PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Press, Volume L, Issue 8594, 22 September 1893, Page 5

PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

The following is the Public Works Statement laid on the table yesterday afternoon by the Hon. R. J. Seddon, l-Tit-Ster for Public Works:—

Mr Speaker,—The Public Works Statement of to-day, as compared with former Statements, has lost its attractiveness and the money available for expenditure is now much smaller than the large amounts we were accustomed to deal with in the days of borrowing and excessive expenditure on works. For the last three years the colony has practised a policy of self-reliance, and the cost of our public works is now being charged largely to revenue. It is now nearly six years since the placing of a loan on the London money market was authorised by Parliament, in 1890, and it was considered by tbe Government of the day that it would be impossible to go on without raising another loan>nd year by year this has been raised anew, yet we now find ourselves six years since the last loan was authorised, in a position to find a fairly substantial sum for our necessary public works withont having resource to borrowing.

It may be of interest and also serve a good purpose if attention is here directed to the fact that the cost of, and discount on raising our several public works loans has amounted to uo less a sum than £1,025,828. Loan conversion has proceeded, and released sinking fnnds amounting to some £160,000 have become available for public works purposes in accordance with law, and are being credited to the fund. I may here make a fitting reference to the memory of my colleague, the late Hon. John Ballance, who so recently occupied the positions of Premier and Colonial Treasurer, and who took so great an inberesb in and so materially forwarded our financial operations. I deeply regret bhat the late Premier was nob privileged to see the very successful termination of his latest efforts, and I am sure the House and the country will very cordially re-echo my sentiments in bins mabber. A3 stated by the present Colonial Treasurer in the Fiuancial Statement, ib is proposed bo further augment the ways and means of the Public Works Fund by a transfer of £250,000 from the consolidated revenue. This sum, together with the other money available, will bring the total ways and mean 3of the fund for the current fiuancial year up to the sum of £747,628, as I will Bbow in a tabulated form presently. The estimated expenditure this year shows a comparative increase, but the amount which will actually come to charge- before the 31st March is not likely to materially exceed the expenditure of last year, and a portion of the amount (about £15,000) is due to contracts let prior to January, 1891.

In taking our votes it is necessary to cover the probable expenditure for three months after the end of the financial year as no further supplies will be voted by Parliament until after that date. The appropriations for the year are therefore always in excess of the expenditure that can be brought to charge during the year. The demand for expenditure on roads and expenditure absolutely needed to k.ep pace with the rapid settlement thab is fortunately proceeding, is also exceptionally heavy, but as far as we could see our way, with the limited funds ab our disposal, the most urgent demands have been met. It has been charged against the Government that a large proportion of tha expenditure now going on iv connection with our railways is being incurred for formation works only, and that bhe lines are not therefore complete and available for public use. This, however, is nob the truth, as during the last financial year the Te Aro extension of the Wellington-Woodville railway has been completed and handed over to the Railway Commissioners, and the Mangaonoho section of the North Island Main Trunk Railway, from Rangatira to Mangaonoho (a length of 3 miles 70 chains), and bhe Mokihinui extension of the Westport-Ngakawau railway (a length of 7 miles 12 chains) have been handed over since the close of the financial year. The Greymouth-Hokitika railway is also available for occasional traffic, and will very shortly be ready for regular working, and the Rotorua Railway is also expected to be open for traffic as far as Tarukenga next month. Owing to the limited amount of money now at the disposal of the Government for expenditure it is impossible to expect that this Statement will satisfy everyone. At the same time it is very cheering to note that notwithstanding the comparatively small expenditure in connection with public works during the last three years the country has been generally prosperous. If we compare the last year with former years when the expenditure on public works amounted to nearly £2,000,000 per anuum, we find fewer men out of employment, the industrial population mora contented and prosperous, and the country generally in a sounder condition. Fault has been found by a section of the community with what has been termed our " hand to mouth" policy in Public Works expenditure. Persons are always to be found who will complain, with or without just grounds, and it is only to be expected that those who favour a borrowing policy, because they have something to gain by a large expenditure on public works, should denounce the present system. If, however, a betterment tax were placed on properties benefited by the expenditure of public moneys, there would soon be an end to the clamour for borrowing and a lav' _ public works expenditure, and political railways would be things of the past. By constructing our public works as far as possible on the co-operative system small settlers, located in their vicinity, have found employment, and the working-classes have been able to eujoy more practical benefit from the expenditure than at any time previously. In the past ib has not been the masses who have derived the chief benefit from our large outlay, but the owners of property in the neighbourhood of whose' land railways, roads and other public works have been constructed. The value of such land has been materially added to, without the owners being called upon *to pay their due proportion for the increased charges entailed upon the public purse by such expenditure. During the year I have visited many of the works in course of construction in different parts of the colony, bub before giving any details in respect of these several works it would be well for mc to give full particulars of the position of the

PUBLIC. WORKS FUND. The state of the Public Works Fund on the 31st March last (including a small asset of £78 due to Parol under the Government Loans to Local Bodies Act, (1886), was as follows:—

Hon. members will observe from the above table that, allowing for the liabilities, a debit balance of £6064 existed iv part 1, on the 31st March last j or, in other words, that the available ways and means of that part of the fond at that date were ______•

cient to cover the liabilities by that amount. The Government was, however, quite justified in incurring this slight excess, as the liabilities of £183,749 will only fall due by instalment- extending over a y ea r, as follows, via.—June quarter, 3-66.476 ; September, -.49,697; December, £46,056 : and in March quarter, 1894, £21,520. Long before these later payments fall due the transfer proposed to be made to the fund from the revenue will be available. As already stated, the Government proposes to transfer £250,000 from the Consolidated Fund for public works purposes, and in addition to this, the sum ot about £160,000 will be available from the released sinking funds as also mentioned, while the miscellaneous receipts and recoveries will probably amount to a further £7000 or so. The following table shows the state of the Public Works Fund on March 31st last, and an estimate of how it will probably stand on March 31st next, if the proposals which I now have the honour to submit to the House are approved :—

