The Evening Star FRIDAY, JULY 28, 1876.

Evening Star, Issue 4187, 28 July 1876, Page 2

The Evening Star FRIDAY, JULY 28, 1876.

I Tub Public Works Rtutcnentwas forward, businesslike affair, dealing w'itl, fac ~ and hiving no reference to the This i 8 as it should be \ hateytr advantage is derivable from party cbsCTwion on qucrtionß that depend upon monstrahon is capable of being presented •a W contained in clearly arran r^d

figures. Mr Kichardso* seems to have felt it his duty to supply the House with an account of what has been done, and with its results as far as experience has enabled him to ascertain them, as well as with what has not been done, although authorised by Parliament, and the reasons for the delay. We need not recapitulate the statements so fully reported in our telegraphic columns. Thev fully justify the Public Works and Immigration Policy, and show unmistakeably that the plan was wisely conceived and has in the mam been ably carried out Wherever railways are worked, the traffic returns show a profit over working expenses; and it is fair to conclude, if this is the case before the lines are completed when the system ia in full operation even the most sanguine anticipations of the promoters will be exceeded. We speak now merely of that which is seen in the balancesheet, but that which ia unseen is of far more importance. Sir Julius Vogel, in his linaneial statement, alluded to the increased value of the unsold land of the Oolonv through the construction of railways, and the House gave effect to his recommendation to raise the upset price accordingly We have no t made any calculation as to the implied increased valuation of public property ; but it may be fairly set down at much more than the cost of our railways; and this should prove a sufficient answer to those croakers who are continually pointing to the rain into which our railway plant is hurrying us. But there is another indication of the benencial effect of cheap and rapid internal communication. Mr Kichardson points to the probably increased cost of certain lines of railway, if taken by the routes originally surveyed through the exorbitant compensation asked by owners of private property for land necessary for their construction. At last then, the evil of our present land system, so frequently urged by this journal, has forced itself upon the Government and the country, there have been exceptions to the grasping of owners of property seeking to enrich thlmselves at the public expense whom the Uaily Times compliments by the designation "land sharks." We congratulate our contemporary on at last recognising the R^lnn? hey a r D °J anv means rare, Wn °,?T' Wllere five times V* *™ has le?o? ai JSf S ° mC <? fty or sixfc y *V™° feet of cabbage garden that the whole one or two acre sections of which it formed part together with the house to live in, could have been bought prior to that bit being found necessary for the railway. At last this grasping has become intolerable, SrVrt 8t the Minister of Public Works will adopt the remedy he has in his hands-of altering the route of a line where practicable, rather than submit to sueh extortion. In very few instances in this country can it be said that property is injured through the construction of a railway. In ninety-nine cases out of one hundred, on the contrary, it is multiplied in value from six to tenfold. It may therefore fairly be said to those who have been fortunate enough to hold property m the direction of the proposed line : mvif^ 88 i y °w ar^ ge mon S yourselves to give the land for this railway, it must either not be made or it must be taken by another route On precisely the same grounds, districts asking for stations should be at the cost of constructing them. The public do their share of the work when they provide a railroad, locomotive, traffic waggons, and passenger carriages. If a district therefore wishes to avail itself to the utmost of the advantages thus offered, the very least w 7^ 0311 * 0 ls cons tmct a station for their own profit and accommodation. Ihe land-cost evil was not so heavily felt in the first instance. Owners of property had not felt the effect of the Public Works scheme; but now, not only is compensation ?TA f w th x e , O^ nal Coßt of a* land needed, but for the increased value conferred by the railway system itself. This is grasping with a vengeance ! So much for first cost, so much per cent, for interest since the purchase, and with fancy additionsa s many times that as the land will be worth when the radway is made through it! Truly these "land sharks "■ have large appetites and ex! pansive jaws.