TRADE AND COMMERCE.

669

Total earnings ......

Mean mileage open .....

Average receipt per week ....

Average receipt per week per mile open .

1868

18G9

£

5,145,957

3,945

98,960

25-1

£

5,512,918

4,128

106,017

25-7

The following statement gives the mileage, and the average weekly receipts per mile, of the various railway companies, in each of the years, ending June 30, 1868 and 1869 : —

Weekly Receipts per mile

Companies

Miles

1868

1869

£

£

East Indian —

Main Line

1,131

365

41-8

Jubbulpore .

223

7-4

8-3

Great Indian Peninsida .

873

324

314

Eastern Bengal

113

275

28-0

Bombay and Baroda .

308

25-7

267

Madras —

South-west

492

157

15-6

North-west .

197

170

137

Scinde ....

106

17-0

12-8

Delhi ....

201

5-8

12-3

Oudh ....

42

11-3

9-7

Great Southern .

168

4 5

8-4

Punjaub ....

246

8-0

7-6

Mullah ....

28

5-4

52

The total amount of paid-up capital of all the railway companies, on the 31st December, 1869, was 84,721,306/., while the total expenditure up to the same date was 82,135,559/. The total amount of guaranteed interest paid by the Indian Government to the Indian railway companies, from the beginning of 1849 to the close of the year 1869. was 29,778,757/. Of this sum, how- ever, upwards of 15,000,000/. was repaid out of the net earnings of the various lines. The payments made for guaranteed interest to each company, to December 31, 1869, were as follows: — East Indian, 12,767,601/.; Great Indian Peninsula, 6,780,613/.; Madras, 3,909,174/.; Scinde, 942,312/.; Punjaub and Delhi, 1,492,351/. ; Indus Steam Flotilla, 183,269/. ; Bombay, Baroda, and Central India, 382,473/. ; Eastern Bengal, 786,155/. ; Great Southern of India, 394,702/.; and Oude and Rohilcund, 140,105/. The average amount paid by Government in the period 1849-69

was 707,500/. per annum.