Hon. members will notice tnat the Public Works Estimates are brought down in a slightly different form this year to that which has been usual daring the last few years. It is only proposed to ask the House to vote one amount for each work, namely, the amouut necessary to cover expenditure during the financial year, and for a further period of three months. Under the authority of the Public Kevenues Act far the last few years two amounts have usually been included in the appropriation for each item ; the firat has been intended to cover.the expenditure to coma to charge within the financial year, and the second to cover (in addition to this) whatever liabilities might have been incurred, and be still outstanding at the end of the year, as well as whatever further expenditure might come to charge during the first three months of the following tmancial year. The difference between the two amounts voted was sometimes very large; for instance, it was no less than £45,000 in one item (North Island Main Trunk Railway, south end), in last year's Public Works estimates. The effect of placing on the estimates votes to cover liabilities extending over a considerable period after the close of the year to which the vote related has been to unduly swell the sum total of the appropriations. It has often led to the belief that the proposed expenditure on a particular work daring the year was to be largely in excess of what it was really intended to be, and has led to complaints from members and their constituents that the Government has broken faith with them by not giving fall effect to its proposals. It will, of course, still be necessary to obtain the autho* rity of Parliament to incur liabilities in excess of the vote, if it is considered likely to be needful to incur any such. It will therefore be proposed to make a slight verb.il alteration in the wording of the fourth section of the Public Works Appropriation Act, and to attach a schedule to the Act setting forth the amounts to which liabilities on account of each work may be incurred. A copy of the schedule proposed to be attached to the Appropriation Act of this year, and also of clause 4 of the Ac* as now proposed, is attached to this Statement. 1 feel sure that the change proposed will be approved .by hon. members, and that the real amounts intended to be expended on the several works prior to the next meeting oC Parliament will be much more clearly understood than has been the case hitherto. The change will also be an improvement departmentally, as tending to facilitate accountkeeping in both the Audit and Treasury, as well as the Public Works Department. The expenditure on all works and services, throughout the colony under the Public Works Fund, up to the 31st March last, including the purchase of the provincial sad district railways, has amounted to a total sum of £23,837,434. The principal items stand as follows, namely :— Railways ... £15,630,{X» Roads ... 3,708,817 Immigration ... ... 2,146,209 Public Buildings ... ... 1,846,679 Purchase of Native .Lands '... 1,295,625 Lighthouses, Harbour Works and Harbour Defences ... 900,370 Telegraph Extension... ... 663,666 Waterworks on Goldfields ... 517,169 Defence Purposes generally ... 429,719 Departmental Expenditure ... 367,755 Cost of, and Discount on, Raising Loans ... ... 1,026,828 DEPARTMENTAL ADMINISTRATION. The administration staff as mentioned last year has been reduced far below that maintained by the department in former years. During the year it has been subjected to a somewhat severe strain as the expenditure was in excess of that of the previous year. The work, however, has been very well done, and I have much pleasure in acknowledging the loyal support that I have invariably received from all the officers. Towards the close of the financial year the Government, having in view both efficiency and economy, directed the kte Defence Engineer to also take np the dntiee of Resident Engineer to the Public Works Department for the Wellington district. Mr Bell agreed to this,.subject to certain conditions, and it was arranged that h* i should take np the duties as from the commencement of the -• current financial year, namely, from April Ist last. On March 11th, however, Mr Bell tendered Mb resignation as ho. bad received an offer of \ employment in Australia. Mr Bell's resignation was accepted with very great regret* and in accepting it I expressed my apprecia- | tiori of the valuable work that he h*d performed for the Government as Defence Engineer, and informed him that he had been granted a special retiring allowance of six mouths' salary. Since Mr Bell's retirement, the engiueers of the Public Works Department in tha several districts where defence works are in progress have, under '<■ the general direction of the Engineer in* Chief, undertaken the supervision of works. This is a reversion to the system in operation before che appointment oi* the Defence Engineer and under which the majorhjrof the defence works were initiated and carried on for some time. As the works at present in hand are not of any magnitude the Government proposes to continue their construction under the Public Works Engineer on directions to be furnished by the Commander of the forces. INSPECTION OF MACHIKEBT ASD SE&VK 0» STEAMKKS. With a view to place the work of inspectors of machinery under better control and also to ensure greater uniformity in tb» methods of inspection adopted in theseveral districts, Mr W. M. Moatt, formerly one of the inspectors for the Wellington district, has been appointed Chief Inspector of Machinery and feu'beea placed under the control of the Public Works Department. At the time tha work was handed over to the Public Works Department the iaspection is most* of the districts was much in arrear, indeed several months behind in some districts, but by close application on the part of the old inspectors, aud with the help of one additional inspector, the arrears are now being gradually worked off. I regret to say that one of toe oldest Inspectors, the late Mr Alexander Crawford, died during toe year, after having served as an Inspector for seventeen years. A full report of the working of the Inspection of Machinery Department has been prepared by the Chief Inspector and forms one of the appendices to this Statement. That the work of the Inaptetors has been faithfallj and efficiently performed is shown by the entire absence of accidents to life or limb in connection with steam boilem in the colony during the twelve months, and a very small number of accidents ia connection with machinery. Is Great Britain the number of accidents for the same number of boilers that we have in use in New. Zealand would have been seven, causing the de*th- of five persons and injuring twelve others* so that boilers in this colony are evidently kept in a safer condition than in the old ; country. This reflects very great credit oo i our Inspectors. It ia also very pleasing to I be able to state that this branch of the d»* J« . , 1i....! niifi

