THE PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 357, 4 August 1875, Page 2

THE PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

We are indebted to the Government for the following summary of the Public Works statement;— The Hon Mr Richardson made his Public Works statement this even. a

ing. Instead of entering bo fully into detail as formerly, he drew attention to the maps, tables, and reports from the various engineers and others, that would be attached to the printed statement. It was only then for the first time that he was able to speak with any degree of certainty as to the cost of the various railways. The appropriations taken in 1872 hud in many cases been only approximate, but during the past twoyears, detailed surveysof nearly allthe railways had been completed, and he was now in a position to place reliable estimates before the House. Before doing so he referred to the past action of the the Public Works Department, with a view to show how satisfactory are the results of the large railway works undertaken by the colony. The Railways Act of 1872 appropriated £3,886,900. This was then supposed sufficient for constructing 764 miles of railway, of which 278 were in the North Island and 486 in the Middle Island. Further appropriations were taken in 1873, amounting to £1,680,000, and additional small appropriations in 1874, the total being £5,777.000 for the construction of 1010 miles, of which 372 were in the North Island, and 640 in the Middle Island. Now that the actual length and cost can be correctly estimated, it is found that to complete tbe lines in the North Island there will be required an additional appropriation of £142,000 for some of them, while on the others there will be a saving on the appropriation of £50,000. From this calculation is excluded the twentyfour miles from Featherston to Masterton, afterwards separately alluded to. For the completion of the Middle Island lines additional appropriations will be required on some of them amounting to £265,000, while on others there will be a balance of £43,319. Omitting the length from Featherson to Masterton, there will therefore be required to be newly appropriated £407,400, with a balance of excess of votes of £93,319, thus only really increasing tbe present appropriations by £314,081. The total appropriation will be £6,091,981 for the completion of this mileage fully equipped, 1000 miles of it being of a heavier rail than previously contemplated. With three exceptions the lir.es will be constructed at an ••average cost of £5600 per mile. The exceptions being the Wellington to Featherston, tfhe Port Chalmers, and the Dunedin to Moeraki, these costing £IO,OOO, £27,000 and £9OOO ;per mile respectively. There are open for traffic 278 miles. 173 miles more will be ready within three months, and 116 by the end of the year. The excess of cost is attributable to the rise in labor, in material, the still greater rise in the price of timber, and the heavy cost of transhipment. This rise will be more readily understood when it is borne in mind iihat the rise in home prices forced a large vportion of the permanent way to be contracted for at rates no one could possibly 1 have .anticipated in 1872, which was at the i time considered to be far in excess of what -was likely to be realised when the lines were - opened; but the result has been so much in • excess, that soon after the close of last i session orders for additional rolling ■•stock amounting to £96,000 had to be sent home. The engineer-in-chief in the face of this larger traffic had recommended 100 miles of 521bs rails to be ordered for curves acid steep gradients, instead of the ordinary 40lbS rails. While on this subject it is rthought well to refer to the charges which have .'been very freely made during the past -year as Ao the bad quality of the material. jAb far as experience has shown at present (there lis -xretry little to complain of. The orders sent' home have been very well executed on the whole. In addition to the inspection which takes place in England, everything is so closely examined in the colony that wherever there is any room for complaint it is at once made, and claims for remedying the evils are sent home, in almost every instance the amounts claimed have been at once recognised and paid, or fresh material sent out free of cost. Although many of the works have not proceeded as expeditiously as contemplated, yet a large amount of work has been done. Delays have in most cases arisen in greater or less degree from want of labour, and there has scarcely been a locality where contractors have been able to procure a sufficient supply, Urgent ■demands have been received from almost every district to press on tbe works faster; 'but Government have been careful to avoid further forcing up the rates of labor, and •where necessary hare extended the time for -completion. The H'o'nsa is urged not to •enter upon extensions or new lines until proper surveys have been made and reliable -details procured. The extra cost is attributable to a departure from this rule. The additional appropriations required <on authorised works are—£2o,ooo for the lline from Auckland to Mercer; £20,400 for the Napier to Waipukurau line; £24,000 for the conversion of the Manawatu tramway, .thereby making a total of £84,000 for