PUBLIC WORKS FINANCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15308, 22 May 1913, Page 8

PUBLIC WORKS FINANCE.

REFORM PARTY'S POLICY. MINISTER'S REPLY TO CRITICISM. Interviewed ■in Wellington recently, Mr. W. D. S. Mac Donald, M.P. (Bay % of Plenty), who held the portfolio of Public Works in the Mackenzie Ministry, criticised the financial and public works administration of the present Government. Mr. Mac Donald's remarks were brought under -the notice of the Hon. W. Eraser, Minister for Public Works, who made the following statement on the subjects revised by Mr. Mac Donald. Mr. Mac Donald begins his criticism of my administration of the Public Works Department with a complaint as to my treatment of his district, and especially as to the railway from Gisborne to Napier. The amount of appropriations for the line in last year's Estimates was £15,000, and I have spent £15,677 to March 31 on that particular portion, and incurred liabilities amounting to £3115. As to the line to Motu it is being pushed on with all reasonable speed, and is nearly completed. To have extended the lino beyond Motu would have been impossible as it has not been authorised, but the road from Motu to Opotiki is making fair progress and will give employment to many men during the winter.

"Mr. Mac Donald proceeds to say," continued the Minister, " that in March last year there were 10,200 men employed on Government railway and road works, whereas the number has now been reduced to 4000. The official figures for March of last year are 7765, not 10,200, and for March of this year 4900 not 4000. This difference is generally accounted for by the fact that 1 have encouraged the local bodies to do more of the road work and have also let more contracts', and also that I realised that it was necessary to keep both work and money. to provide for employment during the winter months when little or no. work is going on on farms. Moreover, I don't think that a large army of co-operative workers is evidence of prosperity. - " Now," said Mr. Fraser, "what has been done in regard to roads, railways, and bridges from April 1, 1912, to March 31, 1913? The sum of £429,253 has been expended on the construction of roads and bridges, and £42,248 on the maintenance of main roads, making a total of £471,501. On railways during the period there has been expended £684,196, and on eight.out of the 27 different lines under construction I have actually expended more than the appropriations. It may surprise Mr. ; Mac Donald to learn that the total expenditure of votes under my control in the Public Works Department for the j&ear ending March - 31, 1913, amounted to £1,908,671. I distinctly stated to the House that the appropriations I was asking for were intended to cany me on, until the new Estimates were framed, say, in October, 1913, and that statement will be fulfilled. . \'"^-^::^-^->^;^

" Mr. Mac Donald," the Minister went on to remark, " has been particularly rash in his criticism of the financial arrangements that have been made vor left - unmade, and he happens ;■■•; to be wrong in every instance. . Our, arrangements nave certainly not been of the same character ] as those of our predecessors, nor had we occasion to pledge on pawn every asset we possessed as our predecessors had to do. Their fate might easily have been ours had we followed their example of spending ; money before we were sure of receiving the wherewithal to defray "such expenditure. Mr. Mac Donald will learn all about this when Parliament' meets. As to our inability to lend,; as k ; we should have liked -to have done, to local bodies; arid' others; I have already publicly stated that our predecessors granted loans amounting to £675,000, and left £17,000 to pay these loans with. ? •_■ They ; received during ■ 1911r12 £1,500,000 from the post office for their. State-guaranteed advances debt to lend but again. We received during 1912-13 only £500,000 from that source owing to excess of withdrawals over deposits, and is it any wonder that we were ; unable ; to comply with the requisitions , for loans? Mr. Mac Donald says that there was: no necessity for curtailment of expenditure, as the country was very nrosperous. ;i Is he not ignoring the fact that we have to go abroad for our loans, and -.that during all this Balkan war trouble ; money was dear" and difficult to obtain? Why, eyen Austria had to pay six per cent, for its loan. " In conclusion, let me say that I have never doubted our ability to meet our engagements, but I' have persistently declined, and properly so I conceive, jto make promises for next year until I knew what amount of funds would be available for expenditure."