PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Press, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4685, 7 August 1880, Page 2

PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

TBt Telegraph.]] The following is the statement delivered by the Minister for Publio Works, the Hon. Richard Oliver, in the House yesterday: — Sir—Following the usual course I propose to begin by briefly reporting the operations of the Public Works Department for the seven months whioh have elapsed since X had a like honor last December. I shall condense this ?art of my statement as muoh as possible, as do not wish to weary the House with a multiplicity of details, and because it will when printed be accompanied by full reports from various heads of departments, by copious tables and by maps', which I hope hon. members will find useful as exhibiting tho progress we have made in the construction of the railways already authorised. hobth ibland bailwayb. Kawa-Kawa Railway—Beginning with the railway construction in the north of this island, the work on the Kawa Kawa Coal line has been continued. A bridge, whioh is the most important work, except the terminal wharf, is in course of construction. Whangarei Kamo Railway—The works let on the Kamo contraofc of the Whangarei railway have been muoh delayed by the contractor, and are not yet'finished, although the contract time has expired.. The, delay has seriously'interfered with the development of the coal trade of the districti and with a view of assisting this industry I have sanctioned tho laying of a branch to connect the main line with a shipping place in the borough of Whangarei, the local authorities having permitted the use of the streets for the purpose. An exploratory survey between Helensville and Whangarei has been made for the purpose of ascert-i-ing the practicability of constructingarailwaythroughthatcountry. Another survey of a nmilar character has been made of the district between Whangarei and Kakakawa. Reports on these routes, with explanatory maps, will be placed in the hands of hon. members. Kaipara-Waikato Railway —This has been finished satisfactorily, and the station buildings ire nearly completed. The line between Newmarket Junotion and Waikouati has been finished and opened for traffic. The gap, however, between Helensville and Auckland, caused by the non-com-pletion of the Waitaki contract, still remains, and the condition of the work at the Summit tunnel gives no promise that it will be finished in the contract time, whioh ends in September next. The workshop site contract at Newmarket is being pushed on energetically. The contractor for the reclamation in Auckland having failed to carry out his contract, it was taken out of his hands, and a portion of it has been re-let to another contractor. The Ohaupo contract has been finished, and the Waikato railway it open as far South as Te Awamutu, about two and a-half miles from the confi-oated 'boundary.' Waikato-Thames Railway—The Grahamstown contract of the Waikato Thames Railway is completed, and the Shortland contract nearly so. The Waikato contract, extending twelve and threequarters miles east from Hamilton, is proceeding favorably. A survey of this line has been completed from Hamilton to Te

Aroha and up to Thames Valley for -toT"" - ' fi miles from Gwhamstown, leaving[_*&£* 1 teen mile, still uneurteyed. Foxtoa--tt f Plymouth Bailwav-The raflway £_T»!! I Plymouth waa opened aa far south at SfcratZS 1 on December Wth, and a further aeeffih I Ngam will, it v expooted, be open in »*Z fi weeks. Some other portione of thia lina yZ . Si tweenStratford and Oarlyle are under eonta_T ¥ Some are being done by day labor, andw i tween Oarlyle and Wanganui the W_itot_»_ ■ oontraot is approaching completion. _v f Waverley section ia in hand, and the o_ri«_! I wharf oontraot has been let, while ten-! I portion of the works in the neighborhoods I Oarlyle are now being prepared for absorbi*. I unemployed labor. Commodious