PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 15, 12 October 1917, Page 6

PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT

ANOTHER WAR YEAR REVIEWED DIFFICULTY IN SECURING LABOUR '

The Public Works Statement was presented to tho Hoiiso of Representatives yesterday by the Minister of Publju Works (Hon. W. Eraser). The Statement shows that the public works expenditure for tho year ended March ill; 1917, amounted to jei,275,4-IS. The bnlanco to the credit of tho fund at tho end of the financial year was ,£5'21.525, and tho balance of the authorised loan money still to bo raised will make the total ways and means for 1917-18 .£2,110,G25. The expenditure will be dependent largely on tho war. "When I prepared my Public Works Statement last year," says the Minister, "I was under the impression that I would be able to expend within the financial year the most of the money I was asking Parliament to vote for roads and bridges.. Acting on this belief I authorised for expenditure the whole of this sum to either the local bodies or to my district engineers on the basis of onehalf of the unauthorised items on tho Estimates for each country. "Owing, however, to the impossibility of obtaining sufficient labour, I was unable' to secure the expenditure of much more than one-half of the sum so authorised. The result is that from the sum I now propose asking Parliament to vote for roads-.and bridges—viz., £120,000 —I havd first to deduct ,£60,000 for the flood-damage vote, and then the unexpended authorities issued prior to March 31, 1917, amounting to .£195,000. This will leave ,£165,000, which will be only sufficient to provide for about one-half of those items ou last year's Estimates which were not authorised, and also enable a. few of the most urgent new applications to ho dealt with.

"If the war continues for another twelve months it can hardly be expected of me that I shall be able to expend the whole of-the money proposed to be appropriated for roads and bridges; still, I consider it advisable that I should bo empowered to meet any contingency that may arise. The extraordinary and continuous rainfall that has been experienced over the greater part of the North Island during the last twelve months has caused an enormous amount of damage to roads and bridges. Tho country became water-logged, and whenever the roads had not been metalled they were quite unable to bear any traffic, and soon became quagmires, causing very eerious inconvenience. I 'have endeavoured as far as it lay in my power to assist in repairing this damage, but tho loss accruing from this deli/go of rain has been very 6crious."

Last Year's Expenditure. The expenditure for the 1916-17 financial year was classified as follows:— Kaiiways— . £ New construction .' 333,401 Additions to open lines 235,543 Roads 220,843 Public buildings : 250,131 Immigration 0,533 Lighthouses, harbour works and harbour dofences 3,767 i Tourist and health resorts l,0!)4 Development of water power... 18,04!) Development of mining 4,592 Defence works (general) 9,742 Departmental .-. 131,701 Irrigation and water supply ... 1H.049 Lands improvement Cr. 2,731 Minor works and services -v Plant, material, and stores ... 9,778 Cost and discount, raising loans, etc 35 Total ordinary expenditure .£1,278,483 Railways Improvement Authorisation Act, 1914, Account... 225,597 Opening up Crown Lands for Settlement Account—Eodas to open up Crown lands ... — Land [or Settlements AccountRoads to open up Crown lands 24,730 National Endowment Account— Eoads to open up endowment lands 0,787 Aid to Water-power Works Account ••■•• w>o32 Irrigation and Water-supply Account ; 1|745 Waihou and Ohinenuwi Rivers Improvement Account 10,407 Telegraph Extension Account... 203,311 Grand total ,£1,803,093 Ways and Means. £ Oh April 1, 1916, the available ways and means for public works purposes were 1,293,102 And further funds were received as under: — Under the Aid to Public Works and Land Settlement Act, X9I.J 500,000 Other receipts and recoveries... 0,906 Malting a gross total of .£1.800,008 The ordinary expenditure of tho year amounted to M,2iS,448, plus the expenses of. raising loans ,£35, thus bringing the total disbursements up to •••■ -u.^e,*" This leaves a balanco to the credit of the Ways and Means Account at the end of the year of •»•• Ou Tf For the current year it is proposed to provide additional funds as under:— Balanco of authorised loan money still to be raised— Under tho Aid to ■■ Public Works and Lands for bet- \ tlenienfe Act, 191* ............ '15,100 Under the Finance Act, 910, Section 49 (Public Works)... 700,000 TJnder tho • Finance Act, * • ••* OOU,UUU Making the total ways and / means for 1917-18 ,£2,116,620 Estimated Expenditure. Tho estimated expenditure for public works for the current year (excluding separate accounts having their omx ways and means) amounts to lcavin" an estimated balance of £234,910 to forward to next year (1918-19) In addition to the amounts described above, we have authority to raiso tne following sums:— £ Under the Aid to Water-power i |. jgjfl ÜbjUIKJ Under tho Waihou and Ohincmuri Rivers Improvement Act, 1910 -• ■■"• m Railway Construction. No sections of railway were opened foi regular traffic during the financial year. S sections are, however, almost, comn etc as far as construction is coiiceS and on some of then, the Public Works Department, % running a goods niwi service. The total exDontlitnra on railway construction a«d improvement work during the last financial year amounted to J&i6,514, as under:- £ Construction of new lines 835,404 Addition to open lines ••■■"••""£ $^ •Railways Improvement Accounts .Ai.oJf To Statement describes the railway construction work undertaken during the year ' Whangarei Line. Tho first four miles of the WhangarciNor h lucklnml Main Trunk hue aro beta" constructed by contract. The V u n f flip formation, with the ixcepof labour and the bad weather ( experiencel durins the Inst twelve months hai* Sv interfered with the progress ot HI work. Construction, work is in toid by costive Part,* torn four to five and a, halt miles.

