THE PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9859, 3 October 1893, Page 6

THE PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

*..-.. ..;■■ ■- [By.Tjsleqkaph.] *~.;; .H-.ffi:.:!.-.-: .. '■'' ;"W&tLiNGT6NiiSept6mber'2r. 'In'the House of Representatives tb-daythe Minister for "Public Workiv (tbi Hon.'- R'/'J" Se'ddon) laid the following Public Work's Sfaterasnt on the table:— ■[ ■•'' 1!1" "''" ■'"'• '~?iV-:-v- ---' Mr.Speaker,—The' Kblic S&e'menf olto^day as compared with former Statements has lost its attractiveness. "The moneys ava'ilaHe for' expenditure are now much'smaller than'the laiife' amounts wo were accustomed to deal with1 in the ■' days of borrowing and excessive expenditure om WQrks f b or.the last three years th"c colony haspractised a.policy of self-reliance, and the cost-oi. our. public works is now being,charged l ar gely',tb. revenue. It is now nearly six"'years sirifte' the' placing of a loan on'thb London'money market' was -authorised by Parliament:-Ih 1890- itw'a's' considered by theGoverfament of ''the daythafHi' wou.y b&.impossible to go on-, ; without\ raising another Joan, and year by year this, cry.hasbeen raised anew,; yet w,o now find OurseW.'sivTCars *}™^f Pan was authorised.'in df offlon%; hnd a 4 fairly substantial' su'fii 'foi-'Wi^cikaW pnblicwork3withbutrecburset6borrowiag:'ltm'ay ba-of.interest •and-also serve>a good purposed attention la here directed,to the fact thattYecost; oft.and, discount -,on ouri several-)pu.blic 5?nolSoBS has:am.ounted,to no,less a sum than; *i«P., v -Loan.conTersion has proceeded, and released sinking fun?s 'amounting to '£l60;0D(f have become avaUable; for ptiblic work's piirpb&k in- accordance" with' the law, an'dare beih& cr'edifeo trthepublicworksfund. rcr ';< r.^,-...;;i^./ si^i. -Limay here make as fittingrreferencevtoatha memory, of-^my colleague,, the late^Hono J!oh,n. finance, who., recently occupied the* position ofpremier and Colonial Treasurer, and.wh<? took so' gifeat an interest in and so materially forwarifet1 our financial operation^. •! deeply regret'-thafrth'e; lite Premiei* was 'not1 privileged <tb~see'!the'Verv successful termination'of;'hislatestefforts,'iand-] am sure^he House andifeoujitry.wiHwerycordi&llvr rs^echo my, sentiments in thismatter. -,»■ ', •,.■ „„'.. ' .. A^.^ted by th,e i; pr,esent,Qo.lonjal ireasuferjn" the financial ,Statement v it % firoposed 'to f liftaw augment; the' ways' and mean's ana-the publli wowa;f uh'd1 by'-a'transfer of ' £2.Mm :7i rWih¥" eansohdatedi revenuesr-This sunfi'together witK' the^other;moneys«available; wilLbring thfftotalo ways I# and,means f .,of tb,e J .fund i for;tUejbKrr«n.t. fimncial year np.toithe suca^qf as.Xiwillsb °w.m tabulated form jiresen'tly. ,;" v "* rhe t "eßtifii4ted expenditure)this year shbws'a eomteraWe incre-ase/bftt the 'am'dunt^-'hictfwil actolly'comeTiOiijharg&'befbre ■Ihe'3lst"Ma'rch-is not nseiyitosmatetially exceed the"expehditure of I*?k?W-W d''a>Portion of.^ift^^amount-about; cpntracits Jet ...prior to January . Jg?-+j .*&?■ MPs&?m .yptes ft is necessary to cover the probable expenditure for three months after the end of^thefidkncial year, as no further supplies wiu bo voted by Parliament until after that date. liie ; appropriations for the - year are therefore always..jn excess of the expenditure that can be birojight to charge during the year. The demand for expenditure on roads, and expenditure absolutely needed to keep pace with the rapid settlement that is fortunately proceeding, is also exceptionally heavy, but as far as we-could see --oar way with the limited funds at our disposal, the most urgent demands have been met. I haa been charged against the Government that a large proportion of the expenditure, now fnngon in connection with our railways . v being incurred for formation works only, and that the lines are not therefore completed and available for public use. This,: however, is not the truth, as during the last fiaanoialyear the TeAro extension of the Wei-hagtoH-W.oodville railway has-been completed and handed over to the RaUway Commissioners, ' and the Mangaonoho section of the North Islam JVlam Trunk railway from Eahgatira to Mangaonoho (a length .of 3 miles 70 chains), and the Mokihinui extension of the WestportNgakawau railway (a-length of 7 mileß 12 ctiains)have been handed over since the close of the financial year. The Greymouth-Hokitika railway is also available for occasi6nal trafSc, and wm very shortly be ready for regular working; and.the Kotorua railway fa also expected to be . open for traffic as far as Tarukenga next month. Owing to the limited amount of money now at j the disposal: of the Government for expenditure, 11 is Impossible to expect that this Statement will sitisfy everyone. At the same time itJ is very . cheering to note that, notwithstanding the'com-' pwatively limited expenditure in connection with public works during the last three years, the country has baeri: generally prosperous. If we . compare last year with former years, when the: expenditure on public works amounted to nearly two millions per annum, we find fewer men out of employment, the industrial population more contented • and prosperous, and the country' generally in a sounder condition. Fault has been found by a section of the community Svith what has been termed our hand-to-mouth policy in public works expenditure. Persons are always to be found who will complain with or without just gi'ounds, and it is only to be expected that those who favour a borrowing policy because they have something to gain by a large expenditure on ?üblic works shoulddenounce the present system. f, however, a betterment tax' were placed on properties benefited by the expenditure of public moneys, there would soon be an * end. -to the clamour for borrowing 'and.a lavish public ; works expenditure, and political railways -would D 3 things of the past. By constructing our public works as far as possible on the co-operative system small settlers located in their vicinity iiave found employment, and the working classes _ tave been, able to enjoy more practical benefit . ■ •. trom the expenditure than at any time previously In the past it has hot been the masses who have derived the chief benefit from bur large'outhy but owners of property in the neighbourhood of whose .land jail ways, roads, and' other public works have been constructed. The value of such land has thus been materially added to without the owners, being called upon to pay their due proportion tor the increased charges entailednpon the public purse by such expenditure. : During the year I have visited many of the works in course of construction in different parts of the, colony; but before giving any details in .respect pf.thre several works, it would be well for' me to give full particulars of the position of the ' PUBLIC WORKSEUNIV ■ :\ - The state of the public works fund on the 31st March, last (mchiding a small asset of £78 due T?J?«c A u°^" Tll9 Government Loans to Local ■Bodies Act 1886 ") was as follows:— -