twenty-five miles of railway ; £59,000 for Wellington to Featherston ; £50,000 for the Vbranch line and terminal accommodation . connecting the main line on the north and -south of the river Wanganui with the Wanganui township. This branch is necessary lor developing the traffic on the portions of the main line now under {contract. An alternative line has lately been suggested, which it is hoped will greatly reduce this almost prohibitive cost; £13,000 for Nelson to Foxhill ; £25,000 for Picton to Blenheim, principally owing to the extra bridging, and £15,000 for continuing the line to the centre of Blenheim ; £37,000 for the Greymouth to Brunnerton line ; £19,000 for the Waimate branch; £16,000 for other Canterbury branch lines; £16,000 for the Waitaki bridge ; £37,400 for the Moeraki line ; £46,000 for the Dunedin to Clutha line ; £39,500 for the to Invercargill. The railways open for traffic and worked bv the Ge neral Government have all, as soon as completed ty the contractors, been placed ."by the Engineers-Chief under the immediate charge of *fr Pfssmore, who was . selected on account of *** large practical experience he possessed in connection with the working of railways in otfc?r countries, : and particularly with the narrovy g flU ß e and working of heavy gradients. *™ a officer has had anything but an vtask, but thus far the Government have every cauaie to be satisfied with the way in which he has carried out the important work entrusted to him. The Wellington to : Masterton Railway has yielded during the fourteen and a half months it has been opened, £lß9l 13s Id over and above the working expenses. This is a result which must be considered highly satisfactory, when it is remembered what a fragment of a line is open, that the present temporary termi•hub is inconveniently distant from the *city, and that the line is so short as almost

to preclude goods traffic. The Napier and Paki Paki line has yielded during eight and a half months £2028 9s. Considering how short a length of this line has been opened for traffic, the results are very encouraging. The Auckland and Onehunga line has, during the past year, yielded £2149 5s Id. The line from Penrose to Mercer had oaly been opened a few weeks, and could scarcely have been considered to have been in working order. These profits, amounting to £6069 7s 2d, shows the annual yield by these three lines of railway on the capitalized cost to be therefore afractionover 2 percent forafewmonths. The Auckland and Onehunga line was not worked in a satisfactory manner. The cause is explained, and is now removed, and there is no reason to doubt that traffic will henceforth be carried on with due regard to economy and public convenience. Complaints as regards rates for passengers and goods have been made, but reasons are given for considering those complaints unjust. The loudest complaints have been made as to the scale fixed for the line from Auckland to Mercer. Whether thesecomplaintsare justified hon members are to judge for themselves from the following facts. The length of the line is forty-three miles, and on it there are several miles of very steep gradients. The first-class passenger fare for the whole distance is lis, the second class is 7s 6d, and the rates charged for goods vary according to description, from 15s 8d to 12s per ton. The coach rate for passengers between Auckland and Mercer up to the opening of the railway was 15s, and the waggon rate for goods" from 60s to 655. These facts speak for themselves, and will, I think, be admitted to be a complete answer to the complaints that have been made. With a view to assist in developing the Waikato mines it is intended to fix a special haulage for coal from Mercer to Auckland at 7s 2d per ton. On the Canterbury and Otago lines the profit for the provincial year ending on 31st March last is given as £19,641 6s lid and £22,233 9s 6d respectively. The only road calling for special attention is that between Masterton and Manawatu Gorge. £28,622 has been expended thereon during the year; the metalling will be proceeded with in the spring. The bridge over the Manawatu Gorge, opened lately, is 428 feet in length, and is one of the largest in the island, and is suitable for both road and railway traffic. The total length of roads in the North Island completed or in progress is 1888 miles of dray and 526 miles of horse roads, at a cost of £478,073 lis 8d ; in Auckland, £268,364 ; in Hawkes Bay, £70,214 ; in Wellington, £164,074 ; in Taranaki, £75,422. The maintenance of many of these roads—more especially those in the unsettled districts—is a matter which, involving as it does considerable annual outlay, will require to be provided for. It is proposed to utilise as far as possible the services of the constabulary for this purpose, and when these are not available other provision will have to be made. Thetotalamountexpended onroadsin Nelson South-west goldfields, has been £63,283, and the length completed or in progress, 114 miles. The total amount expended on roads in Westland is £112,009 lis sd, and the length 135 miles. The three large water-races for supplying water on the goldfields, have all of them proved much more costly undertakings than was anticipated. A further sum of £41,000 is required to complete them. The excess is caused mainly by the