partmont, which is so nseful in safe-guard-ing life and property, is entirely selfsupporting, the fees received fully covering the working expenses. - Complaints have been made of the charges for inspecting portable engines used for Bj-ricultural purposes, enquiries will therefore be made into the matter, and if the rates aro found to be excessive they will be reduced. The survey of steamers and the issuing of the survey certificates lias also been entrusted to the Public Works Department. Sines December Ist last the Inspectors of Machinery act also as Engineer Surveyors of steamers. It was found to be inconvenient for these officers to be responsible to the Publi. Works DeSartment as regards a portion of their uties and to the Marine Department as regards the remainder, and it was therefore decided to make them wholly responsible to tho former department. Mr ilowatt acts as principal Engineer Surveyor, and has also compiled •.. report of the working of thiß branch of his department, which appears in an appendi... WORKING RAILWAYS. The Te Aro extension of the WellingtonWoodville railway, one mile fifteen chains, In length, was completed aud opened for traffic during the last financial year, and the Kaihu Valley Railway, 164 niilcs in length, constructed by the Kaihu Valley Railway Company, and which fell into the hands of the Government in July, 1-91, was also int/ested in the Commissioners during the year (on January Ist). In pursuance of section 5 of the Railways Authorisation and Management Act, 1891, as already stated, tho Mangaonoho section ot the North Island main trunk railway and the Mokihinui extension of the Westport-Ngakawa railway have been handed over since the close of thu financial year. The total length of railwuy in the hands of the Railway Commissioners at tho close of tho financial year was 1885 miles, the total earnings during the year came to £1,181,521 aud the net profit after deducting working expenses amounted t0£449,380. Tne percentage return on the total capital invested in the railways amounted last year to £3 Is per cen„ for the current year. The Commissioners esti- ' mate tho total receipts at £1,176,000 and the working expense* at £732,000, showing a net revenue ol £444,000. The funds voted for additions to open lines last, year, namely, £12,612, were all expended within the year, and thu Commissioners have requested that tho .amount of £24,978 may be provided to meet tho requirements under this head for the current year. The Government has not been able to see its way to grant tho whole of. this amount, but has decided to ask for a vote for £18,978, and provision for this has beeu made iv the Estimates accordingly. THE CO-OPERATIVE SYSTEM. The co-operative system has been extended during the past year to sucli an extent that the greater part of the work now in hand under the Department is being carried out under this system. In addition to ordinary formation woi ks and the construction of small bridges and culverts it has now been applied to the work of laying the permanent way and erecting station buildings. The whole of the platelayiug and ballasting of the Greymoubh-Hokilika Railway has been dono in this way, as well as the erection of tho new railway station at Te Aro, Wellington. The work has continued to be very well done, the Te Aro station building being an especially oretlitable piece of work. The cost has been satisfactory to the department and lias given fair wages to the co-operative workmen. The .painting of the Supreme Court and Police Statiou in Wellington, also done uuder the co-operative system, was likewise most creditably executed, and its cost was exceedingly moderate. Ib was, indeed, only Is 4d per square yard inclusive of all materials, plant, &c, whereas tbe rate por yard asked for the work by the lowest tenderer, when tenders for the same were publicly invited some time ago, was 2s 3d por yard. Interesting details are given in tha report of the Engineer-in-Chief (Appendix F) as to the particular works that have been carried out under tho co-operative system, their cost, and tho wages earned by the men. Ib has been stated in some quarters thab the workmen have been earning excessive wages, and that the rates allowed for work have been raised to meet the demands of the men. The persons responsible for such statements tercet that in the past it has always been alleged that the Government engineer's estimates of tho value of the work were too low, indeed complaints of this kind from contractors have been general. Now the same engineers who" prepared the estimates for the work when done ; by contractors, assess the value of the work for the co-operative workmen, and their estimates are all subject to the approval of the Engineer-in-Chief. This should be conclusive evidence of the fairness of the rates allowed. In one or two instances the workmen havo made a presentation to the Engineer on their being transferred to other districts, but in future no presentations will be allowed. Reports have reached the Government that in Bomo cases the co-operative workmen have expended their earnings or portion of them at any rate in an injudicious manner. The Government has, therefore had under consideration the establishment of some form of Provident and Benefit Socieby iv the interest of the workmen generally. It is believed that improvidence prevails only amongst' a very limited number of the men, as the department takes every care to Bee that the married men (and most of the men employed are married) make regular remittances to their families. Special facilities are placed at the disposal of the men to do so when they are paid ab places where no money order and Savings Bank offices are situated. The question of allowing the men to authorise their wives to draw a portion of the money due to them at tho head office on orders signed by the men and certified to by the officer in charge is also under consideration. An effort wiil shortly be made to bring this system into operation. It would also, perhaps, be advisable to establish a scheme by which the men could put by a portion of their earnings with a view to taking up land in the neighbourhood of the works, and of becoming permanent settlers on their completion. RAILWAYS UNDER CONSTRUCTION. I will now refer to the several railway works that have been uuder construction during the year. Beginning with those in the far North. WHAKCJAREI KAMO-KAWAKAWA. j The whole length of the Whangarei Kamo railway extension to Hikurangi has been under construction during the year. I The length of the section is 8 miles; the j whole of the formation works are now ; nearly completed, and preparations are j being made for the laying of the rails and | ballasting. Tho expenditure on this line last year amounted to £13,134, while liabilities existed at the close of the financial year j to the amount of £2185. In addition it is ! proposed to ask for a vote of £15,000 this year. Largely signed petitions have been presented to Parliament praying for I the exteusion of tho line to the Whakapara river, a further distance of three miles, and the House has referred these petitions to the Government for consider- I ation. A careful survey of the proposed ex- j tension will be made during recess with the "iew of placing the Government in a position to come to a decision on tho subject. The construction of this section of the line would enable the timber of a vast kauri forest to be turned to profitable account by being brought to market. HELEKSVILLE northwards. Rather slow progress has been made with tbe works ou this line during the year, owing to the contractors having met with unexpected difficulties in excavating the Makaraka tunnel. The conract time for tho work expired on March Ist, 1892, but the work is not likely to be completed for some time to come. The expenditure on this line last year amounted to £5887, while liabilities existed ab the close of the year to the amount of £8899. In addition, a vote of £12,000 ia asked for this year, which is estimated to complete the works to the end of the Makarau section. ORA-AMSTOWN-TE AROHA. The formation of the portion': of this line between Te Aroha aud 'Paeroa, 13 miles 3 chains in length, is nearly completed, and tho designs for the bridge over the Ohinemuri River are now being prepared. A contract has also recently been let ior supplying the sleepers required for the permanent way, and the coat of the rails and ta.te_.mgs for the line is provided for in the vote to be asked for the permanent way, _lce*-iers and rolling stock. On the

