The person who is aggrieved by reason of a company fail ing to observe any of its statutory obligations of the above class can make a complaint4pthe Commissioners. And so also in case of dispute between him and the company, whether in fact the latter is in default and the grievance is a valid one. But, generally, the complaint cannot be proceeded with before the Commissioners unless the complainant first obtains a permissive certificate from the Board of Trade. The general rule is that only the person actually aggrieved can prefer a complaint, but to this there is a special statutory exception in favour of certain public authorities and commercial associations. These authorities and associations are enumerated in section 7 of the Act of 1888 as follows :—" (a) Any of the following local authorities, namely, any harbour board, or conservancy authority, the Common Council of the city of London, any council of a city or borough, any representative county body which may be created by an Act passed in the present or any future session of Parliament, any justices in Quarter Sessions assembled, the Commissioners of Supply of any county in Scotland, the Metropolitan Board of Works or any urban sanitary authority not being a council as aforesaid, or any rural sanitary authority ; or (b) any such association of traders or freighters, or chamber of commerce or agriculture as may obtain a certificate from the Board of Trade that it is, in the opinion of the Board of Trade, a proper body to make such complaint." Various jurisdiction of the Commissioners to decide dis putes relating to tolls and rates includes the power to enforce payment thereof, or of so much as they decide to be legal. They can even order traffic facilities, notwithstanding the company may have entered into some agreement inconsistent therewith with another company or party, provided the agreement is not officially confirmed. And in addition to or in sub stitution for any relief, they may award to a complaining party who is aggrieved such damages as they find he has sustained ; such an award of damages will be a complete satisfaction of any claim for damages, including repayment of overcharges, which the party would otherwise have had by reason of the matter of complaint. But these damages cannot be awarded unless complaint has been made to the Commissioners within one year from the discovery by the party aggrieved of the matters complained of. The Commissioners can also make orders as to payment of costs.
appeal lies from the Commissioners upon a question of fact, or upon any question regarding the locus standi of a complainant. Otherwise an appeal lies, in England or Ireland, to the court of appeal ; in Scotland, to the court of session in either division of the inner house. If there is a difference of opinion between the judges of the appeal there is a further appeal, by to the House of Lords.
least two points of view may be selected from which to dis cuss the subject of railways, each appealing to the interest of practically the whole community. There is first the point of view of the investor, which more or less coincides with that of those whose concern is the general commercial condition of the country as evidenced by the state of railway enterprise ; then there is the point of view of the average member of the public who regards a railway com pany almost entirely as a carrier—either of goods or passengers, or of both. It
is proposed in this article to deal with the subject from both these points of view, and in the above order.
Capital—The capital of a railway company may generally be divided into five separate classes—its " Ordinary," " Guaranteed," and " Preferential " capital of shares or stock ; and its capital raised by "Loans" and "Debenture" stock.
At the close of 1908 the total amount of the capital of the railway companies of the United Kingdom returned as "paid up " was £1,310,533,212 ; but of this sum over £196,400,000 does not represent a cash consideration, for it consists of only " water " or nominal additions on the consolidation, conversion, and division of stocks. This " water" forms 181 per cent. of the ordinary stock, and 13 per cent. of the total of the guaranteed and preference stock, and 122. per cent. of the total of the loans and debenture stock. It is apparent from this that in the struggle to distribute satisfactory dividends, the railway companies are heavily handicapped by a load of capital which has never directly assisted to earn dividends. The following table (and see the third table below) shows how railway dividends tend to decrease.
Traffic and its receipts.—During the year 1908 there was an appreciable increase in the receipts from passenger traffic, but the receipts from goods traffic, which reached their height in 1907, presented a much more than corresponding falling off. In the result the total receipts from traffic decreased, for the first time since 1893, though they remained in excess of the year 1906. The most striking point in connection with passenger traffic is the decrease in the number of second-class passengers. The public prefer to travel second class on the longer journeys, but not on shorter journeys, other than in the case of season ticket holders. The decrease for that year in the goods traffic is mainly attribut able to the "mineral " and " general merchandise " branches. About half of the decrease in mineral traffic is accounted for by a decrease in the production and export of coal. The production of coal and iron has always a most im portant bearing on the railway receipts from mineral traffic ; whenever such pro duction decreases or increases the receipts froxn mineral traffic sympathetically decrease or increase. In 1908 the passenger traffic produced £51.7 millions, while the goods traffic produced 158.9 millions.
Working expenditure is always a most important factor in railway finance. As it proportionately increases so do profits decrease. And unfortunately there would now appear to be a decided tendency to increase in this respect. In 1892 the proportion working expenses bore to gross receipts was 56 per cent. By the year 1905 this had increased to 62 per cent., and by 1908 to 63.7 per cent.
A principal item in the increase of working expenditure is that of rates and taxes, in respect of which there continues an increasing pressure. The high prices of coal and the rates of wages are also responsible for a share in the general increase, coal particularly. The amounts of " rates and taxes " paid by the railway companies in each year since 1898 have been as follows :— A consideration of the above figures suggests a slackening of the demands of local authorities on railway companies, and it will be interesting to see, a year hence, whether the tendency has been continued.