Hon. members will observe from the above table that, allowing for the liabilities, a debit balance of £tSO64 existed on Part 1 on 31st March la3t, or, in other words, that the available ways and means of that part of the fund at that date wore insufficient to cover, the liabilities by that amount. The Government was, however, quite justified in incurring this slight excess, as the liabilities of £183,749 will only fall due by instalments extending over a year as follows, viz.: June quarter,£66,476; September,£49,697; December, £46,056; and March quarter 1894, £21,520. Long before these later payments fall due the transfer proposed to be made to the fund from the revenue will be available.

As already stated, the Government proposed to transfer £250,00 D from the consolidated fund for public works purposes. In addition to this the sum of about J160.G00 will be available from released sinking funds as also mentioned; while miscellaneous receipts and recoveries will probably amount *to a. further, £7000. or so. -The following table shows the state of the public works fund on thel 31st March last, and an estimate of how it will probably stand on the 313t March next, if the proposals which I now hive the honour to submit to the House are s.pproved of:—

Parti. Part 11. Total. ££ v £ Balanceon3lstMarch, 1893 ... 177,685 152,943.330,628 Credit from surplus revenue ... ... 250,000 — 250,000 Released sinking funds... ... ...160,000 — 160,000 Miscellaneous receipts .5,000 2,000 7,000 _ Totals ... ... 592,085 154,943 747,628' Proposed expenditure i for 1893-94 ... ...591,468 101,600 693,068 Estimated balances on "~ 31st March, 1894 ... 1,217 53,343 -54,560 will notice that the public Works Estimates are brought down in a slightly different form this year to that which has been usual dunne the last few years. It is only proposed to. ask the House to vote one amount for each work—namely, the amount' necessary to cover expenditure during the financial year and lor a further period of three months under the authority of the Public Eevenues Acts. For the -r j5 years two am.ounts have usually been included in the appropriation form for each item, me rirst has been intended to cover the expenditure to come to charge within the financial year, and the second to cover (in addition to this) For instance, it was no less than £« nnfHr, g item (North Island Main Tr Uß k failway soZ. end) on last year's Public Works EstinS The effect of placing on the Estimates votes to cover liabilities extending over a considerable period after the close of the year to which the vote related has been to unduly swell the sum total of the appropriations It has often led to the fcelief that the proposed expenditure on a parti §lar work during the year was to be largely inj excess of what it wag really intended to be, and has led to complaints from members and their constituents that the Government has broken faith with them by not giving full effect to its proposals. It will, of course, , still 1)3 necessary to obtain the authority of Par-! liameut to incur liabilities in excess of the vote if it is considered likely to be needful to incur any such. It will therefore be proposed to make a Blight verbal alteration in the wording of ths ourth section of the Public Works Appropriation attach a schedule to the a?t setting

