what little assistance and straightened means he labored to obtain what was now so much wanted. Subsequently the economical distribution of the public lands demanded their surface survey with such rapidity as not to admit of more extended observations; and to withdraw from these duties the officers employed on them would have retarded the settlement of the people on the lands, and could not therefore be entertained. In the establishment of an effh,ient staff to carry out the preliminary surveys, I was assisted by Mr. G. C. Darbyshire. The result was, that whilst in May, 1855, I had but one party engaged, in June ten parties were organised, and in the following month sixteen parties were actively employed; but this was not effected without many disappointments in the ability and energy of the agents engaged. To each party was attached an assistant whose special care it was to check the levelling operations, by which each day's work was verified. So well did this system work that when the three lines from Melbourne-by Mount Macedon, by the Jim Crow Ranges, and by Geelong and Ballaarat-:-united at Castlemaine, the greatest difference in the levels was two (2) feet. Considering the obstacles to be encountered in 'passing over the Great Dividing Range, this result will be fully appreciated by practical men. Early ilf the December following the surveys had been carried from Geelong and Melbourne to the Murray; 600 miles of sections had been surveyed, and this through one of the wettest seasons ever known. The quantities of the earthwork of all· these had been calculated and compared, amounting to forty-nine millions of cubic yards. Detailed drawings, and schedules of the quantities of every bridge and viaduct had been prepared, making, exclusive of those for roads, 120, varying in length from 50 feet to 1900 feet, and in heighth from 25 feet to 188 feet. The leading features of the instructions to Mr. Darbyshire and his assistants, consisted in selecting the best and most direct route between Melbourne and the junction of the Campaspe with the M-urray, keeping in view the necessity of affording accommo­ dation to the gold districts of Gastlemaine and Bendigo ; and also selecting a line between Geelong and Ballaarat, and in doing this to keep in view the ultimate extension of this line to theWestern:District, and also its connection with the Murray line, thus uniting the principal gold districts. with the different sea-ports. This involved the usual trial levels and surveys, guided not alone by the natural advantages or otherwise of the country to be traversed,. but by the comparative length of the li~es, their probable cost, and the time demanded for their construction. When these trial lines have afforded the required data, they have been followed by still more careful surveys, borings and soundings. , ' ; Incatryingout these -instructions the s~rveying and levelling operations were so conducted that they can'be used in the constntction of the general survey and map of the Icountry. The surveys being connected trigon'ometrically, and the levels reduced to one tunifor~ datum, all bench marks -and stations were desired to be of a permanent and isubstantial character., i: Following on this came the requisite work in the offi~. 1 ' The first line commenced to be sllrvt;yed was that from Melbourne byway of Sunbury, Gisborne and W oodend, towards M,punt Alexander. It started from the line ~etween Melbourne and Williamstown, on the south side of the Stony Creek, and running in a N.W. direction through the parishes of Cut-paw-paw,' Maribyrnong and Holden, crosses ' the main road from Melbourne to Mount Alexander, a short dist~ce north of the" Diggers' 'Rest," and leaves the ,Bald Hill on the west. It then passes northerly for four miles, till ,. -, it reaches Sunbury Reserve, running through which it enters Clarke's Special Survey, and through which it continues still going north th~ee miles further, passing through Evans's Pre-emptive Section; it there takes' a general ~:north-westerly course to }tIalmsbury, and crosses the Saltwater or Macedon River, ,at a distance 01 four miles below Gisborne, and ~thin a quarter of a mile of the crossing of the road to Riddell and Hamilton's home , - " station, and leaving Gisborne itself some mile and a half to the south-west. Previously to !rossing the Macedon River a gradient, of one' in fifty-eight has to be surmounted for a ~ength of three miles sixty-four chains, andimme,diately after crossing this stream, a gradient 9f one in fifty-nine for a distance of one mile forty-six chains, has to be encountered. This ~rossing of the Saltwater River involves a very heavy viaduct. From ·this the line 60ntinues parallel to the present 'main road tIkough the Black Forest, and crossing the Great Dividing Range attains its summit level, :a,t an elevation of 1911 feet above the sea, ascending by a gradient 'of one in fifty-seven for two miles fifty -chains, and descending ~wards the Murray at a gradient of one in eighty for one mile seventy-four chains, passing through the Township Reserve of W oodend, and crossing the main road about 200 yards Jouth of Harper's Ho~l j 'The line then -crosses the river Campaspe three quarters of a mile above the junction qf the Five Mile Creek, traversing the comparatively level and rich agricultural parishes ~f Tylden and Lauriston; Carlsruhe and K~~ton being left at a short distance on the north -east. , I At Malmsbury, about 100 yards above the preseut bridge, a heavy viaduct will be rbquired over the Coliban. Notwithstanding the adoption of a gradient of one in sixty-two f9r more than a mile, extensive excavations are ~eql]lred between this point and Tarradale, "{here again another expensive viaduct _carries tl;le line across the Back Creek, ihe village being left a little to the west. , I From Tarradaie the line runs in a north-westerly direction to Elphinstone, from ~hence it continues by the old Bendigo road to ;Harcourt, the steepest gradient in which is one in fifty-four descending. Although the gradients generally are very steep between Tpradale and Harcom;t, having to cross the spurs numing from Mount Alexander, some h~avy earthworks will have to be undertaken. ' " 'Thence descending to Barker's Creek, which is crossed by a viaduct, the line ascends tQwards the Porcupine. At this point the lines from Melbourne by way of the Jim Crow Ranges and from ¥laarat, to which further reference will be mad~, join this line.

'I From this junction the line proceeds in ai, north-westerly direction to Ravenswood, l~ving the Porcupine Inn a short distance to the west, and keeping on the east side of Bhllock Creek. From Ravenswood the line passes through Gibson's Ranges by a tunnel, 7~2 yards in length, the ascent to which is by a gradient of one in fifty ; ,thence descending tijrough the Kangaroo Gully to Sandhurst. " xxi

The valley of the Bendigo is then followed, pa.'lsing through the hamlet of White Hills, Epsom, and Huntly for eight miles; the line then runs north-easterly for ten miles, till it reaches a point within a mile and a half of the Campaspe. It then alters its course more to the north, and running almost in a direct line to Echuca (Hopwood's) on the Murray, crosses the Campaspe about a mile south of that township. The steepest gradient on this portion of the line is one in 136, on leaving Sand­ hurst, for one mile and a quarter. The line throughout is of the most easy character, the only difficulty in its construction arising from the necessity of keeping its formation level above the heavy floods to which the plains of the Campaspe and the Murray are subject. I have now to draw your Excellency's attention to two deviations on this line. By referring back to the description of the route between Sunbury and W oodend, stiff gradients of one in fifty-eight ~nd one in fifty-nine present themselves,. together with a costly viaduct over the Saltwater River. I may also here add that the whole of that portion of the line which passes through, Clarke's Special Survey, is of a most difficult character, necessitating viaducts and earthworks the construction of which will not only involve a heavy expenditure, but will demand, what, is ,of even greater importance, a long period of time for their completion. . To obviate this loss of time and heavy expenditure, it was' desirable to abandon this route and adopt one of a more circuitous though less expensive character. This was found by leaving the line ~eady surveyed at Sunbury, and changing its direction'to the north and east, thereby gaining at once the table land which divides the waters of Jackson's Creek and the Bolinda Creek. It then pa.sses along the western boundary of the parish of Bolinda, from the north extremity of which the line sweeps to the westward and rejoins the main line before it enters the Black Forest. This deviation in the course of the original line gives us a very much less costly viaduct at Jackson's Creek'; and, although a gradient of one in fifty is required to ascend to the table land, the works throughou~ are of a comparatively light and inexpensive character, and can be completed in a much shorter time. A second deviation has been mentioned. This was proposed to avoid the tunnel through Gibson's Ranges, and commenced a short distance south of Ravenswood, following the valley of Bullock Creek through Lockwood, and crossing the ranges at the head of Myers' Creek, and rejoining the main line by the long gully at Golden Point. This deviation' has disappointed ~e expectations which were formed of it, being circuitous, without presenting any corresponding advantage in the economy of its construction. The attention of the engineer was then directed to the examination of the district through which the Mount Alexander Company proposed to carry their line; but as for the first twenty-one miles from Melbourne the route 'selected by that company ran parallel to, and a short distance from, the Melbourne and Geelong Railway, then in course of construction, it was deemed more advisable that the junction should be on the west bank of the River Werribee, than at Footscray. A line was consequently surveyed from Wyndham, running north-westerly through the parishes of Mambourin, Werribee, Mooradoranook, and Parwan, approaching within a short distance of Maddingley and Bacchus Marsh. After the first. eleven miles tQ,is line goes over the same ground as that proposed by the company. On reaching the western boundary of the parish of Parwan the country rises abruptly to some three hundred feet above the plains of the Werribee in the parish of Gorrockburkghap ;' to overcome this difficulty sharp curv\lS and steep gradients become necessary. This, in point of fact, is a' similar difficulty to that to which I drew your Excellency's attention on the Black Fore~ line, in rising from Sunbury to the table land on . ~e eastf side of Jackson's Creek, where a gradient of '"~ne in forty-nine. had to be adopted. xxii

Rising from Parwan, the gradient was one in fiftj. On attaining the summit of this table laJ?d, the line proceed~ through a comparatively.easy country to BalIan, at which 'pariSh sereral trial lines converge. I may here mention that a survey was also J?1ade of that part of the Mount Alexander Company's proposed line fr?m Footscray, runnmg along the south boundary line of the p~rishes of Derrimut and Pywheitjorrk, crossing the Werriboo at a favorable site for a. , vi1duct, and joining the line from Wyndham about eleven miles from its commencement. Tte length of this deviation was twenty-five miles: ' ! The objection already mentioned to the last dev-iation led to another survey for a line running out, of the Melbourne and Willill.msto\vnRailway in a north-westerly direction, ' tnrough the parishes of Cut-paw-paw, Derrimut, and Kororoit, to the village of )Ielton, on th~ east side of the parish of Djerriwarrh. Continuing through this parish in a south.,. w~sterly direction, the Werribee is crossed by a viaduct at a site' as easy as the one further sopth, just mentioned, :: Thence through Mooradoranook andP.arwan, the line' is, brought nearer to M~ddingley and Bacchus Marsh than by any oth~r proposed route.

