D.—l

IX

The expenditure on the different sections of the Midland Eailway during last financial year was as follows :— £ Nelson end .... .... .... .... 2,293 Keefton end .... .... .... .... 12,397 Otira-Bealey .... .... .... .... 93,872 Bealey-Cass .... .... .... .... 28,170 For the current year votes are proposed as follows : — Nelson end .... .... .... .... 20,000 Eeefton end .... .... .... .... 4,000 Otira-Bealey .... .... .... .... 70,000 Bealey-Cass .... .... .... .... 10,000 Total .... £104,000 Westpobt-Inangahua. Nine out of eighteen contracts let for rock-excavation and bushfelling on this line are still unfinished, but several of them will be out of hand within the next few months. During last financial year the expenditure on this line amounted to £15,337, and to meet liabilities during the current year a vote of £18,000 is proposed. GrBEYMOUTH - POINT ELIZABETH. The extension of this line, to serve the new Liverpool State Coal-mine, was handed over to the Eailway Department on 21st January last. Previous to that date some finishing-work, ballasting, and removal of slips were carried out. The expenditure during the financial year reached £15,852, and expenditure which has come to charge since the end of the financial year will require a vote of £3,000 for the current year. Otago Centeal. The route for the authorized extension of the Otago Central Eailway from Clyde to Cromwell has been fixed as far as the Half-way House—a distance of over seven miles—and construction-work has been put in hand on the co-operative system over a length of about four miles. No expenditure came to charge against last year's appropriation, but for the current year a vote of £20,000 is proposed. Laweenoe-Eoxbuegh . Formation-work was completed and rails laid over the length from Big Hill to Beaumont Station, about five miles and a half farther on. The erection of buildings at two stations is in hand, and it is proposed to open the section for traffic immediately. The expenditure during the last financial year amounted to £9,984, and for the current year a vote of £15,000 is proposed. Catlins-Waimahaka. Formation has been completed and rails laid up to the proposed Tahakopa Station, seventeen miles beyond the present terminus at Houipapa, but no part of the length has been opened for traffic yet, because it is desired to keep it in the hands of the Public Works Department until the haulage of ballast from Houipapa and Balclutha is finished. The bridge over the Maclennan Eiver was completed during the year, station buildings erected at Caberfeidh and Maclennan, while others are in progress at Stuarts and Tahakopa, to which point it is hoped to open the line during the coming summer. The expenditure on this line during the past financial year was £17,780, and for the current year a vote of £20,000 is proposed.

ii—D. 1.