The Globe. TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 1877.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 871, 10 April 1877, Page 2

The Globe. TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 1877.

During the twelve months encliug March 31st, 1877, the sum ol £617,670 lls Id has been received for the sale of waste lands in this province. The receipts for each quarter were as follows;—Quarter ending June 30th, 1876, £207,866 19s; ending September 30th, £159,734- 9s Id; ending December 31st, £91,527 15s lOd; and ending March 31st, 1877, £188,54-1 10s 2d. And to judge by the way the current quarter has commenced, nearly £200,000 more will be received by June 30th. How much of the land which has been thus taken up belongs to the hond-Jide settler, and how much to the speculator, we have no means of accurately ascertaining. But the fact that such large sums are being invested in this province, is, we think, a proof that there is every confidence in the continued prosperty of the country. The purchases cannot have been made in anticipation of further railway making, for the extent to which the colony can go in this direction, for the present, is pretty accurately known. But whatever be the cause of this eagerness to invest in land, this district is reaping the benefit. The very considerable sums which will thus be placed at the disposal of our Hoad Boards will, we dope, be wisely spent, and not wasted, as has been too often the case hitherto, m large salaries to unnecessary officials, and in the construction of roads tar beyond the requirements of the district.

Among the numerous legacies left by Provincialism, none are likely to bear more disastrous fruit than the “ political” railways which the colony has been forced to construct. .Railways were voted to the different districts ot the colony, not to meet the exigencies of traffic in those districts, but in obedience to the demands of their opresentativeu. iJauterbury aim Otago were having railways con*

structed within their boundaries therefore Auckland must be granted the same boon, whether there existed a necessity for them or not. The result is just what might have been expected While the railways here and in Otago are yielding an excellent return, those already opened in Auckland are being worked at a serious loss. Some time ago a commission was appointed to report upon the working of the Auckland railways. That report has been sent in to the Government, and the Auckland papers have obtained some particulars as to its contents. It would appear that the Auckland and Mercer railway is being worked at a very serious loss. On the first year’s working there was a loss of £20,000, and on the next half-year of £14,000. Mr. Passmore’s explanation of this state of things is that “ there are not population, commerce, or traffic to make the line pay.” Of course the Auckland people do not agree with this view of the matter. Bad management, they say, is the cause, and nothing else, and point to the fact that ‘busses and drays are competing successfully with the locomotive. There may be something radically wrong in the management of this railway, but we are afraid, want of population, commerce, and traffic have as much, if not more, to do with its unremunerative traffic, as bad management has. We are glad to notice that the City Council have at last considered the subject of the necessity of providing an increased water supply for the prevention of fire. As we pointed out in a recent article on this subject, there is now a very large and thickly populated portion of the city outside the building block entirely unprotected from fire. So far as the proposition of Cr. Hobbs goes to lay pipes from the Gloucester bath, we are inclined to doubt its efficiency, because the flow would not be of that magnitude to materially assist the brigade in coping with a fire. What is wanted is the establishment at various points of fire tanks similar to those in the city. The inhabitants of one portion of the city at least have intimated their willingness to contribute towards the cost, and we have no doubt the residents of other parts will also do the same. It therefore only remains for the Council to act vigorously and at once in this matter. It would be useless to spend money in doing what would be of little or no use, and therefore we hope that the Council will see their way clear to do what is likely to prove effective.