NEW ZEALAND'S PROBLEM

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VII, Issue 1011, 28 January 1880, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND'S PROBLEM

Coatmenting upon the future of the public works policy of New Zealand, the Australasian says : — A great difficulty which the New Zealand Government had to encounter is occasioned by the fact that the loan of £5,000,000, which has lately been so successfully floated, was anticipated, or rather actually expended, to the amount of £3,000.000, so that only £1,872,040 remains really availnble. The colony has entered into an undertaking not to resort to the money market for more loans for three years. The Minister then finds himself with a sum under two millions, and with a very large number of railways in an incomplete state, far from the stage at which they can begin to pay even a part of the interest on their cost. His choice doubtless, ia a most difficult one, but what he finally determined on for the work of thet current year was to carry on progress works on no less than twenty-fivo lines. As we understand the Minister, it will not be possible with present means to complete any of this large number of railways, and all that will be done by the year's work will be carry them on somewhere nearer to completion. The difficulties and perils of such a position as this are too obvious for criticism. We presume n> New Zealand politician would profess to believe that to have five-and-twenty incomplete railways on hand at once is a triumph of gooi management. The clamorouß demands

of local districts, the log-rolling of members, the flabby weakness of average politicians, who find it so much easier to say yes than no when nothing suffers save the interests of the country — all have to be considered as grounds of extenuation for the management which has brought about such a position. We can readily understand the desire of the Minister to appoint a Royal Commission to investigate the subject, and, at any rate, to somewhat divide with him an unpleasant responsibility.