North Auckland Main Trunk. Construction work has been continued from Huarau northwards. Owing to tho exceptional rainfall during the year very heavy slips occurred, interfering very considerably with the progress of tho works. Qfl tho Paparoa section ballasting"'has been carried out to the x rail-head. i'air progress, under difficult conditions, has been made with tlio Huarau and Golden Stairs tunnels. A tramway has been working constantly conveying goods and materials to those two tunnels. No work was done during the year from Kirikopuni southwards. East Coast Main Trunk. Work on the northern section of tho East Coast Main Trunk railway was suspended in March. Formation on the Tauranga section is practically completed to Matata. No progress has been made with the erection of tho permanent brid»e over tho Kaituna River owing to tho inability of the contractor to proI cure tho necessary steelwork. I Tho ballasting of the main line ,be--1 tween Matawai and ■ Motuhora. I'.oad terminal station, north of Gisborne, also the erection of tho bridge over the I Motu River, have been completed. A contract is in progress for the erection of the station buildings at Motuhora, and, with tho exception of this, little work other than tho usual finishing-up remains to be done. Concrete piers and abutments for three bridges have been erected, and concrete piles driven for another bridge on the line south of Gisborne. Some fencing and culverts have been erected. ' All plate, laying has been completed, and , ballasting is in progress. . The work in connection with the erection of the West-shore Bridge (Napiet northward) has been eteadily proceeded i with. Further necessary plant and supI plies of steel and concrete have been I brought to the , site, and good progress • has been made with the pile-driving. At tho end of the year six 50ft. spans and one 25ft. span wero completely finished.. Stratford-Main Trunk Lino. At the western end a limited number of men have been employed through- ' out the year on tho varied \cla<sses of j work necessary to carry the line iron) I Whangamomona to Tahora. Heavy slips occurred, but have been removed. Two tunnels of about 24 chains each have been excavated and lined, and cuttings and banks up to Tahora station are s-.p----preaching completion. Rails are laid and ballasting completed up to Kohuratahi, four miles and a half beyond the terminus, and a temporary tramway service to Tahora is etill in operation. Another twelve months should see the lino completed to Tahora, where the terminus will probably remain for somo At the eastern end earthworks have been in progress over a length of 10£miles. The reinforced concrete piers for the bridge over the Ongarue River have been completed. Progress on the Okahn tunnel contract has been very slow. Tho total length of tunnel lined at the end I of last March was IJ> chains, leaving 55'j chains yet to bo done. Tho contract let last year for the tunnels at 7 miles 55 chains and 8 miles 35 chains was determined in August Inst owing to the inability of the contractor to carry out the contract. The bottom headings and 2 chains of lining in brick wero completed when, tho contract na3 determined.

Opunake Branch. Formation work during tho vcav has been restricted to the seven-mile section from Te Koti junction to Kapuni etation, on which banks and cuttings aro newly completed. Concrete piers , for the bridge which will carry the lino over the Waiugongoro llivor aro well in hand, but the construction of this and two other bridges on the first section will occupy the avnilablo staff for another year at least. The route of tho branch lino to serve Manaia lias been cleared, several culverts put in, and road deviations formed and metalled. / Raetihi Branch. Tho earthwork and platelaying is practically completed, and good progress has been made with tho ballasting. Three bridges have been completed and a water supply installed at Raehlu station yard. ' . ' i South Island Main Trunk. IJjyond tie terminus at Whaianui station formation work, platelaying, and ballasting is completed for a distance of three miles fend a quarter, but it was quite impossible during the year just closed to make any progress with the construction of two small steel bridges on this length, Formation work on the line is practically suspended mving to shortage of labour. Arthur's Pass Tunnel. Work in connection with tho construction of Arthur's Pass Tunnel has proceeded steadily throughout the year. At tho Otira end the work has been earned out by day labour, 32} chains of bottom heading has been driven through slate-i-ock and Vl\ chains of excavation and lining completed. From the Bealey eml 151 chains of bottom heading has been driven through greywacko rock, and !tt chains of excavation aud lining completed. Owing to the shortage of labour, the process of enlargement and lining has been considerably retarded, the average number of men working per shift being 2C.S 'at the Otira end and 12.9 at the end. The position at the ot<> of March is that tho bottom heading has been driven, nearly i miles 40 chains, and the tunnel lined and excavated about 3 milos GO chains. A-distance of about. 60 chains remains to be driven to connect the headings from each end of the tunnel. Development of Mining, Tho value of tho mineral output for tho year was ,£2,978,436, being a decreaso of .£390,087 when compared with the output during the previous year. Iu addition to the mineral output 1,331,003 tons of stone was obtained from quarries subject to inspection under tho Stone Quarries Act. Tho expenditure under the heading of "Development of Mining" during last year was .£4592. A vote of £1450 is proposed to be taken this year. Public Buildings. Tie total amount expended on construction of public buildings during tho last financial year amounted to ,£251,431. Tho vote was JStSi.OM. For fli© current fear the following appropriation proposed is .£310,000. Under the heading "General," the new Parliament Buildings still accounts for tho heaviest item of expenditure. Considering tho unfavourable labour condi' tions ruling at present, fair progress has been made with the works during tho past year. Substantial additions to the Government Printing Office have been completed. Prisons. An oxtension to the soutlijjving of the Auckland Prison has been completed aud occupied. Tho new north wing of tho Inverciirgill Prison has been completed, and is now ready for occupation. Subdivisional walls at Auckland and tho main walls at Invcreargill have boen proceeded with, -and progress has been made in the erection of the first wing of ho Paparua Prison buildings at Templeton. During the current year the major works being carried on ore the bmUings ■it Tompleton. the provision of a kitchen block, and subdivisional, walls at Invercarcill and of an administration block and dairy buildings at Wnikena.-, Other Buildings. No new Court buildings were erected during the year. Expenditure on post and telegraph

