PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6784, 22 September 1893, Page 4

PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Wellington, last night. The Hon. R. J. Seddon : Mr Speaker, - The Public Works Statement of to-day, a compared with former Statements, has los its attractiveness. The moneys available fo expenditure are much smaller than the largi amounts we were accustomed to deal with ii the days of borrowing and excessive expendi tnre on works. It is now nearly Bix yean since; the placing of a loan oh the Londoi money market was authorised by Parlia ment. In 1890 it was considered by thi Government of th« day that it would h impossible to go on without raising anothe loan, and year by year this cry has beei raised anew, yet we now find ourselves si: years sine* the last loan was authorise! with a fairly substantial sun\ for our neces ■ary public works without resorting to bor rowing. After a fitting reference to th< death of his late chief, Mr Seddon says it i proposed to further augment the Publi Workß fund by the transfer of £250,000 f ron consolidated, revenue. This sum, togethe with the other moneys available, will briuj the total ways and means of the fund for th current financial year up to £747,628. Owing to the limited amount of mone; now at the disposal of the Government fo expenditure it is impossible to expect thi Statement will satisfy everyone. At th same time it is very cheering to note tha notwithstanding the comparatively small ex penditure in connection with public work during the last three years the country ha b«ea generally prosperous. If we compar last year with former years when the ex penditure on public works amounted t nearly two millions per annum, we find fewe men out of employment, the industrial popu lation more contented and prosperous, an the country generally in a sounder conditioi If a betterment tax were placed on all pre perties benefited by the expenditure c public money, there would soon be an en to the clamour for borrowing and lavis public works expenditure, and political rai ways would be things of the past. By cor structing our public works as far as possibl on the co-operative system small settlei located in their vicinity have found emploj raent, and the working class have been abl to enjoy more practical benefit from the es penditure than at any time previously in th past. It has not been the masses who hay derived the chief benefit from our large oul lay, but owners of property in the neigboi hood of whose land railway works and othe public works have been constructed. Members will notice the Public Work estimates are brought down in slightl different form this year to which has bee usual during the last few years. It is pre posed to ask the House to vote one amour for each work, viz., the amount necessary t cover the expenditure during the financh year and a further period of three month; under the authority of the Public Revenue Act. The expenditure on all works and servict in the colony under the Public Works Funi up to 31st March last, including thepurchas of provincial and district railways, hr amounted to £28,884,434. The princip; tem3 stand as follows : Railways £15,630,00---roads £3,708,817, immigration £2,146,201 public buildings £1,846,679, purchase < Native lands £1,295,625, lighthouses, harbc works, and harbor defences £900,37< telegraph extension £663,666, water-worl on goldfielda £517,169, defence purpos< generally £429,719, departmental expend ture £367,755, and cost of and discount o raising loans £1,026,828. DEPARTMENTAL ADMINISTRATION. The administrative staff, as mentione last year, has been reduced far below tha maintained by the department in forme years. During the year it has been subjecte to a somewhat severe strain, and the ej penditure was in excess of the previou year. The Inspection of Machinery Department which is so useful in safeguarding life an property, is entirely self-supporting, th fees received fully covering the workin expenses. Complaints have been made c the charges for inspecting portable engine used for agricultural purposes. InquirU " will be made into this matter. WORKING RAILWAYS. The total length of the railways at th close of the year was 1885 miles, the tota earnings £1,180,521, and the net profit afte deducting working expenses £449,380, th percentage returned on the total capita amounting to £3 Is per cent. For th current year I estimate total receipts a £1,176,000, and working expenses £732,000 showing a revenue of £444,000. CO-OPERAT. SYSTEM. The co-operative system has been extende< to such an extent that the greater part o the work now in hand under the Depart ment is being carried out under the system Reports have reached Government in somi cases that the co-operative workmen ex pended their earnings, or a portion of then at any rate, in an injudicious manner Government have therefore under their con Bideration the establishment of some form o provident and benefit society in the interest) of the workmen. The question of allowing the men to authorise their wives to draw i portion of the money due to them at th< head office, on orders signed by the men anc certified to by the officer in charge, is undei consideration. RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. North Island \ * Trunk line.—Considerable progress has «*een made at both endo oi this line during the year. It will still take nearly another year co complete the north section. At the south end 3 miles 70 chains have been completed and opened for traffic. During the year £42,188 was expended, while liabilities £27,116 existed at the close of the year. For the current year it is proposed to expend £55,900 for construction work, and £4000 for surveys. Mr Ralph Doukin, the original projector of UrenuiWaitara route, has been engaged to explore and make a careful trial survey of that route. Mr Holmes, ot the Public Works department, has been despatched with a party to endeavor to effect improvements in the central route, and Mr Reynolds has been engaged to survey deviations on the opened line between Marton and Eltham to reduce the gradients. Eketahuna- Woodville — Not much work was done on this railway last year. The work now in hand extends a distance of 23 miles from Eketahuna to the bridge over Manawatu River at Awapuria. Expenditure on this line during the yeai was L 8.497. We ask for a vote of L 30,000 for this year. Wellington-Eketahuna (Te Aro extension). — This railway so far as passengers traffic is concerned was completed and handed over to the Railway Commissioners in March last. The expenditure on this line last year was L 953, and a vote of L 4590 is asked for this year. The expenditure on the Greymouth-Hoki-tika line for the year was L 18,221 and the liabilities exist to the amount of L 654. The vote asked for, L 12,000, is estimated to cover all charges to complete the line. Otago Central. — Work on the line has been energetically proceeded with. The formation between Middlemarch and Hyde may be regarded as practically finished. It is hoped to be able to open the line for traffic to Hyde early in the new year. As Government attach great importance to this railway it is proposed to proceed with the construction of a section between Hyde and Eweburn, distance 12 miles 66 chains. The expenditure on the Otago Central Railway last year amounted to L 20,516, while liabilities existed at the close of the year to L 8.259. The appropriation proposed is L 45,000. Catlins River Kailway. — With exception of Catlins tunnel contract, little was done on this line during the year. The expenditure on the line last year amounted to L 5002, and it is proposed to ask for a vote of L 7590 for the current year. Seward Bush line. — Work on this line progressed well during the year. 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 great pleasure to have proposed larger votes, but with the limited means at our disposal, and in view of the large demands made upon us for public buildings and still larger demands for roads, it has been found impossible to propose a heavier railway expenditure. MIDLAND RAILWAY. No great amount of work has been done on this line during the past year, as practically the only portion under construction has been that between Lake Brunner aad J ackaon's, pp the Tereinakau river. The line U open