I On reaching the western boundary of the parish of Parwan, the same difficulties of cohntry, necessitating sharp curves and steep gradients, are again met with, in order to gain th~ table land; ,on surmounting which, a' junction is made w-ith the line from Wyndham. I In consequence of these difficulties a ,line was surveyed, keeping the vahey of Glenmore, with the hope of obtaining better gradients; but it involved so large an ,exipenditure for conStruction without any benefit,that it was abandoned. With the same object a lllie was surveyed on the south side of Glenmore, which proyed equally unfavorable From BalIan a line was carried througp a comparatively favorable country to B~llaarat, keeping on the' south. side of Kerrit Bai'eet (or the Black Hill), and on the north of:Peerewerrh, on the Lal Lal, and south of W arr~nheip. f Simultaneously ,vith this latter survey, another for a direct line 'between Geelong arldBallaarat was, being proceeded with. The cou~try to which attention'was first given wk that intended to be traversed by the proposed Geelong'and Ballaarat Company. This fue left the Geelong and Melbourne Railway near the" Ocean Child," and, passing in a north-westerly direction for some short distance,~ gains the valley of Cowie's Creek,the cO.urse of which it follows till it reaches the eastern boundary of section twelve ill the parish of, Moorpanyal; thence passing in a westerly direction, the Moorabool is crossed about a mpe ,north of Batesford. There, a very expenSIve viaduct is necessary, and indeed the wflOle of the works on this portion of the line are. of a very heavy character. : With a view of reducing, the expensive (rrossing of the Moorabool, a section was t~ken crossing that river about a mile further noAh, and intersectmg this line on the table !ahd near the "Eureka," in the parish oFGherineghap. The survey of this line was carried on to Meredith, and although that portion bJtween the head of Cowie's Creek and the Eureka, was abandoned, the line finally \ - re'commended from the last mentioned point passing -through Lethbridge to Meredith, was a !compilation of the first ~ine and that now referred to. ' i 'From Meredith the line was carried Dorth,westerly nearly-in a direct course, parallel tc!~ and' a short aistance from, the main line of road to Ballaarat ; which it: afterwards c~ossed at Burnt Brip,ge, up to which point, from ,the crossing of the :M.oorabool,a distance 0' thirty miles, the wo;ks are of a light and 'inexpensive character. I, Following the line as originally projected~ 'which passed 'on the ea~ side of Mount B,uninyong, a,summit level of 1833 feet is gained, to reach which a gradient of one in fifty is' necessary; from whence the line descended to~rds Ballaarat.for a distance of three and t1l.ree quarter m,il,es at an 'inclination of one in forty"nine. This at once led to a further e~tion of the country, and surveys and sections were taken of two lines passing I 1 ~ XXlll

further to the westward; one of these passed through the town of Buninyong, and the other skirted its eastern boundary. Although the gradients on either of these lines were more favorable than the one previously referred to, the least difficult of them still required such heavy works, that as the population' of Buninyong was, at the time I noW; refer to, not numerous, it was deemed inexpedient to adopt either; and a line involving much less expensive works was selected, passing to the west of Mount Buninyong and joining the line from BalIan to Ballaarat at W menheip, from whence it passed, as before described, into Ballaarat. At the same time that these surveys from Geelong to Ballaarat were in progress a line :was being surveyed from BalIan 1A! Castlemaine and Bendigo, which passing on the Watershed between the Rivers Moorabool and Werribee, crosEed the Great Dividing Range at a height of 2257 feet above the sea; from whence, descending by the heoos of the Loddon, it was carried through Daylesford and east of Mount Franklin, to Guildford at the junction of Campbell's Creek with the River Loddon; along Campbell's Creek through Castlemaine and up Barker's Creek, the line went to Harcourt, where a junction was formed with ,the Black Forest line. From the heads of the Loddon to Guildford this line passed through an unfavorable, although highly auriferous and p,?pulous country. A trial survey was made to the westward. Connnencing at that point near Warrenheip where the line fro:,n Geelong joined that from BalIan to Ballaarat, a course was taken nearly north, passing by Bacchus' out-station, and crossing the coast or Great Dividing Range on the east side of J owerk J owerk at the height of 2140 feet above the sea; to attain which a gradient of one in fifty-nine for two miles was necessary, the descent towards the Murray being one in sixty for thre~ miles. . The crossing of the coast range by this line, involves less work than any other line which has been surveyed. Leaving the coast range ,it crosses the' Bullarook Creek about half a mile west of Birch's cattle station, leaving, the Grassy Hill a si:milar distance on the westward, Hepburn's station (Smeeton, Lodge) a' mile and a half on the west, and going east of Kooratyang three quarters of a mile. Taking a course east of north from hence, the line crosses the Green Hill Creek not far from its source, and passes along the Watershed between this and Spring Creek for two miles. From this point two lines have been surveyed, one of which leads to Guildford where it joins the line from BalIan, east of ~lount Franklin, to Castlemaine. The other line taking a northerly course, crosses the Loddon about half a mile west of the confluence of the Limestone Creek with tllat river; and, passing through a high but narrow range, enters the valley of the Muckleford, which it traverses to its source; thence passing through the range west of Mount Gaspard, it proceeds to Lockwood where it joins the deviation in the line to Sandhurst already mentioned. Contemporaneously with these other surveys being executed, a line was being explored and its sections levelled from Melbourne to the Goulburn. The line by this route passes out of 1felbourne by the same course as the Mount Alexander and Geelong lines 'for about a mile, thence direct north, leaving Pentridge to the east half a mile, through the parishes of Jika Jib. and Will-will-rook for eight miles, north-westerly along the Mern Creek close to Kinlochewe it runs through the parishes of Euroke and Kalkallo, passing through Donnybrook and along the westeru boundary of the village of Beveridge; the ,line then trends to the east.ward and passes, on the west side of the Green Hill to the junction of Dean's Creek with the Dry Creek. Previous to this the summit level is attained at a height of ll88 feet above the sea; the ascent to which is an inclination of one in fifty for a mile and a half, the descent being one in seventy-eight for two miles. With a view of carrying the line through Kilmore the country to the westward was explored and trial sections taken j the best result of these was a line passing from xxiv

Deane's station north-westerly througp the parish of Kilmore to the township reserve aJ;ld, the special survey, and thence curvin& round to Broadford it enters the valley of the Dry Cizek. Favorable as compared wit4 the other trials made, the formation of, this part of the line through Kilmore, would be o~y practicable at a very heavy outlay. The mai~ line was consequently continued from the junction of Deane's Creek with the Dry Creek down' the valley of the latter to Broadford, from whence the line was carried nearly in a direct course to Seymour, on the Goulburn. Towards the end of October, 1855, the surveys of the lines that I have heretofore , mentioned drawing near to their completi()n, two. other lines claimed attention. The first of these was a line from Geelong to Ballaarat, which. proceeding' (rom the Ocean Child by the route before described to the head of Cowie's Creek, instead of proceeding to the westward and crossing the Moorabool, continues along the water channel for some three miies further into. the parish of Y ouyang; northerly to the foot of the Anakies; it there changes its dir~ction to the westward. The same table lands suddenly rising from the plains, and which in other portions of their extent have been 'alluded to previously, here again present themselves; and the line has to ascend a gradient of one in fifty-three, after· which the line offers no difficulties till it reaches Ballan, frop:t whence it follo\vs tpe line already described, to Ballaarat. The second line of. which I have spoken is one from l1:elbourne proceeding by FlemingtQn, Essendon, Moonee Ponds, Bulla Bulla, Bolinda Vale; thence skirting the east side of Mount l'Iacedon, it takes its course almost due west, and running through the northern portion of the parish of W oodend, it joins the main line through the Black ]'orest at the . western boundary of that parish. . This line on its first exploration appeared to present many advantages, whi~h, subsequent surveys removed, for although for many miles the earthworks were ex'tremely. light, the works ,of art required were of great magnitude, the viaduct on the Deep Cree~, at Bulla Bulla, being 187 feet, clear of the water course. The same creek or its tribuk'tries were also crossed near to their sources at an elevation of 100 above their water level 'fhe Coast Range was crossed at an elevation of 2083 f~t,. the ascending gradient was one in fifty-three, and,the descending on the north side being ,one in fifty-two. With a, view of' carrying the main line through Castlemaine, explorations have been made, and two trial sections hav.e bee:tl taken, the first proceeding from Elphinstone , down Forest Creek to the town" the second1;ly the Expedition Pass over the sap:te grolmd. The latter offers no facilities; the first will. be an expensive line. Taking advantage of the line "already ill course of const!uction from Geelong to Melbourne, the line I have just d~scribed, and that proceeding fro~ Wyndham via Bacchus ~Iarsh and, BaHan, to Warrenheip, from whence div:erged the two lines, one to' Ballaarat and the west, the other, thro~gh the Loddon Gold ]'ields, Castlemaine, Sandhurst, to the Murray, affords a group of railway communication. which, presenting on the whole the best comparativ.e engineerin,g faqilities, with the greatest economy of expenditure, united the ports of Geelo'ng and Melbourne, with the principal 'sites of population in the ip.terior. The construction of this group, I believed to be the,most advisable for the State to undertake first : .It offered all the advantages to the general population ,which an:y , of the other groups afforded, ,besides traversing the most fertile.and productive districts of the country, a large area of which ,was' still unalineated; . and, as a single work, was more likely" to be carried out unchecked by a possible failure of J~bor or means; than when these were divided between two separate lines. xxv

The feeling however of the Legislature was in favor of direct lin.es, and the resolution of the committee was carried in the following terms :-

"That, in the opinion of this committee, it is most desirable that the linc5 first to be construeted should be laid out with the immediate object of connecting the principal sea ports with the existing, and probable permanent, sites of.population in the interior, keeping in view the necessity of their being hereafter connected with the other great leading and branch lines of railway." I will now proceed to furnish to your Excellency a more minute description of the lines. recommended for construction by the committee of the late Legislative Council, and which are now being permanently set out preparatory to their construction. The Mount Alexander Line commences at the general terminus at Batman's Hill, and passes in a north-westerly direction across the Saltwater River to Footscray. This part of the line will be used in common for the traffic to and from Geelong, Ballaarat, and Williamstown. From Footscray the line passes by a curve of seventy chains radius int() portion I of seCtion 14, in the parish of Cut-paw-paw; thence in a straight line through sections 14, 13, and 12, by a curve of eighty-one chains radius through portion E of section 11; then through section 18 of the same parish, and sections 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 26, and 30 in the parish of Maribyrnong, when~e it enters the parish of Holden, and p~ssing parallel to, and a short distance on the west side of the main line of road to Mount Alexander, proceeds ilirough sections 4, 8, 9 and 14 of that parish, crossing the main line ef read about half a mile north of the Diggers' Rest; then through sections 17 and, 25 of Holden, it enters the township reserve at Sunbury; passing through which and. over an a:ngle of Clarke's Special Survey (on the west side of the home station) Jackson's Creek is crossed; and the line enters section 21 of the parish of Bulla Bulla, through the north-west angle of which it passes into the parish of Bolinda; curving to the northward through section l' of Bolinda, Clarke's SpeciaJ Survey is re-entered, and the line is carried close along its western boundary to the no.rthextremity of the south bounaary of the parish of Kerrie. . A reference to the section will show that up to this point the gentral character of the. works required is of an easy description. Traversing. the Keilor Plains the line is. for many miles nearly on the surface, the eart1.works being, extremely light. and the works of art required are of a trivial character: it. is only when approaching Sunbury that any works of magnitude are required. To cross Jackson's Creek a viaduct of 7.0 feet high and 104' yards in length will be required. T4is 'viaduct, with the earthwork approaches on both rides of the creek, will necessitate a'large pecuniary outlay, and require a considerable time for its completion. It is however a much leES expensive crossing of the same water-course than any other which presented itself, and can be completed within a shorter period. Nevertheless it is very necessary that no time should be lost in commencing operations at this point of the line, ~ it is considered desirable to thoroughly open the . communication within the next twoyears. From the south boundary of tlle pariSh of Kerrie the line proceeds in a westerly direction by Riddell and Hamilton's home station to the parish of Gisborne. The works on this part of the line are of an inexpensive character arid require no particular description. Arrangements have been made for setting out permanently that portion of the line from Gisborne to Castlemaine, and simultaneously therewith between the latter place and Sandhurst. The permanent survey of the railway from Geelong 'to Ballaarat has been in progress for some months and is almost completed. I anticipate being able to lay ~omplete plans and sections with estimates of the cost of this line before your E:x:cellency within a very short period. . Having now placed before y,our Excellency a; nairative of the operations of the several companies which have been incorporated in this country for the construction of g Xxvi