workihon l have been built at WaDganui, and a contraa. I has been made for a new railway atationiurf I wharf at Foxton. Welliogton-Woodv__ I Railway—On the Wellington- Wood-ilie rafl I way, the works of the Carterton section, o»i I twenty miles,have been vigorously proseoute. by the department, the average number rf " men employed being 275. It ia expected thS by September next the whole distance ba • tween Wellington and Maaterton will be ones I for traffic The Greytown branch {»_ I opened on the 26th of May. With the Tie* *■ - of finding work for the unemployed fe V this district, aome men have beg. I engaged in earthworks and bush clearing oa I the Opaki aeotion beyond the Carterton con, 1 tract, and on the Orofton eeotiona of fta I Wellington-Foxton railway. Sometimes aa § many as 850 of the unemployed have been tet f' at work. Thia number has now fallen below »- -100. Napier-Wocdville.—The railway J, §*"• nearly completed to Makatoko, about seventy )■ miles from Napier. The laat contract of _ £»." and three-quarter miles will shortly be res_j thiol publio traffic. The works are bei&i % pushed on towards Tahorite, abont twelvj F miles further, and surveys of the country tj \ the south have been completed for aboij -" fifteen miles more. Napier-WallingfortU. X An exam-nation of the oountry from Napiaj - ' to Wa-lio|ford, through the distriots between the Tukiki river ani the sea has been mads, f" but the oountry appears to be very unj-itaSs \ for railway construction, r MIDDLE ISLAND BAILWAYB. f_ Neleon-Greymouth — The works on the ' Nelaon to G/reymouth live, on the northern end, have been continued to the completion.! \ the railway connecting the city of Kelson ■ - with, the port, and an extension of fcbrw ' miles beyond Foxhill by the Bellgrove eon. ■- tractisnowaltnoat completed atthe G.eymo__i > end the Stillwater contract. An extension of the original Brunner railway for taresquarters of a mile, has been found to bs a w<j_t of considerable difficulty and expense, tot oontraot price for sixty-three ohaina being £12,234 for formation only. Tho harbw works at Greymoutb, whioh have been carritd on as a part of the improvement designed tadevelope coal induatiy in that distriot, wen > almost suspended for some little time w_-» awaiting Sir J. Coode's report. It arrive- ia % Maroh last, and it ia satisfactory to find that '3 the work already executed baa been approved '* and adopted by him aa part of his dogigg. V Hokitika-G-reymouth Railway—Some se_. ! contracts ontheGreymouth-Hoki-ikaEaihra- _ have either been finished or are near coaplj. p tion and no new works were begun this year, |r Pioton-Hurunui Rail way—The laat one-and_> « quarter miles of the railway from Picton to p Blenheim have been oompluted, and the etatioa fbuidings at Blenheim are in hand. Hura_nl» , Waitaki railway with branohea.—The new i works on the main line from Hurunui to | Waitaki are the Waipara oontraot, extending I from Amberley to the Waipara rirer and the ' Weka Pass section nine miles long, aeon- '_ tinuation of the line through the Pass to th. , Waikari and Hurunui plains. The latter m- ;- tion was reserved from oontraot in order kt ' provide work for the unemployed of Ohrirt. v-?j churoh. Springfield branoh—The Springfield '-]i cutting was completed in February hA. '\ Little River and Akaroa branch—The Ellcs- .]' mere formation oontraot on the Little Hire? .' '' and Akaroa branoh was finished in Maroh, A [ * oontraot has just been made for a portion oJ § the plate laying. Ashburton branoh—Ths" 5 first ten and three-quarter miles of tho __&• bnrton branoh will be open for traffij J on the 7th of April. Opawa branoh— -, On the Opawa branch the bridge over ' ; the Opawa river has been built by contrast) '; and the remainder of the work, with the ex* f ception of another bridge, has been reserrei in order to give work to the unemployed ia . the neighborhood. Canterbury Intent. '- The works whibh have been oarriod on <f the year are two bridges, those oyer tMnijru and Temuka rivers; which are finished. I&n South of the Waitaki—Work has been almott entirely confined to the improvement of eta-, ' tions, the increase "of wharfage and other ;. necesaary acoommodation. Branch lines—' ■' Further railway extension has been made on > •' the following'branoh lines, viz.