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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 882

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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2. The tramway, as you are aware, was originally estimated to cost Rs. 100,000, the revenue to be derived therefrom at Rs. 40,000, and the working expenses at Rs. 20,000, leaving Rs. 20,000 for interest, sinking fund, renewals, &c.

3. The late Surveyor-General, Mr. de Coriolis, appears to have spent a sum amounting to about Rs: 96,500 on the line and its equipment and, in November, 1903, the Railway Board recommended the expenditure of the balance, Rs. 3,500, in order to lay rails to the several stores of the Colonial Dock Company. The Executive Council thereupon advised that a tariff of charges should be drawn up by the General Manager of Railways with a view to leasing the tramway, and on the 1st of February, 1904, the General Manager submitted draft conditions of lease which were considered in Council on the 12th of the same month, when it was decided that the General Manager should be requested to take over and work the line, and to furnish an esti- mate of revenue and expenditure.

4. On the 3rd of March the General Manager replied estimating that if the traffic were confined to the carriage of goods from the railway and of provisions from shops and stores in the town, he could rely on a minimum of 150 tons per diem, which would return a sum ample to meet all working expenses and would leave a small profit which would be doubtless increased when the people became accustomed to such a method of transport and realised its advantages. His estimates in figures were 300 working days @ 150 tons per day, 45,000 tons @ 65 cents- Rs. 29,250; and expenditure on wages, supplies, and maintenance, Rs. 25,120; leaving a balance of Rs. 4,130 net earnings: but no provision was made for interest and sinking fund on the capital expenditure. He added, however, that in order to work the line on the above-mentioned conditions, an additional expenditure of Rs. 18,200 was neces- sary; namely for:—

Extension of the line

Repairs to the existing line

Purchase of 50 wagons

Purchase of 50 tarpaulins

Rs. 15,000

2,000

10,000

1,200

5. On the 31st of March the Executive Council advised that a year's trial should

be given to the General Manager's scheme.

6. On the 20th April the General Manager was granted, by special warrant, the above-mentioned sum of Rs. 18,200, of which Rs. 7,854.48 was expended up to the end of the financial year 1903-04, and a second warrant was issued on the 12th of July last for the balance, Rs. 10,345.52, which is borne on the current year's accounts as unprovided.

7. In the meantime, however, namely between the 31st of March and the last- mentioned date, the matter had been under the consideration of the Railway Board who recommended an extension of the line and provision for 50 additional wagons, In May the General Manager estimated the expenditure for the above extension and additional rolling-stock at Rs. 15,000, and he was asked to estimate the additional revenue which would accrue therefrom.

8. Nothing appears to have been done on the last proposal, the General Manager reporting on the 15th November that it was not possible to come to a satisfactory agreement with the Manager of the Dock Company in the matter.

9. The line was worked for four months, between the 15th July and the 15th November, with the result as above-mentioned, and I lost no time in bringing the matter before the Executive Council by whom, after reference to the Director of Public Works, who estimated a monthly expenditure of Rs. 100 to maintain the line in its present condition, I was advised that the only course to be taken to avoid additional and useless expenditure was to advertise the plant for sale and that advice

have accepted.

10. I append copies of the General Manager's report of the 15th of November and of the reply of the Director of Public Works, dated the 6th current, from the former of which it will be seen that the present estimated value of the line and its equipment is Rs. 25,000. I, however, doubt whether that sum will be realised by sail of the rails and engines even if credit be given on the transfer of the wagons to the Bois Chéri line as proposed by the General Manager.

11. In this year's estimates provision to the extent of Rs. 26,000 was made for the working expenses and maintenance of the line and whilst a considerable portion of that sum will be saved, account must be taken of the amount of revenue, Rs. 40,000, which was estimated as receivable, none of which can be collected; so that even if

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the plant and rolling-stock should realise on sale and transfer the estimated sum of Rs. 25,000, when the accounts are closed, the Colony will have made a net loss of somewhat over Rs. 100,000 on the undertaking, by which amount the surplus balances of the Treasury will have been irrecoverably decreased.

I have, &c.,

Enclosure 1 in No. 238.

CAVENDISH BOYLE,

GENERAL Manager of RAILWAYS to COLONIAL SECRETARY.

(No. G.M. 1981/910.)

November 15, 1904.

I kept back these papers as I ascertained from Mr. Piat, the Manager of the Colonial Dock, that it was not possible to come to a satisfactory agreement with him. He informed me that he had made arrangements to work his sugar traffic during the crop at the rate of cents a bag for unloading from the railway wagons, carrying to his stores and stacking there, and he could not agree to pay more to the tramway.

It was not possible to undertake the work at that price. 2. It was decided by His Honour the Officer Administering the Government, in Executive Council on the 8th of April, that the tramway would be worked on trial for one year.

3. It has now been working four months, but I regret to say that the result is very unsatisfactory, my estimate of the traffic having proved to be a great deal too high.

4. This is due to the greatly altered conditions of transport in Port Louis since it was decided to work the tramway. The surra had not disappeared then, and it was not anticipated that the importation into the island of great numbers of draught animals would cause the cost of cartage to fall, as it has, by over 50 per cent.

5. The carts have the advantage over the tramway of fetching goods from stores in all streets, while our lines run through a limited part of the town only, and even where the tramway reaches, competition has brought the prices down so low that the traffic all goes to the carts.

6. I had been in hopes that, with the crop, the price of the cartage would go up, as it always does, but it has not been so, and as we were losing heavily, I have stopped working the tramway. The expenses during the four months have amounted to Rs. 8,374.48 and the earnings to only Rs. 3,933.95.

7. It should, however, be said that at first, after starting the work, a large amount had to be spent on repairs and improvements.

The tramway, after being constructed, had been abandoned during several months and the line which is a light one (14-lb. rails on light steel sleepers or in places second- hand railway sleepers) had considerably deteriorated.

8. With the money granted for that purpose 3,444 feet of new line were laid and 13,069 feet overhauled and in a great many places relaid. But after the traffic had started many other defects were discovered, sleepers giving way, rails spreading, &c.; these had to be remedied.

9. With the balance of the Rs. 18,200, 40 new wagons and 20 tarpaulins were supplied and the office fitted up.

10. The assets of the tramway, excluding the network of lines and including engines, wagons, and stores on hand is Rs. 25,000, approximately.

11. I greatly regret the pecuniary loss which has resulted from an experiment which I honestly believed at the time would be a success and which has caused me a great deal of extra work and anxiety.

As I wrote above, the reduced cost of cartage has been the principal cause of the failure and has in fact deprived the tramway of its utility.

L. EMILE PITOT,

General Manager.