forth the amendments to which liabilities'on v account of each work may be incurred:- -A-oopy-of the.schediile,proposGd_to be .attached .to. the appropriation acC punt of year, and also of i :lause 4 ol the act, as now prbposed.'is afcfacned'to 1 ;his Statement. I feel sure that the change proposed will be apprp.ved.by % hon. members, and that ;he real amounts intended to be expended on the Several i Works prior to >the next meeting* of Parliament will be much more clearly understood than ha 3 been the case hitherto. 'The change' will flso be an improvement departmental^, as tendfpg *o facilitate the account'keeping both In the Audit and Treasury,^ well as,the Public Works flepartrrient.

The 'exJ)enditur»MottiiaU-«vtfdrks and services .hr.oughouic.4hei: colony; underlie- public:Jwprks UR%yfttpjthe3]ftti^:3l(j)^h ( |ast lJ inqlud}ng^he >urcha.se, of tt»£ provincial ,and district railways, las, am^unte^ tq.a.Jdfel sum;bf,|2B,SS7,43i: The mncipal items' stahd'as'fdHows—haWlr'r Rail'1 vaysj'ieisi63o;ool ;!!roaasV £3;705,'817; 'immigra^ Mij^SjM&'jSOa.-; itfatitfc- v'bnildings,^ £1, 5d6,679.>.* rarchaseof Nattue laaitts,vj£l}29s;62s ;vlighthousesv, iarbp.uv;3vorks / .,ftnd harbftur defences,^OO^A;.,, ;eleg japh. , extension,.. £663,G66;. ;)yaferwor^s. t ,sjx, the goldfields'"jgsl7,lC9 • defence'purposes gene"-', raUyf. £j2$,7W? ' deijartaftntal": 1C367j75S! t J dn'd"cia^nSf1 and1' discount oh'1 raising' loans] £i;026;828P v .' ' v'1 •■'"'• -"-« --'is -i>^J

The awninisjrati ye ■ staff, _as., mentioned, last ireaVimbe&^^'MiierdV-titt-iril'&tiiln'll' by thePdepaTfrnent-'in fo¥merI 'yeaiii.u'()DuiJing tfie'1 'year itfhas been subjected to' a soriie'wHat aseVere!-: pftain^as the expenditure was in exces&Jof that of:. ,the .prevsious year. . The work, however, hasibeeu.r, feryoWolLjdopej and,-I ihajre..m > uck),pleasur.9 ,in't ac^^vfe^n^.theaoya^^uOT^ JWJ : We £ Invariably received fromall pficerar/Tmvardg. MVibg?! iß--«e^ abo#refficißn^-aMliVfon6ay!<--->direeteldcthtftatc!'DeTeflcßiEa|inieer^j:alsota'keii^inieer^j:alsota'keii^i tfierduties ofuEesidentsEngineenito the Eublio'v Worisldepartmenkfojr the; Wellington distjriGUMj!-: P:«l^?.ed j£jbh,ig,,sub,ject; to.jgertajn ppi<d.itipnß, v . pnd.it.jyas ar^arigeq ; thst he shbwaaMiake iip,iHe duties, as^romthe'eommericement"of "tfie current financial-'yearMMely? '.lsfr A'pffi last. %rr'the '• pLßth• March,' 1 However1,*1 Mr-' 'Bell tendered' his : resignationVsa's'.;h>'<had 'received1* an'-bffer of employment in: Australia! Jtfrjßell'siresignationwas acqepted;.wjth ,yery great regrete and in accepting it 4 l expresse j d,my ! <app;i;eciation of the valuable jWiork thafche had,-pGrformed for the Government ..'as." 'DefeiicV 'Engineer, and informed , him that1 he * had been granted a special retiring • allowance of six months' salary. | Since Mr Bell's retirement the engineers of the jPujjlic Works department in the several districts where defence works are in proeresa have, under the general direction of the Engineer-in-chief, undertaken the supervision of the works. This is a reversion to the system in operation before the appointment of the Defence Engineer, and under which the majority of the defence works were Initiated and carried on for som6 time. As the works at present in hand are not of any magnitude, the Government proposes to continue their construction under the public works engineers on directions to be furnished by the commander of the forces.

