PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2252, 10 September 1891, Page 3

PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

The Hon. the Minister for Public Works delivered his statement last Tuesday evening. He said it would be impossible for him to make it a pleasant one, as there was a great deal to do, and very little money to do it with. r JL I ho balances gn March 31st last was £477,709, and to this was to he added £112,000 recovered, from loan conversion. The total sum available for expenditure was £659,190, Past expenditure had been .—Railways, £15,208,374; roads, £3,598,]()!’.; immigration, £2,145,150; public buildings, £1,780,785; purchase of Native lands, £1,196,479' ; lighthouses, harbor works, and harbor defences, £881,188;

defences, 16429,719; telegraph, £606,648; waterworks on geld fields, £561,101; cost of and discount on raising loans, £1,021,427 ; 1 and departmental, £353,170. Notwithstanding that the previous Government had promised to abolish the Public Works Department, he found it overmanned and very expensive, and he had carried out retrenchment which would save £BOOO- a year. On the 31st March there were opened for traffic 1836 miles of railway, on which was earned a net profit equal to £2 18s lid per cent on the capital expended. The carriage of live stock had greatly increased on the railways during the past twelve months, but there had been an all round increase. Owing to want of funds the Government had declined the overtures to purchase the Wellington-Manawatu railway, He explained how he abolished the sub-contract system and instituted the co-operative system, under which men

formed themselves into parties and took

contracts. He suggested it should be arranged (1) that the men form themselves into parties voluntarily; (2) in case there are more men than work can be found for, the men of equal capabilities should ballot amongst themselves as to who is to get work ; and (3) that a classification of men be arranged beforehand, so that the abler and stronger men and those accustomed to might receive the largest share of the profits, the next or second-class men a slightly lower rate, and the older and weaker men a I somewhat lower rate again. By so doing ' the feeling of a man working for his fellows would be avoided; also, the feeling on the part of others that they were dependent on their fellows. They proposed to provide i for the extension of the Kamo-Kawa-kawa railway line from Kamo to Hikurangi, as there was an extensive coal field there and a splendid forest. They did not intend to do any more work on the Helensville line for the present, but £32,000 would be spent on the Grahams-town-Te Aroha line, and £15,571 on the Putaruru-Rotorua line. With regard to the North Island trunk line, there was still £356,107, of the £l,ooo,OOOloan unexpended, but of this only £267,076 was available, and they proposed to expend £130,000 of that this year, of which £50,000 would go to road making. They proposed to expend £17,000 on the Eketahuna-Woodville line, as it would promote settlement. In visiting Nelson, the inconvenience of the steep grades were represented to him. The Borough and County councils propose making a road to avoid these grades, and suggested that if the Government would assist they would make the road wide enough for] a railway. The Government proposed giving £IOOO in cash and prison labor. The Blenhiem line would be extended to the freezing works. Owing to dry weather Hokitika was suffering from a famine, as the ships could not enter the bar, and the railway would have to be made, for which £2,600 was to be allocated. The Otago Central was finished for a distance of 40 miles; working drawings and estimates have been prepared for another 59 miles, and as it would open up land for settlement it would have to be pushed on rapidly. At present he proposed to set aside £30,000 for its extension. Sufficient would be allocated for the Gatlins river line to complete it to the point in hand, and £12,000 would be given to the Seaward Beach line. He then summarised his proposals as follows : The various appropriations proposed for railway works this year total to a sum of £484,976. Of this sum £323,289 is proposed for expenditure out of allocations already made to railways on which it is proposed to expend it, £BB,OOO is taken from released sinking funds, £14,000 is derived from the sale of rolling stock no longer required, and the remainder is obtained from a rearrangement of the balances under the allocations as determined by previous Loan Acts. As regards the reallocation of these unexpended balances, the Government considers that the pressing requirements for the works on which it is proposed to expend them, and the dearth of employment which exists at the present time and which has caused so large an exodus of our industrial population, fully justify the proposals submitted. One of the allocations proposed to be diverted is that for doubling the line between Auckland and Penrose, for which work the sum of £23,000 was provided no less than five years ago, but which no Government has yet proposed to expend. Another is the alloction for Riversdale-Switzers railway, which, as stated by the late Government in its Public Works Statement of 1889, is insufficient to complete the line; that Government did not see its way to provide the additional amount, required to complete it, and recommended that no further work should be done upon the line. The Hon. B

Mitchelson when Minister for Public Works in the late Administration, took the view that as the line, being a branch line, would be an expensive one to work, requiring as it

would a special staff and special rolling stock, its further prosecution was not warranted at present and last year no mention whatever was made of the railway in the Public Works Statment delivered by my predecessor.

These two allocations are mentioned as instances merely, but there are others that are situated almost similarly, and which we propose to deal with in the same way. In view, therefore, of the fact that the money at present is lying idle and useless,

and that interest has to be paid upon it,

notwithstanding its unproductiveness, and

also that other works that could be constructed with it and which when con-

structed would be of a reproductive character are urgently required, the Government groposes a reallocation of these unexpended balances with a view of turning them to profitable account. After all it is largely a mere question of accounts, and if circumstances, alter materially here-

after the moneys now proposed to be diverted can doubtiess be replaced.

The Minister then dwelt on the Middle Island Railways at great length, and said the Government had bought the Kaihu Valley

line which had cost £47,000 for £IOOO, He then proceeded to deal with harbors and roads, on roads for opening up land for settlement they proposed to spend £63,900;

and on village settlements, £17,629; on goldfield roads, £30,550; lunatic asylum at Wellington, £17,983 ; new judicial and police buildings, Dunedin, £6,700; and altogether £133,775 for public buildings. Of Native Lands between 8000 and 9000 acres had been purchased, and negotiations were going on for acquiring 600,000 acres more, and it was the intention of the Government to ask for authority to spend £14,000 for this purpose. This would come

out of the North Island Trunk line, and would be used in, buying Native land in the vicinity. The number of immigrants during the year was 147, cost £1943, of

which £1250 was paid by the nominators. After having referred to some small items,

including the telephonic communication between Geraldine and Woodbury, the horn. gentleman concluded his speech by express-

ing regret at being uuab|e to make it more satisfactory owing to the want of money.