buildings wiis kept down as much as possible. At Porirua Mental Hospital tlio block of buildings designed for receiviug and hospital wards is nearly completed, and in its "hospital" character, with case of administration and observation, marks a decided lulvancc. A nurses' home is part of this building. A survey lias Ijeen made and materials have been collected for piping, tho septic tank effluent into tlio harbour. Agriculture. Tho expondituro undor this heading for tho past year was not largo. For tho current year some further necessary improvements at experimental farms and quarantine stations are provided for, together with an item to cover the cost of the purchase of land for an experimental farm in Westland. Hospitals. Considerable expenditure is required this year in order to provide the neces- ■ nary facilities at St. Helens hospitals. Land has been purchased adjoining at. Helens Hospital, Auckland, on which it is proposed to erect new wards, utilising the present building as an administrative block and nurses' quarters. It is proposed to proceed immediately with the erection of nor buildings at Christchurch, and to erect ; iiew wards at St. Helens Hospital, Dunedin, utilising thn present hospital as an administrative block and nurses' quarters. A suitable "building has been purchased for the purposo of a St. Helens hospital at lnvercargill. and provision is made for this expenditure, together with the necessary alterations thereto. Additions are also required at Townley St. Helens Hospital, Gisborne. Considerable extension is required to the accommodation at present availabio for consumptives. This has been more especially necessitated owing to institutional treatment having to be afl'orded to returned soldiers. Extensions and im : provements are required at both Otaki and To Waikato Sanatoria, and this isprovided for. An item has also been renewed to enable grants to he made to hospital boards to provide accommodation for consumptives. Workers' Dwellings. Of last year's vote of ,£50,000 only i£35,437 was expended; there were also liabilities incurred of .£295 for dwellings in course of erection and for land tho purchase of which was being arranged. For the current year a vote of only 1.,£20,000 is proposed, as owing to the high cost of materials it is unlikely that many dwellings will be orected. Wanganui River. At the request of the Wanganui River Trust an exhaustive inspection was made of the Wanganui River from Raorikia, a few miles above Wanganui, to Tauniaranui, with the object of ascertaining what is 'necessary to properly maintain the works which have already been carried out by tho Wanganin River Trust; also as to what further works, are required to make tho river navigable by the riversteamers at all times of the year. Tourist and Health Resorts,. No public, works of any importance were undertaken during the year. The total amount expended was £10M, compared with .E5167 for the previous year, and more than half of this amount was expended on drainage and water-supply works in Rotorua.

Telegraph Extension. Durinpr Hie past year the extension of telegraph and telephone lines has resulted in the opening of forty new offices andten new exchanges. The total expenditure amounted to .£203,310. All con- | struction work has been considerably : hampered on account of the short sup-.' plies of materials and limited staffs. , Patriotism Appreciated. "Let me state how greatly I appreciate the patriotism of those local bodies and settlers throughout the Dominion who haye refrained from pressing their demands for expenditure during the war on works which in normal times be considered very important," adds the Minister. '"I regret exceedingly that I have not' been able to do more to relievo many cases of hardship, especially in the ba'ckblocks; but as soon as the war is over and our boys return, ample, moans will be then available to provide employment for all who need it. The construction of roads, bridges, and railways will be pushed ahead, and thus facilities will be afforded for increased settlement and for increased production. It is on these two factors that New Zealand has to depend to enable it to bear the heavy burden it lias so readily assumed in aiding the Empire, to win this appalling war."