WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1922. THE PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 18 October 1922, Page 4

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1922. THE PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT

■ ♦ '-— One thing we have noted with satisfaction about the Minister of Public -Works (the Hon. J. G. Coates) is his definite manner on the questions with which he has- to deal. The Public Works Statement presented in the House last evening was a lengthy one, and in it the Minister has given much ' attention to several of the most im--1 portant matters coneernnig the Domin-' ion's internal development and progress. We have given as. extensively ■ as our space will permit the Minister's views on the chief, works over which! he exercises control, and no doubt read- j ers will find them very interesting and educative. The Minister has been, and still is, faced with some difficult fae- [ tors —the financial stringency, high cost of materials, and the need for the : relief of unemployment. Mr Coates ' has skilfully handled the problems j which have confronted him during the ' last financial year, as the Statement shows, and there is every reason to feel that the administration of Public ! Works is in very capable hands. Much j of the Statement is devoted to the' methods which Mr Coates has adopted,' and there is evidence that, although' the expenditure upon Public Works ' has been very heavy, in fact, heavier than for any previous year, the coun-, try is receiving good value for the [ money expended. In some directions there has been a curtailment and a cor- f responding delay, but in others, al-' though expenditure has been greater,' progress has increased correspondingly.' The Minister has on hand the very important task of developing the Doinin-

ion's hydro-electric resources, and ; from his comments and proposals there is every indication that he is deter- ( mined to push on with the various schemes as rapidly as funds will permit. The completion of a number of ! long delayed railway lines is being un- \ dertaken, but Mr Coates has, owing to j ! the necessity for finding work for j large numbers of unemployed, had to s | postpone the full application of his ' | system of concentration upon the more i important lines. The more extensive I use of labour-saving machinery ' has j proved very successful, and has en- ; abled much more work to be done at no increase in cost, thus hastening the I time when sections of new line become | revenue earning. The Dominion will | have to face heavy expenditure upon , ! public works for some years to come, i for not only were many works delayed [during the war period owing to the- ; shortage of labour, but the country is : growing fairly rapidly in population ! and each year finds new requests for ! f alicities, the absence of which would ! curtail production and discourage those who are willing to bring new lands into productivity. Mr Coates is fully alive to the position, and we think . that there will be few people who will say that he is not proving himself a very capable and just Minister of Public Works. I