RAILWAY SCHEMES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20401, 1 November 1929, Page 13

RAILWAY SCHEMES.

morningside and paeroa.

NO DECISIONS REACHED YET.

MINISTERS STILL INDEFINITE.

[BY TELEGRAPH.— SPECIAL REPORTER.] WELLINGTON. Thursday.

Endeavours to ascertain the Governmerit's decisions with regard to the Morningside Tunnel scheme and tlio PaeroaPokeno railway link were unsuccessfully made in the House early this morning during the discussion on the Public Works Statement.

Replying to the inquiries of Auckland members, the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. E. A. Ransom, said the Morningside tunnel was not a Public Works job. It came under the railways improvement account, and would be dealt with by the Railways Department. At tho same time, the Minister gave an assurance that the tunnel scheme had not been overlooked.

Mr. M. J. Savage (Labour —Auckland West): What about the promise of a definite reply? We were told to wait until wo had the Public Works Statement.

Mr. Ransom: I. am not in a position to give a definite answer to night. That is for the Minister of Railways' A Reform Voice: And he doesn't know.

Regarding tho Pac.roa-Pokeno railway, Mr. Ransom said ho had already submitted a paper on ithe subject to the Cabinet regarding whether the construction should be commenced on .a railway so long authorised.

Not satisfied with the Minister's reply, Mr. A. M. Samuel (Reform — Thamos) again raised the mutter during the discussion on the Public Works Estimates. Mr. Samuel said he would not be satisfied with the placing of £4OOO or £SOOO on the Supplementary Estimates for the work. He wanted to know whether the Government was sincere in the matter. The Minister should give more information.

The Minister of Justice, the Hon. T. M. Wilford: The railway cannot be built b9fora the end of March.

Mr. Samuel: I know you cannot. You could not build a Meccano railway such as the Minister of Justice could handle iu that time.

"The matter is to be considered by the Cabinet quite shortly," said Mr. Ransom. "If an amount is placed on the Supplementary Estimates it will be .in indication that the Government intends to proceed with tho work."

COMPLETING MAIN LINES.

POLICY OF GOVERNMENT.

HOPE OF ARRESTING LOSSES

[BV TELEGRAPH. —SPECIAL REPORTER.] "WELLINGTON, Thursday.

For the second time this week the House of Representatives sat until the early hours of the morning to fuLfil the programme stipulated by the Government, and it was 2.35 this morning before the Public Works Estimates, considered after the Public Works Statement., were passed. Replying to the debate on the statement, the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. E. A. Ransom, said that as far as branch railway lines were concerned the Government would perhaps have to seriously consider whether they should be kept open or whether it would be more profitable to serve the districts by road. It was his opinion that the Main Trunk railway systems should be maintained and completed as far as it was possible to complete them. In regard to a point raised by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Coates, Mr. Ransom said he had yet to learn that, as far as the United Government was concerned, political influence regarding the railways had been more in evidence than in the" past; indeed, the Reform Government had had ample opportunity to biing about a reform if it were consideied to be necessary. If the railways were to be regarded as a purely commercial undertaking, run only for profit, it would not be in the interests of the Dominion. Helooked on the railways not merely as a means of transport returning interest on the capital invested, but as a system to develop a young country. In the past the railways had done move to bring the country to" its present stage of efficiency than any other enterprise. Mr. Ransom said that as a result ot Mr. Coates' statement that the operating railways should not pay for development, he could now be expected to support the Prime Minister's proposal to write down the railway capital by £8,000,000, as the capital cost was out of proportion to the services rendered to the country. _ Mr. Coates: You are determined to mis-

"SnTof the objects of the Government was to push on with works in hand to brine them to some finality, continued Mr. Ransom, That was one of the reasons why more had not been placed on the estimates for the South Island Main Trunk railway. The fact that more had not been put on was not to be taken as an indication that the Government did not intend, to push 011 with the work. Ihe •idea was that special energy and the expenditure of a greater sum on ra,l "' now near completion would bring them more quickly to a profitable stage, and it was proposed that the newer works should in due course receive the same favourable consideration. In the meantime more would not be placed on the estimates than it was intended" to spend in the financial year, although expenditure could be over-authorised, and in some cases no doubt would be Such railways as the South Island Main Trunk line should be viewed not, from the point of whether they would pay a certain rate of interest, but of whether they would be of value to the country. Mr. Ransom said he was convinced that the growth of losses on the . rail^ y ®' lf the term loss could be used in that connection, would not be in future anything like what it was at present.

SETTLING NATIVE LAND.

development legislation.

[BY TELEGRAPH. SPECIAL REPORTER.] WELLINGTON, Thursday.

Several amendments have been made to the Native Lands Amendment and Native Lands Claims Adjustment Bill as a result of the scrutiny of the Native Affairs Committee, which to-day recommended that the bill should be allowed to proceed, subiect to the amendments. No vital changes have been tho bill. b«fc power is provided enabling the Minister of Native Affairs to carry morn fullv into effect the policy of facj, , the development and settlement of IS lands. To that end a clause has been inserted providing that by 9 ld °'''" h Council the alienation of any native lands Aspect of which the Minister has given notice that he intends to apply the settlo meat provisions of the measure, may be prohibited for a period not, exceeding 1months.