SIR JULIUS VOGEL ON THE RAILWAY POLICY COST.

Kumara Times, Issue 1985, 9 January 1883, Page 2

SIR JULIUS VOGEL ON THE RAILWAY POLICY COST.

In the course of his speech at the Dunedin banquet, Sir Julius "Vogel said :—" It must be patent to you all that the public debt has largely increased outside of the cost of railways, and I am not trespassing too much on your consideration if I state to you my opinion as to why that has been so. If I had the railway policy to propose over again, I should much more strictly advocate than I did in those early clays that the cost of interest during construction should be added to the capital cost. Now, gentlemen, I can only say this : believe me, if you are in favor of railway extension in the colony, the adoption of such a plan will offer facilities for railway construction which, perhaps, without consideration you would hardly realise. If you care to look at it boldly, the same thing has been forced upon you. The colony should not have been paying interest on works which were yielding no return and no collateral or direct advantage, and as it was, the colony was constantly wanting in credit balance year by year, and loans were authorised for various purposes which might perhaps legitimately have been charged against ordinary revenue, and so these loans now appear, but to my mind, if philosophically considered, they really represent the fact that it was neither expedient nor desirable that, during the construction of your 1300 miles of railway, involving several millions iu cost, you should be paying interest, whilst you were deriving no advantage from the expediture."