THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9 1871.

Grey River Argus, Volume X, Issue 792, 9 February 1871, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9 1871.

The report on roads in Westland recently furnished by Dr Knight, the AuditorGeneral, is not without interest at a time when the County Council is anticipating to receive the assistance of the General Government in the prosecution of public works; Dr Knight appears to have been guided almost entirely by the ideas of the late County Chairman respecting the roads proposed to be made, which are as follows : — Arahura to Stafford, at a cost of £3000 ; Pounamu to Marsden, £7500 ; Marsden to Greymouth, via Omotumotu Valley, .£11,400 ; Hokitika to Ross, £12,000 ; Greymouth to Coal Pits, say £4000 ; making a total outlay of £37,900, independent of any expenditure that would be required in outlying localities. Before indulging in any vague expectation of aid from the General Government let us first ascertain what proportion of the money at its disposal could be expended'in Westland. The great Immigration and Public Works Act, 1870, contains two special features. A portion of the loan authorised to be raised by the Colony for the purposes of the Act is set apart as a " special fund," the interest ' upon which is to be charged upon the general revenue of the Colony. Of this sum £400,000 is. to be spent on roads in the North Island, at the rate of £100,000 a year, and £400,000 on railways in the Middle Island — a special concession t e : ng made to Westland, enabling it to construct ordinary roads out of its share of this sum. This £400,000 is to be divided amongst the .y»™S»^^J^T^-^%o^to tl^nfif" their several capitation allowances bear to the whole capitation allowance of the Middle Island — in other words, according to population. But the whole of the expenditure of the money on this account must not exceed £100,000 a-year. Now, let us estimate Westland's share of the Middle Island Railway Account just referred to, and, in doing so, we must take the figures of the Colonial Treasurer as our guide. In his financial statement, Mr Yogel put down the whole amount payable to the Middle Island Provinces as £338,215, the share of Westland being £33,075— that is, a little over a tenth of the whole. So that out of the £400,000 the County is entitled, in round numbers, to £40,000 — and, supposing the annual expenditure of £100,000 for four years for the whole Middle Island to be impartially divided each year, Westland should calculate upon £10,000 per annum for that period. If, therefore, the money is ever forthcoming, the roads recommended by Dr Knight maybe considered to absorb the whole. But we notice that Dr Knight also recommends the General Government to take over the maintenance of the Christchurch road, which, at its present cost of £3750 per annum, would, if taken as a permanent engagement, absorb the whole capital sum of £40,000 and more, reckoning the interest at only 6 per cent., the amount fixed for the loan. It appears to be highly necessary that there should be a thorough understanding with, the General Government with regard to the Christchurch road. The Ccrincil should ascertain exactly whether the Government will undertake the maintenance of the work as a free gift to Westland in compensation of its loss by the capitation scheme, or whether the cost is to be considered as coming out of the proportion payable to the County from the Middle Island railway account. Until this point is settled it seems to us that the Council will be simply working in the dark, and might find its anticipations regarding the roads recommended by Dr Knight disappointed. That portion of the expenditure of the Public Works Loan which is by the Act devoted to water supply differs from that we have just referred to, in that the interest upon it will be charged against the revenues of the Province or County in which the" 'works are constructed. According to the plans and estimates of proposed water works laid before the County Council Westland alone could absorb £200,000 out of the £300,000 set apart for water supply. Supposing the County only to receive half that amount its "revenue would have to endure a charge for interest of £6000 per annum. The question arises where is that money to come from? At the present time the County revenues only barely meet the ordinary expenditure. It may be answered that the works themselves would considerably more than pay the interest on their construction ; possibly they would, but it would be of great advantage if the Council in dealing with this question would thoroughly calculate on some reliable basis what profit could be safely expected. As any water scheme must, like any railway, be first sanctioned by the General Assembly, it is absolutely essential that the proposals of the County

Uomiul should be accompanied by the fullest information. Since writing the above, we learn that the County Council has decided to keep the Christchurch road in its own hands, provided that the Government will expend the amount that the maintenance of the road would cost on other roads throughout the County. But this does not affect the argument we have used in our preceding remarks. _^^ — _ — _____