PUBLIC WORKS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2238, 26 August 1914, Page 7

PUBLIC WORKS

i STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER. The Hon;' W. .Fra'ser. (Minister- of Pubho Works)'; Etated of the Public Works Estimates were now approachingcompletion, tho .lists for all; save four districts in the North Island, ; having bcen' r fiiiallj-revised: The Pub-' 1b Works Statement and Estimates' would be ready for presentation a good deal earlier ; than usual. Tho carrying out' of the expenditure proposed in"-.' the Estimates would, of course, depend on'circumstances. Tho money would bo spout if it could lin obtained. Meantime the Public Works E'und was not exhausted. "It is just as well," Mr. Eraser remarked, "that 1 was caroful not to spend it all in the summer. If I had we should not have had a penny. I did not, of course, fore6eo the war, but I knew that-thero was likely to Le some unemployment during the winter and made provision accordingly." As to the conditions at the moment, Mr. Fraser said that ho had not .been made aware of any exceptional demand for ompldytnent. His experience was in many cases that where he was told there wore perhaps 40 or SO men in want of work ho found on inquiry that only about half that- number or less were, actually offering. During tho last two months something liko 800 or 900 additional men had been employed by the; Department. No doubt, the.Minister remarked, the number of men employed by the Department would be reduced as the demand for men for country work increased., He certainly could not give work to men who would not go to work in the country, and even the men already employed by tho Department, if people in tho country required their services, would at once be, made available.