PUBLIC WORKS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1690, 5 March 1913, Page 4

PUBLIC WORKS.

POLICY OP PLAIN SPEAKING. EFFECT OF THE LOAN. During his recent visit to Otago and Southland tho Hon. W. I'raser, Minister for Public AVorks, enme into touch with a number of local bodies which made requests for loans. As indicated by tho telegraphed reports which came from the south, Mr. Eraser had to make it plain 011 a number of occasions that the amount of money available for public works is strictly limited at the present time.

111 conversation with a Dominion' reporter yesterday, the Minister slated that local body representatives wherever 110 went recognised tho reasonableness of the position which he took up. In every case they told him that they preferred a plain statement of the facts of the caso to promises which they knew would not be given effect to. A number of local bodies applied to the Minister for loans to cover their share of expenditure 011 which Parliament had voted a £ for .£ subsidy. These requests the Minister had to refuse and in some instances ho had to explain to tho local body that the Government could not pay oyer tho £ for £ grant'until that portion of tho expenditure for which tho local body was responsible had been provided for. It was a condition of such grants that the local body should provide its share of tho expenditure, and if the Government sought to make tho subsidy grant before this had been done tho Audit Office would not pass the payment.

The construction of public works was, the Minister went on to say, proceeding very satisfactorily, and it would be found that as much had been spent this year as there was last year. It was also very satisfactory to know that tho loan had been underwritten and so eagerly sought after by the public that the underwriters, it appeared, were now relieved pi nearly all the responsibility in regard to it. The fact of the raising of the loan, Mr. Fraser continued; (lid not supply any funds for expenditure apart from the votes which already appeared in tho Estimates. Previously it was not safe to authorise expenditure, as loan money constituted about one-half of the total amount voted by Parliament. Tho chief difficulty was the inability of tho Government to supply cheap money to local bodies to enable them to pay their share of the cost of construction, of roads especially, thus rendering-it impossible for tlieni to take advantage of tho Government £ for £ grant. Now, however, that difficulty had been, in part at any rate, removed.

The Estimates for 1911-12, Mr. Fraser remarked, contained sums amounting to nearly double what was spent during the year. This left a liability, which had to be expended before they could go on with expenditure on the new votes, except in urgent cases, until they knew that the loan mtmey was available.

As far as labour was concerned, the Minister said he was very much struck with the scarcity of labour in the south. Ho was assured by the Southland* County Council that when calling tenders for certain works. tenders had not been received for a quarter, of tlie works pro-, posed to bo carried out. He. was told that men were being offered 12s. to lis. a day for loading gravel into dray;, *nd the offer was declined. Everywhere, too, fanners were restricting their farming operations, and would have to restrict them still more in future, because of the inability to get sufficient and efficient labour and the uncertainty as to whether they would bo able to reap the harvest when ripe. ' As a result, many farmers were going out of mixed farming and putting their land into grass.