arrival of the rails from England platelaying will be put in hand without delay, and the line completed to Paeroa as soon thereafter as practicable. The expenditure on this line during the last financial year amounted to £12,711, while liabilities i existed at the end of the year to the amount iof £8904 in addition. The vote proposed ■ for this year is £13,000, but this is exclni sive of raila and sleepers, winch, as already staled, are otherwise provided for. PCTARURU-ROTORUA. The works on this line have been vigorously gone on with throughout the year. The Tarukenga contract, which brings the line within about niue miles of Rotorua township, is on the eve of completion. The formation works between that point and Rotorua are well advanced, and a contract has been let for the bridges. Nearly all sleepere required to complete the line are now on the ground, the rails are I stored in Auckland, and directly the bridge works beyond Tarukeuga are sufficiently advanced to enable piatelaying to be proceeded withi a contract for it will be let. A contract for the neces- ! sary station buildings will be preJ pared very shortly. But for the extraordinary wet weather experienced during the winter, this line would be opened as far as Tarukenga by October Ist. The damage done to the line by storms will probably have the effect of deferring the opening until November Ist. The whole S line to Rotorua will probably be completed by i about April 1894. The expenditure on this I line during the last year amounted to i £22,259, while liabilities existed at the ! close of the year to the amount of £12,456. The vote asked for this year, £32,000, will virtually cover the cost of the railway to its completion. KOKTH ISLAND MAIN TRUNK BAILWAY. A considerable amount of work has been done at both ends of this line during the past year. At the northern j end, the Mokau section, 11 miles 9 chains in I length, is in hand right up to the Porooj tawao tunnel; but, as the work is of a difficult nature, it will still take nearly another year to complete it. At the southern end of the line the Mangaonoho ! coutraet, 3 miles 70 chains in length, has ! been completed and opened for traffic, ; and a good deal of work ha 3 been done in fori uiation works on the Makohine section. The expenditure on the line during the last year was £"13,183, while liabilities to the amount of £27,116 existed at the close of the year. For the current year it is proposed to vole £55,000 for construction works and £4000 for surveys, in accordance with the advice of a Select Committee of the House appoiuted last session to enquire into the best inean.sof connecting Aucklandand Wellington by railway, the Government has had. further surveys aud explorations of the country undertaken by an experienced Engineer. Mr Ralph Doukin, the original prospector oi the Urenui-Waitara route, has been engaged to thoroughly explore aod make a careful trial survey of that route. Mr R. W. Holme, of the Public Works Department, has been despatched with a parly to endeavour to effect improvements in the central route, aud Mr Leslie Reynolds has been temporarily engaged to sur\ey the necessary deviations on the opened line between Marton and Eltham in order to reduce the gradients. Owing to the excessively wet weather that has prevailed for some time past the progress made with these surveys has not been so great as the Government could have wished, aud the information available is meagre. With the finer weather that has now set in the work will doubtless proceed apace, and thus enable the surveyors to shortly report the result of their explorations. EKETAHUNA-WOODVTLLE. Much more work was done on this railway last year than in the previous year. The work now in hand extends over a distance of twenty-three milea from Eketahuna to the bridge over Mauawatu river at Awapurura. The expenditura on the line during the last year was £8497, and in addition liabilities existed at the end of the year to the. amount of £9756. We ask for a vote of £30,000 for this line, this year, as it is intended to proceed with it vigorously ; to keep a large staff of men on formation works at both the Woodville and Eketahuna ends of the line, and also to put in hand the Makakahie and the Maugataonoko bridges. Immediately upon completion of the Makakahie bridge, the work of laying the tails between Eketahuna and Newman will be put in hand, so as to open the line to that point as early as possible. The speedy completion of the whole line right through to Woodville is, the Government feels, an all important work, as owing to frequent stoppages of traffic on tho Manawatu Gorge line caused by heavy slips, it is absolutely needful to have an alternative live to maintain the connection between Wellington and tho Hawke's Bay and Seventy-Mile Bush districts. WELLINGTON-EKETABUNA (TE ARO EXTENSION). This railway, so far as the running of passenger trains is concerned, was completed and handed over to the Railway Commissioners in March last. The expenditure on this line last year amounted to £9501, and a vote of £4500 is asked for this year to cover all expenses up to completion. The work of construction o2 the goods station at Te Aro has not yet been entered on, but surveys and plans for the necessary reclamation have been completed and tenders for the work, will be invited shortly. On the completion of the reclamation the rail laying and erection of necessary buildings will be proceeded with, and a vote of £8000 for the work is included in the Estimates. BLENHEIM-AWATERE. The Omaka section of this railway was completed and handed over to the Railway Commissioners on April 18th. The expenditure on the line last year was £4666, with liabilities at the end of the year of £689. A vote of £2500 is asked for this year to cover the liabilities just mentioned, and also to put the formation works to the southward of the Omaka section in an efficient state of repair, so as to avoid undue damage by storms, stock, &c., while the line remains in an incomplete condition. As announced in my Public Works Statement of 1891, the Government do not propose to construct the bridge across the Awaterc, or to undertake the plate laying on the unfinished portion of the railway, until some arrangements have been made in respect of the large estates in the Awatere district. WESTPORT-NGAKAU-MOKIHINUI. The extension of the Westport-Ngakau to Mokihinui was completed and tanded over to t' c Railway Commissioners for traffic on august 7th. The line is 7 milea 12 chains in length, and has cost £33,419 up to August 31st, including £6731 for rails and fastenings. A few small accounts are still outstanding, but these will not increase the total cost to a material extent. The whole of the funds have been found by the Westport Harbour Board, as provided by the Westport-Ngakau Railway Extension Act, 1890. GREYMOCTH-HOKITIKA. Works on this line are now all but completed. It was discovered that owing to the length of time that had elapsed since the bridges were erected on the portion of this line first taken in hand, the majority of them were quite decayed and had to be rebuilt ; this w<is done and the formation works were completed on May 24th, when a very ■profitable and successful excursion was euabled to be run from both ends of the line, conveying between three and four thousand passengers. The final ballasting is still in hand, and will be completed next month when the line will be handed over to the Railway Commissioners for regular working. The expenditure on the line last year amounted to £18,221, and liabilities existed at the end of the year to the amount of £5754. The vote now asked;; for, £12,000, is estimated to cover all charges up to the completion of the line. OTAGO CESTRAJL. The works on this line-have been energetically proceeded "wiUu The formation between Middlenrarch asd Hyde may be regarded aa practically finished, and the masonry abutments for most of the bridges have''also been erected. The contract for manufacture of iron superstructures of bridges was let to Messrs J. and W. Anderson, of Christchurch, in December last, and to expedite the work a bonus was offered to the contractors for the completion of the contract before the specified time, and the girders are now : being delivered. As soon as possible after their erection, plate-laying will be proceeded with, for which work preparations have already been made. The bulk of the