—the Living' !„ Bton branch, the Catlin'a River, Tapania, *i Edendale, Lumsden, Otautatau and Orepuii [ branohee, and on the Otago Central railway '; On thia latter the Wingatui seotion is under ioontraot, and rt the Hindon snotion work \ has been afforded to a large number of jthe unemployed. The great depression froa ; which nearly all our industries have suffered V lately has, thrown many workmen out ot L--employment, and the Gfovemment have bees <_' called on to alleviate the consequent diitresJ f by finding work for them on the railways and .' roads whioh are in course of construction. ' - We have thought it our duty to comply with fthese requests, and I am sorry to say that co \ less a number than 167- of these men are now \_ being employed at low wages in various parte f of the colony. Although it is to he deplored [--. that in a new oonntry of suoh great naturel ' resouroes as New Zealand this state of things P should exist, yet it is by no means a neir ex- } perienoe in the hiatory of the colony. M I various times during the last twenty yeara th* |: authorities have found it necessary to afford f' similar temporary employment, but tot- R~ tunately the need for the interference pof the G-overnment has in every cm I; soon passed away, and has been sucoeedtd by a large demand for labor in tho ordinary r industries of the country, and at the higlasS |; rate of wages known in any part of the villi. |* I believe, Sir, that hon. members will Bgr» p. with mc in -thinking that this season of de> |j; pression will also pass away, and give placoto p another period of prosperity not inferior to % that whioh we have until lately enjoyed. _-» i[ disorganisation of the labor market ia alran-y «,'- ---beginning to work its own remedy, by -Rag; |' ing into existence new industries in thec-st "-" centres of population, and developing tho self-reliant spirit of our working clases. There are also the most encouraging indie-* tions of a revival of the goldfields ind_a~7> whioh may be of the greatest value to It* colony at large Meantime it is satisfactory to find that although many of the men th» |. employed by us are engaged in work to whiff- |. : they are unacoustotned, yet from their labor ; « the colony has obtained a fair equivalent for |> the outlay. \. f OEHBBAI, PBOGBHSS TS BAILWAT 00K- f BTBUOTION. I. The sums voted by Parliament for -_«• |- tional railway works in the last session, «wo' l aive of preliminary eurvevfl for linoa not yj» authorised, amounted to £2 308,700. Onto* %: , 31st March £856,550 of this sum hadfceP : ; expended, and /liabilities inourrad amountroi i, to -.910,506) making a total of £i,767,0§ft • leaving an unexpended balance on last jest* I - votea of £5-1,6-.. Reoognifling the neoessu? \ for spreading the expenditure of the remjl»* \ ing publio works f ttnd over a poriod ol? & j least the next three yeara, and believing 16® . as some of tho railway works had been adoptee tin times of gi-eat prosperity, Parliament vrom J not disapprore in our changed oironmata-W* « of having an opportunity afforded of moos* sideringthem, Ihavenotbe*ninha»tetepres on the const.notion of new works. In fast)** the Middle Island only one new section w . railway has been commenced since the end <» our laat seaaion. Many new aeistiona worogo* .^ ready for contract, and in some instan«t tenders were invited and reoeived, buti iw |, grave considerations connected with a taw® | revenue and inoreaeed defioit from our nnU-» railways could not be evaded, and -««»««■ ; to defer the acceptance of aome of t tenders, in order that time might be gr/en » | re-examining our future railway policy.

