'Lord Curzon's Notes on Persia: About 1889-1890' [‎605r] (1230/1486)

ST. PETERSBURG.
9
47,000,000 r., is included in the provision for the three departments
of Ways and Communications, War, and the Interior. The
smaller extra expenditure on account of the public debt, and for
the Ministries of Justice, State Domains, Education, and the
Control (or audit), is practically balanced by corresponding
economies in other departments, and specially by a reduction of
5,500,000 r. for the Ministry of Marine.
The very large additional expenditure for Ways and Com
munications, of which about 6,000,000 r. was sanctioned for the
budget of 1889, and a further 20,000,000 r. for the current year,
would appear to be chiefly due to the taking over by the State of
several railways formerly worked by private companies, and to
expenditure on water-communications and roads. Expenditure
for railway working has increased by about 17,000,000 r. in the
last two years, but unless the State has been making a succession
of bad bargains in its transactions with the companies, these
17,000,000 r. should be recouped in the form of profit on working
the railways, or at least in the diminution of the sums paid by the
Treasury, under its obligations in guaranteeing the interest on
the original capital of the railways. The real position is difficult
to discover, for items directly connected with the railways are to
be found scattered in the accounts of no less than four Depart
ments viz.:—the Public Debt, and the Ministries of Finance,
Ways and Communications, and State Domains. Also 1 may
here point out that, in connection with the railways, there is at
times an apparent confusion in account, between capital and
income, owing to the complications involved in raising the original
capital, in providing for the payment of guaranteed interest,
in the frequent repetition of special loans, for the purpose of
meeting deficits on the working of profitable lines, and in the
irregular repayments made by the railways to the Government.
Accordingly the whole subject has become exceedingly complex,
and it will necessarily take much time and trouble to bring the
general system of railway accounts into a thoroughly clear form.
Meanwhile, although the railways which serve the grain trade are
of the very highest, importance to the prosperity of the empire, it
is certain that the railway system is still a most serious burden on
the revenue. In 1886 the Treasury paid on Account of guaranteed
interest alone, the sum of 15,689,757 r. for the railways, and on
January 1, 1887, the total annual payment for railways guaran
teed by the State, was 61,079,363 r., whilst on the same date the
debt of the companies to the Government, was calculated at
1,971,661,317 r. In 1886 eighteen railways were able to pay
the interest on their capital without assistance, whilst nineteen
companies had to fall back on the State guarantee, to make good
deficits varying in proportion of from 40 to 100 per cent, of their
annual obligations for the payment of interest.
I he statement annexed (Table 13) showing the comparative
receipts from the railways, for the last six years, gives at first sight
an unduly unfavourable impression as regards the development of
railway profits, for the exclusion from the general comparison of
Railways.