GENERAL SURVEY.
The financial results for the year ending March 1951 have once again provided a record for this short line of 224 miles, but unfortunately it is a record which is likely to stand for some years to come if present trends are any criteria. Gross income was $10,336,796.75 and nett revenue $6,122,364.57.
2. The year commenced well, with the 637,634 passengers carried in the month of April exceeding by 128,177 the previous highest total in February 1950 for any one month. The above figure was again beaten during the month of February 1951, the Chinese New Year holiday period, with 665,610, though it was of the nature of a "nunc dimittis" since the Chinese Government had pronounced that stringent new immigration and emigration regulations would be brought into force on February 15th. Many passengers who delayed their return to the Colony beyond a week were therefore caught and had to obtain two sureties before they could effect an exit from China.
3.
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During the months of March and April 1950, the adverse balance of passengers into the Colony over those leaving, had been steadily mount- ing until the disparity for one week in mid-April by rail alone had risen to 15,656. A similar state of affairs obtained on the Macao steamboats and certain ferries affecting the Chinese mainland. On May 1st 1950, therefore, a system of control was introduced whereby outward bookings were limited to the number of arrivals on the previous day. All forms of transport including passenger-carrying junks were included in the arrangement.
4. The success of the scheme lay in its essential simplicity since there was no discrimination; numbers and not personalities were the only consideration. Later, a certain discretion was exercised by the Police as to types. The measures are still in force.
5. The arrangements above described became the subject of a protest by the Chinese Government.
6. It is of interest, therefore, to compare the effects of the stringent regulations introduced later by the Chinese Government itself, in February 1951, on passenger travel by rail in April/June 1950 and in January/March 1951, i.e., the months immediately before and after the respective controls had been introduced:
April 1950 January 1951
Totals In & Out. 386,642 June 1950-326,214
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354,896 March 1951- 74,000
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