Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland Part 15

Mr. E. J. Harding, C.M.G., was our Secretary. An Oxford man of distinction, a member of the permanent staff of the Colonial Office, studious, enthusiastic, energetic, of rare temper, tact and patience, he was all such a Commission could desire. He and three or four a.s.sistants, with local officers selected by the Governments in each of the Dominions, one and all most capable men, formed a Secretariat that served us well.

The Commission started operations by taking evidence in London in the autumn of 1912, but its main work lay in the Dominions, and on the 10th of January, 1913, we sailed for Australia and New Zealand, touching at Fremantle (Western Australia), Adelaide (South Australia), Melbourne (Victoria), and Hobart (Tasmania) on our way.

In New Zealand we travelled through the island from south to north, staying in that beautiful country for nearly a month, and holding sittings in the princ.i.p.al cities. One sitting we held in the train--a record surely for a Royal Commission. Easter intervening, we indulged in a few days' holiday in the wonderful Rotorua district, where we enjoyed its hot springs, its geysers, its rivers, its lakes and its Maori villages. Returning to Sydney, we travelled northwards to Queensland and there entered seriously upon our Australian duties, holding sittings at Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Perth. In Queensland we penetrated north as far as Bundaberg, Gladstone, Rockhampton and Mount Morgan. In the other States tours were made through the irrigation areas of New South Wales and Victoria, and visits paid to the mines at Broken Hill (New South Wales), the Zeehan district and Mount Lyall (Tasmania); Iron k.n.o.b (South Australia), and Kalgoorlie (Western Australia). Some of our party penetrated to remoter parts of Australia such as Cairns (Northern Queensland), Condobolin (west of New South Wales), and Oodnadatta (Central Australia), still the furthest point of railway extension toward the great Northern Territory.

To Tasmania we were able to devote a few days, taking evidence and enjoying its wonderful beauty.

Finally, we left Australia on the 9th of June, four months after our first landing on its sunny sh.o.r.es.

On arriving home it was determined that for the remainder of the year 1913 we should remain in England and take further evidence in London.

We resumed our travels in January, 1914, when we left for South Africa.

There we held a number of sittings, taking evidence at Capetown, Oudtshoorn, Port Elizabeth, East London, Kimberley, Bloemfontein, Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Pretoria and Johannesburg. Our journeys to these various places were so planned as to involve our travelling over most of the princ.i.p.al railway lines of the Union, so that we were able to see a considerable portion of its beautiful scenery as well as its great mining and pastoral industries. Our work finished, most of us returned direct to England, but some were able to penetrate northwards into Rhodesia, and return by way of the East Coast of Africa.

It was our intention, after taking further evidence in London, to proceed to Canada and Newfoundland, and to return home before the winter began, when we looked forward to making our Final Report. This intention we partially fulfilled, as in July, 1914, we sailed from Liverpool, and after exchanging steamers at Rimouski, landed at St. John's, Newfoundland. There we stayed for a few days whilst the crisis in Europe deepened. We then travelled through the island by railway and crossed to the Maritime Provinces of Canada. On that fatal day in August on which war broke out we were in Nova Scotia. A few days after, the British Government, considering that under such conditions we could not finish our work in Canada, called us home. In common with many of our countrymen we indulged in the hope that the duration of the war would be a matter of months and not of years, and that we should be able to resume our work in Canada in the autumn of 1915. But this was not to be.

However, in 1916, the Governments represented on the Commission came to the conclusion that the completion of our work ought not to be longer delayed, and accordingly, in August, 1916, we sailed again to Canada.

In the Maritime Provinces of Canada, in 1914, we visited Sydney, Cape Breton, Halifax, the Annapolis Valley and Digby in Nova Scotia; St. John, Fredericton and Moncton in New Brunswick, and Charlottetown in Prince Edward Island.

In 1916 the resumption of our Canadian work began at Montreal.

