MEMORANDUM BY THE PROVINCIAL EXECUTIVE OF AUCKLAND IN RELATION TO THE IMMIGRATION AND PUBLIC WORKS ACT OF THE ASSEMBLY.

Auckland Star, Volume II, Issue 11, 30 August 1871, Page 2

MEMORANDUM BY THE PROVINCIAL EXECUTIVE OF AUCKLAND IN RELATION TO THE IMMIGRATION AND PUBLIC WORKS ACT OF THE ASSEMBLY.

1. Tim inmigration and public works policy of the Colonial Government appears to contemplatcthe expenditure of about four million pounds .sterling upon immigration, public works, md the purchase of native lands during tho nex few years. The census just coin" pletod srves to show that the population of tho proiuce of Auckland numbers very ncarlv one fouth that of tho colony as a whole • while tjat population, as can be easily demonstrated is of a class likely to bear its full share jf the public burdens of the country. It woud therefore nppear reasonable that onefourtlwf the amount about to be expended on inmigration and public works within the cifony should be so expended in connection litli tbe province of Auckland, seeing that jo reasonable doubt can exist that the peopljof this province will be called upon to bear t least one-fourth of the burden of debt coutrpicd. The amount to which this provincatwould in this wav be entitled would amoifit to about one million pounds (£1,00,000). P 2.fThe works as yet authorised by the Proyncial Legislature in connection with tbe colojial policy may be regarded as being only thrd—a railway from Auckland to Mercer ; thebontinuation of that railway through the Wakato district; and a water supply for the Tlitaes goldfield. Of these it is understood tha the Auckland and Mercer line is likely toibe constructed upon the principle of gutanteed interest on the capital expended, a mode peculiarly suitable in tht case of a line such as this, which ha been partly constructed already. Tho Vttikato extension of this lino, if carried to tb frontier settlements, would probably cost abut £250,000. The sum asked by the Uovinoiai Council, in its last session, for the apply of water to the goldfields amounted to .60,000, and it is hardly probable that the ?tual cost of the work will largely exceed tat amount. To these may be added a mall sum of less than £1000 advanced for' Ind purchases, principally within the goldtelils districts. On the whole, therefore, the (.mount to which the province has taken steps ;o participate in the colonial loan does not at present much exceed £300,000. f 3. The Executive feel strongly that while fthe Assembly may adhere to the feature of ! the loan policy of last year, which provides for a gradual expenditure of the money over a series of year's, there is every probability that the works upon which the great proportion of the loan will be expended, will practically be decided upon during the approaching session. The uncertainty surrounding the question of tho negotiation of the loan" accounts, in the opinion of the Executive, for the reluctance of the Froviucial Council, in its last session, to recommend tha construction of public works within the province. It j appears certain, from events that have since transpired, that the loaii will be successfully ! negotiated, aud that the aid proposed to be ' given to the construction of public works in the several provinces, will be readily available i to the full extent anticipated by the fratners 1 of tho financial policy of last year. Your J .Executive did not feel justified in advising f ( your Honor to summon the Counoil to a 1

