E.—l

IV

form of Government for New Zealand. I would even go further, and say that, in my opinion, it would have been well for the colony to have had two Ministers for Public Works, one for each Island—both being members of the Cabinet, with seats in and responsible to this House. I venture to think that, had such been the case, there would have been much more to show for our money than there now is. I shall now allude to the expenditure which must be incurred in respect of the completion of the portions of railways already authorized in the North Island, — Total Miles. £ Kawakawa ... ... 6 ... ... ... 27,000 Kaipara-Puniu ... .• ... 14H ... ... ... 247,000 Napier-Manawatu ... 70| ... ... ... 121.000 Wellington-Woodville ... 66 ... ... ... 271,000 Waitara-Patea ... ... 33* ... ... ... 75,000 Patea-Manawatu ... 108 ... ... ... 217,000 Total ... 425| ... ... £958,000 of this amount, £321,625 are liabilities already incurred; and the difference, £636,375, is the amount required to finish the lines, which, when completed, will give 425-!- miles open for traffic in the North Island. RAILWAYS UNDER CONSTRUCTION—MIDDLE ISLAND. The expenditure necessary to complete the Middle Island Railways already authorized is as follows :— Miles. £ Nelson-Foxhill ... 23 ... ... ... 39.000 Picton-Blenheim ... 18f ... ... 27,000 Brunner-Greymouth ... 8 ... ... ... 112,000 Westport-Ngakawau ... 19| ... ... ... 40,000 Amberley-Waitaki ... 315|r ... ... ... 303,000 Waitaki-Bluff ... 361 ... ... ... 366,000 Winton-Kingston ... 6S ... ... ... 25,000 Western Railways ... 44| ... ... ... 103,000 - Waipahi to Tapanui ... 15i ... ... ... 72,000 Total ... 874 ... ... ... £1,087,000 Of this amount, £398,430 is for liabilities already incurred, and the balance of £688,570 is the amount required to finish the lines, which, when completed, will give 874 miles open for traffic in the Middle Island. It will thus be seen that the sums required to complete and to place in proper working order the lines in both Islands, are, in the North Island, £958,000; and in the Middle Island, £1,087,000; making together £2,045,000, an amount which will go far to absorb the recent loan. It is proposed, however, to expend only £1,176,500 during the ensuing year. THE FUTURE. I will now proceed to indicate our proposals for the future. NORTH ISLAND RAILWAYS. We propose to fill up the gaps in the North Island system as follows:— Wellington to Foxton via Waikanae ... ... ... 61 miles. Waitotara River to Upper Patea Crossing ... ... ... 51 ~ Te Awamutu (Waikato) to Inglewood (Taranaki) ... ... 125 „ This will complete an unbroken line from Wellington to Auckland of 476 miles. Masterton to Woodville ... ... ... ... 50 miles. Woodville to Papatu ... ... ... ... ... 40 „ Thus establishing unbroken railway communication from Wellington to Napier by a line of 220 miles. Waikato to the Thames ... ... ... ... 30 miles. Branch Line to Hamilton ... ... ... ... 2i „ Helensville to Kaukapakapa River ... ... ... 2\ „ Except as regards the line from Waikato to the Thames, there are no actual survey results upon which to estimate the cost of these works ; and the