Tramway ownership

THE Calcutta, Bombay and Madras tramways are all worked by private companies with headquarters at London and like the railways they are worked for the profit of the shareholders and not, as they should, as municipal assets. Evidently this wrong principle was copied from the State in its relation to the railways. Now, however, the Government are considering whether the Indian railways should not be worked by a State Department, and we think the Municipalities of the Presidency towns ought to consider whether they should not work their own tramways, as Corporations in England do. One reason for this step is that the tramways are profitable concerns and the profits would, n the event of the proposed change, go back to the people. Now, of course, the profits go out of the country. The second reason is that complaints against tramway working and accidents are increasing.