railways ; having reviewed the proceedings of the Legishture upon. this subject, and having detailed all the efforts of my engineering staff in fulfilling the duties' \ entrusted to me bya resolution of the Legislature, I propose in the next place to offer 'a few observations on some of the principal circumstanceS which .vill influence the cost of i 'our proposed railways. . In estimating the. probable cost of constructing railways in this Colony, there is nothing so important to be remembered as the physical contour of the country through which our main lines must pass; and yet, as I have remarked' elsewhere, there.is probably " no phase of the subject so little understood by the public generally. . Owing to the notl-existence of the necessary information until now, an idea has been , universally current that the natural features of this country a.re peculiarly favorable for the . construction of ~aihvays; that the e;ngineering difficulties are few and insignificant; that the necessary amount of work to be done is trifling, and that the greater portion of the material required may be obtained in abundance throughout the whole course of' the 'proposed lines. These common misapprehensions are singularly at variance ,vith· the truth ; for, .. instead of the natural features of the country being favorable to the construction of railways, ,experience and actual surveys have demonstrated exactly the contrary. To those who have hitherto been led away. by too much enthusiasm or by too little reflection upon this . part of the subject this statement will be di~heartening; but the necessary information

having become available, it is desirable the I public should know that some portions ,of this country, lying between the coast and the Gold Fields, are most unfavorable for ;the purposes of railway construction, In short, the facilities so generally believed in :disappear at the first actual experiment ;.and it is no longer a matter of vague conjecture, .01' of mere professional discussion, but a well ascertained fact, that the difficulties presented ·by the physic,al character of the country at intervals between Melbourne and Bendigo, and :between Geelong and Ballaarat, are far greater than have been hitherto anticipated. , The existence of these difficulties having been unmistakeably ascertained, a mode of construction somewhat costly, Qut substantial" becomes absolutely necessary. vVe have indeed no choice but to make our entire railway system conform to the physical charaCter of the country; and in that necessity are involved several very important questions, such as the description of ramvays to be constructed, the routes to be selected, and the probabilities of a remunerative return for the large outlay wbich must be incurred,' It has been assumed too readily that the cost of constructing railways in this <}ountry will chiefly depend upon the description of railway laid down; and that~hat are termed « cheap railways" are more applicable to our circumstances than substantial lines constructed after the best English models. .' I am aware that His Excellency the Governor-General of New South Wales, in his address to the Legislative Council of that Colony, adopted this, the popular view of the question; but I feel constrained to differ with His Excellency-not,vithstandil1g his j'~stly acknowledged engineering abilities-fl'oJ.Il. the knowledge which I haye of the ef',istence of those physical difficulties to which I have already directed your Exc~llency's attention. His Excellency said in. the address abovementioned-" Contemplating, however, as I do this. very extensive development of the railway system, I am not prepared to adopt for this Colony a mode of construction which by involviJ?-g an inordinate expenditure upon tHe original fonnatioll of the roads must of cour"le limit the distance over which it will bf] .in the power of the Colony to extend them. 'l'his expensive system of construction ~is n~cessary where high rates of speed are requi~ed, but by limitinK the speed to ten or tVl;:elve miles per hour, by' employing the material which nature has placed at our disposal, by eschewing every expe~e' which has not economy for its ultimate object, it will I believe xxvii be possible to b~ng the C?st of the road within such narrow limits as will enable the Colony, in the course of some few years, to reckon the number of miles of railway by thousands." I would simply remark with reference to these sta,tements that either New South Wales inust be a very different country to that which it has hitherto been believed"to be, or that a mode of co-ootruction is possible there, which would be perfectly useless here. ~to~~ , The expenditure proposed to be ,incurred in the construction of our railways is constantly being contrasted with the cheapness and economy of the American plan; and it is continually asserted that it will be a scandalous waste of the public money to invest our railway works with the characteristics of strength and durability. Assertions such as these arise, I have, no doubt, from want of information; but, as I believe they are net the less mischievous in their operation upon the public inind, it is desirable that their fallacy should be exposed. The Commissioners on Internal Communication, who devoted much attention to this branch of their inquiry, recommended in their report, "that while stations and out buildings may be of a temporary and inexpensive character, the permanent way of the railroad should be constructed in a substantial ,manner, and all cuttings and embankments of a width sufficient for a double line, though it may at mst be desirable to lay down only a single line." , This recommendation accords with the results of subsequent inquiries, and indicates the first proposition' I shall endeavour to establish, viz., that we must either have railways substantially constructed or none at all. Accompanying this report is a lithographed section of the .first :6fty-one miles of the proposed main line .to the Murray. A reference thereto, and to the list of gradients (See Appendix IX.), ,will show, that the coast range is crossed at an elevation of ] 911 feet above low water mark, or 1886 feet above the level of the terminus at Melbourne. This height is reached at a distance of about forty-seven miles from the starting point. In the case of the Geelong and Ballaarat line via Warrenheip, the most practicable route between those places, the summit level is reached at a distance of about forty-seven miles from Geelong, at an elevation- of 1758 feet above low water mark, or 1708 above the level of the starting point. Your Excellency will perceive by referring to ~be sections a~tached, that even these summit levels are only reached by traversing gradients of the following character :- On the Melbourne and Murray River line there are gradients of-

Ft. Ft. Miles. Ch. Unks. Ft Ft. Miles. Ch. Links. 1 ill 89 for 2 ,13 50 ascending 1 in. 79 for 0 54 80 descending I in 84 for I 7 50 1 in 74 for 1 50 0 " " 1 ill 58 for 3 64 0 1 ill 62 for 1 36 70 " 1 ill 59 for 1 46 0 1 ill 59 for ] 7 80 " 1 ill 81 for 2 55 0 1 in 54 for 0 61 50 " " 1 ill 67 for 2 50 90 1 in 56 for 1 69 10 " " 1 in 80 for 1 1 In 61 for 0 25 60 74 30 descending " On the Geelong and Ballaarat line via Warrenheip there are gradients of- Ft. Ft. Miles. CII. Links. Ft. Ft. 1YIiles. Ch. Linka. ·1 in 88 for 1 42 70 ascending 1 in 74 for 2 72 0 ascending 1 in 82 for 1 51 90 1 in 81 for 1 0 0 " " 1 in 68 for 2 68 0 1 in 54 for 1 6 50 " " 1 in 73 for 1 25 0 1 in 69 for 0 50 0 ., " 1 in 82 for 0 79 50 1 in 91 for 1 35 8 " " 1 in 88 for 1 62 50 1 in 63 for 3 3 60 descending XXVlll

:A few years ago it was' consideredt in;tpossible to work such gradients, as these with, locomotive_power; but later experience~ has show.n that. the ob'stacles they present' can, be ~yercome by engines of sufficient, power.t The, ev.idence at foot, is; so' conclusive

.. Though it could not be denied that English railway engineers were forn;terly prejudiced agai~st any steeper incline th!Ln 1 in 100, and had believed' that gradients of 1 in 50 could' only be worked' by means of ropes; yet it must' be ~emembered that fifteen years ago Haiifax was approached by a i;radient of 11 in 44, and that twenty~two passenger trains per day, besides goods trains, were without difficulty conveyed over that incline by locomotives. There ,vas therefore notidng new in thes~ st~p inclines nor in the manner of working them. It should also, be ~entioned that the result of later experience went to prove that it was more advantageous to rely on the locomotive than on any system of ropes, Not only had the latter system been abandoned on the Euston incline (Mndon), and :at Miles Platting incline (Manchester), but even at OMham, '\}';here there was lot gradient of 1 in, 27' for. 1!. mil"", the, rope was taken away two years ago and the traffic is now entirely.dependent on locomotives,,.-Civil Eng,ineers and Architects' Journal"May,.1856, page 173. . " , t In the first column of the table we have the inclinations of the gradients; in the second, the resistance per ton on ~ horizontal plane; in the third the r~sistance due to gravity; and in. the fO.urth the total resistance per ton,. or the retarding force which the eng;ue. has to overcome" upon every ton raised on gradients varying, ftom 1 in 20 to'l in 200, ' TAllLE OF· Mouv.E FORCES: Applicable'to railwa;y: trains ongradients,~t 33, miles an hour:~ Total re"istanee Bortle{ Lond in ton!!. Total l"PAir-tnnce, HoreC1i Load In tons Gradlenfa, ill Ib:-:, per power per 1bi· a.locomo~ Gradienlll •. in Ius. per' power per ful' a..locomo- ton. lon_ d ve engine•. tou. toll. tivt! engine .. 1 in 20 137'00 12'05 22'4 1 in 120 43'65 3'83 70'5 l'im 30 99:66, 8'76, 30:8. I' in' 130 42'23, 3,7:3 72'4 lin 40, 8l!'OO, 7'13: 37,'8, I.,in 140J 41'00 3:58 7.5'4, lin 50 69'80 6'15 43'9 1 in 150 39'93 3'51 76'9 1 ill 60 62'33 5'50 49'0 1 in' 160 39'00 3'43 78'7: 1'. in 7,0, 57'0.0', 5'01 54'01 I tin HO, 38:'17 3'36 SO'3 1 ill 80. 53'00 4'66. 57,'9, 1 in 180 31'4,4 3-29 82;0, tin 90 49'88 4'40 61'3 1 in 190 36'78 3'23 83-6 l'in 100 47'40, 4'17' 64'71 J' in 200 36'20' 3'18' 84'9 J. in 1,10 45'36 3'98 67:,8, Level 25'00 2'20 122:7, Fr.om the above results, it is,obvious that 'the working of steep gradients is onlyeircumscribed by. the- I . power of the engine; and, considering the enorltl0us expense of constructing easy gradients in mountainous. districts, it becomes a question of deep interest ~o the community in having lines formed at a moderate cost, and that only at the expense of a proportionai increase of power, It cannot be doubted that thc locomotive .engine of tlie prescnt day fs more than commens,nrate for the attainment of these objects; and; provided we· carefully adjust the· wei'ght and powers of the, engine to the work they have to perform, we may safely calculate on a great saving of expense to the ,community, increased dividends to the. shareholders,. and,an' equally efficient tractive power' to overcome the; resistances of retardation in. all, the elements of gradients varying from 1 in 40 to 1 in 400,-(Quoled in Dempsey's" Practical Engineer," 1855, from a paper contributed' by Mr, Wm. Fairbairn to the memoirs oft/Ie Mandhester .litcranJ and Philosophical Society, Feb1'uary 5th, 1850,) , , "Particuiars were given of some experiments made with an engine intended for. the' Santander and Alar Railway in Spain; from wllich it appeared tllat upon an inclined plain at Sheffield, about 3'00 yards in length, and rising 1 in 27, the engine !lrew up 23~ tons (exclusive of the tender) at a velocity of 2! miles per hour, The same engine when tried on the Licker incline on a foggy day, with a drizzling rain falling, took up in the-first experiment a load of nearly 46 tons, in six wagons, at an average rate of about 10 miles an ,. hour, and in the sccond experiment 29f tons in f~ur wagons, at a mean velocity of 18! miles per hour, "It was again insisted that circumstances varied so much as to render comparison of working inclines ahnost impossible. It was necessary ci~her to have special experiIlfents under special circUlllstances, or to have such a large number of experiments as to arrive at the truth by taking the average of the results,. It was evident that the load that could be hauled by an engine was in proportion to the weight that could be put upon the driving wheels, but was limited by circumstances. "In order to arrive at some idea of the relative advantage of employing one very powerful or two less powerful engines, two engines of equaV power were taken, their speed and pressure compared, and a similar load of 280 tons was pfaced Behind each, It was thus found that the two engines, when coupled together, took both loads up the, same incline in the same time tliat each had taken up the half load separately. At Edge Hill, Liverpool, there were three inclines' of 1. in .48, 1 in 90, and 1 in 06, respectively. These werc still worked by ropes and stationary engines, b.ecause, being situated in tunnels, it Was found that the condensation of steam on the rails when locomotives were trie~ so lessened the adhesi<£,l, that in these particular cases it almost amounted to,an impossibility of'carrylng out that·system. "The important point t{) eon sider was tlie 'amount of adhesion to be obtained; one-eighth the-weight Was;c(lntendeJi to, lie-a fillr, ,average, as under certain circumstances of.' weather, &e". it fell to; one-tenth or xxix

