"WHITE ELEPHANT" RAILWAYS.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXIV, Issue 12746, 17 April 1909, Page 4

"WHITE ELEPHANT" RAILWAYS.

Some of the good people of Otago profess to be very indignant at the action of the Government in deciding to stop the construction works on the Lawrence- Roxburgh railway, and the Premier has been inundated with protests from that part of the country. He is adamant, however, and says that the decision to stop the work is unalterable, as he is firmly convinced that the expenditure would not be justified by the results likely to be attained. He points out that the working of the' Otago Central last year resulted in an abnormally low return of six shillings per cent. — a deficiency on the three per cent, basis of ,£34,558, and he believes the Roxburgh line would prove nearly as disastrous. And what of the Midland Railway, upon whicfy so much money is now being expended at Arthur's Pass? The only possible justification for the half a million of money being set aside for that purpose is that it is necessary to connect the lines carried up to a certain point on either side of the Pass before there can be any return. No one dreams for one moment that the Midland Railway will prove other than a costly and unprofitable drain upon the financial resources of the Dominion for years to come. The line opens up very, little land that can be put into cultivation, profitable or otherwise, having been construct-

Ed through mountainous country which will never yield any revenue worth talking about, Speaking of the Otago demand to proceed with the Roxburgh-Lawrence railway, Mr Hanan, M.P. for Invercargill, characterises the proposal as a shameless waste of public money, and the same remark is equally" applicable to other South Island "white elephant" railways. And all this comes of New Zealand having for so many years a South Island Ministry^ Sir Joseph Ward is to be heartily commended for the step he has taken in connection with the Eoxburgh-Lawrence line. The pity of it is that the mistake was not seen earlier. He is, however, not altogether to blame for the blunders of his predecessor, though as Minister of Kailways he must take a share of the responsibility. He must have known that many of the southern lines which have been started have little chance of proving profitable investments, and that they were commenced as a sop to political influences which were, unfortunately for this island, so long paramount in the South. At the present time the South Island possesses over 400 miles of railway more' than* the North, and when i« thia disparity to be made right?

Not until the Cabinet has a stronger representation of North Island members. One has only to look at the districts where the strong men of past Cabinets have been to see the inequalities of public works expenditure. Take the West Coast and Southland, and it will be seen at a glance that both districts have had far more than their share of public money. There is quite a network of roads and railways in Southland, and many other parts of the South Island are almost equally well supplied with these very necessary public conveniences. Compare this with the position in this island, and the comparison is indeed odious.. The time has come, has long past, when the whole railway-construction policy of the Dominion should be altered, and the wrongs of the neglected North set right.

A glaice at the railway returns for the first two months of the current year should prove to any unbiassed mind that the North Island has just claims to much greater consideration in the matter of railway expenditure than it has received in the past. For the month of January the receipts on the North Island railways exceeded the Southern returns by .£5600, while the increase for the same month iD the North as compared with the same period last year was over JBIO.OOO, as against a decrease in the South Island of ■£2700. February works out much the same. Tn the North the increase in the revenue for that month of this year compared with the same period last year was £21,000, as against a South Island decrease of over ,£6OOO. Comparing the revenue and expenditure in both islands we find that for the two months under notice the excess of revenue over expenditure in the North was =£92,600, and in the South ,£83,000. Though the South Island has over tOO miles more railway than the North, the returns in this island far exceed the revenue for the longer mileage in the South, and the increase will prpve greater still as the lands of the Neglected North are opened up by rail and thrown open for settlement. In the face of the financial results of the railways of the Dominion is it any wonder that Sir Joseph Ward should be compelled to face the position as he has done in the case of the Roxburgh-Lawrence line? The marvel is that anyone should have the audacity to advocate a perpetuation of the "white elephant" railway policy which has too long obtained.