sleepers are already in hand; contracts for the supply of the balance have been let, _nd all the rails and fastenings required are stored at Dunedin. The Government hopes to be able to open the line for traffic to Hyde in the early part of the new year. As Government attaches very great importance to this line it is proposed to at once proceed with the construction of the section between Hyde and Eweburn, a distance of 21 miles 67 chains. The formation works on a portion of this section have already been begun, and will be extended and pressed on as soon as the appropriation asked for has been passed. Tne extension of the line to Eweburn will promote settlement and materially assist, in opening Central Otago, the resources of which have remained almost entirely undeveloped up to the present. The expenditure on the Otago Central line for the year amounted to £20,510, while liabilities existed at the close of the year to the further amount of £8259. The appropriation proposed for the current year is £45,000, which will provide for the completion of the Midd'emarchHyde section, and for a substantia! expenditure on the Hyde Eweburn section. catlin's river railway. With the exception of the completion of the Catlin's Tunnel contract very little was done on this line during the last year, as the amount available was scarcely sufficient to justify the resumption of co-operative works until further provision was definitely made. With tbe view of securing some return from the moneys already expended on the uncompleted portion of fine, it is proposed to resume operations shortly and to complete the line to Owake at the eighteen mile peg as early as possible. The expenditure on the line last year amounted to £5002, and it is proposed to ask for a vote of £7500 for the current year. seaward bush railway.