upon this point that I do not deem it necessary to dwell at greater length upon it. Nor will it be requisite for me to occupy much of your Excellency's time by showing that the use of powerful engines will necessitate the construction of a subs~tial roadway. That, it will be admitt8d, is an inevitable consequence of the difficulties set forth.in the 'preceding paragraphs. I cannot however leave this portion of the subject without respectfully soliciting your Excellency's attention to the annexed statement (See Appendices XXXV., XXXVI., and XXXVII.) of gradients and summit levels of some of the Engli~h, German, and American railways. Your Excellency will perceive that in only one instance included in these tc'1,bles is the summit level as high as on our proposed lines, nor is there more than one example of such a height being reached within a similar distance from the starting point. In discussions upon the probable cost of railways it is customary to refer to .America as presenting examples of the successful application of an economical mode of construction. Indeed, there are few public writers or speakers who do not affirm that the system adopted there is applicable to the wants and circumstances of this country; but I· think it is not so. On the contrary, I believe that lightly constructed railways and engines of small power would be perfectly useless here, owing to the difficulties to which I have' already directed your Excellency's attention. As, however, public opinion is so frequently

one-fifteenth. That point being determined, the rest was a question of the advantageous employment of steam and the construction of the engines themselves. "It was stated that the paper should be received as arecord of facts bronght by the author under the notice of the institution, rather than with the view to establishing any particular ideas as to modes of working inclines. "It must be evident that the system of working the Gioci incline by t'l':"O of Messrs. R. Stephenson and Co.'s coupled engiues was decidedly better and more economical than the system of using such enormously heavy engines as those constructed from the Engerth design for working the Simmering incline. It was decidedly more economic(tl, as well as more convenient, to be able to work an incline by merely coupling together the ordinary engines' of the line, than to have engines eonstructed expressly for the duty of ascending steep gradients, fUld unfit for other portions of t.he line, Besides the injury to the permanent way by such enormously neavy engines must be consiclered, when comparing this duty with that of the two engines whose weight was so much better distributed. "Ropes had been generally superseded by locomotives, 'but it should not be rashly decided to abandon them entirely, as there were situations where steep terminal gradients might still be advantageously worked by them j whereas it would be preferable, or even almost in('iispensable, to work the inclines in the eourse of ,the line by locomotive power. 'fhe difference between current and terminal lines must always be considered. The facts observed and collected by the author would be found valuable as data, from ,vhich every engineer woulc! draw his own conclusions, and apply them so as to meet the peculiarity of his own case. " In conclusion, it was urged that with regard to adhesion 110 a priori arguments should be relied upon but facts alone should be had reeourse to, and those, it was asserted, would be found to give the power of adhesion as being from one-eighth to one-tenth of the weight on the wheels. It was thought to be of great, importance that the question of the comparative economy of working inclines by locomotives, or by rope;;, should bc clearly investigated. In hilly districts if gradients of 1 in 20 could be worked with facility, the construction ot' many costly viaducts' and other structures might be avoided; and of course the less the expense necessary to be incurred in the formation of any railway, the greater chance was there of its being satisfactorily executed," Report in the Civil Engineer and Architects' Journal of a discussion which took place in April, 1856, before the Institute of Civil Engineers, upon a paper read by C, R. Drysdale, Esq., C. E" "On Steep Gradients of Railways aud the Locomotives employed." "The whole length of the .Simmering Railway, from Gloeknitz to Murzzuschlag, is 24'354 English miles; the distance from Glocknitz to the highest point in the Simmering Mountains is 17'14 miles, with a rise of I-40th nearly the whole way, and curves varying from 933 to 622 feet radius; the descent of the incline from the Simmering Mountains to Murzzuschlag is 7'214 miles, with. the declines and curv';)s of the same nature as the incline." " The engine itself, constructed expressly to work these inclines, weighs 48'8 tons in working trim, and the unloaded tender is equal to 12'2 tons more. When put to work it made several trips with a gross load of 251 tons up the incline of 1 in 40 and 'along the severe curves of 622 feet radius. The average rate was twelve miles an hour under these circumstances. At another trial a gross load of 283'2 tons was carried at nine miles an hour; and Mr. Hall adds that he is prepared to take 338 tons at the same speed. Another report says the "Bavaria" drew 2600 cwt. at the rate of 2~ German miles per hour, and when the umpires had descended she went for four minutes at the rate of 3'8 miles an hour."-Practical Mechanics' JouNUll, vol. v., p. 231. It, · ·Xft.x

directed to this view of the subject, I have been at conside;able pains. to ascertain, as far as possible, what the American system really is. The country over which railways p~s in the United States is described in general terms py many writers as "nearly a dead level." Low embankments and shallow cuttings are often the only difficulties the engineer haS to encounter, whilst of viaducts and tunnels there are scarcely any. Their bridges are r~dely built of timber, from forests growing on the road side, and their' station-houses, booking offices,&c., are constructed of similar material. In many cases "bars of flat iron, I!-ailed to longitudinal planks of timber" form the iron rail; and in the construction of their .carriages and locomotives the same economy is exhibited. There are many other circumstances which account for the comparatively small cost i of American railways. Owners of land there; frequently give up their property for railway i purposes gratuitously, and the average cost of that which has to be purchased seldom ex~eeds £300 to £400 per mile. The practice of dispensing with fencing obtains pretty generally in the country , '

.! districts of America; or else the duty and;the cost is imposed upon the o>\'1lers of the adjoining land.* The absence of gates and attendants at surface crossings is another f ' feature in American economy which would not be tolerated here. At all surface crossings , ih England a lodge and gates are erected ~nd a man is on the SPJt to guard against accidents; but in America the only precaution taken is the erection of a board on which is painted "When the bell rings look out for the trains !" ,I An almost entire exemption from· Parliam~ntary and other legal expenses forms another favorable felttme in the cost of American lines. The average cost of charters there

I does not exce~d ten dollars per mile, ap.d such is the simplicity of the law that the whole legal charges do not amount to £>10 per mile; whilst in England, charges for similar purposes, have involved a gross expenditure to the end ~of 1855 of twenty millions sterling.t The geological character of the Unite4 Statys has also had considerable influence on the cost of railways there., Not only do they traverse a comparatively level country, but , experience has proved that the rocks throug~ which cuttings have been made are chiefly of the alluvial and tertiary serie.s, which it is well known can be removed with a pick and spade. Here it is not so; the rocks through which our railways must be carried are almost entirely of the primary or ~econdary ~eries, and will require blasting to effect their "removal. (See Appendix XLVII.) The practice which prevails in America of adopting stiff gradients, has a material influence in reducing the cost of their railways.t But there is a limit beyond which it is

.. In this country the Legislature was so impressed with the necessity of fencing that it was not only, made compulsory, but ,,~as treated as one of the first duties of a company after taking possession of the land.­ See Melbourne, Mount Alexander, and Murray River Railway Company's Act, 16 Vic., c. 27. t In England the cost of obtaining an Act of Parliament for the Liverpool and Manchester line, thirty miles long, was £900 per mile; London and Birmingham, 112 miles, £72,869, or, £650 12s. per mile; South- . Eastern, £82,000; Northern and Eastern,'£74,166; 'while the expenses incurred by the Great Northern , . ~ . Company before they obtained their Act amounted to Ij.early £500,000. :I: "The foilowing gradients are now, or have been,in use on American railways :-During the construction of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, a gradient of 528 feet' was used, on a temporary track, en boyau, merely to transport small loads of iron, &c. On the Virginia Central Road, the trains pass every day over a gradient 'Of 275 feet, length two miles. On a part of this are curves of 300 fcet radius (190 6') on a grade of 238 feet: forty tons have been carried up this, by a thirty-ton engine oil six drivers, with the utmost ease. Breaks of a pecnliar construction are used, and found to answer' well. On the Virginia Central, the trains ascend at a velocity of I about seven miles per hour, and descend at at an average velocity of about four miles. In descending, the steam is cut off, and the·wheels of the engine allowed to revolve, the breaks on the cars being "hard down." Reversed curves are frequent, and sharp. On the Baltimore and Ohio road, l\Ire grades of 116 feet for seventeen , miles. Awdliary power is here employed; the trains 1;Jeing divided, and running up at the rate of fifteen IDlles an hour. The trains desccnd these grades with a. velocity of twenty-five miles under perfect control On the Pensylva.nia Central Road, there are ~adients of ninety-five feet for nine ahd three-quarter miles: where' curves occur, the grade is reduced at ~he rate of 0'025 pel' one hundred feet pel' degree fit xxxi

