Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. SATURDAY, JULY 13, 1872.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 19, Issue 1374, 13 July 1872, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. SATURDAY, JULY 13, 1872.

We observe that there are in other places beside Taranaki a section of the population, more or less numerous, who are gradually becoming convinced that railways are by no means the best way in which the portion of the borrowed money falling to their share can be applied so as to yield, a return. It seems that the long delay that haft supervened between the first proposals of the Government and the commencement of the various works has permitted the first bright and dazzling colors of the picture painted for the Colony to fade, and, by giving time for reflection to the people, has enabled them to judge more sobei'ly-^—and by consequence more correctly—as to the probabilities of the various undertakings paying working expenses, or even proving a source of embarrassment to the several localities in which they are proposed to be executed, ' As the conviction that considerable risk is atteudanfc on the proposed work becomes clear to the mind, it is not to be wondered at if the more prominent needs of each locality present themselves to the mental vision of the inhabitants, and they begin to ask themselves the question— *' If, instead of the sum proposed being spent on the construction of a railway which cannot pay its way for years to come (if, indeed, it ever does so), we wci'e allowed to spend it in our owd way on works that we believe to be necessary to our progress, how much better it would be for our district, and, in the end, for the colony at large, on which, indeed, the burden of the loss must ultimately fall." SuoU'ideas had naturally occurred to speculators regaidiug particular works « —as, for instance, the harbor at. Taranaki, —and the advocates of diverting the loan from the purpose for which it was raised have become Half convinced of the practicability of effecting their wish. The first feeling amongst many of the representatives of the several electoral districts in the House of Representatives, on finding that so much money was to b© devoted to railways, was to

get aa large a })roportion of it as possible spent in the district they represented. This was called having regard to the interests of their constituents. The result was, instead of one grand plan of work which should be worthy of .the Colony and of the Government, and which, if wisely devised, might possibly have proved a success, the Colony was doomed to undertake an infinity of isolated jobs, almost, all of them of a merely local character, unworthy of a scheme that involved the expenditure of millions, and which, instead of being reproductive, as was promised and expected by those who favored the scheme, threatens to involve the Colony in ruin. At a large public meeting held in the Nelson Provincial Hail on the 17th ult., E. J. O'Conor, Esq., M.H R , is reported in the Nelson Examiner to have said in reference to the proposed railway from Nelson to Eoxhill, the estimated of which is <£74,000 — "He was not opposed to Nelson obtaining the Jg 74,000 which the railway wa<? estimated to co.->t. The money fairly belonged to Nelson, and it could be got, but he wished to see it spent on some reproductive work, such as a railway to Foxtail will never prove, and which, instead oi benefitting the Province, would prove a drag upon it, as the railway, when made, would not pay working expenses. The greater part of the money voted for the railway would be spent out of the province, on rails, machinery, and carriages—the labor required for earthworks being but trivial ; whereas if the money was spent in developing the coal beds of the Province, the construction of arterial roads or wharves, or other reproductive works, a great and lasting benefit would accrue from it. He wished the people of Nelson to clearly understand that the money was really their own, and could be expended on any serviceable pub lie object." It is evident that the Superintendent of Taranaki is of the same opinion, and the only thing necessary to give validity to it is that the General Government shall give to the executive of the several provinces the control of the expenditure ot the portion of the loan that falls respectively to the share of each. If it does so it will not be exactly keeping faith with the lenders, but it might prove greatly to the public benefit if some of the crude railway schemes now contemplated were abandoned, and the money they would cost were spent in a more profitable way. We shall be surprised if some such scheme be not adopted during the approaching session of the General Assembly.