ESTIMATES IN COMMITTEE.

Marlborough Express, Volume LIII, Issue LIII, 25 October 1919, Page 2

ESTIMATES IN COMMITTEE.

The House then went into - Committee on the\ Public Works Estimates. ] In idri'tioising tiiie Statement, Sir Joseph Ward paid a tribute to the work done by Sir William. Fraser' as a Minister of the Crown, and on the eve of his departure from public life he, wished niir. long and'happy days in a quieter sphere. With regard, to the Public 'Works Statement its-all", he • considered that it daoked the broad, courageous, aiid far-reaching policy which would vitalise the resources of the Dominion and which would enable the people to make the most- profitable use of their resources. He found that tlujro were fifteen different railways being constructed at the same time, but the votes for many •of these were so small tihafc'not moire than one mile to five miles, could be completed -m one. year. This snail paci; was not going to give any assistance to* settlci's- and was not going tio help to give' ; any help to the policy under which we hoped to put soldiers and the people generally" on tho land. Ho found fault with tho small sums provided for roncls and bridges and backblock "conveniences, while at the same' time a huge programme, for public buildings was proposed, and tjhat programme 'scarcely touched buildings for N edu.oattiiirjii. _He regarded the public works policy as disclosed in the ■Statement' ,as mistaken, misguided, and without vision, ,in view of the recNmstinicti.cn -> activities . for which tho country called. He criticised the fact that . out of ~ six millions proposed fo<r electric schemes it was only intended to spend , some £600,000 in the North Island. This

might- be justified by the MuKfctei on the gjTounds of rJiortage of laboi1, but Uq vontenctarl tHiai this countr\

could nv,t go on without labor, and he wanted to know what the GovI ©riiruent proposed to do tio provide Jit. He maintained that jwe • must import labor. He r/a-.v n<? nope' of getting tins' ccr.uiry tLi'ongh v tlie hard years wliioli it luul to face except bj pxisliitig on a vigorous, policy of road and railway «• construction.

Personally he thought tliati they shculd spend four millions in three

years. Mr McCallinn complained of the poverty of the votes for the South island, and stressed the fact that Auckland had got tho lot,

!Dr. Newman (Wellington East) asked tho Government 'to abolish

the system of feeder lines, which were quito antiquated. He also* pointed out that the Prime Minister's .province (Auckland), had been specially favored in the iallocation of public works moneys.