impossible to carry this practice, and that limit is nearly approached on the lines which it is proposed to construct in this country. Moreover, it would be easy to show that the mode of constructing railways in America was adopted from necessity and not from choice, or because it contained any .inherent advantages which rendered it superior to the system pursued in England. The extent to which they have relaid their permanent way on the Jililglish model (See note on page 31), whenever they have had the means of doing so, proves this. But that which compelled them to construct their railways upon what is called the American system, even at the sacrifice of durability and safety, was the inexorable law of profit and loss. Not only was it necessary there (as it is here) that railways should be constructed; but it was indispensable that they should be constructed at a cost upon which the traffic would pay a good dividend. Promoters of railways in America had no other motive for action than this. It was no satisfaction to them to raise the price of th~ land adjoining their railways to an extent equal to the cost of their construction. They had no interest in promoting the comfort of the people who were settled along the route of their lines. They could not look upon an enhancement of the welfare of the community generally as any equivalent for their outlay. They could not accept anything as a recompense for their expenditure and trouble which did not take the tangible shape of a dividend. But with us how different it is! Here, if the profits (of which more presently) should not reach an adequate per centage on the outlay, there can be no doubt that the incidental advantages* resulting

curvature. Passenger trains ascend this grade with a velocity of twenty-four miles per hour, and descend at twenty miles per hour. The ascent when there arc more than three cars, is effected by the aid of an additional engine. The working load of the heavy-freight engines (weighing sixty-five thousand pounds), on the ninety­ five-feet gradient, is 150 tons net, or about 250 tous including tender and cars. On the Massachusetts Western Road, ~re grades of eighty-three feet for one and a half miles. Engines of twenty tons draw pne hundred tons over this grade. Passenger trains run up at about eighteen miles per hour, without auxiliary power. The average amount of wood consumed, and cost of haulage, on the whole road, are no greater than upon other Massachusetts roads of lighter grades. It is the opinion of many able railway engineers, that on a permanent track, grades of 200 feet, and even of 250 feet, may be advantageously overcome by loeomotive power; it being clearly understood, that sueh grades arc to be resorted to ouly in cases of absolute necessity 1 economy in working the road rendering low gradients very desirable. It is evidently the fact, that there is at present a strong tendeney to use much higher grades than were formerly considered praeticable or advisable, even in England, and on the" Continent," The ·American system of cheap roads, with high grades, to avoid the great exp€nse of long tunnels, deep cuts, and high embankments appear to be, to a certain extent, rapidly rising in repute. The use of inclined planes with stationary power (within the limits before mentioned), may, as a general rule, be considered 'obsolete; except in cases similar to the Pensylvania Central Road, where the amount of traffie is becoming so great, as to require more than a double or even triple track. In this case, it has been proposed to pass the surplus freight over the mountain by means of stationary power, reserving the locomotive power for passengers and freight requiring rapid transportation. Planes for stationary engines should not exceed one mile in length. The number required to Overcome any given aseent, will depend more upon the elevation to be surmounted, than the length of the ascent,. The opinion has been e.xpressed by one of the most reliable railway engineers in the country, that where the gradient does not exceed 132 feet per mile, locomotive is cheaper than stationo.ry power; without reference to the element or the first cost of grading for the two plans of operating the road 1 also, that the difliculty and danger in descending high grades, is more important in determining their inclination than the resistance in their ascent."-Civil Engineers and Architects' Journal, December, 1855 . .. "As an instanee of the actual amount of benefit conferred upon a particular locality, the returns from Campbelltown'ma.y be taken. Campbelltown is about thirty-three miles from Sydney, upon a. road to which a good deal of attention has been paid. The return states the actual amount of traffic, backwards and forwards, to be about 8700 tons per annum, and the aver~e cost to be hvo shillings per ton per mile, or £28,710 per annum, as the whole charge for transport. Now, by railway, at sb:pence per ton per mile, the whole charge would amount to £7177 ; and the difference between this and the former amount of £28,710, is £21,533 per annum j but a portion of the indirect benefit conferred upon this district, by the substitution ofa railway for a turnpike-road. I say, but a portion 1 for, in the first place, I have made no allowance for the Baving of money. and time to the passengers on the road j I have not calculated on the increased amount of traffic which will most assuredly be the result of the introduction of railway eommunication; neither have I xxxii

to the colonists generally from the proposed railways, will inevitably be so great as to justify their construction on that ground alone. I need not point out to your Excellency the arguments which may be fairly drawn from these considerations in favor of. constructing railways in a new country directly by: the·State.. The inferior character of American railways is a necessary result of these cheap ,modes of construction. Upon this point the testimony of English travellers exhibits such a general concurrence, that I consider it unnecessary to 'dwell upon it. But, even if it were desirable to introduce the American system into this Colony, we must first obtain the primary requisite, namely,. a continuous route on nearly a dead level. Instead of this, as I have already shown, the countrybetweeu the principal sea-ports and the Gold Fields presents no such feature, and. absolutely prohibits the formation of lengthy levels at any cost. If, however, nature had given us these level plains, and these adjacent forests, .theexpense of railway construction here, fr~m other causes, must still be at least fourfold greater than that incurred in executing similar works in the United States; and thus the American system is deprived .of the only,. recommendatory feature, to which under any circumstances, it can fairly lay claim. !II Further, if. the American system had established a deserved reputation for success, how does it happen that the same system wk not adopted in Canada, where the character of the country and the circumstances of the population are closely analogous to those of the United States? Instead of doing so, the Canadians, although their heavily timbered forests and vast unsettled territories (even more so tban the United States) offered. inducements t~ the adoption of a cheap :system, have deemed it preferable to follow :what is called the costly English model, not only in the character of the permanent way, but in the bri?-ges and stations also, which are built entirely of stone and iron.t

taken the increased value given to property into consideration. I have merely t:1.ken the present amount of goods traffic, and have shown that the saving in the cost of transporting it for :1 distance of tllirty-three miles .. amounts to upwards of £21,000 per annnm ; a sum which ut six per cent. represents a eapih11 of £350,000. As, then, the present cost of transport in this Colony, far exceeds that by turnpike-roads iu England, the saving to the inhabitants by the introduction of railways, will he larger in proportion than·in England" *' * *' *' *' *' * *' '* * *' * "The next question to be considcred, in forming an estimate of the indirect benefits resulting from· railway communication, is the increase in the mlue of property.. In many parts of the Colony, the hnd, of which the Goyernment is in possession of thirty-nine-fortieths, is unsaleablc. The distance from It marl~ct, and the enormous cost of' transport would render land at a distance of one humlred mllcs from Sydney, almost

,I valueless, even were it of the richest description. Take, for instancc, a farm of one hundred acres, at onc hnndred miles from the market, amI assume the produce a yailable for sale to be eight JlUnd~ed bushels of grain of some sort. This, which would weigh about twenty toilS, would, at the rate of (toout two shillings per ton per mile, cost for transport only £200, or fiye shillings per bushel; and the furmer would of course be utterly I unable to compete with· the foreign I)roduccr. :Eycn the farmer in Michigan, who has to bring his grain, or the flour produced from it, a distance of nearly 2000 miles to New York and thence 12,000 or 14,000 miles by sea t() New South Wales, would be able to underscll a fa.rmcr liying not more than one hundred miles from Sydney whose only· communicution is by the ordinary roads of the Colony. Put however the forlllcr within a few urnes of a rail way and cyerything is rm'crsed : his produce is I conveyed to Sydney for £50 iustead of £200, or for· Is. 3d. per bushel instead of 5s. ITs is therefore in n position to undersell the "foreign prodllcer, and a market being ensnred for the produce of his farm thc land in in the neighborhood assumes a value proportionate to its quality; amI a rise in the price of from £300 to

1 £400 per ccnt. may be fairly expccted.-From a Paper read before tlte Philosophical Society of New South Wales, , by Sir lVlll. Denison. ,. "If we arc to have l'ailways at American prices, we must of course adopt American methods. In the first placc, we must find a nearly dead level to make the railway upon. 'We Illnst then obtain laborers at three shillings a day, and mechanics at five or six. Having nailed sheet iron upon planks to serve for mils, and put up It few weather boards for ~tations, we shall hayc an American railway eomplete."-Tlw SydTlC?!, University Magazine, 5th January, 1855.

t The whole of the station houses and bridge~ arc of iron, stone, or brick.-B. Ho7:mes's Letter to tile Legislative Assembly' of Canada, on the.position of tlle Gr~nd Trunk Railway, dated 21st Apri~ 1856, ana Jmblished in .' Canadian Railway and Steam Boat Guide," May 1, 1856. xxxiii

'But, notwithstanding -the superior character of the 'works ,{}ll the Canadian lines, a comparison oftheir cost per mile with the average cost in the United States exhlbits a remarkable result. It appears that the cost of the Grand Trunk Line on the English plan is £8500u per mile, while that of the cheap (?) railways of the United States averages £6550. (See Appendix XXXVIII). This proves that where circumstances are similar, the facilities of obtaining labor and material about the same, and the quantity of work to be done on any giv:en line equal, the difference in the cost of the two systems is very trifling; while any comparison of the value inherent to the permanent character of the works under Que system with the inferiority and rapid deterioration which attends the temporary nature of the .other, exhibits this much-vaunted system in anything but a satisfactory light. But, as I have already stated, the pec~liar circlunstances of this country do not warrant the conclusion that if OUT lines were constructed on the American plan they would thereforere cheap it nor that by constructing them on the Eng~sh plan they would necessarily be dear. The mct is that railways on any system must be expensive here, owing to the quantity antI nature of the work to be performed, to the physical and geological formation of the country, and to the cost of the labor which will be required. Railway laborers who in England are content with 28. 6d. to 3s. per day, are here receiving lOs., 12s. 6d., and 148. i carpenters, masons, and bricklayers will require at least'a fourfold rate of ,remuneration, and all other descriptions of work will bave to be paid for much in the same proportion. I speak now of work nece"sary to be performed tmder any system of construction. Costliness is a condition inseparable from railways nnlling into the interior of this country. Nor is the increased cost of labor our principal disadvantage. Our principal railways will not be botmded by forests presenting timber suitable for the construction of bridges, &c., on the very spots where it will be required, with "the expense ocly of hewing it," and that expense trifling. On the contrary, it appears from contracts ·already entered into for sleepers and fencing, that oUT capabilitie3 even in this respect have been greatly exaggerated. Instead of obtaining these from the lands along the route of the proposed railways, or from the contiguous forests, the contractor for the fencing states that he can bring the posts from Van Diemen's Land more cheaply than he can procure them here; while the contractor for the sleepers alleges that he can produce a better and cheaper article from the ranges to the east of Western Port and from the almost inaccessible hills in the neighborhood of Apollo Bay, than can be obtained from any locality within a reasonable distance of the route of the proposed Melbourne and Mount Alexander Railway. I say reasonable distance, because it is not entirely owing to the superiority of the timber at Western Port and Apollo Bay that the contractor for the sleepers has determined to