JBOADB. . •■ The expenditure of the votes for "«"!", thia island has, for the mo., part, W£ entrusted to the various looal g_ e l°f3 „ bodies. The main roads under the charge w the Government have been mamtamea usual during the year. These »»>"•_!£ Great Soutl road (Auckland), the (Taupo), and the Taupo @*? w )j£t - and on several other local 'fflgg considerable amount of work done. The road works iDßtitated on the w«^ Coast, between Waiogongoro and _ fIWJj , Rivers, crossing the Waimate Plain* ,_n»J • been carried on very latii-actorily,and t»£ sections of the road will probably ne*» # few days. The.character of the J>f gj . very favorable, no natural >gfg been met. The cross road from »tm i Opunake, through the °™V " £ S J pwhedoi.andgoodprogreM ia being ■■*► j

~~~~~~Z.«t amended on roads and bridges during the past year *_£ J-ltaadSUw work, of importance 2jfjSund«t-ken. __.«__*• THB TB-U-KS BOTH--ift.Sh.achi. not . public work-.» to in a statement of tha ___ SnoTrefram from mentioning the -_f-___it ■-* P-bUc»pirited efforts made of Matamata, to remove the *f *fJa th. river Thames at his own cost. f*§_So»v», when colonisto are too much in ?t_wt_f looking to the Government for *s?__.k •» ™ eM to the comaa i nit y X? --Tried on and finished by a private __Cllri-houfc even an application having Government for aid from Sfn-sof the colony. .-,-„___ yfXTKSt BACKS. _■ will be seen from the report and state__V« attached, the expenditure upsn water fSdoesnot appear to have produced the _* i«-efits which might naturally have ££ expected from it None of the comby the Government have _~Ztrunzu, and *in most cases the underhare been abandoned. The total __Stssie and liabilities upon wa'-.r races up to the 31st March, "£iJd to £-41,633. Of this amount S?«9 eives no return whatever. Works Shave cost £86,485 have been handed local bodies; while from those races comparatively smse-ssful, vi_., the ?£_£-, Ndson Creek, Waimea, and ESSa' races, costing £312,819, the yearly Sr of men, however, to whom these _7_t&ar& the means of remunerative em2n_tentia 771, and their earnings per man ££-g.£l4oayear. THB COAIi IHD--TBT. Ahnost every month brings new discoveries _f eaal in some parts of the colony, and it has ZZZe apparent that New Zealand is exAnally rich in this mineral. Our most jafflortsnt lines of steamers are now almost Ifofiy supplied from the coal mines of the Ija-v and the more extended uce of native Zl will effect a saving of £8500 on our railZZn in the Middle Island for the current J. j n addition to an almost equal amount heretofore saved on those in the North

WOB-XH G BATXWATg. , Daring the recess the management of the j working railways has been the subject of , s-„__r by the Royal Commission appointed i bi-bis JLtse&eney the Governor to report on , theerril serrice of the colony, and also to j toma extent by the Royal Con-missioners on ( railways. -h« reports of these gentlemen _» calculated to be of great aervice, and , oonit out nuny defects in organisation and f pM.a<»,some of which have been already ( ram-red or are in course of removal. The , whole question of the management of the ( taHwsp is under consideration in connection with the reports of the Commissioners. The | working raflwajs department began the ( jjrt flnft~"»l period under circnm- i stance, exceptionally unfavorable, heavy , floods in the couth having interrupted j traffic over more than a hundred milea of line, j e.-ang a loss of revenue as well as a large •, -rpsnliitura for repairs. Amongst the first j effects of the commercial depreaaion from t whioh we have been Buffering has been a dimi- s notion of our railway traffic. This result was z to be expected, and the efforts of the depart- { mant were directed to obtaining greater economy in our system of railway management by working with a smaller staff of officers and * men; and by reducing the number of trains _ snd the speed at whioh they were run con- x liderable saving has been accomplished, while fl the convenience of the publio has not been j. materially curtailed. The train service has t already been reduced by 370,000 miles a year. __c staff has been reduced by 266 men, and it is estimated that these and other j wonomiea which up to this time have * besn. effected, will save on the year up- j wards of £4-000. Serious and constant j attention is still being given to economise ( charges, and I am satisfied that the working . expenses will be muoh further reduced. As , these alterations to which I have referred can , hardly be said to have commenced until after the prorogation of Parliament, they had but a small portion of the last financial period ( wberera temperate. I.'am sorry to say that for ( tba _i_e months ending the 31st March, the re-Rsn only gave a return equal to slightly j per cent, per