Thereafter, the great mining districts of Northern Ontario engaged our attention, where, amongst other valuable products of the earth, nickel, silver and gold abound. From Ontario we travelled westward to Prince Rupert on the British Columbian coast, holding sittings at Saskatoon, Edmonton and Prince Rupert. We then proceeded by steamer, through glorious scenery, southward to Victoria, Vancouver Island. At Victoria and also at Vancouver we took evidence. From Vancouver we journeyed eastwards by the Canadian Pacific Railway over the Rockies, breaking our journey and holding sittings at Vernon, in the Okanagan Valley, at Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec, devoting several days each to many of these places. Whilst in British Columbia we also visited the lower part of the Okanagan Valley, and whilst in the prairie provinces stopped at Medicine Hat (where the gas lamps burn day and night because it would cost more in wages than the cost of the gas to employ a man to turn them out). In Ontario we visited North Bay, Fort William, Port Arthur, Guelph and Niagara Falls. In addition some of us travelled through the mining districts of British Columbia, and also inspected the asbestos mines at Thetford, in the Province of Quebec.

This is the bald outline of our long and interesting journeys, which by land and sea comprehended some 70,000 miles. How bald it is I keenly feel, and it would afford me more pleasure than I can tell to give some account of our wonderful experiences--of the delight of sailing in southern seas; of the vast regions of the mainland of Australia; of the marvels of its tropical parts; of the entrancing beauty of New Zealand and Tasmania; of the wonders of Canada, the variety of its natural productions, its magnificent wheat-growing areas; of the charm of South Africa with its glorious climate and its beautiful rolling veldt. What a memory it all is! Tranquil seas, starlit nights, the Southern Cross, n.o.ble forests, glorious mountains, mighty rivers, boundless plains; young vigorous communities under sunny skies, with limitless s.p.a.ce in which to expand. I should love to enlarge on these things, but a sense of proportion and propriety restrains my pen.

In all the Dominions we were received with the warmest of welcomes and most generous hospitality--governments, munic.i.p.alities and corporations vieing with each other in doing us honor, whilst private individuals loaded us with kindness. It was clear that our mission was popular, and clear too that affection for the old country was warm and lively. I cannot attempt to narrate all that was done for us--banquets, receptions, excursions, garden parties, concerts--time and s.p.a.ce will not allow. But I cannot be altogether silent about the splendid special train which the South African Government placed at our disposal from the time we left Capetown until we reached Johannesburg, which (taking evidence at the various places on the way) occupied several weeks. This sumptuous train consisted of dining car, sleeping cars and parlour car, was liberally staffed and provisioned; with a skilful _chef_, polite and attentive waiters and attendants. It was practically our hotel during those forty days or more.

In Australia and New Zealand, more than once, the various governments provided us with special cars or special trains to visit their remoter districts with the greatest possible comfort. The same was the case in Newfoundland, whilst the Canadian Government lent to us a steamer--the _Earl Grey_--for our journey from Rimouski to Newfoundland, which since has done good service for the Allied cause in the war.

In Canada we travelled from Montreal to Prince Rupert, some 3,000 miles, in a handsome and most commodious car kindly lent to us by Sir Daniel Mann, one of the founders of the Canadian Northern Railway. It, too, was our home and hotel during the ten days which that journey occupied. The longest pa.s.senger vehicle I had ever seen, it had ample kitchen, dining room, sitting room, sleeping and "observation" accommodation for us all, with an excellent bathroom and the luxury of a shower bath.

On all our journeys to and from the Dominions, and in all our expeditions by sea or by land, my wife accompanied me. She was an excellent traveller. There is considerable difference in our years; but, as d.i.c.kens has said: "There can be no disparity in marriage save unsuitability of mind and purpose." The only lady who accompanied the Commission everywhere, she was sometimes called "The Lady Commissioner."

One must not praise one's own, but this much I may say: Her Irish wit and bright unselfish ways made her, everywhere and always, a welcome addition to the Commission party.

After November, 1916, we held no more public sittings, took no further evidence, but sat down at Spencer House (one of the many stately London residences lent by their owners to the Government during the war) and there, in its ballroom, industriously worked out our Final Report. This, of course, reviewed the whole subject of our inquiry and embodied our final conclusions and recommendations. To the credit of the Commission be it said, these conclusions and recommendations were entirely unanimous, as also were those in each of our Interim Reports, published in connection with the Dominions separately.

In this Final Report the subject of railways was not included. Railways of course formed part of our inquiry, but they were dealt with in our Interim Reports.