Inspection of Machinery and Survey of Steamers.—With a view to place the work of inspectors of machinery under better control, and also to ensure greater uniformity in the methods :of inspection adopted in the several districts, W. JI. Mowatt, formerly one of the inspectors for the Wellington district, has been appointed Chief Inspector'of Machinery, and has been placed under the control of the Public Works department. At the time the work was handed over to the Public Works department the inspection inmost of the districts was much in arrear, indeed several months behind in some districts, but by close application on the part of the old inspectors and with ■ the help of one additional inspector the arrears are now beiDg gradually worked off. I regret to say that one of the oldest inspectors, the late Mr Alexander Crawford, died during the year, after having served as an inspector for 17 years. A full report of the working of the Inspection of Machinery department has been prepared by the Chief Inspector, and forms one of the appendices to this Statement. That the work of the inspectors has been faithfully and efficiently performed is shown by the entire absence of accidents to life or limb in connection With steam boilers in the colony during the year, and the very small number of accidents in connection with machinery. In Great Britain the number of accidents for the same number of boilers that we have in use in New Zealand would have been seven, causing the death of five persons, and injuring 12 others, so that the boilers in this colony are evidently kept in a safer condition than in the old country. This reflects very great credit on our inspectors. It is also very pleasing to be ;able to state that this branch of the department, Which is so useful in safeguarding life and property, is entirely self supporting, the fees received fully covering the working expenses. Complaints have" been made of the charges for inspecting portable engines used for agricultural purposes. Inquiries will therefore be made into the matter, and if the rates are found to be'excessive they will be reduced. The survey of steamers and the issuing of the survey certificates has also been entrusted to' the Public Works department since Ist' December last. The inspp.ctors of machinery, act also as engineer-surveyors of.steamers. It was found to be inconvenient for these officers to be responsible to the Public Works department as regards a portion of their duties and.to the Marine department as regards the remainder, and it was therefore decided to make them wholly responsible to Ihe former department. Mr Mowatt acts as principal engineer-surveyor, and has also completed a report on the .working of this. branch of his department, which appears as an .appendix. THE WORKING RAILWAYS.

The Te Aro extension of the Wellington-Wood-ville railway, 1 mile IB chains in length, was completed and opsned for traffic during the last -financial year; and the Kaihu Valley railway, 16* miles in length, constructed by the Kaihu Valley Railway Company, and which fell into the hands of the Government in July IS9I, was also invested in the commissioners dxiring the year—namely, on^lst January last,—in pursuance of section sof ■ The Railways Authorisation and Management : Act _ 1891." As already stated, the Mangaonoho section of the North Island Main Trunk railway arid the Mokihinui extension of the WestportNgakawau railway have been handed over since the close of the financial year. The total length of_ railway in : the'hands of theßallway Commissioners at the'close of the financial year was .1885 miles. The total earnings during the year cameto £1,181,521; and the net profit, after deducting working expenses, amounted to £449,380. The percentage return on the total capital invested in the railways amounted last year to £3 Is par cent. For the current year the commissioners estimate the total receipts at £1,176,000 and the working expenses at £732,000 showing a net revenue of £444,000. The funds voted for additions to open lines last year— namely, £12,612—were all expended within the year, and the commissioners have requested that an amount of £24,978 may be provided to meet requirements under this head for the current year. The Government has not been able to see its way to grant the whole of this amount, but has decided to ask for a vote for £18,978, and provision for this has been made in the Estimates accordingly. :■; THE CO-OPERATIVE SYSTEM. ■ # The co-operative system' has been extended during the past year to such an extent that the greater part of the work now in hand under the dspartment is being carried out under this system. • In addition to ordinary formation works and the construction ot small bridges and culverts, it has now been applied to the work of laying the permanent way and erecting station buildings. The whole of the plate-laying and ballasting of the Greymouth-Hokitika railway has been done in this way, as well as the erection of the new railway station at Te Aro, Wellington. The work has continued to be. very well done, the Te Aro station building being an especially creditable piece of work. The cost has been satisfactory to the department, and has given fair wages to the co-operative workmen. The painting of the Supreme Court and police station in Wellington was also done under the co-operative system, and was likewise most creditably executed. And its cost was exceedingly moderate: it was, indeed, only Is 4d per square yard, inclusive of all materials, plant, &c, whereas the rate per yard asked for the work by the lowest tenderer when tenders for the same were publicly invited some time ago was 2s 3d per yard. Interesting details are given in the report of, the Engineer-in-chief (Appendix 1?) as to the particular works that have been carried •out under the co-operative system, their cost, and the wages earned by the meu. It has been : stated in some quarters that workmen have been ;> earning excessive wages, and that the rates allowed for work have been raised to meet the demands of the men. * The persons responsible for such statements forget that in the past it has always been, alleged that the Government .engineer's estimates nf the value of the work were too low; indeed,.complaints of this kind from contractors have been general. Now, the same engineers who prepared! the estimates for work when done by contractors assess the value of the work for the co-operative workmen, and their estimates are all subject to the approval of the Engineer-in-chief. This should be conclusive cvi- . dence of the fairness of the rates allowed. In one or two_ instances the workmen have made presentations to engineers on their being transferred to other districts, but in future no presentation will be allowed. ■ . •