annum, while the ( ratscl interest which we have to pay is over , S. The loss on the coat of lines which stands ~ at £3,629,582, was at the rate of £237,730 per t-tram, and had to be furnished from taxation. In the prosperous years through whioh we have just passed, we did not terknuly regard the railway deficit, but ! thought only of the immense- advantages of railways in settling and developing the re- | wurces of the oountry. We pointed to these , adTa-ttages as justifying the expenditure, and spoke of our railways as remunerative -odertakiDgg, whether they contributed interest on their cost or not. Now if the colony were a large joint stock company with equal shares a-d an entire command of interests this view might be correct, bnt the benefits of railways are very unequally distributed, many districts being quite unprovided with them, while bll have to contribute to the taxation from which the cost is made up. Th s charge on the colonial revenue is so great that it is a mums element in the expenditure of the colony, and it becomes questionable whether a desirable outlay in some of the departments of Government can ba continued if our railways be not made more nearly self-supporting. The failure to obtain a greater direct return from our railways, suoh as is looked for in ordinary commercial enterprise, is no doubt mainly attributable to the smallnesa of our population. We are still a small community in point of numbers, and are thinly scattered over a wide extent of oountry. Our people are so few that they fail to furnish traffio enough, either of passengers or good* to make our line. ; pay at the ordinary rates hitherto current. We have already many more miles of railway in proportion to our population than either England, France, the United States, Canada, or any of the Australian colonies. In Great Britain there is one mile of railway to about 2000>habitants, while in New Zealand there is one mile to every 406. For •rery mfle of- railway in Victoria there are 108 per cent, more customers than we teTej in the United States they have 43 per cent.; in Canada,s3 per cent ; in New South Wales, 148 per cent.; in Great Britain, 383 P«t cent; and in France 614 more people Wr mile of railway than in New Zealand. « this contrast with other countries were eafined to the South Island, which contains by fa* the largest portion of cur railways, it *w_d show the disproportion still more for«Wt, for instead of having 406 people per mua of railway, which I have said ia the •raage for the colony, the South Island has «ay33o people per mile. In New Zealand on average receipta per mile last year were while in England they amount to p»5. Yet even with these comparatively ?_*'■' receipts the railway dividends •"dared in England only average 4J per cent. per annum. Next in importance, in my *pn«m, among the reasona for want of comjb«9m saooess in railway working ia the low tariff adopted in many die«K4a between two places, to which my atonal has been called. Where, before the "-""J was made, the freight charged was £3 per ton our railway rate is 16a lOd. In !f«Mr instance the former rate was £6, and "now 17e 2d 5 in anothw it has been reduced ™f_£s to 28s ai. No doubt at the cam-™*««n*-t of a railway system in a new °™ nft yrt is easy to make miatekes, and by i*? 18 ** ««? to make railways pay with only to every mile. The result, how- -*«* t V?" 6 * that "» reduction was too our chief end and aim in _7_f- Wn&trnction is by facuitating 'r ia jg and cheapening the transit of open the country and develope its !z°™*"> ** now discover that we have g* »o far and found ourselves face to face Jz_\__ of things as unpleasant aa it was SSSSLi 1 hOP -« 8ir ' a «-*l«o_U»* be as advocating any illiberality «j tne management of our railways. The is to reach the multitude. I fully «°pt the opinion expressed by Mr Gladstone the best means of making t_M District Railway pay. He *W thai"as a rule the State or individual or thrives the best which dives deepest ""*»_ ttw the mass of the community and Z___* arrangements to the want, of the ? be^ ; ,, Bat, sir, our population "*_f« already said, so small and the that rules of the SmJfJ ntt '' 0 t not ?d have amongst us only a The largesse made*.. i^rVl_-^ J * howe ™'» proves that if our 2SS'w-rran^ 1 " *«*""?»--«U-i eon*lL mm expecting they will be-?^»^wayaworildp_yf_rnioreth_n-uere <xdo__T f ? TOably with the oauu > Victoria carrying 1C62 tola, New