Works on this line have progressed well during the year. The formation works as far as the Gorge road are almost completed, and work is in hand for a distance of 52 chains beyond this point for the purpose of opening up a very convenient and exteuhive ballast pit which has been found at that mileage. The bridges are also well in hand, and platelayiug will be started soon, and contracts have been let for the supply of the sleepers required, and the rails are in stock at Dunedin. The Government is of opinion that a further exteasion of this line to the country lying to the eastward ot the Mataura River is desirable ; it is thought that the line should be extended as far as Waimahako, a distance of 23 miles 26 chaius from the junction of the railway with the main line from Invercargill to the port, and a little less than 5 miles from the point to which the works are now in course of construction. The cost of this extension will be about £30,000, exclusive of permanent way materials. An appropriation on account of the work is included in the estimates for the current year. The first work to be undertaken will be the bridge over the Mataura River, and this will be put in hand as soon as the neceesary drawings and specifications are prepared. The vote proposed for the current year is £15,000. SLEEPERS. In connection with the supply of sleepers for several of our railway works, the House will perhaps be surprised to learn that it has been found advisable and, indeed, necessary, to get them from the West Coast of the Middle Island. With a view of thoroughly testing the market, however, the Government recently advertised for tenders for 70,000 sleepers, publishing the advertisement in the K*wakawa, Dargaville, Hamilton, Whangarei; Auckland, Gisborne, Te Aroha, Woodville,' Wellington, Havelock, Westport, Greymouth, Hokitika, Kumara, Christchurch, Dunedin, Balclutha, and. luvercargill papers, with the result that ninety-eight tenders were received for the supply of 319,000 sleepere altogether, viz. : — Silver piue 142,900, kauri 70,500, birch 47,400, kamai 31,000, totara 187,000, nutai 7500, rata 1000. The tender price for 4000 of the totara sleepers being reasonable, viz., 3s s£d to 3s Bd, tenders for these were accepted, as were also two tenders for a total of 10,000 red birch at 2s 6d. The remainder of the totara and birch tendered for were either too high or of unsuitable quantity, the birch timber from localities affected being known to be of an unsuitable character. The tenders for kauri sleepers were declined, as the prices quoted were considered to be too high. The tender prices for the silver pine sleepers ranged from 2a 8d to 33 4d; all those which would cost under 2s 10d, f.o.b. at Greymouth, were accepted, as it was found that sleepers at this price could be delivered on the railways where they were wanted at a lower price than by local tenders for the same; twenty tenders for silver pine sleepers were thus accepted, providing for a supply of 51,000 sleepers, and with the exception of one contract for 10,000 all were let in lols of from 500 to 30,000 to parties of settlers on the co-operative principle. Practically, as regards iitnes3 of silver pine for sleepers, the Government is advised by the Enginear-in-Chief that silver pine is hard aud close grained, not liable to warp or crack, and one of the most durable of New Zealand timbers, especially when buried or placed in contact with the ground, in which positions its lasting properties are superior to heart of totara and quite equal to puriri. It is therefore probably, with the exception of puviri, the most suitable timber m New Zealand for sleepers. I may also say that the Railway Commissioners are now extensively using silver pine timber for sleepers. SUMMARY. The total appropriation proposed for Railway works this year including additions to open lines, surveys aud permanent way, sleepers and rolling stock, amount to £316,278. It would have afforded mc great pleasure to have proposed a larger vote but with the limited means at disposal and in view of the large demands made upon us for public buildings and still larger demands for roads, it has been found impossible to propose a heavy railway expenditure. The allocation of the money available amongst the several works in progress will, 1 think, be accepted as fair and reasonable. MIDLAND RAILWAY. No great amount of work has been done on this line during the past year, the only portion under construction has been the section between Lake Brunner and Jackson's on the Teremakau River. The line is open for traffic from JBrunner to Lake Brunner, and the works on the section from there to Jackson's are wall advanced. Further proposals for a modification in the contract under which the line is being constructed have been made by the Company, but as these are under consideration of the House it would be out of place for mc to express any opinion about them. KAIHO VALLEY RAILWAY, This railway was vested in the Railway Commissioners under the provisions of the Railways Authorisation and Management Act, 1891, on Ist January last, and has since been worked in the same manner as an ordinary Government railway. ROADS. Under the head of main roads, £16,000 was authorised last year, and £12,588 spent, with liabilities at the end of the year of £5968. For miscellaneous roads, £18,981 was authorised, and £10,525 spent, but as £820 of this amount was advanced under the Government Loans to Local Bodies Act, the net expenditure charged ag&insb this vote was £10,443 only, while liabilities amounting to £9783 were outstanding at the end of the year. For grants in aid £11,159 was vot'd and £7144 spent, with liabilities of £2445. For roads to open up lands before sale £88,310 was authorised and £51,740 spent, but as £29,751 of the amount was advanced under the Government Loans to Local Bodies Act the expenpenditure charged against the vote amounted to £21,989, wilh liabilities of £48,568.. For village settlements the sum authorised was £5783 and the amount spent £4412, with liabilities £2256. And, finally, for roads to give access to the Marton and Te Awamutu railway there was authorised £54,996 wbite £29,440 was spent, with liabilities £18,495. This year it is proposed to ask for the following sums under the above head:— Main roads—£23,o39. Miscellaneous roads and bridges and roads to opeu up lands before sale—£llo,4B7. Grants in aid—£ll,663. Roads in village settlements—£33 80. Roads to give access to the Marton* Te Awamutu Railway—£4o,Boo. The following summary shows the works performed under the heading of roads by the Lands and Survey Department) during the year:—Dray roade constructed, 229