Reports have reached the Government that in some cases co-operative workmen have expended their earnings, or a portion of them at any rate in an. injudicious manner. The Government have therefore had under consideration the establishment of some form of provident and benefit society m the interests of the workmen generally It is believed that improvidence prevails only amongst a very limited number of the men as the department! takes every care that married men (and most of the men employed are married) make regular remittances to their families {special facilities are placed at the disposal of the men to :do so when they -are paid at places where no money order and savings bank offices are situated. The question ot allowing the men to authorise their wives to draw a portion of the money due to them at the esi°?i :e L on it orde^ s slgned by the men and certified to by the officer in charge is also under consideration. An effort will shortly be made to bring this system into operation. It would also perhaps be advisable to establish a scheme by which the men could put by a portion of their earnings with a view to taking up land in the neighbourhood of the works, and of becoming I permanent settlers on their completion. X RAILWAYS UNDER CONSTRUCTION. The several railway works that have been under construction during the year were then referred to. ,

Otago Central.-The works on this line have been energetically proceeded with. The formation between Middleman* and Hyde may be regarded as practically finished, and the masonry abutments for most of the bridges have also been erected. The contract for the manufacture of the iron superstructures of the bridges was let to Messrs Anderson, of Christchurch, in December last, and to expedite the work a bonus was offered to the contractors for the completion of their cc-ntract before the specified time, and tha girdei-3 are now being delivered. As soon as possible after their erection platelaying will be proceeded with, for which work ample preparations have already been made. The bulk of the sleepars are already in hand. Contracts for the supply of the balance have been let, and all the rails and fastenings reouired are in store at Dunedvn. The Government hope to be able to open the line for traffic to Hyde in the early part ot next year. As the Government attach very great importance to this railway, it is proposed to at once proceed with the construction of the section between Hyde and Ewoburn 1 J^ auce £ 21 miles 67 chains ; and W^ 011/ 0?* 8 °* a Portion of this section have already been begun, and will be extended and pressed on as soon as the appropriations th^hW w aV£ been.Passed. An extension of ™ Li? u }° Ev?eburn will promote settlement and materially assist in opening up Central Otago, the resources of which have remained almost entirely undeveloped up to the praent. The expenditure on the Utago Centra! railway laat year amounted

