MONEY FOR STATE WORKS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19412, 21 August 1926, Page 15

MONEY FOR STATE WORKS.

VOTES TOTAL £8,643,470. OVER £3,000,000 FOR RAILWAYS'. FRESH BORROWING AUTHORITY. TOTAL OF £7,100,000 SOUGHT. > [BY TELEGRAPH. —SPECIAL REPORTER.] WELLINGTON, Friday. The. total net expenditure under all votes and accounts appearing on the Public Works Estimates for the financial year ended March 31 was £7,495,094. Of this sum £4,615,585 was expended out of general purposes account, and £2,879,509 out of special accounts. Appropriations proposed for the'current year, under all heads, total £8,643,470, as compared with a total of £7,598,500 voted last year. "

Following are details of the net, votes proposed, after deduction of credits-in-aid, compared with last year's expenditure: —

GENERAL PURPOSES ACCOUNT. Net Totals. Expended. Vote. 1926-27. 1925-26. 'Departmental . .. £135,000 £126,475 Railway Construction 1,265,470 1,140,293 Additions to Open Lines .. .; 562,000 842,322 Public -Buildings .. 508,000 284,178 Timber-supply and Sawmills .. .. 15,000 Cr. 9,893 Quarries .. 25,000 12,352

Lighthouses and Harbour Works .. 23,000 9,408 Tourist Resorts .. 35,000 43.456

Immigration .. .. 270,000 107,521 Roads, Bridges and other Public Works 645,000 568,628 Telegraph Extension . 765,000 931,060 Motor Transport ~ -- 4,994 Contingent Defence . 50,000 89,670 Lands Improvement . 80,000 70,493 Irrigation, Water Supply and Drainage .. 75,000 56,227 Plant. Material and Stores .. _.. 40,000 33,453 Transfer to Main Highways Construction Fund . .. 400,000 Totals General Purposes . .. £4.893,470 £4,317,2<}7 Electric Supply A/c. 1,371,000 945,a33 Waihoil and Ohinemuri Rivera Account 64,000 '47,908 Totals Public Works Fund .. £6,333,470 £5,310,708 SEPARATE ACCOUNTS. Land for Settlements . £40,000 £17,181 Maiu Highways Construction .. .. 550,000* 380,449 Railways Improvement 1,370,000 796,910 Education Loans .. 350,000 564,863 'lncludes above £400,000 transferred from Public Works Fuild. The expenditure from the General Purposes Account shown in the table does not include charges and expenses of raising loans £297,180. New Railway Works. Following are the votes for railway construction together with the expenditure during 1925-26: — .RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. Vote. Expended. 1926-27. 1925-26. North Auckland— Huarau, Northwards 150,000 272,176 Okaihau, Northwards 100,000 Whangarei Branch .. 3,000 Cr. 4,907 Dargavilla Branch .. 30,000 9,786 East Coast Main Trunk— t Paeroa-Pokeno* .. 2,000 1,623 Waihi-Taneatua .. 287,000 360,197 Gisborne-Napier .. 280,000 226,973 Waikokopu Branch 25,000 59, ("8 Opunake Branch 25,000 _ 61,795 Stratford-Main Trunk 150,000 99,671 Midland— Glenhope-Murchison 30,000 28,346 Otira-Bealey .... Westport-Inangahua v 27,000 18,606 Orepuki-Waiau .. - 8,278 Lawrence-Roxburgh .. 57,000 64,695 Land Claims, etc. .. 1,470 940 Surveys (new lines) . - 3,000 3,729 Permanent - way materials sv 95,000 Cr. 65,034 Totals srr sv. • £1.265,470 £1,146,293 ADDITIONS TO OPEN LINES. . Way and Works BranchNorth Island .. 50,000 73,139 South Island .. 30,000 21,113 Frankton house factory 250,000 221,588 Land for housing . 30,000 13,619 Signal gear, tele- .» graphs and telephone*! .. .. Locomotive BranchWorkshops machinery .. .. Rolling stock .. 193,081 208,185 Locomotives constructed in United King- _ dom , 80,000 222,583 Locomotives constructed in New Zealand 53,506 51,589 Less Credits-in-aid 25,000 8,894 Totals .. £562.000 £842,322 The votes for railway construction, additions to open 'lines and for expenditure under the Railways improvement Authorisation Act, 1914, amount to £3,197,470, as against £2,870,000 last year, of which £2,785,555 was expendedThe Department's Resources.

The balance in the General Purposes Account at April 1 was £526,421. Legislative authority exists for raising £4,061,050 and it is proposed to ask for further authority to borrow, when required, £5,000,000. Thus a total of £9,587,471 will be available, in addition surplus revenue as available will be transferred from the Consolidated Fund up to £1,000,000.

The total available ways and means, including borrowing authorities, of the more important special accounts for public works are as follow: —Electric Supply Account, £5,815,102; Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers Improvement Account, £216,710,- Railways Improvement Authorisation Act 1914 Account, £3,238,972; Main Highways Construction Fund, £2,620.104. The total for these special accounts is £11,890.888. In addition to authority to borrow £5,000,000 for general purposes, the Minister proposes to ask this year for additional authority to raise £2,000,000 for railway improvements ' and £IOO,OOO for the Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers works. These amounts are included in the previous total of available ways and means.

SAND DUNE AREAS. COST OF RECLAMATION. PURCHASE OF MAIRAM GRASS. [BY TELEGRAPH.—SPECIAL REPORTER.] • WELLINGTON. Friday. Under the head of Lands Improvement several votes appear in the Public Works Estimates on account of the reclamation of several North Auckland sand-dune and dune areas and the purchase of mairatn grass. The following are among the votes, the amounts expended last year being given in parenthesesHoulioraWaipapakauri, £656 (£186; Waipu, £BSO (£716). A new vote of £SOO is proposed for the Ivaiatai area.