miles; dray roads improved, 74 miles; dray roads maintained, 843 miles; bridle roads constructed, B*s miles • bridle roads improved, 66 miles; bridle roads maintained, 197 miles; bridges built, 27, of a total length of 2438 feeIn addition to roads specially designed for the purpose of opening up the Crown lands for settlement a large mileage of main roads running through parts of the country where the population is sparse and consequently where no rates can be levied for their repair is under the control of Governmsnt, and besides these the Government also subsidises the maintenance of some other main roads. The main road which runs from Huncerville through the centre of the North Island via Lake Taupo, was completed iv May, so that coach connection can now be maintained in the summer between Hunterville and Taupo. It is expected that this new route will be a good deal used in the summer time, a3 it leadthrough a picturesque country, and affords the most direct communication between Wellington and the Thermal Springs district. A considerable length of this road is being metalled at the present time, and when the Awarua country is available for settlement it should be greatly used. The proposed bridge over the Rangitikei river, which has become a matter of some notoriety owing to my promise that the work should nob be lost sight of, will probably be undertaken during the year. I am inclined to the opinion, however, that two bridges are necessary, namely, one at Otara and one at Vinegar Hill. A vote for £2500 (£1250 each), as a pound for pound subsidy, has been provided accordingly, the plans of the proposed bridges to be approved by the Engineer in charge. The road which is in course of construction by the Stratford route, and which is eventually bo connecb Auckland with Taranaki, has advanced ab both ends, bub ab the southern end the contractors have had very great difficulties to contend with in the unusually bad weather experienced all through the season. On 31st March a length of six miles was under formation by co-operative contracts at bhe south end, and a like amount at the north end. At the latter also six miles have been widened out into a cart-road. The line has now been located withiu narrow limits for the whole distance from Ougaruhe, where it branches off from the Main Trunk Railway line to Stratford. Though all the detailed surveys are nob complete, the acquisition by thS Crown of some large areas of land along this road points to the need for pushing on the works as quickly as possible, for much of the country is available for settlement and will be taken up as soon as access is provided. The Pipiriki-Karioi road ha 3 also advanced towards completion during the year as a large number of men are engaged on co-operative works upon it. The road will probably be finished by next summer, and thus open a large extent of couutry for settlement. Progress has also been made on bhe Catlins-Waikawa road in Otago, which forms another important main road leading through a great extent of Crown laud. On its completion a considerable extension of settlement should take place in the district. At the present time a number of co-operative contracts are in hand. Of the various works to open up Crown lauds, it is needless for mc to speak in detail, as full particulars will be found in the report of the Lands and Survey Department. The amount of this sort of work in hand at the present time ,is probably greater than ha 3 been the case for many years past, and it is scarcely likely to decrease ab present. Taking iubo consideration the scattered localities in which most of the work lies and the nature of a great deal of the country, ib is to be expected that the cost per mile of nnds of this class will gradually increase. The assistance of the local bodies has been largely, availed of in connection with many of the roads. constructed or repaired la.t year. A large proportion of the works have also been executed by co-operative contracts upon which a considerable number of men have been employed, as illustrated by the following table,, the numbers given being the average number .employed on road works for each month: —April, 1892, 90, men, May 82, June 147, July 197, August 268, September 339, October 349, November 321, December 399, January, 1893, 377, February 391, March 396. The expenditure under- grants in aid has been almost wholly incurred in finding work for the unemployed, and in nearly every instance the work has been let on the co-operative system.- It has been chiefly devoted to extending roads which will benefit Crown lands. The outlay on village aebtlements was on roads to improve the access thereto, and in payments to the setblers for improvements in terms of the conditions under which they took up their lands, the sum Bpent being respectively £2255 and £2157. ROADS ON GOLDFIELDS. The expenditure on roads and minor works on goldfields last year was £19,490, and the liabilities at .he cud of the financial year amounted to £17,066. Ib is proposed to ask the House for a vote of £47,000 for works under this head this year to cover the liabilities and for sundry new works deteiled in the Estimates. The continuation of works of this character is absolutely necessary for the development of the mining industry, and as mining in most fields is confined to hilly, broken and mountainous country the workings cannot be extended wibhoub means of access. Ib is also necessary thab some provision should be made for prospecting for gold at deep levels. In the past little or nothing has been done in the way Of aiding the prospecting of our deep alluvial auriferous drifts or low level quartz reefs. Ib is proposed to make advances to companies or associations, so as to enable them to carry on this expensive class of prospecting. In doing this we are following a course pursued in the neighbouring colonies, which has there proved highly beneficiaL PUBLIC BUILDINGS. The total appropriation for public buildings and domains last year was £110,852, namely, £52,565 under bhe Consolidated Fund and £58,287 under the Public Works Fond. The expenditure during the year amounted to £74,994, namely £43,895 under the Consolidated Fund, and £31,101 under the Public Works Fund. The principal new works carried out under the Consolidated Fund were school buildings, on which a total amount of £30,610 was expended. The remainder of the expenditure under thab fund went in the ordinary maintenance and repairs of the numerous public buildings throughout the colony. The principal works carried out under the Public Works Fund were the new hospital building at Dunedin, the new lunatic asylum at Porirua (Wellington), additions to the post offices at Chriatchurch and Invercargill, additions to the lunatic asylum at Sunnyside, residence for medical superintendent and other works at the Seacliff Asylum (Otago), the connection of the Government Buildings, Christchurch, with the drainage system, and sundry court-houses, gaols, police stations, post offi.es, Sec, throughout the colony. The total appropriation proposed for public buildings this year is £140,330, namely, £50,675 under the Consolidated Fund, and £89,655 under the Public Works Fund. The Consolidated Fund vote ptovides £31,000 for school buildings and the ordinary votes for maintenance and repairs of buildings throughout the colony. The votes proposed under the Public Works Fund provide £15,000 for school buildings to supplement the vote of £31,000 already appearing on the Consolidated Fund estimates, the rapidly increasing settlement that is proceeding making it imperative that further school accommodation should be provided. The vote also provides for the completion of the first portion of the Poriraa Asylum, for acquiring a landed estate, and for furnishing the same/ and for the further enlargement and improvement of the asylums at Auckland, Suanyside and Seacliff; also for. improvements to the Parliamentary buildings, and the electric fighting of the same and the Government Printing Office, a new prison ab Dunedin, new courthouses at Otahnhu, Rotorua, Gisborne, New Plymouth, Stratford, Paimerston North, Otaki, Pahiatua, Feaiherston, Little River and Milton, and for enlarging-the courthouse at Hawera ; also for new post offices at Hawera, Pahiatua, Ahaura, Tapanui and Queenstown, for the completion of additions to the post office at Invercargill and for enlargement at Waverley and Wanganui, and for new police stations at Kawakawa, Aratapu, Pukekobe, Moawhanga and Mokihinui, and sundry minor works throughout the colony. HARBOUR DEFENCES. The amount voted last year for harbour defences was £5000, as against £7000 for the year 1891-92. The net expenditure for the year was as follows:—On works in the .colony £4349, on land for depots and batteries and miscellaneous charges £214, mak-

