PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1588, 4 November 1912, Page 7

PARLIAMENT.

SATURDAY'S SITTING. PUBLIC WORKS ESTIMATES. : I-';. • • • ; ■ " . 1 ''Friday's fitting ■oi tlio Hoiiso . ended saVly on Saturday morning with the House in Committee. Instead of adjourn- ; the 'House, the Committee sitting was ndjourned. ; ' ' .>'■«'■ .U.'ho Committeo met at 10.80 a.m. on . Saturday. .' : The. Publio Works Estimates were fur- ■ ".tier- considored.. On the seoond Tote, railivay construction (Otira Tunnel) ' Mr. G. V. PBAECE (Pntea) moved that .- the item Otira-Bealoy, i 576,000, be Teduced by J2l as an indication that an ia.'dei>endent inQiiiry should be - - .to,whether .the Midland Railway was like- • ' ly to prove-a payablo one. 'If an indo- •/ • pendent board declared.in favour .of the railway, he ; would withdraw his opposition to the constrnbtion of the line. ■' {Hie .Hon. W. FEASER (Minister for Publio Works) said he would not accept ' .the amendment... . . A long debate ensued on the general ; . question , of. whether the line would pay, :■ and whether it could snccessfully_.com-. :.. pete' with; : steamers. and; sailing'ships?in. ' the carriage of coal and timber. The railway: was defended by the; Canterbury and West Coast'members, but the only member to attack it-was Mr. G. V. Pearce. v :\.The amendment was defeated by 48 votes to i. .- ' The vote then passed unaltered, ; • Railway Improvement. • .On tho' next item, additions to open, lines,'iio7,ooo, '; >' ' .-, ; ■ Tho Hon. H. said • that the rote ,ivas some jE6B,OOO' higher than last year's votes: . He thought a groat deal more of the,expenditure .under this liead should be provided out of'revenue. He did not ;car«-to say which'of the items in the. vote onght not to be there, , but the general' principle-was ,an ; import- ~ ant onel Ho thought too much money was drawn from the.Public Works i'nnd for work-of this class. The Hon. vHEKRIES- (Minister for. Railways) said that, some considerable • amount' of.expenditure on. raihvnys ; was absolutely necessary, for such work, as: re'-. r.' ducing grades "and curves and making, alterations to 'station yards, which .-items ■ s we re properly chargeable to capital ac- ;. count. These works . could not be pi~ovidßd for out of -these, estimates because, the ways, anil means were not there. He hoped, if the money market became easier, to be able to introduce what his -predecessor had intended.to do, some Bill to be call<xl the Railway Improvement .Bill, which would allow him largely to improve the railways out of loan moneys.; If grades . were reduced considerably: less " engine power would ; be necessary; that was- .'an axiom amonj railway nren. - -• The Hon. R. : MTCENZlE.remarked upon tho. foot'that one section of the House was crying out for r light lines, with ' steeper : , grades and sharper curves, and the Minis- ; ter wanted to reduce grades and straighten - out curves on other-lines. Be admitted : 'that some of the grades could be reduced,' ■ .but others on the; same lines could not, . and - the .drawing* l capacity of an', engine . . must be regulated / d.v the controlliug grade,' He'thought that; other -'espenditura, on roads and the'-litoe, - was - much' more necessary at present than this proposed expenditure on reducing.curves.: . ' The vote, was passed;unaltered. Parliament Buildings. On the item Public Buildings, >£465,500," The Hon. R. M'KENZIE asked whether the. Minister for. Public Works, whencall- , lng tenders : for Parliament Buildings) would not call for alternativ« tendora—one with a tower and the. other without. By .this means he would. discover what. the actual difference in cost would bo,- and : he : would then- bs: better- able to decide whother it would bo wase to defer the building ,of , the tower. • . i ■■■': The Hon. W. TRASER said he did. not . eee; the use. of, calling for alternative teu- ■ dera. rThe portipit of.:the; building v.to.-rbe erected at. present .would take 'the 'tower . ; only .'on one sido of it. When tho second section of the building lvas 'to te erected the tower would certainly;,bo a great im.provement to it.' In reply to Mr." H. .G. Ell; the Minister -: eaid ■ that -before tenders could be ; called for the erection of Parliament Buildings toe foundations would have .to' be finished. V This work would still require some month's to complete. And then in calling' for tenders the bailders would have to be allowed three or four months in which to prepare their estimates. Tenders .would' : ;' probably be called* about the beginning of the year.

■Votes Passed,: ■ < • The following, classes were passed, -with little or no discussion ■.—Lighthouses, harr/bour works, . and harbour defences, v£22,000; tourist ..and health-resorts, immigration, '. JE2O,OOO> roads, ; bridges, and .otne.r public works, .£550,000; development of goldfields, i 818,000;' tele-. • graph extension, ,£200,000 ; contingent •fence, ' '£55,000; lands ' improvement, v .£49,000; Wcllington-Hutt -railway and road improvement, .£7300;; railway. im- . provements," >£40,000; '• : development of water, power, ,£85,000; > Irrigation and Water-Supply Account, .£30,000;. : Waihcm end; Ohinemuri .Bivers Improvement Account, <£20,000; Opening up of Crown lands for Settlement Account, <£100,000; National ■ Endowment Account, .£10,200. . The ; resolutions, were reported to the House. ~ v': ; .V' ' J -\ • iThe Washing-lip.Bill.. The Reserves and Other Lands Disposal andi Public Bodies' Empowering Bill was Introduced by .Governor s Message, . and tead a first time. The House rose at 1.8 p.m.