[ session previous to the meeting of the Colonial Assembly, considering that the short time that would have been available for the discussion of the important subject of public works, would not, in all probability, have sufficed to gain for it such a consideration as would materially have strengthened the position of the province in the matter; they have therefore taken upon themselves the responsibility of preparing and submitting to your Honor such a scheme of public works and immigration as in their opinion is calculated to advance the interests of the province, and is likely to command the approbation of the Council at its next session. 4. By means of the railway between Auckland and the Waikato frontier, nearly the whole of the country south of the Provincial capital open, or likely for some time to be open for settlement, will be provided with cheap and speedy communication with Auckland. Tho amount asked for on account of Thames water supply will, it is hoped, prove sufficient for tlie purpose, and by providing an abundant supply of gopd. water, remove one of the most serious .obstacles to the full development of the goldfield. Should the cost of the work prove greater^ however, than that contemplated, the Executive would still be prepared to urge tho construction of the works, the additional cost of which might be provided by the curtailment of the scheme now submitted to your Honor in some other direction. 5. The large area over which settlement has extended in this province,-and tho peculiarly difficult character of much of the oountry, has at all times rendered the question of public works a difficult one when an attempt has been made to deal with suoh works as parts of a great whole, and not merely as small local efforts at improvement. For this reason, the Executive feel that any scheme which confined itself to the construction of a railroad to the Waikato and a water supply to the Thames would be most unjust to other parts of the province, ignoring, as it would, the claims and grievances ef the North, and wholly overlooking tho existence of the important settlement at Poverty Bay. The position of settlers in tlie Northern districts of the province, has for years been one of great hardship, if not of considerable injustice. The expenditure connected with the native war of 1863, while it benefited and opened up the Southern districts of the province, was worse than useless to the North. Its districts were too often deserted by its settlers, who were tempted to the neighbourhood of tho.Provincial capital by the ephemeral prosperity introduced by the war expenditure. Its farms were left uncultivated, owing to the high price of labcr near Auckland, and the many inducements which led its settlers to seek success in some career —civil or military—less toilsome and more profitablo than that of bush farming. Even the cessation of hostilities did nothing for the ■ North, as the opening of the Waikato with its greater accessibility turned the stream of capital and labour in that direction, and away from the Northern districts. The Provincial half-million loan, while it improved the city and harbour of Auckland, bridged the Tamaki, erected large public buildings, and partially constructed tlie Auckland and Drury railway, did nothing for the North beyond introducing a number of a/wiitsd"immigrants. Some of thw immigrants, no doiibti found their .vay ,-liito the Northern districts, but owing to the absence of all means of communication, and to the inferior land op which, in most cases, they were located, very few have become permanent settlers. It is not, indeed, too much to say, that ever since a revenue has bean raised in this province, available- for pi.blic works, the Northern districts bave received me scantiest justice in comparison with other parts of the province*; and the result is that the macadamised roads which extend some forty miles to the south, are found to cease wholly within seven miles to the north of Auckland. This is. the more remarkable, because for many years the north furnished the principal exports of the province ; while even at present it contains, besides a large and peaceful native.population —not less than 12,000 inhabitants, or onethird the population of the province, exclusive Of the inhabitants of tho city aud goldfields. These considerations appear to demand, in any provincial scheme of publictworks, that a generous recognition should be given to the wants and claims of the north. ~-•■ 6. The character sf the country north of Auckland, as well as the ciroumstitnoes of its ownership, appear to call for a different policy in relation to public works from the southern disliicts of the province. In the north, European settlement of a partial and very scat tered character extends for- a distance t&'f'1 about 180 miles from Auckland, and is generally confined to a narrow fringe' of settlement, which on tho eastern const borders the sea, and on the wost<*the waters^ of the Kaipara and Hokianga estuaries, with their tributary rivers. The general characteriof the country is broken, hilly, and densely wooded, and a large proportion of the land! ia still id the hands of native owners, although the title to very much of it'has been' individualised through the agency of the Native Lands Court. In tho present state of settlement,'any extensive system of railroads through the north would be manifestly impossible.. Jt is doubtful whether a practicable line could be obtained from Auckland to.the ,Bay of glands, even were it conceivable that sound policy could dictate a lino of railroad extending about 130 miles through a country scarcely settled, and much of it unfit for settlement. The only railway work which the Executive would be prepared to recommend for the north at present is an extension of the line about to be undertaken by tbe province, to connect the waters of the Kaipara and Waitemata with Auckland. The distance from Auckland to a point near the , southern terminus, of the Kaipara railroad line would not exceed 18 miles ; and when it is considered that the cost would not be likely greatly to etoeed'£6o,ooo, while the result would be to give a direct connection with Auckland to all tho settlements on the Kaipara estuary' and' its tributary rivers, it can hardly be doubted that the undertaking would be of the grealest practical: benefit to the country as a whole. Perhaps the largest extent of really fine land in the province is to be found in the district between the Wairoa r.ver (where it bends eastward) Hid the Avvaum river, to the north of the settlement of Mongonui. . This .laud is chiefly volcanic, and lies'in rich, but notdeep, valleVsi ' jharacterised by great richness of soil and mildness of climate. It is comprised within a district jxtending for about 70 miles in length, by a rarying breadth of from 10 to 20 miles, and If "°f r'y *U, i» fche. hands, of native owners : but there is htUe, if >y, doubt tliatt couch of it could easily be purchased at 'fam although ' not at excessively low rates. LTo be continued.] ■ V T''K: ■ -.yvgTTT? s I>V