to riie2o,sl6,'Svliile liabilities &ste& at tie cldseV the year-tactile further, amount-of £§259^. The J> r-9«?5 Ed- f9?■ .%e.,.curr.ej)t. W is..| ,£•ls,ooo,.which will provide, for the completion of 'the- Midaiemarch-Hyde section]1 and''for ''a" substantial expenditure^ on "ih'e IHyde-Ew'eb'lirril section. ,r;-^o \ i ,',:> I Catliuß River Kailway.—With the ex/ceptton £f the; completion qf: th%Catliiys.tu.nnel .contract, financial year; ais* the ' amounf wW scarcely sumcient fii6":jus'tify\tffe" rMiinbtion' itf co-operative works'iliitil'iu'rtn'er p¥6visiohKwas aeftiiitely?made;«j Witlt<.thes>iview-> 6f)-sefei»infc sonic returmfroraathejinoneysalready .expended..! on -,th(wnncQjupJet.ed^nprtiQnj tf'.thjs..,lvpe ()! it ■&>-.! proposed,,to,,resume operations .shortly, and/ t0,., complete the" railway tp 0 wake' mil's), W tfie " eighteenth 'iriile •fieg,' as "early as 'possfDleT 'The cxpenaiture qn-ttfis'lhM1 lasV^c'ar'amtfu'ritetP'to£soo2, and ifc ia-prop'osed'-tff- asWfov a*"vote of J675C0 for thtfGur*entsyear;"i> t i-.iio/i' " i Seaward Bush KaJlwajrv^rThSiwqrto on thiaJiafc; KYftiprogreased^veU .toms Ithe^ear s ,-^Eorpw,.. tion works as farastneGorgerpad,araalmost com-., pleted, and work is in KaniJtfof .a' vd®anpe of 52 chains^beyond this poin't'fof tW'p'iVrpo'sSc1 bf Jspeningllp a'yery, cofiVeniSß dnafexleiisiVe' balHst K?iwW6M t -haWeenfaißc6Ivereau«^thftt--'maeage?'!1vereau«^thftt--'maeage?'! (Theibnclgts are also:4v4}l in:hand'/and;platelayingi (WUllbg, atajfteft- shQWlyieiC^ntvastgrhayeiheon lefcj for the supply of the sleepMs,re a uji-ed,,jrad.rs ) ii| : , are in stock in Dunedm. Xne.,6pvei nmflnt are oT bpinipn-that.a,further extension ortfixS liffA'to Wp-^ie'^bu'itr/ ly% WThe'^astWEifd^ofH'ffie, aiitkura ViVtev Hs flKfeble.: 1t vis;sth%li|^fc"ttiat the line should be extended as-far aB iVVtiifliahaka, n distance of 23 milesj26.chaitsfoonii*litf junction pf l the,iraiUyay>Yitb;th:e;niain I Jine;.frqmlnvercargill C(bJ;P e 4 -&i3a-aJld A litfelejj^s thaii five miles from. phe^oinTiawiiicn tSe'.worlis are now in course of fcdnßfiritdtM, "of'ihis extension will be •pb"out^-:£S0,08u I :'''exc'fiisive of permanent way jmateffals. A& appropriation on account of the jwork is included in the Estimates for the current year. The first work to be undertaken will be a jbrjs|e over the Mataura river, and this will be jput in hand as soon as the necessary drawings and specifications are prepared. The vote, proposed for.the current year is £15,000 Sleepers.—ln connection with the Bupply of sleepers for several of our railway works the House will perhaps be surprised to learn that it hasbeen found advisable, and indeed necessary, to get them from the west coast of the Middle Island. With a view of thoroughly testing the market, however, the Government recently advertised for tenders for 70,000 sleepers, publishing the advertisements in the Kawakawa, Darj*avillo, Whangarei, Auckland, Gisborne, Te Aroha, Woodville, Wellington, Havelock, Westport, Greymouth, Hokitika, Kumara, Christchurch, Dunedin, Balclutha, and Invercargill papers, with the result that 98 tenders were received for the supply of 319,000 sleepers altogether—viz., silver pine, 142,900; kauri, 70,500; birch, 47,400; kamahi, 31000; totara, 18,700; , matai, 7500; ratS, 1000. The tender price for 45,000 of the totara sleepers being reasonable—viz., 3s 5Jd to 3s Sd—tenders for these were accepted, as were also two tenders for a total of 10,000 red birch at 2s 6d.. The remainder of totara and birch tendered for were either too high or of unsuitable- quantity, the birch timber from the localities affected being known to be of an unsuitable character. The tenders for kauri sleepers were declined, as the prices quoted were considered to be too high. The tender prices for the silver pine sleepers ranged from 2s 8d to 3s 4d. All those which would cost under 2s lOd f.o b. at Greymouth were accepted, as it was found that sleepers at this'price could be delivered on the railways where they were wanted at a lower price than local tenders for the same. Twenty tenders for silver pine sleepers were thus accepted providing for a supply of 51,000 sleepers, and with the exception of one contract for 10,000 all were let in lots of from 500 to 30,000 to parties of settlers on the co-operative principle. Practically, as regards the fitness of silver pine for sleepers, the Government is advised by the Engineer-in-Ohief that silver pine is hard, close grained, not liable to warp or crack, and one of the most durable of New Zealand timbers, especially when buried or placed in, contact with the ground, in which positions its lasting properties are superior to heart totara and quite equal to puriri. It is, therefore, probably, with the exception of puriri. the most suitable in New Zealand for sleepers. I may also say that the Railway Commissioners are now extensively using silver pine timber for sleepers. .

SUMMARY. ; The total appropriations proposed for railway works this year, including additions to open lines, surveys, and permanent way sleepers and rolling stock, amount to £316,278. It would have afforded me gieat pleasure to have, proposed larger votes, but with the limited means at disposal, and in view of the large demands made upon us for public building* and still larger for demands for ; roads, it has been found impossible to propose heavy railway expenditure. The allocation of the money available' amongst the several works in progress will, I think, be accepted as fair and reasonable. MIDLAND RAILWAY. _ No great amount of work has been done on this line during the past year. The only portion under construction has bean the section between Lake Brunner and Jackson, on the Teremakaii river: The lins is open tor traffic from Brunnerton to Lake Brunner, and works on the section from there" to Jackson's are well advanced. Further proposals for a modification in the contract under which the line is being constructed have been made by the company; but as these are under the consideration of the House, it would be out 'of place for me to express any opinion about them!"

