PUBLIC WORKS.

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 July 1907, Page 3

PUBLIC WORKS.

TELEGRAMS.

: THE PREMIER AND MR MASSEY. (Our Parliamentary Reporter). WELLINGTON, This Day. Mr Massey advocated in tho House of Representatives yesterday afternoon (lie setting up of a Public Works Committee to which all applications for (ho expenditure of public works moneys siiould be referred. Tho Premier said no matter what tho Committee .said or recommended the Government bad to allocate the amount available for public works to tho best advantage and must be guided by its officers who went to work in the process of selection, irrespective of j anything else. The Government would not be torced into taking in, hand any particular work because a petition was sent in and favourably reported on by tile committee. • Thu responsibility. was one for the. Government and tho Government accepted it. Tho pro-I I per to address a petition to was the j Minister for Public Works. If the Government acceded to the demands now being made, it would require a loan of three or four millions. Further lie added, that no new railways would be undertaken, as there wore seventeen or eighteen lines now in hand, •and tho opening up of new linos meant tho allocating of public works money in driblets to convey tlio v impression that new railways were being constructed in particular districts. He colluded that (he whole tendency was to pi’ess the matter on tho Government in a manna r not fair or reasonable. Ministers should not be required ‘to stand up day after day and resist all sides of tlio House for applications for extraordinary expenditure. No Government, unless it desired the ruin of tho Cidony, could meet anything like the number of applications made for public works. Ho could not agree with Mr Massey’s suggestion of a public works committee, as the members, would have to travel all over the conn try during the recess, inspecting and taking evidence. They would require to bo paid and the cost to the colon/ would be enormous.