THE MINISTER FOR WORKS IN THE NORTH.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, Issue XLIII, 9 March 1909, Page 3

THE MINISTER FOR WORKS IN THE NORTH.

THE NEED OF RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. A VIGOROUS POLICY ADVOCATED. (Prom Our Spncial Correspondent). AUCKLAND, Tuesday Speaking at Te Knit i on railway construction during his recent tour, Mr R. M'Kenzie, Minister of Works, said it was the greate-'c desire of thi present Administration to particularly assist in the advancement of tin country iby railway construction. Economy would be exercised wherever possible; but at the -paine time th< Government were going to prosecuh a reasonably vigorous railway poliej' towards the development of the la tent resources of (he Dominion. Millions of acres of land were lyin<; idle and unproductive for the want o roads and railway?. The country ha about 2iioo mics of railway, but personally he considered vhat before th. • country could be fully ! developed 10,000 miles of railway would require to be projected. He intended to ad vise railway construction where there was a strong probability of reasonable remits being obtained; but he could assure those present that no politicn' railways would be authorised by the present, administration. The construction of political railways died with the last Tory Government, nnd no one could truthfully fay that any political railway had been constructed during the last twenty years. In dealing with the borrowing aspect, he maintained that though there had been at tines temporary hardness of the money market, there had never been any trouble with the finances of the Dominon. He favoured a borrowing policy for railway construe tion in such a young country as New Zealand, and to borrow £1,000,000 i: year, a? the country was now doiuj! for such a purpose, was safe. He recognised that there were three lines in the North Island which should be pushed ahead expeditiously, and which had equal claims for «peedy advancement. These were thr North Auckland Main Trunk, the Sfratford-Ongaru, and the East Coast via Waihi. He thought that 'ho expenditure of £300,000 per an num on railway construction in Auckland province, should be regarded f oi- some time to come as very fair expenditure on a basis of popula tion. The South Inland, he pointed out, was more closely settled than the North; but this lie attributed in a great measure to the absence o< Native troubles, which were associat ed with and had retarded the progress of the North so long. He was in favour of borrowing for railway con struetion, and said he believed that if /he Nr-w Zealand railway- wore pine n' on t'i< r.oudmi markets mare wr.ul.l be obtained for them than would pa> off the Dominion'^ national d.^br.