for traffic from Brunnorton to Lake Brunncr, £ and the works on the section from there to t Jackson's are well advanced. Further pro- s posals for a modification in the contract have s been made, but as these are now under the v . consideration of the House it would bo out t s of place for me to express any opinion con- i t cerning them. . r roads. c This year it is proposed to ask for the i following under the above head : main roads - £23,039, miscellaneous roads and bridges and s roads to open up lauds before sale £110,487, \ grants ia aid £11,663, village settlements v - £3380, roads to give access to Marton-Te t c Awamutu railway £40,8C3. The following c summary shows the works porformed by the ( r Lands aud Survey Department during tho < ii year : Dray roads constructed 229 miles, ' x dray roads improved 74 miles, primary roads < I maintained 858 miles, bridle roads improved I i- 6 miles, bridle roads maintained 190 miles, < - bridges built 27, of a total length of 2438 . c feet. In addition to roads specially designed s for opening up Crown lands for settlement, a c large mileage of main roads running through n parts of the colony where the population is r sparse, and where no rates can be levied for g. their repair, is under the control of Governe ment, and besides these Government also subsidise the maintenance of some main y roads. The main road from Huntcrville t through the centre of the North Island via s Lake Taupo was completed, so that coach c connection can now be maintained in summer ( t between Huntorville and Taupo. \ :- The road, which is in course of construe- | s tion by the Stratford route, and which is to ( ,8 eventually connect Auckland with Taranaki, , c has advanced at both ends, but at the :- southern end the contractors had very great o difficulties to contend with, and bad weather ] ir was experienced all through the season. The i l- expenditure under grants in aid has been i d almost wholly incurred in finding work for i. unemployed, and in nearly every instance )- the work has been let on the co-operative >f system. It has been chiefly devoted to d extending roads which will benefit Crown h lands. The outlay on village settlements 1- was ou roads to improve the access thereto i- and in payments to the settlers for improvele ments in terms of condition under which ;s they took up lands. The expenditure on r- roads and minor works on goldnelds last le year was £19,490, and the liabilities at the c- end of the present year amounted to c £17,0b"6. It is proposed to ask the House c for a vote of £47,000 for works under this ;- head this year to cover liabilities for sundry r- new works detailed in estimates. The consr tinuation of works of this character is absolutely necessary for the mining in;s dustry. y PUBLIC BUILDINGS. n The total appropriation tor public build- )- ing 3 and domains last year was £110,852, it viz.. £52,565 under Consolidated Fund and 0 £58,287 under the Public Works Fund. i\ The expenditure during the year amounted 3j to £74,994, viz., £43,893 under the Con>s solidated Fund and £31,101 under the Public Works Fund. The principal now 38 works carried out under the Consolidated 1, Fund were school buildings, on which a total $c of £30,610 was expended. The remainder is of the expenditure under the fund went in \\ ordinary maintenance and repairs of the i, numerous public buildings throughout the [), colony. The total appropriation proposed 01 for public buildings this year is £140,330, >r namely, £50,675 under the Consolidated ), Fund and £89,655 under the Public Works cs Fund. ; 8 PURCHASE OF NATIVE LANDS. i- The return presented to Parliament on n the 19th July shows that during the year ended 31st March last an area of 132,357 acres was added to the public estate by purchases finally completed. The portion lt of this area included in the work of the year , , r was 66,190 acres. Further progress on pur- , j chases still incomplete was made to the extent of 141,518 acres, thus making the : j* total work of the year up to 207,608 acres. ( The area of 141,518 acres mentioned above , includes 29,541 acres of the Awarua block ; '^ at the southern end of the North. Island ; c main trunk railway. Extensive pur- , chases within the King Country at the Jjf north end of the line have also been ; , 8 completed, and others are in progress. ' Considering that the owners of these lands are very numerous and scattered, the results must on the whole be regarded as very gratifying. It is hoped that additional il '■ i - — i--- •'-

acilities for acquisition of Native land will >c provided by the legislation of the present iesaion, thus enabling a large part of the leven millions of acres now lying waste and mproductive in the North Island to be jrought within the reach of settlement durng the ensuing year, a result which would >ft highly benoficial to both Natives and Europeans. ______ _______

A wife should be like roast lamb— tender, md nicely dressed ; no sauce required. Of the 20,000,000 workers in the United States less than 1,000,000 belong to labor irganisations. A marriage has been arranged between Capfc. R. S. Hunter Blair, Gordon Highlanders, A.D.C. to the Governor of New Zealand, fifth son of Sir Edward Hunter Blair, Bart., af Blairquhau, and Miss Emily Rhodes, youngest daughter of the late Robert Rhodes

of Elmwood, Christchurch New Zeiland.