The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1910. WORKS AND VOTES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 975, 16 November 1910, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1910. WORKS AND VOTES.

Foe a good many years the Public Works Fund in New Zealand has been only secondarily tho fund out of which the development of the country has been financed: it is regarded, and has been treated by Government, as primarily the "Liberal" party's big vote-buying machine. This is a fact so well-estab-lished that it has got into the data of political science. Loud Robert Cecil, in the House of Commons, had only to quote the "roads-and-bridges"' member and the "roads-and-bridges" Government in order to convince Mr. Lloyd-George on the spot of the importance of putting the new Public Works Fund of Britain, the Development Fund, beyond the control of the Ministry. It is only in very recent years, however, that the Hew Zealand public has begun properly to realise the enormous evils of our present system of financing our public works. Most people here realise it now, and we venture to think that still more will obtain enlightenment from the remarkable Statement presented to Parliament last evening by the Minister for Public. Works. .When the. Fund for the year reached, a couple of million pounds it was generally felt that the country, was, like Mr. Roosevelt, "going some." But a paltry two millions, so . daring . in Mr. Seddon's time—in his last great election year he worked up a Fund of rather less than 2i millions—is evidently regarded by the. Ward Government as utterly inadequate to its desperate case. To . arrange a Fund of two millions would strike Sir Joseph-Ward, as being very like trying, in the phrase of "Hosea Biglow," to coax an earthquake with a bun. Ho has therefore assisted his colleague, Mr. R. M'Kenzie, to construct a Fund totalling, in the gross, £3,812,366, or little less than four millions! The price of votes and the need of them havo gone up as the political charm of. the Ward Government has fallen in the electoral market. The expenditure during 1909-10 was £2,036,176, and as tho actual receipts (composed mainly of £1,962,000 of loan money) were £2,348,642, the current year opened with a balance of £312,366. The Minister's arrangements include the receipt of £800,000 from.the Consolidated Fund, and £2,700(000 from borrowings, : making a total of £3,812,366. This appalling sum enables him to submit votes totalling £2,855,000,' or over £500,000 more than last year, and to carry forward nearly £I,ooo,ooo—which is doubtless the sum deemed necessary by the Government to stimulate the Fund for the period immediately preceding the elections.. We' need say no more on this point to' emphasise the fact that the' Statement' is a desperate ' throw by a shaking Administration. Tho voluminous details of the Statement and the accompanying Estimates cannot' be treated in a single article, but there are a few general features that demand attention. Tho vote proposed under the heading of railway construction amounts to £896,000 (ex-, elusive of £104,000 for land claims 1 , surveys, permanent way materials, etc.), and this is allocated between the two islands as follows:—North, £465,000; South, £431,000. Last year the vote of £739,500 (exclusive of the items mentioned) was thus apportioned: North, £290,000; South, £449,500. We are very glad to see that the Government has seen the wisdom of paying attention to our criticisms upon its unfair and nationally unwise practice of starving this-island at .the expense of the South Island in 'the matter of railway construction. But it is still far. from showing a proper willingness to go the full distance required by prudence and justice. ■ Nobody will be surprised to learn that the Government has after all surrendered to tho clamour of our Duncdin friends, and has placed upon the Estimates a vote of £15,000 for tho continuation of the Lawrence-Roxburgh lino. Eighteen months ago tho Prime Minister was emphatic in assorting that this lino must be stopped, and he was applauded everywhere, excepting in Duncdin, for his decision. Wc might have guessed that ho would in due course strike his colours on this as on practically every other question of this kind. In' the course of his Works Statement, Mr. R. M'Kenzie goes out of his way to point out that during 1909-10 more money was spent on roads in this island than in the South. Island, although ho discreetly failed to mention that the reverse . was the case in the matter of railways. He is careful not to give the figures showing the enormously bet,,ter roaded condition of the South

Island, as compared with the fastI developing part of the colony in tho ' : North Island. The most interesting feature- of the Statement is the reference to the Government's determination to plunge ahead with the hydro-electric , power scheme that it has hurriedly - tacked together. Despite what is bc- ;, yond all question a general consensus of opinion that the scheme '" should, until properly tested, be confined to tho Lake Coleridge works— ■ even so staunch a friend of the Min- , istry as the Lyttellon. Times thinks that "the Government will sadly fail in its duty" if it does not proceed on tho lines that only one of the - power schemes should be proceeded : with—the proposal is to obtain au- ' thority for expenditure on throe schemes: Coleridge, Hutt, and Kaituna River or Huka . Falls. We shall know on another occasion how indefensible is the Government's claim to possess complete data, or to understand what data it docs possess, regarding even the Coleridge , scheme. To the reports ,of Mr. J Hancock and Mr. Hay, the Ministor now adds reports by Mr. Birks and Mr. Holmes, and nothing is more remarkable than the great and vital differences between certain of the calculations of these, gentlemen. Wc have not had time, of course, to 5 go thoroughly into Mr. Birks's lengthy report, but no long study is [ required to perceive that his calculations aro those of a booming - optimist. ' We trust that the House s will for once show itself to be not so ' utterly dead to tho true interests of the.nation as to accept this part of tho Government's programme. It is . unhappily idle to hope that anything will be done to protest on other points against the great programme of election bribery that so much of the Statement represents.