HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 11108, 29 October 1901, Page 6

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

EVENING SITTING.

The House of Representatives met at 7.30 o'clock. LEAVE OF ABSENCE. Leave of absence was granted as follows:—To Mr Hanan. for the remainder of the session, on account of ill-health; to Mr McLachhua, for one week, on account of illness in his family: and to Mr Laurenson. for one week, on account of bereavement in his family. VAILK RAILWAY SYSTEM. I Sir JOSEPH WARD laid on the table I certain correspondence in connection with ! the Vaile railway system. j Mr PIR.ANI asked whether there was! any pombilitr of the system beihz given a trial on a portion of the New Zealand railways. Sir "JOSEPH WARD said the correspondence showed the Government were prepared to have a trial made on the Auckland section under certain conditions. The matter had been referred to the Railways Committee, and the Govfirnment were awaiting its report before they considered whether any other steps could be taken. FOOD TRUST BILL. Mr SEDDON gave notice to introduce the Food Trust; Bill. PUBLIC WORKS. Certain amendment in the Aid to Pub-

>«t be "Works and Settlement Bill weTe' 75 brought down by Governor's message. They St. the amount to be raised from j ec, , J1.000,000 to £1,250,000, the increases in j details of the schedule being as follows: — ' . J JlrSt 3pect ot railways- from. £500,000 to f -CoOOiOOO; additional "rolling stock for open!] ja . Imes, from £300,000 to £400,000; in re-1 spect of land settlement and goldfields i «T j development, from £150,000 to £200,000. j is .' r S-tJDDOif said it* was obvious why these increases should be submitted. There was an unallocated balance of only £555,181 in the Public Works Account, and he thought that was sailing a little too close to the wind. With regard to the increase under the beading of additional rolling stock for opening lines, he explained that locomotives and waggons had come to band earlier than had been expected, and it was necessary that provision should be made for them. Last -year there was a surplus of £600,000, but he did not think there would be much to carry forward this 30 j . T , €ar ' although he expected * fair surplus. I These increases would not add to the | expenditure as proposed in the Public ; Works Estimates, but it was wise that >U , these extra amounts should be granted. a- He added it might be necessary during j the summer months to increase* the exm j penditure on the North Island Main Trunk Railway. s / SURVEYOR-GENERAL. Captain RUSSELi, asked when the Goa ~ vernment intended to fill the vacant office 6 oi Survevor-Ceneral. bej Mr SEDDON replied that the Governm j ment favoured the appointment of a local m j man in preference to an outsider. TheseI lection had not yet been made, but he .V | thought it would be announced within a ia mouth. VICTORIA COLLEGE. 1- . I or A Bill to make provision for the ac- J Je qui&itioh of a site lor the Victoria Col- I :e * e £ e was introduced by Governor's mesi- .sage. NOTICES. °~ • Mr. SEDDON- gave notice to introduce ,c the Workeis Compensation for Accidents Act Amendment Bill, and Sir JOSEPH }° WARD to introduce the Registration of Ie Births BilL JJ PUBLIC WORKS. Mr HALL-JONES, in moving these- -- cond reading of the Aid to Public Works 3 and Land Settlement Bill, .said it would ie save time to take the debate on the Puby lie' Works Statement on this Bill. », Captain RUSSELL considered an alteration was necessary in the. whole sys- -- tern of the Public Works Accounts. One 11 was unable to ascertain what moneys had c been spent in any particular direction, and . >f it -was essential that an intelligible balance : sheet should be put - before the House. >- Although he had studied the Statement he '; had baen absolutely unable to discover ! y. what moneys Uad -been spent out of the n consolidated fund, what moneys had been n spent out of the loan, and what moneys [. had been transferred from the consolidated i- fund to the Public Works Account. • s Nevertheless, he had arrived at the cons elusion that the position was very unsatis- • , r factory. During the last three years of & the regime of the Railway Commissioners a the amount spent on additions to open limes was £39,250.. Yet expenditure }>y c the Government under the same heading during the last three years amounted to ( £725,321. This showed that there had _ been gross mismanagement in the past, or . that there was gross mismanagement at 1 j the present time. Another point in. re- < I gard to'the'railways was.that they did 1 not know what was being charged to the I B capital account, and what was ' being < - charged to the working expenses. As to ] fc the sinking .fund, for wear and i „ excess of maintenance, Captain t pointed out what .had been done by, the i r Manawat-u Railway "Company in that direc- i tron, and .said that'on the same basis; as ■; s the colony's railways had been-open for < , double the period of .the Manawatti Com- f ' pany's, the cok>nv ought to have had a } sinking fund of £7,658,000. ", Sir JOSEPH WARD suggested-that Cap- F ; . tain Russell was almost a monomaniac (if he a | might use the term without offence) on the c subject of railways. He had said thai the + Government had expended £725,000 without T \ authorisations, whereas the. fact wa*s that ... . "there was an authorisation up to £7C0,000- c ' With reference to the contrast between the j. terms whdbh the Railway Commissioners 1 . and the.period in which the.Gof vernment were administering the. railways, ■ '-■ he pointed.'out that there had been an i. enormous expansion of traffic since the time j of the Commissioners. ' With such ah/'enor- • mous expansion: of traffic, it 'Was manifest J] that the expenditure must have increased, j: ar.d that it would increase in future. In reply to Captain Russell's argument as to D . depreciation, he pointed out that the proper ° system at the present day'was to avoid de- ? preciation. WiUen the material deteriorated I. invfehe slightest degree' it: was put into ttie workshops, and the cost was charged to the revenue. To establish, such a fund a*..' Captain Russell, had proposed would be ruinous t>o the country. He denied that the repairs and maintenance were charged to the capital; Mr JAMES ALLEN admitted that to a certain extent it was right that .there should be no depreciation xund in regard ~ to, the railways, but. it could not be claimed that the' condition of the railways remained as it was when they were first a built," and therefore it was necesisary to pi make some provision for depreciation. Jie c j went on to say that the Opposition, made not the slightest objection to an increasing of rolling Stockton* of tse loan, but what ™ they did object to was that the Works ( w which should be charged to the revenue to were charged to the capital account, and __ that the railway returns were' thus swelled) and people deceived. ' fcJIK JOSEPH WARD—"That i« not m done." ' ed Mr ALLEN— r "I say it is done." As of compared witVthe' year 1894, he said that -.we! were ..drifting into a', system od tinance. which was t 'extremely, dangerous, and he ** did not think the colony could bear the burden of a" million and ''a quarter loan W money annually for public, works. £^ Mr SEDDON quoted, figured to. show the expenditure that had been mcurxed for new locomotives and waggons, and for the ' Westinghouse brake. Members asked for quicker trains, but this could nob be done unless heavier rails were laid, ;ahd this in turn could not be done without the expen.diture of money. Members of the JElouse were'themselves Tesponsible for. the large -^ c expenditure in additions to open lines. m ' Inere were constant requests to the Go- -Jj* c v-ernment for further expenditure,upon roll- *£' ing stock, and it was <fisheartening in the BV| extreme when. Ministers were doing "their -best to meet these demands c for railways ~ E and roads, to have-.their efforts criticised " n in this way. He believed the Public "" Works -Statement was one of the most satis- *-** factory which had been submitted. fc>everal other members also spoke, and ■ the debate proceeding when the tele- */' graph office"closed at. 2 a.m.