South Wales 2299 tons, end New Zealand 2247 tone per 100 of population. The number of passengers on New Zealand railways last year was 2,932,278, being 578 per cent, of our population; the number in Yietonft was 8,829,256, being 437 per cent of the population. Now, our freight traffic is not capable of indefinite increase, however low the rate may be, nor can we raise owe tariffi beyond a fair payment for the service rendered, however much we might be inclined to do bo. Our principal railways skirt the sea coast, and we are restricted in our tariff by the competition of water carriage. In the Middle Island railways, too. the tariffs are at present more strictly limited than they wonld usually be because of the cheapness of horse food, and tne competition of ordinary vehicles. Even if this were not so, I should not in any ease advocate excessively high rates. It will take time to develops a true system of tariff adapted to our circumstances. Our efforts must necessarily be carefully made and constantly watched, but railway rates that are only designed to bring in 5 per cent, on c?st surely cannot be considered high. If competition and the modes of conveyance permit their adoption, we need not despair. I believe, Sir, it ultimately will attain a good result. We have oovered the oountry with these stimulating and dvilising agencies, and in their neighborhood settlement will extend, population and industries will increase, and then our railways will become, if we desire it, aids to our revenue instead of a source of temporary embarrassment. At present, however, there is a feeling of great disappointment at [the result exhibited . by their yearly balance sheet, and amongst other remedies it has been proposed to sell the railways. No donbt, Sir, if we could find a purchaser for them at coat price, such a course might aeem to present an easy solution of the difficulty. It is a suggestion that might have been expected, and has at least one merit, that of extreme simplicitygiven, a system of railways worked at a loss, to end the loss sell the railways. Nevertheless, I fear, Sir, the proffered solution will not help us muoh, for it is clear that no company would buy our lines except at a price calculated to yield at least the current rate of interest, which at present may be stated at 7 to 10 per cent. These are the rates given for money advanced on freehold security subject to little risk, and requiring from the owner scarcely any personal attention, while railway investments are exposed to dangers of various kinds, such as floods, heavy payments for accidental injuries, depression of trade, and so on. If, therefore, we seek to sell our railways, which are now paying only 2\ per cent, interest, we shall have to accept for them a sum representing only a portion ef their coat. Probably we ahould have to face a loss of millions of money, and certainly we should still be liable for the payment of the whole of their interest as at present, while we should abandon all chance of retrieving our position by improved management and forfeit for the railway syitem the advantages of increased population and growing industries. If the colony were to sell the railways to a private firm what wonld that firm do to insure a profit? It may be answered in general terms, it would manage better. Well, sir, I admit that the management is capable of improvement. I concede that the Government will probably never be able to manage so well as a private firm might, but no private firm is likely to engage in such a gigantic undertaking, and gross mismanagement by large pnblic companies is a state of things with which we are not entirely unacquainted. Of course a railway company would try to charge higher rates for carriage, but why cannot we ourselves do that ? Why should we submit to a heavy loss of capital to begin with, and then to the payment of extreme rates as well ? Another, and not the least objection to the proposal is, that a oompany occupying suoh a position would be a great power in the State, whose influenoe would probably not always be wielded in the interests of the people. I feel quite sure, sir, that it will never be necessary to accept this alternative, for I believe that careful and intelligent management, and the natural growth of traffic, will yet make our railways commercially successful. Sir, the House will remember that at the end of the last eesaion the Government expressed their opinion that the oharao.er of the various lines of railway in course of construction had not been sufficiently examined before their adoption; that in the prospect of an insufficiency of funds to complete them they ought to be reconsidered.; that, we announced our intention of advising the appointment of a Royal Commission to make a fuller and more complete investigation of the cost and economical value of the works commenced and proposed that it would be possible for the Government to complete before the next session of Parliament. His Excellency the Governor accordingly commissioned five gen-. tlemen from different parts of the colony to make the inquiry. The Commissioners promptly entered on their duties, and after taking evidence in nearly