'" The agreement between the company and the contractors (1'rlessrs. Bragsey, Peto, Betts, and Co.), was that for the sum of £8500 per mile, they (the contractors) undertook to build the road in every respect equal to a first-class EngHsh railway, and deliver it to the company within a limited period free of all claims for damages and right-of-way.-B. Holmes' Letter to the Le!Jislative Assembly of Canaila, dated 21st April, 1856. t The absurdity of supposing that railways can be eonstructed here at the cost of similar works in America is exposed most clearly by }fr. Gale, in his evident-u before the Committee on Roads and Railways (N. S. Wales). He says, respecting the Springfield and Hartford line: "It cost £12,000 or £13,000 pcr mile It is laid with H rail, weighing 50 lbs. per yard on transverse sleepers, The cuttings and embankments are heavy in comparison with the generality of the lines there; but the country is not so broken as tha.t betwcen Sydney and Parramatta. There is a bridge 1400 feet span which cost £12,500. The piers are of stone with wooden superstructure. Such a bridge would cost four times as much here at the present rate of labor, Wages are four times as high here as they are there. Carpenters there get five shillings a day, and masons' five or six; laborers three shillings. Bridges in this country would cost from four to six times as much, and earthwork three times as much as in America. It is a very rough country between this and the Goulburn and inclined plains and stationary engines may be required; but not allowing for such extra expenses, the probable cost of a single line of railway upon such a principle as would meet the wants of the country and open it up, would cost from four to six times as much as in America."-Sydney University Magazine, January. 1855. i xxxvi all; a .comparison of the aggregate .cost of American and Eriglishlines gives a very unfair -rlew of the respective val~e of the two systems of construction. The Americans reckon in th¢r average ,of £6000 per mile,everymile of the.most inferior and imperfect ~railway in the States, including mere tramways temp~rari1y' constructed for the carriage of material, lines of wooden rails, and many other expedients. Some of these, costing less than £1000 per mile, are nevertheless taken into account in any general average of the cost of their railways. To form a double line in America upon anything like a durable plan costs more than twice £6000. per mile. The New York Central, 510 miles, cost .35,000,000 dollars,. or £14,297 -per mile; the Pe~sylvanian Central, 250 miles, cost 17,000,000 dollars, or £14,166 per mile; the Baltimore ftOd Ohio, 330 miles, cost 22;500,000 dollars, 01'£14,204 per mile. But if no other reason could be giv~n why we should avoid cheap railways, we shoriId find sufficient justification for doing so in the app~ling catastrophies which occur on American lines. Accounts are occasionally received from that country· narrating the details of accidents so horrifYing,. and entailing a loss of life so serious in point of numbers, and so deplorable in other respects, that the bare possibility. of similar occurrences here would spread abroad a .deep and universal feeling of alarm. It has been remarked, in illustration of the safety of English railways, that comparing the accidents which occur thereon with the number of passengers conveyed, a first clMS carriage is about the safest place in which a person could pass his existence. "I have often thought," says Mr. Edward G. Watkin, an experienced authority on railway topics, "that if a person wanted to be in the safest place i.n this world he should get into a first class railway carriage, and never leave it." The loss of life' on railways in the United States is more than. sevenfold greater .than that which occurs on English lines,* and very much. of the remarkable security of the latter is attributable to the solidity and substantial' character of the works. t

'" The number of persons killed or injured on the railroads of N1!w York, during the last year (1855), was six or seven times. greater, in proportion to the. whole number conveyed, than in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The following Table shows the comparative statement of casualties upon the· railroads of the' two countries, in proportion to the whole number of persons travelling:- Great Britain. New York. Passengers killed 1 in 2,785,491 1 in 286,179 Employers killed 1 in 742,797 1 in 124,010 Others·killed... 1 in 1,392,714 1 in 45,929 Passengers injured . 1 in 234,568 lin ~0,739 Employers injured 1 in 1,128,427 1 in 83,603 Others injured 1 in 3,301,323 1 in 79,155 Total killed .•. 1 in 412,665 lin 43,454 Total injured ... 1 in 183,406 lin 28,078 Killed and injured 1 in 126,873 1 in 17,425 -Hunt's Merchant's Magazine t "~.the official report of the Railway Commissioners for 1849, the following comparative statement is given, from which it appears that the proportion of the number kllled to those conveyed was, in 1848, 1 in 286,934; and in 1849, 1 in 316,047; while the proportion of persons receiviqg injury short of death 'ras, in 1848, Un 264,661, and in 1849, 1 in 341,398. These proportions embrace the whole number of casualties, however arising; but if we take into account only those cases which resulted from causes beyond the control of the sufferers, we should find that in 1848, the killed were 1 in 2,520,034, and the injured, 1- in 362,255; and that in 1849, the killed were no more than 1 in 3,192,077, and the injured, 1 in 665,016. Limiting the calculation to the cases of passengers, the proportion killed, from causes beyond their own control, was in 1848, 1 in 6,440,087. and in 1849, 1 in 12,768,308; while the pl'oportion injured was, in 1848, 1 in 452,818, and in 1849, 1 in 760,018." '-Porter's Progress of th(Natio7l. . A later authority gives the foll~wing statement:-"Compared to the loss of life under tIle old system of €Daclling, safety on the iron road becomes almost absolute. III England alone. in 1854, the railways carried 92,346,149 passengers, and the total number killed was only 180 persons. Of tbese only nine met their death from causes beyond their control; thirteen were killed or wounded from their own indiscretions j the remainder were Eervants :of the companies, or of contractors, who perished either unavoidably or from their own imprudllnce, and trespassers killed or hurt while rashly crossing or walking on the, rails. For every million of pa~se~gers conveyed, the per ccntage of those killed or injured in the three Kingdoms, in 1854, amounted in England to :09 killed, 3.08 injured; in Scotland, 0.16.killed, 3.51injured; in. Ireland,.14 killed, .57 injured." XXXVII

An account recently published of a collision near Philadelphia affords a striking example of the danger of travelling on railways where safety has been made subordinate to economy. An excursion train with between five and six hundred passengers, principally consisting of children, came in collision with another train whilst proceeding at the rate of thirty-five miles an hour; "the three foremost cars," the account states, "were completely crushed to pieces, and the 'wreck mingling ,vith that of the locomotive took fire, and the flames communicated to the other cars of the train. The two next cars were entirely consumed." Fifty persons were killed and' eight horribly mangled. The bodies of some were consumed by the flames, and others so mutila~ as to be past recognition. One hundred persons were killed and injured. Driven to insanity by the frightful occurrence, the driver, who escaped unhurt, completed the tragedy by committing suicide. It is stated that this accident was occasioned by the existence of a sharp double curve on the road, which prevented the drivers of the two engines from seeing each other at a distance of 500 yards. The construction of this double curve was the expedient of a fatal economy, and would not have been permitted on any railway in England, or elsewhere, where a proper value is set upon the sacredness of human life. A warning even more terrible than the preceding is furnished by an accident on the Panama line, in which thirty-eight persons were killed on the spot, six died shortly an!lrwards, fifty were badly wounded, and an equal number sustained injuries of a: less serious character. In ,this case it is clearly sho'w11 that the accident was attributable to the faulty construction of the line. The account states: "The loose nature of the soil, the decaying effect it already has had upon the wooden material used in the construction of the road, and its constant absorption of moisture, endanger every train unless run at a very moderate speed; and the danger is increased by the fact that where the ties begin to soften with rot, destnlctive insects lend their aid in weakening and consuming the durability of the wood. These everlasting agents have destroyed the adhesiveness of the tie-spikes, consequently the rails are neither permanent nor capable of any considerable jar or strain; hence, when the long train had attained a velocity of twenty-eight miles an hour, which was the case at the time of the accident, the ties refused to hold, the rails spread apart, the fo.rward trucks of the second car sunk into the slight embankment, and the dire event of the day was the result." But this is not all. When we look more closely into the construction of this railway a fact of the most striking significance presents itself; sufficient it is believed, to explode the folly of insisting on too great economy. Mr. Robert Tomes published in 1855 a description of this line, from which I have extracted the subjoined note, every word of which is pregnant with caution.* The precise defects which he therein

* :Many miles of it (Panama railroad) are yet supported upon trestle work-wooden props-which often lift the trains scores of feet in the air, whence the traveller, clutching fast to his seat, looks down upon decp gorges, rough precipitous rock, and angry swollen streams, with an alarm which is only relieved by his passage to the solid security of terra firma. There arc also portions of the road whcre the train seems to feel its way with unusual caution, and jolts along with all' irregularity of movement which is sure to excite the curiosity of the inquisitive, if not the fears of the an..'rious traveller. The knowing ones, jf they are com­ municative and have 110 fear of Wall-street, will tell you these are the soft parts of the road. And if you push your inquiries you will learn that this softness is in consequence of the yielding soil, which has no more tenacity than soft soap, or the result of the uecay of sleepers, or Cl'OSS ties of native woou, which are crUll b· ling into uust from the ceaseless borings of that busy little insect the Comihcn, or rotting away in the quick decay of the hot moist climate. The traveller, as he looks upon the fine buildings of the stations and the wooden water tal1ks, is surprised at the black stains of decay, the marks of rliin, !tn(l the rank growth which cover them, and hardly believes he is npon a new road just open to travel, until he disc07ers that days quicken life, and hasten death in that region with greater speed than years in his o\vn land of slow deyelop­ ment';' ,;. * '" *. The deficiencies of the road are being proniptly met by the inexhaustible energies of the Chief Engineer, and thousands of laborers are busy ballasting and :filling in tIle trestle work '" '" *. Stone masonry will be found, necessary to give t1le permanence of a lastiug institution. Iron bridges, which the Chief Enginee'r authoritatively states have been !llre!ldy !ldopted, will be substituted for all wooden structures. k XXXVlll

points out. occ.asioned the accident detailed above. The allusion· to· the "fear of Wall- , street" is significant, and becomes more·palpl:J.ble in its .applicati.on when Mr. Tomes informs us, in another 'portion of his work, that" the fair cost of the railway would have been much greater than. the concoctors of the scheme thought would go down with the public." " Accordingly," he says, "engineer after engineer was dismissed, until one was found whose i arithmetic accorded with the close calculations of avaricious trade.". The consequence was 8.:. road and insecurely executed; frequent slips; bad materials;' too steep m:adients; the road passing. over soft ground; wooden posts instead of viaducts; build­ ings,. bridges, &c.,.' constructed .of wood instead of iron or stone i-such was. the false ; economy of the Panama railway! T:re r~sult is shovm in the last fearful sacrifice of human life; and the lesson which economy.learns is found in the necessity which is now , acknowledged of reconstructing nearly the whole line or of abandoning it altogether. Another consideration ill favor of substantial works is found in the necessity which exists, whether our railways be' light or heavy, for import~g the requisite carriages, locomotives, rails, and other material; the freight and <;harges upon which will form a large per centage of their cost. EConomy, therefore, indicates that these should be of the best de,scriptions, the expenses incidental to the irq.portatio~ of either: will be about ':! equal. There are many other considerations which strong1y favor the 'construction .of substantial railways. when we look f.orward to their future operations. So far as it appears possible to foresee, the traffic likely to be chiefly developed by the introduction of railways will consist of heavy goods ratber than passengers. I am aware that in other countries whel'e navigable rivers and canals enter into competition, with railways" has resulted in a different conclusion; that on the principal lines in England, for instance, passenger traffic has multiplied in a ratio greater than the ~ increase of tonnage,;* and that the a~ticipations of those who, in the early days of railway enterprise, based their calculations upon the ~evenue to be derived from the latter traffic;, have not been realized; whilst the enormous 'increase in the number. of travellers bas far • exceeded the most expectations. But there is one important particular 'which constantly forces its~lfupon our atten- tion when reasoning upon railway probabilities in this country. I allude to the fact that i whilst in Great Britain and on the Continent, railways have been constructed to meet the ': circumstances of cities long established as the centres of commerce and manufac- · tures, and having large and settled populations; in this country; numbering not more than · three hundred and fifty thousand souls altogether, we have to conduct our operations with "s, clear' perception of the impossibility of having any very large passenger traffic, in · the first instance, yet also with a regard to. the prospective increase of our population. : There is, how;ever, little reason to doubt that, considering the generally prosperous ;, condition Of the people of this country, the passenger traffic will be greater, in proportion t.o .our numbers, th~ in any cou:p.try under the sun; still, whilst that number is limited, :passenger traffic must be small and unremunerative compared with the probable returns from ,.the carriage of goods. Looking then chiefly to traffic, and to its increase; antici-

