PUBLIC WORKS

Otago Witness, Issue 3216, 3 November 1915, Page 49

PUBLIC WORKS

CURTAILMENT OF EXPENDITURE. ELECTRIC POWER FOR FARM WORK. The Hon. W. Fraser (Minister of Public Works) was in Dunedin on the Ist, attending to departmental matters. On being questioned as to the prosecution of the Lawrence-Roxburgh railway, Mr Fraser said it was not proposed to proceed with the work at present. That was understood when he agreed to ask Parliament to authorise the line from Beaumont to Miller’s Flat. That authorisation was granted, but there was no work to be undertaken in regard to it just now—not this year, at any rate. As to other public works in the dominion, there -would no doubt be a great curtailment during the summer months. He had spent largely out of the public works fund in the first six months of the financial year, and he must curtail the expenditure during the summer months. Any stoppage of works, cither on railways or roads, was only temporary, until the autumn or winter came on. It was necessary that ho should husband his resources and keep some money in hand to provide work for men during the winter, when there would bo no employment in the country districts. Mr Fraser added that 21 of his engineers had gone to the war, and that fact in itself made it exceedingly difficult to carry on works-. If many more engineers went away it would mean a very serious curtailment of works, because works could not go on without engineers. Any curtailment would be chiefly apparent in railway work. Road wot’K could go on without the higher-class engineer. To-day Mr Fraser proceeds to Christchurch, where ho anticipates ho will spend a

week. While thoi’G ho will deal with the matter of the distribution of power from Lake Coleridge. On Friday ho will open a sub-station at the promises of the Taitapu Co-operative Dairy Company. The company has undertaken to distribute powei among the farmers, and already 100 farmers, who are constituents of the company, have agreed to take it for farm work purposes.