ROADS. Under the head of main; roads, £16,000 was authorised last year and £12,588 spent, with liabilities at the end of the year of £5968. For miscellaneous roads, £18,985 was authorised and £10,525 spent; but as £82 of this amount was advanced under the Government Loans to Local Bodies Act, the net expenditure charged against this was £10,443 only; while liabilities amounting to £9783 were outstanding at the end of the year For grants in aid, £11,159 was voted and £7144 spent, with liabilities of £2445. ■ Roadsto Open up Landbefore Sale.—Authorised, £88,310; spent, £51,740, but as £29,757 of "the amount was advanced under the Government Loans to Local Bodies Act, the expenditure charged against the vote only amounted to £21,989, with liabilities of £48,568. n Village Settlement:).—Authorised, £5788-; spent, £4412 ; liabilities, £2256; and finally . Roads to give Access to the Marton-Te Awamutu Railway.—Authorised, £54,996; spent, £29,440; liabilities, £18,495. . . . , This year it is proposed to ask for the following sums under the above headings :— £ Main roads. ... 23,039 Miscellaneous roads and bridges, ' and roads to open up land before sale ... 110,487 Grants in aid ... ,„• „. ... ' ... 11|663 Village settlements ... ... „. ... ' 3,386 Roads to give access to the Marton-Te Awamutu railway ... 40,800 The following summary shows the works performedundertheheadingof " Roads" by the Lands and Survey department during the year:—Dray roads constructed, 229 miles; dray roads "improved, 74 miles; dray roads maintained, 848 miles; bridle roads constructed, 83 milea; bridle roads improved, 6 miles; bridle roads maintained, 197 miles; bridges built, 27, of a total length of

In addition to roads specially designed for the purpose of opening up Crown lands for settlement, a large mileage of main roads running through parts of the country where the population is sparsest, consequently where no rates can. be levied for their repair, is under the control of the Government, and besides these, the Government subsidises the maintainance of some other main roads.

Public Buildings.—The total appropriation for public buildings . and domains last year was £H0,852-namely, £52,565 under the consolidated fund and £58,287 under the public works fund. The expenditure during the year amounted to £74,994—namely, £43,893 under the consolidated fund and £31,101 under the public works fund. Xhe total appropriation proposed for public buildings this year is £140,330-namely, £50,675 under the • consolidated fund and £89,655 under the public works fund. The consolidated fund vote Provides £31,000 for school buildings: and the ordinary votes for maintenance and repairs of buildings throughout the colony. The votes proposed under the public works fund provide ±15,000 for school buildings, to supplant the vote of £31,000 already appearing on the consolidated fund estimates, the rapidly increasing settlement thaVis proceeding making it imperative that further school accommodation should be provided Ihe vote also provides for the completion of the nrst portion of .the Porirua Asylum, for acquiring a lanaed estate and for furnishing the' ame, and for the further enlargement and improvement of the asylumß at Auckland, Sunnyside, and SeaS l?' also for improvements to Parliament Buildings and electric lighting of same and Government Printing Office; new prison at Dunedin; new courthouses at Otahuhu, Kotorua, Gisborne, New Plymouth, Stratford, Palmerston North, Otaki, Pahiatua, Featherstone, Little Jiiver, and Milton, and for enlarging the courthouse at Hawera;, also for new post offices at Hawera, Pahiatua. Ahaura, Tapanui, and Queenstown ; for the completion of additions to tnepost omce..At Invercargill, and for enlargement at Waverley and-Wanganui; and for new police stations at Kawakawa, Aratapu, Pukekohe Jttoawhanga, and Mokihinui'; and sundry minor works throughout the colony.

HARBOUR DEFENCES. The amount voted last year for harbour defences was £5000, as against £7000 for the year 1891-92 lhe net expenditure for the year was as follows ■— On works, in the colony, £4349; on lands for defence and batteries and miscellaneous charges £214 --making a total of £45*3. The total expert diture on harbour defences from the commencement of the works up to March 31 last was in round numbers as follows:—On material of war and charges thereon, £238,107; on defence works, batteries, defences, and charges thereon, £208,137----on purchases, &c. of land, sites for batteries and depots, and charges thereon, £36,732:—making a grand total of £482,976. During the year several worn at the three chief ports have been more or less brought to a. finish by the employment of prison labour, but further work yet remains to be done on some of them. The expenditure on forts and batteries at the four principal ports during the year, including cost of survey of mine, fields and ±214 for land purchased in Otago, was as follows :-Auckland,. £1431; Wellington, £1881; Lyttelton, £876 ; Dunedin, £374 ;—total, £4563 It 13 proposed to ask for a vote of £5000 this year to carry on the works now in progress.

