MEMBERS OUT OF PARLIAMENT.

Evening Star, Issue 3664, 19 November 1874, Page 3

MEMBERS OUT OF PARLIAMENT.

The following is taken from Mr. Steward’s address to his constituents at Oamaru, on the 12th inst. : THE INDEBTELNES3 OF THE COLONY. Icomenow toasubjectupon which, strangely enough, no two members in the House or out pt it appear to agree—the actual indebted pegs of the Colony: Probably, however, the Statement pf the h'n, the Treasurer will be ooked upon as the most reliable authority. Before turning to that, however, I maymention that I note that Mr Muray. member for Bruce, in a speech a few days ago, sets down the indebtedness of the Colony as something over nineteen millions, but after adding together all the loans he seems to have thrown in a lump sum of a couple of millions as a make-weight. According to Mr Vogel, in a statement made in the House on the 11th of August l?st—just three months ago—the total of the Colony’s debt was L 12,494,000, of which I 9,229,000 are on Colonial account, and L 3,265,( 00 on Provincial account; adding to these figures the loan authorised last session, 14,000.00 ), we have a total indebtedness of, in round numbers, sixteen and a-half millions. JS' ow people are very apt to make compafsons as between the indebtedness of New Zealand and the indebtedness of other countries, and newspaper artie’es very frequently appear in which this is done. It was only the other day that a statement was going the rounds, copied from the * New Zealand Herald,’ to the effect that New Zealand has the supreme satisfaction of standing at the head of all the Colonies, to say nothing of putting the United Kingdom in the shade. Our indebtedness was set down at LSO per head, or LIS 19s more than Queensland, L3O Os 5d more than Now South ’Wales, 1.34 5a Id more than Victoria, L 39 0s 7d more than South Australia, and L 25 10s more than the United Kingdom But there is a fallacy pnderiying such caloulat'ons as th- se, which appear to he arrived at in some such rule of thumb fashion as this. Say that the national debt of Great Britain is seven hundred millions, and say its population is thirty millions (I take round figures for convenience). and.you will come to a total indebtedness p><r head of L 23. Now proceeding in the same way take the population of the J Colony, including Maoris, at 30.),000, and indebtedness seventeen millions, and you have L 53 per head, therefore we are L3O per head more than Great Britain. It looks very well on paper, that does, but it is utt- rly and entirely fallacious. Oat of the sixteen a«d a-half millions of om 1 indebtedness, about ten millions has been expended, or is in coarse of being expended, in the formation of railways, ro.-ds, and bridges, the purchase of rolling stock, &c., that is to say in the creation of absolute property; and does any man mean to tell me that when be ihakea bis balance up at the end of the year, if he has spent' LSOO in building a bouse he puts himself down'as LSOO poorer ? But in making out a balance sheet for the Colony that is the course which appears to be adopted. Now if we writeoff the ten millions expended, or in course of expenditure for reproductive works, or place those works to the credit side as an asset, we shall have a very different result,' the indebtedness of the Colony then appearing as L 23 instead of L 53 per head. Then we must compare like things with like to make a fair comparison, and if you were to add to the English national debt the cost of the railways and ' public works hero being constructed out of' loan and then divide by the number < f population, you would bring out • a very different figure, but yet one which it would be much fairer to take as a basis of comparison. But it will he said we have borrowed and are borrowing an enormous amount of money, and have already expended a good deal, what is there to show for it ? OUR RAILWAYS. How many utiles of railway have we yet open ? and so on. Now, here again, people are very hasty—indeed, it seems to be exSected in this country that eyerytbing should e done in a day. It is not five years since the initiation of the great public works scheme, and could anyone expect that all the authorised railways should already be in full working order ? But wait till 1880, that is £>iag ten years for the whole work, and I ilieve we shall see what we all desire—perhaps before then—and if in a period of ten years we have covered the country with railroads, I say it will he a wonderful achievement for a Colony like this. Before that time there will be 1,000 miles of railway in full working order. We have already something and a good deal to shew for the expenditure. In the statement of Mr Richardson, Minister for Public Works, made on the 24th July last, m have the following figures: —Total mileage of railways authorised 1,010, of which there were then open for traffic 89 miles ; complete and ready for traffic 57 miles; plate-laying going on 103 miles; under contract, in course of completion, 421 miles; leaving still to be let 337 miles. Since that day a considerable length has been let, and I believe every link of the main trunk line between this and Christchurch is under contract, and I have no doubt trains will be running through in less than two years The contract time for the completion of the line hence as far south as Moeraki is the 19th January next. But if there is something to show for the expenditure and there wilt be a great deal more in a couple of years’ time—many people are very neivous about the result. We shall be very deeply in debt, say they, and the railways will not JpT a-tosp tbtir Well, sb

fat the railways made in Canterbury have paid better than they were expected to do ; and I believe instead of their proving a tax they will very soon prove a very considerable source of revenue. I would have you, moreover, to bear in mind the saving there will bo to the people throughout the country in the cost of making and repairing roads, and the general saving in the cost of carrying their produce and articles of merchandise, and in travelling to and from place to place. I think no reasonable man, taking all this into con sideration, can doubt the wisdom of the Legislature in setting on foot this scheme of railway construct on.