every district in whioh railways are being constructed or are proposed to be made, they ha?e presented a very valuable report as the result of their labors. Copies of this report have by command been laid before Parliament, and although the conclusions that the Commissioners have arrived at may not be universally approved, yet we feel sure that the colony will recognise the impartial system on which their enquiries have been conducted, and we believe that these gentlemen have well earned the thanks of the community.. In saying that the Government would not be understood as adopting implicitly the whole of their recommendations, we do not wish to be misunderstood. It is perhaps hardly within the bounds of possibility that a report dealing with so many works and proposals in all parts of the colony should be accepted in every particular. For the present, however, even the restricted programme recommended by the Commissioners is far beyond our means. The estimated cost, beyond the present liabilities, of completing the lines of railways authorised by Parliament is £6,666,200. That being the case, it becomes sufficiently apparent that we must greatly modify our scheme of _ railway construction, postponing some important parts of it until population and settlement have largely increased, and until the railways already constructed have become more nearly self-supporting. We have not the funds neoesaary to complete it at present, nor will our ordinary revenue bear the increased demand which every additional mile of railway makes on it for the yearly loss in working. We have no alternative, therefore, but to confine our operations to the extension of some of the incomplete lines to suoh nearest points as will bring them into use, and as far as possible make the expenditure already inourred to some eitent reproductive. Of the amount voted last year for publio works, no lets a snm than -52,356,729 was for actual liabilities which we found in existence, and further expenditure to a considerable amount was made necessary by those liabilities. Realising the poeition of the public works fund, we have endeavored to minimise the expenditure and to spread it over as large a>pace of time as possible. We have stopped many new works even after contracts had been prepared by the Department and tenders received. Nevertheless, the country has learnt from my hon. friend the Colonial Treasurer that the state of the publio works fund is most unsatisfactory. In his financial Btatement the Colonial Treaeurer showed that the tot-lways «"d means on 31at March last was £3,262 410, and that the liabilities of the publio works fund on the same date amounted to £2,-55,313, reduceable, however, by £315,763 advances in the hands of offioers of the Government, thns leaving a balance of £1,122.8-0 on March 31st, 1880, clear of liabilities. Since March 31st the ways and means have been augmented by miscellaneous receipt* and recoveries, £29,934, and during the four months ending July 31st the liabilities of the fund have been unavoidably increased to the extent of £330,871. Adding, then, £29,934 to the balance of £1,122,860 on Mar* Sij£ and deducting £330,871 we arrive at £c-tt,y»* as the available balance on July 31st. Ahe position of the account may„p-ri_-ps be stated more dearly thus:—The ways and means on July 31at amounted to £2,677,910 17s Id, consisting of cash in hand, £593,91017s Id; Treasury and deficiency bill-, £121,7009*; investment.,. £67,000; guaranteed debentures, £80,000; total, £2,677,91017s Id. The liabilities on the same date amounted to £3,208,474. There were, however, impresti outstanding on July 31st, £346,486. making £1,855,988 the net amount of liabilities to be; provided for, and leaving a balance of £821,923, as already stated, for new works and services. The estimates which I am about to submit make a further demand on this balance of £674,238, leaving £147,685 for future appropriations from the publio works fund. Bearing in mind the importance of spreading the expenditure of the balance of loan ov?r the next two years, we should have preferred, Sir, to ask for the appropriation of a much smaller sum, but we