To a large extent railways were more a matter of domestic than of Imperial concern, but as the development of the resources of the Dominions depended greatly upon the adequacy of railway transit, the subject came within the province of our inquiry. I will not trouble the reader with statistics (which can be readily obtained elsewhere) beyond the following statement which represented, at the time we made our investigations, the railway mileage and the population in each Dominion compared with the United Kingdom:--

Miles of Population. Number of Railway. Inhabitants per Mile of Railway.

Canada 35,600 8,075,000 280 Australia 18,000 4,500,000 250 South Africa 8,800 1,300,000{207a} 150{207b} New Zealand 2,900 1,052,000{207a} 370 Newfoundland 800 250,000 320 United Kingdom 23,500 46,000,000 1,950

It is clear that railway construction has not been neglected in the Dominions, and that, measured by population, the mileage is considerable.

Speaking generally, the Dominion railways are highly efficient and serve their purpose well. Extensions were being projected and many were in course of construction for the further development of natural resources and of trade and commerce.

In Australia the railways, with the exception of certain lines belonging to the Commonwealth, are owned and worked by the several States. We found them paying full interest on the cost of construction, and sound a.s.sets of the country. The cost of working was, however, greatly increasing, due mainly to increase of salaries and wages. How this stands since the war I do not know; but that expenses have further advanced goes without saying. An important railway witness whom we examined expressed the opinion that increased expenditure could be recouped by increased rates. Perhaps that is still true. If it is, the railways of Australia are happier than most of the railways in Ireland.

The railways of New Zealand belong to and are worked by the Government.

For many years the Government, looking upon the railways as an adjunct to the settlement and development of the country, only expected them to return 3 per cent. interest on the capital expended. In 1909 this policy, however, was modified, 3.75 to 4 per cent. being then regarded as a proper result, and this result was accomplished. Water power in New Zealand is so abundant that the adoption of electricity for railway working has been engaging the attention of the Government. Many, well qualified to judge, were satisfied that it would prove more economical than steam locomotion.

In both Australia and New Zealand, borrowing for railway construction had been by means of general loans raised for all kinds of Government expenditure. We came to the conclusion that if loans for reproductive works, such as railways, had been segregated from others, it would have helped the raising of capital, and probably secured easier terms.

The construction of railways in Canada has, in recent years, proceeded at a rapid pace. We found that the mileage had doubled since the beginning of the present century, due, to a large extent, to the construction of two new Trans-Continental lines. The grain-growing districts of the prairie provinces, south of lat.i.tude 54 degrees, are now covered with a network of railways, and British Columbia has three through routes to Eastern Canada.

The enterprise of the princ.i.p.al Canadian railway companies is remarkable.

They own and operate not only railways, but also hotels, ferry services, grain elevators, lake and coast steamers, as well as Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific steamers. One company also has irrigation works, and ready- made farms for settlers in the prairie provinces. But Canada lies so near to us, and in the British Press its railways receive such constant attention, that I need not descant further upon them.

In South Africa, with the exception of about 500 miles mainly in the Cape Province, the railways are all Government owned, and are worked as one unified system. The Act of Union (1909) prescribed that the railways and the harbours (which are also Government owned and worked) were to be administered on business principles, and that the total earnings should not exceed the necessary expenditure for working and for interest on capital. Whenever they did, reductions in the rates, or the provision of greater facilities, were to restore the balance. This provision also had the effect of preventing the imposition of taxation upon the community by means of railway rates. The Act contained another practical clause, designed to block the construction of lines from political considerations. Any line constructed contrary to the advice of the Railway Board, if it resulted in loss, the loss was to be a charge, not upon the general railway revenue, but upon the Consolidated Fund--a useful "brake," which I have no doubt has often pulled up hasty and impetuous politicians.

South African railways enjoy one great advantage--cheap coal for their engines. In 1913 the average cost at the pit's mouth was 4s. 11.5d. per ton.

