624
3
Mr. Eves calculates that the earnings of the British Section will pay 34 per centum on the capital cost which is estimated in round figures at $10,000,000 including interest on capital during construction. No margin remains for sinking fund for repayment of the loan for the Railway.
He estimates that it will take a year's working to reach this earning power, and he does not anticipate any appreciable increase in the earnings until the Chinese Section is linked with the trunk line from Canton to Hankow or with a branch line to Swatow.
4.
Mr. Eves is, I think, somewhat sanguine in thinking that the Railway will capture the whole of the passenger traffic with Canton which now is carried in the River Steamers. The Colony must, therefore, be prepared for the first few years to obtain a return of even less than 34 per centum on the capital cost of the Section.
5.
It follows that until the Railway is in full working order and its earning power is ascertained, the strictest economy in the Colony's finances is eminently desirable.
6.
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