large expenditure necessary to secure the stability of the head waters of the Nelson Creek and Waimea races. The same result has occurred on the large water-race at Naseby, which is being supervised by the Provincial Government of Otago, for which £IOOO additional is required. It would appear that with all the precautions which have been taken to obtain reliable data previous to the commencement of these four great works, the same unsatisfactory results have been met with as have occurrea in respect to similar undertakings in other parts of the world, and more particularly in India, California, and the adjoining colony of Victoria. Fortunately the works entered upon in New Zealand are not on such a large scale as in those cases above referred to, and the water races undertaken will, if the House votes the necessary funds, be completed, and within a few months be made remunerative, but Mr Richardson is ready to admit that the late Government, of which he was a member, made a grave error in yielding to the pressure which was brought to bear upon it, and entering upon the construction of these races without more reliable data. The new survey of the Mikonui water race is finished, but not yet to hand. It will be dealt with late in the session. A large numbei of public buildings have been erected under the direction of the colonial architect, but the high prices of labor and material of all descriptions have compelled the Government to hold over all those which the requirements of the public service permitted. The coal exploration of the Buller field j has been proceeded with as rapidly as possible, and t the plotting of coal outcrops has been going on contemporaneously with it. The survey of the country between Ngakawoa and Mt Rochford, and between Mount William range and Cascade Break has been completed. A rough estimate of this area gives as much of J 40,000,000 tons in seams of 20ft and upwards, attaining at one point a thickness of 53ft. The brown coal of the Kupa Kupa mine, Waikato, is being steadily worked, the seam holding about 18ft in thickness at Raglan. The coal formation again appears at Miranda redoubt; it occurs varying from 16ft to 18ft. Coal is reported in Shakspeare Bay, Picton, but examination of country does not give any prospect of its being found there in workable quantities. The almost inexhaustible coal fields in Otago are now being worked to a comparatively large extent, and with the facilities that will be immediately offered by the railways in course of construction the development of these mines will be rapidly extended. The same remark applies to the coal fields in Canterbury and the neighbourhood of Greymouth. The inspection of machinery has been brought into force, and machinery in 351 establishments inspected, and 513 steam boilers; the fees amounted to £903; the expenditure to £825, The Government consider that while no attempt should be made to create a revenue from this source, the fees should be made to pay all the necessary expenses of carrying out tbe Act. As a rule the owners of machinery of all classes have signified their approval of the Act, and there is no doubt that the inspectors' recommendations have been of much service, and if the provisions of the Act are carefully carried out in the future very great benefit must accrue to the public. The Government consider the railway appropriation to be taken this year out ot

loan should be only those which will tend to render fha railways already authorised more complete, and that further extensions should be postponed until at all events the greater proportion of the railways now in course of construction are open for traffic. They feel convinced from the satisfactory results shown by those already opened that there will be no difficulty in raising whatever funds may be necessary to further extend the main trunk lines. The Auckland workshops have cost £12,000, and £3OOO more will be required. The experience of the Manawatu tramway having shown the waste occasioned by laying down wooden rails, the Takapu tramway will be converted into a railway, for which £27,000 is required. The line from Manawatu to Wanganui is, on completion of plans, five miles longer than anticipated, requiring £30,500 to finish it. The line from Featherston to Masterton, twenty-four miles, being practically unprovided for, will require £120,000. The Wellington terminus, including the reclamation, will cost £35,000. and th« estimated cost of the railway wharf is £25,000. £SOOO will also be required for a small workshop, built so as to be capable of easy extension. The inland line from Waitara to Inglewood will cost £3500. The Government hope next session to be able to submit estimates for completing the main trunk line between Taranaki and Wanganui and Masterton, through Manawatu to Napier. Survey parties are now engaged on these routes, and although the cost of completing these railways will be very large, still the Government are satisfied there will be no difficulty in raising the necessary funds when the railways now in hand are finished, and the extension can be undertaken with economy. The Westport and Mount Rochfort line is so far advanced that provision must be made for shipping coal and for protective works, for which £30,500 will be required. The plans are prepared. £IOOO is'absolutely