The railways of Newfoundland have had a chequered history. Now they are Government property, worked by a private company under a 50 years' lease, which dates from 1901, and under that lease no rent is paid. As the capital expenditure (about 3,000,000 pounds) averages less than 4,000 pounds per mile, it may be conceived that the railway system of Newfoundland is not of an extravagant character, and in my humble opinion, the country deserves something much better. In our fourth report (on Newfoundland) we stated: "It must also be said that the state of the permanent way does not conduce to speedy or comfortable travelling."

The gauges of the Dominions' railways are very varied. In Australia there are three--5ft. 3in., 4ft. 8.5in. and 3ft. 6in., with some 300 miles or so of less than 3ft. 6in. The Commonwealth has for some time been considering the conversion of the lines into one standard gauge, the British gauge of 4ft. 8.5in. being favoured. The cost of this conversion naturally increases the longer action is deferred, and in any case would be very great. It was officially estimated at the time of our visit at 37,000,000 pounds.

New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Newfoundland are each the happy possessor of one gauge only. In Canada it is the British gauge of 4ft.

8.5in., and in New Zealand, South Africa and Newfoundland, 3ft. 6in.

Our Final Report was signed on the 21st of February, 1917, and published as a Blue Book in the usual way, but, what is rarely done with any Blue Book, it was also published in handy book-form, bound in cloth, at the popular price of 1s. 6d. Blue Books do sometimes contain matter of general interest, are sometimes well written and readable, and would be more read if presented to the public in a handy form such as we succeeded in publis.h.i.+ng.

The main purposes of the Commission I have already briefly stated. They embraced many subjects for inquiry and study, of which the following are the most important, and regarding each of which it may be appropriate to say a word or two:--

External Trade of the Self-Governing Dominions

We ascertained and compiled in detail, tables of the Imports and Exports, distinguis.h.i.+ng Trade with (_a_) the United Kingdom, (_b_) the other parts of the Empire, and (_c_) with foreign countries. The figures showed the need there was for an Imperial trade policy, which should lead to British manufacturers and merchants cultivating more the Dominion markets, and utilising more the vast resources of raw materials which the Dominions possess. We found that a detailed examination of existing conditions, and practical and definite proposals for the removal of difficulties, were required.

Natural Resources of the Dominions

In regard to agricultural matters we gathered and published much information, finding that in one part or other of the Dominions all animals and almost every crop flourished that are needed by man, that if the products of the more tropical parts of the Empire were taken into account, the Empire could meet more than its own needs; and that if men existed in sufficient numbers in our Dominions, there was scarcely any limit to the external trade they could do. In this part of our Inquiry we found to what a considerable extent people concentrated in large cities to the detriment of the country districts. "Back to the land" is a question there of as much if not greater moment than in the Mother Country. The mineral resources of the Dominions, like the agricultural, provided us with a big subject. In every Province or State, by oral evidence, by official statistics, by discussion with Government geologists, officials of the Mines Departments and others, we gathered a large amount of valuable information. The volumes of printed evidence give full particulars of this and other subjects. The mineral deposits of Canada especially are varied in character and large in respect both of quant.i.ty and value--gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, coal, iron, asbestos, natural gas, petroleum, peat, gypsum--all are found in unstinted quant.i.ty. Nor are the other Dominions deficient. The goldfields of Australia are historic, and the silver, lead and zinc mines of Broken Hill deserve particular mention. In South Africa gold and diamonds are plentiful; and Newfoundland has wonderful deposits of iron ore.

In forests and fish the Dominions abound, and possess enormous possibilities of extended trade.

Conservation and Development of Natural Resources in the Future

This subject received our earnest attention. We considered that the various Governments of the Empire should take steps to secure the development and utilisation of their natural wealth on a well considered scheme, and that to do this, a preliminary survey was needed of the relation between Empire production and Empire requirements. No such survey, as far as we knew, had yet been undertaken, but in the _Memorandum and Tables relating to the Food and Raw Material Requirements of the United Kingdom_, which we submitted to His Majesty in 1915, the Commission had made an effort, not without some measure of success, in this direction. We regarded it as vital that the Empire's supplies of raw material and commodities essential to its safety should be, as far as possible, independent of outside control, and made suggestions which aimed at effecting this object. We recommended that the survey mentioned above should be made by an Imperial Development Board, which should be entrusted with the whole subject.

Scientific Research in Relation to the Development of Natural Resources