THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, JULY 19. 1916. PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16285, 19 July 1916, Page 6

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, JULY 19. 1916. PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

During the financial stress of an unparalleled and exhausting war, we must expect that public funds will be diverted as far as possible to meet the pressing military needs of the Dominion and the Empire. It is not only reasonable but imperative that all public works which are not directly conducive to the production of national wealth should be suspended, and that the limited funds thus released should be applied to the continuance of works having a positive bearing upon the national ability to sustain the heavy burden of war. This basis for Public Works policy during the present critical year is theoretically accepted and adopted by the National Government, its spokesman in the matter, the Minister for Public Works, being emphatic on the point in the statement presented to Parliament last night. Mr. Fraser may fairly claim exemption from criticism in so far as his proposals for the current year embody and exemplify this theory; but he must admit that the right of criticism remains unaffected where he can be shown to have deviated from the policy he himself lays down.

Criticism inevitably arises from the apparent acceptance by the Minister, even during war, of the deplorable and traditional assumption that the economic development of the North Island is not to be treated as an urgent national undertaking. Not only is the majority of our population now in the North, but this majority is rapidly increasing, in spite of the difficulties under which Northern settlement labours. The great unworked resources of New Zealand lie north of Cook Strait, and largely in Auckland Province. If New Zealand is to shoulder with comparative ease her growing liabilities, these resources must be developed, and can only be developed by railways and roads. No Public Works Statement can be intelligently considered apart from existing conditions, which include the fact that the South Island is in many districts cobwebbed with unprofitable railways, while the North Island is retarded and checked by the absence of needed railways, though the Northern railways pay more than handsomely. This will be seen by the following summary of railway revenue and expenditure for the past financial year:— Miles. Earnings. penses. £ X North Island ... 1,216 ... 2,589.000 ... 1,584.000 South Island ... 1,714 ... 1,959.000 ... 1,325.000 Available for interest on cost. e 1.246 North Island mile? yield ... 1.005,000 1.714 South Island mi)e= yield 63i!ooO It is incontestable that it is the North Island and not the South Island which needs railways for developmental work. This developmental need of the North Island has so far been admitted that during recent years it has been allotted more railway construction money than the South Island. It is proposed by Mr. Fraser to continue this reluctantly adopted system, but we may well make the criticism that there is no enthusiasm visible in his proposals. The new railway construction votes and those for last year compare thus :—

Last Now votes. year. £ £ North Island ... 322.300 ... 441.000 South Island ... 132,900 ... 188.000 Under all the circumstances and remembering that the South Island already possesses 1714 miles of railway which averagely do not pay the interest on the cost of their construction, it is difficult to see why urgently needed Northern lines, required for land settlement and the development of our national resources, should be reduced in the face of our accumulating financial responsibilities. If we take the East Coast construction, which would add another Taranaki to the Dominion, and compare, it with the Otira Tunnel, which cannot increase produc-

tion by a log of timber, a bale of wool, a ton of coal, or a pound of butter, we have a special cause for complaint. In this year of financial economy the voracious maw of the Midland tunnel is to swallow up another £60,000, making £130,000 thrown into it since the war beganOnly £51,000 is allotted to the East Coast from Auckland to far-off Gisborne, including £10,000 for the Waihi-Tauranga section and £6000 for the Gisborne-Motu. Granted that it is impossible to find more money for all Dominion railway construction, can it be considered national economy to spend less on opening up the East Coast region than on boring a tunnel in the Southern Alps to complete that hopelessly unprofitable line the Midland ?