required for a new passenger station at Port Chalmers, including refund of cost of reclamation. About £9OOO has been spent on the Dunedin workshops. They will cost the same as the Auckland, £15,000. A survey has been made to join the East and West Coasts of the Middle Island by Mr Foy. The Engineer - in - Chief from this data recommends that the best route for a railway north * of Hokitika is from Greymouth, river Ahaura to the Tutaekari over the Hope Pass, thence along the Hope and the Waiau to where that river would be crossed by the extension northwards of the main trunk line. Other routes have been traversed and found impracticable. Government are not yet in a position to recommend any action to the Assembly. The statement concludes as follows :—During the past year the expenditure on roads has been £123,958 15s Bd, in addition to a total expenditure to 30th June, 1874, of £508,787 16s 4d. On railways, the expenditure for the year has been £1,997,165 3s 9d, in addition to £1,994,256 10s 5d previously, and on water-races there has been £113,335 18s 2d expenditure, in addition to £101,352 18s 3d. The total expenditure to the 30th June last for each of the above class of works being on roads, £632,746 12s ; on railways, £3,991,421 14s 2d, and water-race, £214,688 16s sd, giving a total expenditure of £4,838,857 2s 7d. The liabilities on these respective works were at the same date—Roads, £23,132 2s 7d ; railways, £1,620,365 5s lOd, and water-races, £137,072 6s Id, making a total liability on those works of £1,780,570 14s 6d, and of expenditure and liabilities £6,619,427 17s Id. I should add that the greater portion of the expenditure of the liabilities above mentioned, together with the amount of the new services I have laid before you this evening, will be distributed as stated in my hon colleague's financial statement, over a period of two years, but we have not only the expenditure side of the question before us to-night, we have also the beginning of the return which the larger portion of the expenditure on railways will produce. I have stated that on all the lines opened for traffic a very gratifying profit has been received, more especially when the fragmentary character of some of those lines is taken into account. Now, sir, with the case of those short lengths before us, I think there is no room for any gloomy forebodings as to the financial success of the railway system adopted by the colony. Even at present the easy and certain communication the railways afford has greatly assisted settlement in the country districts, and this constantly growing element of settler population must furnish a corresponding increase of traffic, as the lines in course of completion open up country hitherto cut off from a market by reason of the cost or difficulty in communicating therewith. If further evidence of the probable paying results of our railway expenditure should be needed. 1 ask the House to turn to the table appended hereto, as reprinted from the annual report of the Commissioner of Railways in Victoria for the year 1874. I have had that table reprinted, because I think it is calculated to ensure great confidence in the minds of hon members. It shows that in the year 1874 there were open in the colony of Victoria 441 miles of railway, the total cost of which was £11,557,484. The average cost per mile was £26,207. The gross receipts from all sources were £851,042; the working expenses were £374,715, and the net income was £476,327, being interest at the rate of 4£ per cent on the total capital. Now, sir, we in New Zealand shall have 991 miles of railway for the total cost of £6,091,981, or at the rate of about £6OOO per mile. After making full allowance for the difference in the population of the two colonies, and the extra expense involved in the working by our having three or four great centres of traffic, instead of one as in Victoria, I cannot but think that hon members will agree with me in believing that the comparative difference in cost, which is more than at the rate of £20,000 per mile in favor of New Zealand, leaves such a margin as will ensure very satisfactory results to the railways in this colony. The House will have already judged from what I have said that the policy of the Government is to complete all the lines now in hand, and get them into thorough working order. It will then be seen wherever extensions are most wanted to further open up the country. Meanwhile, large as the liability is which has already been incurred for railway construction, I am sure that il the railways are but prudently managed, the result will be such as to make it veiy easy for succeeding Governments to raise whatever further sums may be required for any railways it can be shown will help the settlement of the country, the one main object which has been kept in view since the c immencement of what has been styled the public works and immigration policy. Sir, I have tree-

passed on the time of the House very largely on two similar occasions in previous years, and I am sure I have to-night sorely tried your patience and that of hon members, but the importance of the occasion is such as to warrant me in extending my remarks to the length I have done. It now only remains for me to thank you, Sir, and the House for the consideration you have shown to me."