ing a total of £4563. The total expenditnre on harbour defences from the commence- j ment of jthe works up to 31st March last was in ' round numbers as follows :—On material of war and charges thereon £238,107, on defence works, batteries, depots and charges thereon £208,137, on purchases, &c, of land sites for batteries and depots and charges thereon £36,732, making a grand total of £482,976. During th. year several works at the three chief ports have been more or less broughb to a finish by the employmeut of prison labour, but further work yet remains to be done on some of them. The expenditure on forts and batteries at the four principal ports during the year, including the cost of the surveys of nine fields and £224 for land purchased in Otago, was as follows -.—Auckland £1431, Wellington £1881, Lyttelton £876, Dunedin £374 —total £4565. It is proposed to ask for a *-ote of £5000 this year to carry on the works now in progress. MISCELLANEOUS CHARGES ON PUBLIC WORKS FUND. PCRCHASE OF NATIVE LANDS. A return presented to Parliament on 19th July last, pursuant to the provisions of the Native Laud Purchases Act, 1892, shows that during the year ended 31st March last an area of 132,357 acres was added to the public estate by purchases finally completed. The portion of this area included in the work of the year was 66,190 acres. Further progress on purchases still incomplete was made to the extent of 141,518 acres, thus making the total work of the year up to 207,708 acres. The area of 141,518 acres mentioned above includes 59,541 acres of the Awarua Block at the south end of the North Island Main Trunk Railway. It is hoped that by 31sb December nexb a mrbher area of from 40,000 to 50,000 acres in this block, which contains much more than the average proportion of firstclass land, will have been acquired, after which the interests of the Crown will be defined and located by the Native Land Court, with a view to the land being made available for settlement early next year. Extensive purchases, details of which will be found iv the return; above referred to, within the Rohapotae or King Country at the north end of the line have also been complebed, and others are in progress. Considering that the owners of these lands are very numerous and scattered the results must, on the whole, be regarded as very gratifying. It is hoped thab addibional facilities for the acquisition of Native lands will be provideu by the legislation of the present session, thus enabling a large proportion of the 7,000,000 of acres now lying waste and unproductive in the North Island to be broughb within reach of setblemenb during the ensuing year, a result which would b_ highly beneficial to both Natives and Europeans. WATERWORKS ON GOLDFIELDS. The expenditure on waterworks on goldfields lasb year amounted to £3811, and the liabilities at the end of the year were £1796. As the revenue from some of the water supplies controlled by the Government has been decreasing it has been found necessary to extend tne races to command fresh ground, and ib is proposed to ask the House for a vote of £5000 to cover the liabilities and carry oat the extension referred to. TELEGRAPH EXTENSIONS. The expenditure out of the Public Works fund on account of telegraph construction and for the extension of the telephone exchange system throughout the colony amounted during bhe fiuancial year to £29,245, aud of this sum an amount of £5287 was expended on telephone exchange. Of. the new lines erected during the year for the extension of telegraphic communication the most important are those to Toko, Awanui, Blackburn, and Birmingham in the North Island, and Banks' Peninsula, Taipo, Shag Point, Five Rivers, and Stanley Brook iv the South Island. In the estimabes for the present year an expenditure of £12,366 has been provided for, which is intended to cover liabilities of £6716 existing ab the commencement of, the financial year, and sundry extensions, including the line to Peel .Forest and a telephone exchange ab Mataura. - CONCLUSION. The total appropriations proposed in the Public Works Estimates for the current year amount to .6693,068, viz.—£591,468 under part 1 and £101,600 under parb 2, as compared with £682,780 vobed lasb year for acbual expendibure within the year and the total authorisation of £801,231 to cover the expendibure of the year and liabilities which might exist at its close. That the Government is able to propose to vote so large a sum of money for public works purposes after six years' abstention from borrowing, and to draw so large proportion of theamounb from general revenue, is a very sbriking testimony to the improved and very gratifying state of the finances of the colony. The Government thinks ib can fairly claim that ibs self-reliant policy, careful administration, and progressive legislation have materially assisted to bring this about, and thus to place the position of New Zealand in favourable contrast with every other country south of the line. In most of the Australian colonies the expenditure has had to be enormously reduced, and even then deficits of considerable magnitude have been incurred. The Government has every reason to believe that the present satisfactory condition of the colony will contiuue. The outlook on the whole is cheering, the producing power of the colony is increasiug, our colonists are in good Heart and confident. But in our prosperity we must nob fail to remember that careful administration, prudence, and the strictesb economy are absolutely necessary if the hardly wou recovery of the lasb few years is bo be maintained and improved upon. The following is the schedule referred to by Mr Seddon : — Statement showing the form in which it is proposed thab the fourth section of the Public Works Appropriabion Acb should be passed in future:—" It shall be lawful for the Governor, in the name and on behalf of her Majesty the Queen, to enter into any contract or contracts, or to incur any liabilities for carrying on works and services for which money is appropriated by this Aob. Provided that the amount of liability so incurred in respect of each vote shall nob, together with the sum appropriated by such vote, exceed the sum set down in the ninth column in the fifth schedule opposite to each railway or other work for which the money is appropriated by this Act. " Fifth schedule showing railways (and some of other works) on which expenditure is authorised by this Act, sections thereof on which the expenditure is to be incurred, definition and length of such sections, estimated expenditure required to render same available for use, amounts appropriated for year ending March 31st, 1894, balances for future appropriation and the amount to which liabilities are authorised to be incurred by Section 4 of this Act:—

railways, viz.:—Land claims, &c, £1500; surveys of new lines (part 1), £300; surveys (part 2). £4000; and additions to open lines, £18,978.

fir 3" I Parts of Funi n _s -- _,j_, £§ I TJxexpended gj balances ©.' March 31st. 3| 189J *| Including: asset of .„! »f «* under Government S Receipts duro g. Loans to Local V- ing 189--||S Bodies Act g Jb § H *. «, Totals 8| -j I f- InolodinR __1 _— paid off SI 2 debt H. j iSxpenalturo floatlnB |- 1 .a^h" 9 aut, Hj 1833 _» *_ C_J -. «_. j© __ o _- w £} Balance . re--j] main Ins v.! March 31st, gt| 1-93 8s S __. sis J_ l-labillties _S existing -.' March 51st, S 1-93 a | _f IKet b-lances a,, available o j March 3!st, S-j 1893

Cash balances on March 3lst, 1893 Credit from surplus re venue Released Sink— _k Funds Miscellaneous receipts.. Part L £ 177.685 250.000 160.00 ...00 Part II * TotaL _ I _ I52.M3 S3Q,__S _53,-CO 1SU.O0O 2,000 7,0U0 101.60. j 633.06S i 53,313! 54,-0. Amount proposed fot actual expen-itur during lS9S-9_.. 59-,-& Estimated cash balanc on March 31st. ISSavailable for expenditure on that date i,_:

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