sous (August 24.55.
Wire the lapse of time that has passed since the Tramway, Company's proposals for a reorganization of.its service were brought before the Municipal Council, there are signs of an increasing desire on the part of the public that the Council may see its way before much longer to arrive at some decision on the subject. Asa result of the first discussion, it will be remembered, further consideration was deferred for a later date " until the results of the working of the tramways had had time to develop." In other words the Council believed hatless than six months' running was not sufficient basis for computation of what might or might not be amiss with the system. Now, however, there is reason to believe thut the " develop ments" for which the Council waits before committing itself are mainly concentrated in the development of public opinion. That considerable cantion is necessary before any decisive step is taken will be generally admitted, owing to the peculiar circumstances of the installation of tramways in Shanghai. The Council finds itself in the position of having to administer a contract made ty its predecessors, and dealing with an enterprise entirely new to the Settlement. That contract was settled by negotiation with the company which offered the most favourable terms to the community and in response to advertisements inviting open competition. None of the tenderers, it may be recalled, represented local enterprise or capital. There were no trustworthy data to guide the Council toa decision on several points of vital importance to the Company, amongst others, the fares to be charged; but the final outcome of the negotiations was apparently that the Council got the best of the bargain all through." Subsequent events would appear to show that. the concessionaires in this and, perhaps, other contracts had been over sanguine. But in this respect the community has again been fortunate in having to deal with a substantial London Company which took over the original concession and has carried out its terms regarding equipment and construction in a thoroughly satisfactory manner. That Company now asks fora modification of the original terms on the groun@that the public do not use the first-class, mainly owing to the it difference between first and second-class fares: and the Council, naturally enough, The H.-C. therald and S. C. & C. Gasette. would prefer to feel that it has public sanction before acceding to the Company's application.
The details of what the Company now proposes have been fally set forth in these columns and need not be further recounted. Reduction of the present fare sections would tell in favour of the Tramways, not only by slightly increasing actual fares over the whole of the much used line from The Bund to Defence Creek, but also by attracting a larger number of short distance passengers. The latter consideration, however, might equally be held as an advantage for the public; which also stands to gain considerably by the lesser cost of long-distance rans. In the main, the Company's proposals would appear to be based on a fair principle of give and take, carefal thought out in the interests of bot parties. No one but an expert can form an accurate opinion as to their effect upon the Company's revenue, but bearing in mind that success depends upon catering for the public on attractive lines, we think that the Council might be well advised in giving weight to the expert advice of its representatives. That the Company should prosper within reasonable bounds is undoubtedly the general desire, since this enterprise is a semipublic one like gasworks, waterworks and telephones. In many places tramways are an entirely public service, carried on by the community, sometimes without profit, in the interests of cheap and rapid' communication: and it is obvious that unless the due return on capital is obtained by the shareholders, no expansion nor venture of fresh expenditure need be looked for. In this connexion there is reason to believe that the Company is already meditating experiments which might add considerably to the convenience of the service. The cars at present in use are not wholly suited to the needs of the locality, and suggestions have been put forward that the use of open-air trailers at certain of the busiest hours of the day, or with a view to attracting evening excursions in the hot weather, would prove an acceptable addition, without any extra disturbance to the general traffic. More than this there is the possible need, already an actual one in some quarters, of extending the system, and though the Company cannot justly be accused of lacking initia tive, it is a simple matter of business that such extensions are not to be expected except on the condition of fair remuneration.
the conditions which are now before the public could have been 517 realized either by the Council of 1906 or by the Company, it is quite certain that some modification of them would have been devised; and it is neither the interest nor the inclination of the community to insist on tooharda bargain. Home capital was invested here at a time when it was not available locally and as it is possible that on some future occasion we may agai require gold capital, it behoves us to adopt a liberal rather than an unsympathetic attitude towards those who must be accounted to have run some considerable risk. As we pointed out when previously referring to this topic, the Company has suffered heavily, not only by the recent enormous depreciation in Exchange, but also by depreciation of subsidiary silver coins and ten-cash pieces, neither of which disadvantages were calculated upon by the signatories of the contract. In view, therefore, of all the adverse circumstances surrounding this important enterprise, we believe that the Council will have the support of the community, if it consents to interpret the Tramway contract in a manner which would tend to place the Company on a dividend-paying basis. Should it, for example, be found that the Council is making more than the anticipated profit from the supply of electricity, it is even possible that the best interests of the community would be served by adopting throughout a generous policy, within the bounds of moderation, towards the Company. For the time being no concession is sought in this respect. To quote from the memmorandum which was submitted to the Council on July 21: "The scheme in its entirety is designed to give a proportionate use of the two compartments of the cars and it appears to be justly contended that such a scheme "would afford greatly enhanced facilities to the community and encourage the development of desirable districts."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.