have not found it possible to do so. The votes for the various works which we now propose, are designed to provide for the expenditure up to June 30th, 1881. After that date, and until we are again in a position to become borrowers, the only sources whence we can draw supplies for these purposes will be a portion of the proceeds of land sales, and the saving from the ec-unatea for the purchase of Native land, a saving which we have reason to believe may be considerable, but which at present it is impossible to estimate. I will proceed, sir, to briefly summarise the works. PBOPOBKD BAILWATS. The present contract at Kawakawa will be completed, and the remaining part of the line will be finished, with a branoh to the town wharf, so as to admit of the ooal traffic being carried on, The line from Kaipara to Te Awatnuta will be completed fit for traffic, j The question of the propriety of constructing the W-ikato-Thames Railway has been raised by the Railway Commissioners, who have recommended that it should at present be completed only to the junotion with, the projected Cambridge line, and that the Cambridge section of 11 miles should be eubstistated. The Government intend to have the subjeot very carefully investigated, with a view to determine which proposal will be most beneficial to the country, and will act accordingly. The vote will therefore be proposed in the alternative. The line between Napier and Makatoko will be completed. The Wellington and Opaki line will be completed as far as Maaterton, and provision made for the unemployed on the extension to Opaki. The station works at Wellington will also be constructed. The Foxton section and wharf on the Wellington and Foxton line will be completed. Sundry necessary worka on the opened lines between Foxton and Kaiawi will be executed, and the extenaion to Waverley, which ia in hand, will be finished. The works in the neighborhood of Carlyle will be proceeded with, giving work to the unemployed. The contracts between Stratford and Hawera will he pushed on, and the formation to | Normanby will probably be completed within the present year. The extension of the line from Foxhill to Bellgrove, on the Nelson to Greymouth line, will be completed. The Stillwater section, now in progress, .will be' finished, and the Greymouth harbor works carried on. The Picton. and Blenheim line - will be completed at the Blenheim end, where there are still some station works unfinished. The section of the main line from Amberley to the Waikari Plains is to be finished, the nine miles through the Weka Pass being reserved for the unemployed. A few urgent station works on the opened lines are provided for. The Waimakariri Gorge portion of the Oxford-Sheffield line, which was reserved for the unemployed about a year ago, will he carried on as the demand for work may require. The extension of the Opawa branoh towards Fairlie Creek will also be carried out by the same means. The Ellesmere flection of the Little River and Akaroa branoh ia to be completed. The general expenditure proposed on the O'.ago main-line is for the completion of the stations and other works now in-progress. Duntroon branch is to be finished aoroßs the Maerwhenua river, the bridge over which ia already built. The formation on the first section of the Livingston branch, recently resumed to give work to the unemployed, will be finished by them. The {flections of the Western railway now in progress will be completed. The Hirrdon section of the Otago Central railway, whioh was opened to the unemployed about a year ago, will be reserved exclusively for them, aa it ia now almost the only suitable work in Otago on which a large number can be employed. Ac preaent there are about 700 men at work there, and although this number will in all probability decrease during the summer months, I fear that there is no prospect of a complete oessation in the demand which will be made on us for this kind of employment, and we have therefore made provision for supplying it on this section. WATBB BAOES—STTDDLB ISLAND. The work of improving and extending the various water races now in progress will be carried on. BOADS. In the North Island the proposed appropriation will admit of the road works in the Waimate Plains and other Native districts being continued, as well as for the maintenance in a serviceable state of certain main roads which it is necessary to keep open for traffic. In addition to" the completion of the various works in hand, the road from Nelson to G-rey-mouth and Weatport is to be improved throughout, so as render it fit for coach [traffic, and make it an arterial line of communication between the north end of the island and the West Coast. COHCI-SIOH. In conclusion, sir, I would say that although the Government have found it to be their imperative duty to abate the speed at whioh public works have until lately been carried on, yet we believe that the time is not far distant when the works now temporarily suspended may be resumed, and those now proposed to be curtailed completed. The resources of New Zealand are so great that for her there can be neither retrogression nor standing still. But, sir, it is incumbent on us to recognise that for a State, as for an individual, a steady progress and an assured prosperity can only be maintained by obedience to the dictates of prudence. I have now, sir, to express my gratitude for the patient attention with which the House has heard mc.