, .. " Adopted," the word Colonel Totten ingeniously if not ingenuously uses, refers; however, it is supposed, to Ithe operations of Broadway, for that gentleman pointed'out an iron bridge of some half a dozen feet in length. ,I as the only one "adopted" on the route on 2nd 1\-farch, 1855, out of some one hundred and thirty to be ',necessarily adopted in th'e.future, The ,bridges vary from six feet to six hundred, and cross two large rivers .the Chagres and Gatun, and endless streams and gullies. It will also be necessary to build the stations and ; tanks of brick, stone, iron; or of some more enduring material than wood, as they are rapidly falling into ruin, and look more like the antiquated remnants of the past than the fresh structures of the enterprise ofto-day.­ An account of the Panama Railroad, ~c., by Robert Tomes: Harper Brothers, New York.

II< "The passenger traffie of the. London and North. Western exceeded £500,000 the first year; while !the goods traffic reached£90,000,-and after twelve years' existence, and a vast augmentation of revenue tii passengers, the freig!ttag~ of merchandise by' rail did not,equai the amount originally anticipated." :XXXIX pating the time when auriferous quartz will be transported to Hobson's: Bay for shipment to Europe-when the ornamental woods of our forests will be sought after for exportation­ when coal, slate, marble, and building stone, will be brought from the interior, in addition to the ordinary produce of our fields and stations, how essential does it become that a mode of construction should be followed which will not only ensure the immediate but the permanent adaptability of the works to these new developments o'f national wealth. I have next to solicit your Excellency's attention to the amount of traffic which may fairly be anticipated to flow over the proposed railways when they are completed. In doing so, I think it desirable to premise, that in this, as in other portions' of the subject of railway enterprise in this country, features of a peculiar character present them­ selves, which necessitate' its consideration upon principles different to those which would influence its decision elsewhere. In England, and wherever railways are undertaken on the sole ground of their probable snccess as commercial speculations, it is necessary, as a preliminary measure, to ascertain the amount of traffic already existing on the proposed line of road, with the greatest accuracy. It is remarkable that where this exact information is necessary, there it is possible to obtain it; while it is not less remarkable that where no such necessity exists, as in this country, it is impossible to procure more than a conjectural estimate of the present or probable future amount of traffic, in passengers and goods, between the sea-board and the Gold Fields. Conjecture, however, is sometimes instinctively accurate; so much so as to induce and justify conviction. It has been so in this matter. For, without any exact data upon which -to base the opinion, the public generally have been long satisfied that the traffic, to and from the principal Gold Fields, is amply sufficient to justify the construction of the contemplated railways. A review of the past proceedings of the Legislature with reference to railways proves that this has been so; otherwise it is very difficult to account for the fact that, of all the committees'of the Legislative Council who have, at different times, had, charge of the sub­ ject of railway communication, not one of them has thought it necessary to recommend that the trlJ.ffic on our main lines of road should be ascertained. All have proceeded upon the assumption that that that traffic is sufficient to pay a fair interest on the necessary expenses of providing railways, without regarding the advantages which the community generally would derive from their construction. An~ there can be no doubt that all parties have been justified in thus looking at this part of the subject; for, although it is not always safe, as I have had occasion to show already, to trust to populaJ.' impressions, yet, in this matter, my inquiries lead me to believe that it is so. The experience of the world affords no instance of the failure of a railway between two great centres', of population, and shall we believe for a. moment that our lines are likely to be exceptions to' this rule? Such a supposition is absolutely forbidden by a consideration of the character of our population; by the extent to which it derives its supplies from the sea.­ board; and by the certainty that it will largely increase in numbers and wealth during the period which must be occupied in the construction of the proposed railways. I pass on therefore to a consideration of the statement of the Commissioners on Interual Communication that, "the carriage of goods to the different Gold Fields cost (in the years 1853 and 1854) between two and three millions sterling pel' annum," and, to the calculations which I have based' upon that statement. I have 'already observed (page 11) that there is good reason for believing that, although the rates of carriag~ have been lowered since that period, the gross amount still paid for that purpose has not been materially reduced. Upon this assumption, the amount at present paid for the carriage of passengers and goods to the several Gold Fields, cannot be less than at the rate of two millions sterling, per annum-of which probably, from one-third to one-half is paid for the conveyance of that. portion of the traffic which would be accom;nodated on the proposed railways. If to this we add a quarter ·of a million, as the produce of the increase in the number and consumihg' power of th,e population which will inevitabfy occur before these lines are ready for traffic, we obtain a gross probable income of one million sterling. , The estimated cost of the railways from MelbOurne to Sandhurst, and from Geelong to Ballaarat, is about six millions sterling: ~n estimate which, based as it is upon the most liberal data, is not likely to be exceeded, rwtwithstanding the character and extent of the work to be performed, and the rate of wages which will have to be paid to the various .artizans and laborers who will be employed. On the contrary, there is every probability that, with economy, it may be IIlhde to inchtde the cost of the original line to Williamstown. This estimate is for the construction of the works on the plan of a double line, but only includes the plant and rolling stock necessary for a single line, as that, in my opinion, will' be sufficient for our requirements for years to come.* . With a gross re,venue of one million :sterling, and allowing fifty per cent. for working expenses, which is five per cent. rp.ore tnan the average of the United Kingdom, and rather more than the gross expenses of working the short line connecting Hobson's Bay with Melbourne, there would remain available for interest on, and the gradual redemption of, the amount originally expended, no less a sVm than five hundred thousand pounds. Assuming ~nterest to be paid at the rp..te of five per cent. per annum, the sum of three hundred thousand pounds would be required for that purpose. There would still be two hundrecl thousand pounds to dispose of; one hundred a.nCL twenty thousand of which, should, I think, be appropriated for the redemption of a fiftieth , ...... ~ part of the loan contracted, and the remainder (.£80,000) set aside, partly as a fund for thE} renewal of the permanent way, and partly for the payment of interest on money raised for railway extension. On this basis ,it is important to remember that, besides the increased profits arising fr~m increased tra~c,t there would be, year: by year, an increasing amount available for the

.. "It has always been It matter of surprise to ~us that the single line of rnihnlY is not more generally adol!ted in Ireland than it has been; it would be fully adequate to the requirements of any of our Itgrieulturul districts, and would save at least one-third In the cost of construction. By sidings at the stations and other' convenient intervals, the passing of the trains along the line can readily be adjusted. Two trains starting from opposite ends, [Lnd tmvelling [Lt the same or differcnt ~egrees of velocity, will meet at a point which C[Ln readily be c[Llculated; nothing more is required than to arrange th[Lt this point shall be ncar a siding, in which the train which is the first to [Lrrive at it shall Ii? by un'pil'the other shalllmve gone past. This system of single lines has been adoptcll 011 the great main lines of Holland, :\ country of <:ities with immense passeuger traffic.. Their trains go t~t :\ much greater speed, are more frequent, lind carry a much greater number of passengers. than our Irish lines; they arc further exposed to an interruption of which we know nothing, that arising from the freqnent intersections of their eauals. The railway, in Holland runs so low that it crosses the nnmerous canals of that country on drawbridges, which :ire constantly opened, and which must make it lIlorc difficul~ to adjust the times of 'passing of the trains than it would otherwise be. And is it not preposterous to say that a system which has been thus found to answer, aud whic!l has been deliberatdy adopted in a wealthy, commercial~ and densely llopulatetl country, like Holland, would not be the best fitted for our poor agricult!1ral and thinly, inhabited districts, which neither require many trains nor great velocity."-Dllblin University lIfagazi71e Mardi, 1856. At a meeting of civil engineers in Ireland, on 29th May, 1855, Mr Bower read [\ papcr on the respeetiv()' merits of single ai1~· double lines of railway, eonside\'ed in relation to their safety, efficiency, and cost. He advocated singlc lines ,only in Ireland, they having been fuund sufficient on the continent, where traffic was exces~ive. He urged their perfect safety with the use 9f the electric telegmph and under efficient management, and urged that the present depressed state of the raih,:ay interest in Ireland was caused by the SUIllS unneces­ sarily expended in their construction: to raise which, preference shares have been issued, to the injury of shareholders, and in others, the yotes of thc country" were pledged as security for the outlay. Single lines &nswercd on the 'Vaterford and Limerick, and o'n tIle Galway Extension, and also on the Dublin and Bray and in the opinion of 1\1'r. Purdon, the Great Southern and Western, or any Irish railway, could be worked ~ith a single track. , t 'All experience warmnts the anticipation of, [\ large addition to the traffie upon which the above caiculations are based. Especially in this Colony may we look for new developments of trade as the result of an improved system of internal communication; whilst increased consumption wiil be sure to follow a cheapened. ' xli latter of these purposes, owing to the gradual decrease in the amount payable for interest; and that, at the expiration of fifty years, if the works are well constructed and maintained in a. state of efficiency, the railways now proposed to be made will be free from debt, and capable of affording a large per centage of the revenue which it may then be necessary to raise for supporting the Government of the country. Desirous of avoiding all semblance of exaggeration, I have purposely omitted from these general estimates of revenue several considerations which have satisfied me that tire traffic on our railways will be largely in excess of that which is generally anticipated. The next portion of the subject to which I think it desirable to request your Excellency's attention, is the method of raising the u'ecessary funds. It may be urged, and with some justice, that this is a point with which it ,is exclusively the province of the Legislative Assembly to deal. But it appears to me, that I should be neglecting my duty if-, I refrained from bringing it under your Excellency's notice, at all events in a general way. One method of obtaining the necessary amount would be by issuing debentures" bearing interest at the rate of five per cent. per annum, as it has already been satisfactorily established, that such securities are appreciated in the English money market, and there is every reason to believe that any reas~nable amount of capital may be thus procured. There is, however, a limit to which the borrowing power of any country can be judiciously extended; but the amount of £6,000,000, which, it is believed will be sufficient for the construction of the proposed railways, is unquestionably within the financial capacity of this Colony, both as regards the payment of the annual charge for interest, and 'the redemption of the principal within a stipulated period of time. The payment of the interest on the capital borrowed, until the works become reproductive, must either be made a charge upon the revenue of the Colony, or provided for out of the loan itself. The proportions of the loan it is proposed to raise and appropriate annually, are as follows:- £1,500,000 in 1857, £2,000,000 in 1858, £2,500,000 in 1859. The sum required for interest will be for the first year about £37,500; for the second £125,000; and for the third £237,500. Afterwards, should the works be completed by the expiration of three years, (of the possibility ,of which there is no doubt) it may be assumed that, the returns from the traffic will suffice for the subsequent payment of interest, besides defraying all other costs and charges attending the working of the lines. With respect to the ultimate liquidation of the loan, different opinions are entertained. The question at issue lies between the relative advantages of contracting a permanent national debt, by issuing debentures in perpetuity, and of issuing debentures redeemable at par at certain specified periods. In the event of the latter course being determined upon, namely, the issue of redeemable debentures, provision will have to be made for their liquidation, and this may be accomplished either by paying off a certain portion of the loan annually from the profits supply of the necessaries or comforts of life. In England, although estillll1tes of traffic were often exaggerated, yet they were always exceeded by the traffic which actually arose. In Canada, taking the first illustration that presents itself, viz., the Great Western line, I find the receipts for the week ending 6th April, 1854, were £5683, or £24 13s. per mile, while for the corresponding week of the succeeding year they had increased to £10,129, or £42 per mile. On thc same line the quantity of lumber carried was donbled between July, 1854 and 1855. In Belgium the net receipts on the railways constructed by the State were at first only 2l per cent. upon the expenditure, while the latest intelligence shows that the net profits on the same lines at the same scale of charges, owing to the increase of tratlic, are now !it per cent.-A. C. l . " xlii