MISCELLANEOUS CHARGES ON PUBLIC WORKS FUND. , Purchase of Native Lands.—A return presented to Parliament on July 19 last, pursuant to the Provisions of " The Native Land Purchase Act 1&92, shows that during the year ended March 61 last an area of 132,357 acres was added to the public estate by purchases finally completed. The portion of this area included in the work of the year was 66,190 acres. Further progress on purchases still incomplete was made to the extent of 141,518 acres, thus making the Thear^ofSi'A^ 6 year U?- to, 207708 acr(*win f liM lB acres meutioned above includes of th/weS^ f \\ c Awa? ua 1)lock at the south, end hopedtw him H n& Mai? Trunk railway- lt « of from 3n nns^ * S r,fe mtier next a further area contains mn l 0>0 + Oi° acres in this block- wJ»eh menVearfy 8 JSg^ *ffi&hrl%&£ deteils^ w Mch JewVn b*loS »«*» V the above referred to, within RohapoU" O XtS°. country, at the southern end of the lino w g also been completed, and others are in progress Considering that the owners of these lands trp very numerous and scattered, the results must on the whole be regarded as very gratifying, it is hoped that additional facilities for the acquisition of Native lands will be provided by the legislation of the present session, thus enabling a large T>ro portion of the 7,000,000 acres now lying waste and unproductive in the North Island to be brought within reach of settlement during the £ B?JXt I? sult whi£ h wou!d be kteWy beneficial to both Natives and Europeans, .

Waterworks on*Goldfieirl's^-thlexpenditure 1 oS the.-waterworks -=.of 4he^gold fields-, last.^year. amo.uuted.to theMjUtiß^at. .thAend. of the year were £1796. As the revenue from' some y6f -the ■ :Iwater ltsupplies controlled by1 tne: Government-has '■fce'efl-'de'creaslnir; it'has .been; found necessaryito extend the races -to command ■ fresh grouadi-and i% ia;proposed,to ask the,Hppse.. f0r....a vote^fj ajidi carry out the exterisipn referreU'tp-,^, .... V. ■ ' ",','",'. i Telegraph Extension's.—raVexpe&dit'ure' outof the public works fund btf; account of telegraph construction and for extension of the telephone' exchanges systemthroughoufrthef oolouy amounted during ..the financial year, to £29J215, :and oftthis Bum ! an > ftmounW,qf #357,iiwas expended on tele*; phone., exchanges,, O^tljej^gejiy .lines .er.eqtqd, duririg the,yjear fdrthe exfens'onof "telegraphic1;, borntonicatioii: t^'&Mti^Hant'are'Siosf ft" ToKo c Awanu'i, ■ Blackburn- 1 -'and"Bfrmingham! in' fche1 -N6rth>lijWhd; 'itnd^Bahks-Peninsula,'Tiipp;'1 J3hag Pointy .iFive >Kivers^.' andaStanleyjßroqk.injthe South Island. In the Estimates^for' the. present year an expenditure of £2316 has been provided for, which is intended to cover liabilities jof £6716 existing at'ine commencement of tbe financial year and sSSafpi e'JttbnSons, including a line to Peel Forest and *a telephone exchange at SMatauta.os, mmo 3'» imv

j uiJjii c a; ..-c^kCONCLUSION. i ?>Theitotal appr6priations proposed in the Public (VYflEks:(Estimates for the current year amount to tefij&QßS-viz., £591,468 under Pait I, and£lol,6oo hinder Part ll,—as compared with £G52,789 voted last year for actual expenditure within the year, and a total authorisation of £801,231 to cover the expenditure of the year and liabilities which might exist at its close. • ■ That the Government is able to propose to vote so large a surii of money for public works purposes after six years' abstention from borrowing, [ and to draw so large a proportion of the amount from general revenue, is a very striking testimony to tbe improved and very gratifying state of the finances of the colony. The Government thinks it can fairly claim that its self-reliant policy, careful administration, and progressive legislation have materially assisted to bring this about, and thus to place the position of New Zealand in favourable contrast with every other country south of the Line. In most of the Australian colonies the expenditure has had to be enormously reduced, and even then deficits of considerable magnitude have been incurred. The Government has every reason to believe that the present satisfactory condition of the colony will continue. The outlook on tbe whole is cheering. The producing power of the colony is increasing, colonists are in good heart and confident. But in our prosperity we must not fail to remember that careful administration, prudence, and the strictest economy are absolutely necessary if the hardly won recovery of tbe last few years is to be maintained and improved upon.

hi ■ ■ >i) ■ i:. li. $5 (-1 5* .MM. .■I;:;; : •■'■!;"■"■'■'■■ I • 5» ■ ■ . Je ft, -3 3 Unexpended Balances 31st March-1892. ■••. I : : ; _. ■ .-■■■; ————. 8 • : ■ S • •' ' "'■' ' '' \ ' ft" ■ T« <o te Receipts during 1892-93. O ■■ Cl . ib. - ■ ...... ..8 "I;: £ ' tb i Totals. r ■•■e-.-,-g-: Expenditure Year • ended 31st March . 1893. . fc>\ Balances Remaining 31st March 1893, ■■.'ft ; ■ .-2 ■ ' ■ o Liabilities Existing 31st .:. March 1893. . 3 . ■I ■ i Net Balances Available ,31st March 1893. .