. derived from the railways, or by setting aside ::i, portion of those profits as a sinking fund, . equivalent to the redemption of the whole amount of the loan, at the expiration of a given number of years. Thus, for instance, if £6,000,000 sterling be borrowed for fifty years, the sum of £28,660, set apart annually, together with its accumulations at compound interest, at the rate of five per cent. per annum, will amount in fifty years to the sum borrowed. , It should be borne in mind, however, that although arithmetically correct, the practical working of sinking funds has been found seldom to answer 'the expectations of t4eir •. founders. In this light it would seem preferable to redeem· the debentures at stated periods, if reasonable anticipations of railway returns hold out the prospect : of our being enabled 'to provide' from that source the funds necessary for the purpose. According to the calculations I have furnished to your Excellency, of these probable, profits, it will be observed that by setting apart £120,000 annually for the redemption of the debentures as they fall due, there will still remain a balance of revenue over expenditure of £80,000, which will gradually increase in amount in proportion as the payment of interest decreases. As a question of negotiable value there is, perhaps, no reason for concluding that the value of the debentures will be affected .by the consideration of their being made redeemable at fixed periods or being issued in perpetuity. The main consideration with capitalists is, the substantial nature of the security offered j and, if Victorian debentures are marketable at fifty years redemption, they will be regarded as equally eligible investments for a more ,. protracted or an indefinite period. Indeed, it, might be argued, that if the security be satisfactory the permanence of the loan, at the 'proposed rate of interest, would rather increase than diminish the value of the debent~res, in the eyes of capitalists. In this aspect of the question, it appears to me, the Colony would sacrifice something of its advantageous position by borrowing for too'extended a period.' It is an almost iilvariable rule, that in proportion to the value of the security offered . so is the rate of interest charged. Looking forward therefore to the certain progress of this Colony it would perhaps, be injudicious to negotiate a loan for an indefinite, or too lengthy a period upon debentures, issued at par, and bearing five per cent. interest; inasmuch as, it is . probable, that the same securities may, at no distant time, be saleable at a high premium, or, which amounts to the same thing, be issuable at a ,considerably reduced rate of interest. By the adoption of the proposal which will be made to the Legislature, of a national bank of issue, having the custody of the public funds, and empowered to hold public securities against a proportion of its notes in circulation, a diminution in the 'amount to be raised by loan to the extent of £1,500,000 would be safely effected. But while the merits of such a plan are undoubtedly great, I think that ,the 'adoption of the measures which I ipropose should not be contingent on the approval of tlris ,means for reducing the public liability Besides estimating the amount of mOl}ey necessary for the construction of the "proposed railways, it is incumbent upon me to consider the proportion of that amount which twill be required from' year to year, so as to ensure the systematic progress of the works :anc1 avoid, 'as far as possible, all liability to delay or interruption. For this purpose itt ,is indispensable that attention should be given to the quantity and description of work to be .done, the time and money required for its ex~cution, and the number of men it will be necessary to employ. To each of these points I have given my best attention, and now propose

I to lay before your Excellency the general res:ults, at which I have arrived respecting them. It has been ascertained that the total qua~ltity of earthwork on the two lines will 'amount to ~bout 10,000,000 of cubic ,yards. , To remove this in three years (a longer ,period would entail a loss far greater than the extra expense necessary to a~complish it in this time), it is calculated that, allowing two hundred working days per annum, and assuming that a ma~, on an average, viewing the character of the earthworks, would be able to " shift" five cubic yards per day, the.1a1Jor of 3600 men would be required. By regulating the xliii

progress of the different kinds of work in proportion to the time they are likely to occupy, so as' to ensure their uniform completion within the period mentioned above; and 'with the view of lessening the demand on the labor market, I would respectfully -suggest that instead of employing this number of men the first year on this description of work, the number engaged annually should be in the following ratio, viz.: during the first year, 2500; during the second, 3500; and during the third, 4800; making in all 10,800 men, or at the rate -of 3600 annually. -The skilled labor required for the construction of bridges, culverts, viaducts, plate- lJ.aying, quarrying, the erection of stations, fencing, &c., &c., together with the necessary horse-power, may be estimated as equivalent to the same number of men annually. Calculating that on an average the sum of one pound per head per diem will cover the whole cost of labor, the following results are obtained :-to pay 5000 men, the number proposed to be employed the first year, for 200 working days, £1,000,000 sterling will be required; in the second year, 7000 men will cost £1,400,000; and in the- third year, 9600 men will demand an outlay of £1,920,000. The total cost of the labor necessary for the completion of the works in the three years is thus estimated at £4,320,000. The difference between that amount and £6,000,000 will suffice for the purchase of plant and other materials to be either imported or manufactured in the Colony. The distribution of the labor thus shown to be necessary is another very material consideration, portions of the work being of such a nature as to require a considerable time for their execution. To hold out a fair prospect of the lines being completed within the time mentioned it will be essential that a certa.in number of men should be constantly employed in certain localities, where the works are heavy. - Having regard to these circumstances, the following is the distribution of men which appears to me desirable during the first year :- On the MELBOURNE, MOUNT ALEXANDER, AND MURRAY RIVER RAILWAY, I would have employed- MEN. From Footscray to Gisborne 500 In the Black Forest ... 400 At Tarradale 200 At Castlemaine, and 400 At the Big Hill, Bendigo ... 200 1700 On the GEELONG AND BALLAARAT RAILWAY, I would have engaged- At Cowie's Creek! and at the crossing of the Moorabool ... 300 At Buninyong Range and Warrenheip 250 At Ballaarat 250 800

Total 2500 men. Proportionately increased, this' division of labor would be applicable till the works were completed. It should be remembered that this is altogether independent of the amount of skilled labor which will be required. Respecting the means of obtaining this amount of labor, various suggestions have been made, to some of which I would now solicit your Excellency's attention. Contributors to the press have frequently enlarged upon this part of the subject, and it has formed the groundwork of a variety of plans which have been from time to time submitted to the Government. • It has been proposed for instance that immigrants should be specially imported for railway purposes, b?,und by engagements to work for a specified time, and encouraged to fulfil their engagements by promises of allotments of land in addition to the receipt of the current rate of wages during the term of their employment. Others have contended that the payment of a moiety of the passage money, with promise of employment at a stipulated rate of wages, for a fixed period after arrival, would prove a sufficient inducement for emigrants of xliv the requisite class to leave the mother country, 'and that they would not be unwilling even to become responsible for the repayment of the amount advanced towards ,their passages. It has also been suggested that the labor of Chinese'immigrants might be turned to advantage, by compulsory enactments, or by offering ·them inducements in the shape of wages equal to their average earnings on the Gold Fields; " others again have directed attention to India, and proposed the employment of Coolies. These, and many other proposals, all proceed on the assumption that labor cannot be obtained in the Colony in sufficient abundance to enable the works to proceed expeditiously without disarranging the general labor market, or else, that its value will be so 'considerably enhanced as materially to augment the expenses of railway construction. There is nothing, as I conceive, in the present condition of the Colony, nor in the experience of the last twelve months" to warrant a hasty conclusion upon the impossi­ bilityof obtaining railway labor. I am of opinion that, by offering the current rates of wages, and having regard also to, the above distribution of labor, the necessary amount of labor for executing such portions of the work as do not .require the em­ ployment ,of skilled artizans, may, be obtained more readily than is generally supposed. It may be probable that the same men will not remain for any very extended period at, railway work, but their places will be supplied by others from that numerous class of

men who~e occupation is of an unsettled ,characte~. It appears' to me I also exceedingly reasonable to anticipate that when wee~me to push on our railways in the vicinity of the Gold Fields, very many of those who make gold mining their occupation, would, during seasons unfavorable for that pursuit, qe glad to avail themselves of the opportunity of employment on railways until the return of weather suitable for their perhaps ,more favorite occupation. Indeed it is well known that there are times when large numbers of miners located on the Gold Fields are compelled to abandon their occupation, and perhaps remain idle, or at least unprofitably employed for weeks; thus exhausting or diminishing the proceeds of their previous toil. The question, however, still deserves consideration, whether the progress ,of railways and the general interests of the country '\Vould not be promoted by giving free ,passages from England to persons who have been accustomed to work on railways there. The common reply to such proposal is, that because men of that class would probably "go to the diggings" inst~ad of laporing on the railways, it would be therefore 'merely throwing away the public money to pay their passages to this Colony. But this appears to me to be a somewhat loose and summary manner of settling a question in the negative without perceiving some of the aspects in which it presents itself. I incline to the opinion that the introduction of "navvies" and skilled artizans, unconditionally; free from restrictions or engagements of any killd, would conduce materially to the promotion of the objects in view whatever course such immigrants might please to take after their arrival. * The probability is that railway erlterprise, when vigorously prosecuted, will originate, as it did in England, ,a distinct pursuit, and that gold digging and working on railways will constitute the alternating occupation of a: numerous class of laborers in this country. But ,independently .of these considerations, there is reason to believe that even if the resources of this Colony were insufficient for supplying the increased demand for labor, 'the neighboring colonies will contribute largely towards o~r requirements whenevei" we are in a position to offer per~anent empl~yment at fixed rates of wages. It is already known that an influx of population may be safely relied upon when railway works on a large scale have been commenced, and that many persons in tne neighboring colonies are awaiting the progress of such undertakings with the'intention of availing themselves of the employment which will then be open to them.

" :: .. .A sum has been put upon the Estimates for introducing 1000 railway laborers from the United Kingdom,-A. C.