THE PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 100, 13 December 1879, Page 2

THE PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

The Hon. Mr. Oliver introduced the Public Works Act Amendment Bill, 1879, which was read a first time and ordered to be read a second time to-day, In connection with the Bill the hon. gentleman laid before the House his Public Works Statement. He said,— Sir,— On the 7th of August my predecesser, Mr Macandrew, made a Public Works Statement to this House, in which he shortly summarised the work of the department for the last financial year, but avowedly confined himself to such facts as were, in his opinion, needed to accompany the application for the loan then authorised. I shall now, by the permission of the House, give a brief account of the progress of our Public Works up to a more recent date, and then indicate the opinion of the Government on the course which it is our duty to pursue. RAILWAYS—NORTH ISLAND. Taking the railways in their geographical order, we begin with the Kawakawa, that being the most northern. The first section of this line has been completed, and is being used in conveying coals from the mine to the wharf, where the coal is put into barges and conveyed to ships lying at the deep- water anchorage eight miles below. The first contract on the WhangareiKamo line is within a few weeks of completion, and the work of platelaying will be begun as soon as possible. The survey of the proposed Helensville Whangarei railway has now been begun, and during the summer the whole of this country will be thoroughly examined. It is expected that the wharf at Helensville will be completed in about a month, which will provide a very necessary accommodation. Between Riverhead and Newmarket, work is in progress along the whole twentytwo miles, and should be finished in about ten months. If in the same time the Newmarket Junction station could be finished railway cominunication between Auckland, and the Kaipara waters would be completed. A large reclamation contract is being carried out to obtain increased station accommodation in Auckland ; and a site for railway workshops has been bought at Newmarket. The branch line to Hamilton has been opened for traffic, and in a very short time the southern end of the Kaipara-Puniu line will be finished to within two or three miles of the confiscated boundary. Some works are being carried on at Grahamstown and Shortland, and natives are employed at piecework on another section, about two miles long, further up the Thames Valley. The works on the Napier-Manawatu railway are being pushed on south of Kopua, and sixty-four miles are now open for traffic. Railway workshops are being built at Napier. Ninety-four miles of the Patea-Manawatu railway are now open for traffic from Foxton to Kai-iwi, nine miles north of Wanganui, and a further section of thirteen miles is being constructed. In a few weeks the Stratford contract on the Waitara-Peatea line will be finished, and the jounney from New Plymouth to Wanganui will then be an affair of one day only. Surreys are being carefully made north of Carlyle, and this line— desirable for strategic and other reasons — between Waitara and New Ply mouth on the north, and Carlyle, the port of Patea, on the south, may he finished at no distant date. The works on the Wellington Woodville railway in the Wairarapa district are being pushed on vigorously. The contract having been abandoned, its completion is being carried out by the Public Works engineers. These works, and the formation of the Greytown branch, are so well advanced that the line may be open for traffic as far as the latter place early in February." The railway wharf at Wellington, and the workshop at Petone, are drawing near completion Machinery for the latter has arrived, and will shortly be placed in position, giving facilities for repairs, as well as for the economical manufacture of many articles at present bought at a high rate.

Surveys of the Foxton end of the Wel-lington-Foxton line are being proceeded with, and some work has been done near Wellington by day labor over a length of nearly five miles. MIDDLE ISLAND. The original Public Works scheme for the Middle Island was finished in the last financial year, communication by rail being established between Christchurch and Invercargill. The Western railways in Southland, however, the construction of which was taken over from the Provincial Government, and some small extensions of the General Government lines, are not yet complete. With the exception of the Riverton-Orepuki branch, these will be finished during this financial year. A connection is being made on the Nelson and Foxhill line with the port at Nelson, and, inland, an extension of three miles from Foxhill is in progress. The Picton and Blenheim line is being carried into the town of Blenheim. The harbor works at Greymouth, which may be regarded as an adjunct to the railway system, seem, as far as they have been completed, to answer the purpose for which they were intended. From the engineer's report, it would seem that the employment of a dredge has materially facilitated the work and reduced the cost of these improvements. The works in progress during the year on the Amberley-Bluff Railway consisted chiefly of extensions of stations, workshops at the large towns, and increased wharfage at Port Chalmers. „ A large expenditure has been proposed in relaying the main line with heavier rails, but after much consideration it seems inadvisable to do this, as before the present rails could be lifted, most of them will be so much worn that it would not be worth while to put them on another line. Short extensions are made, or are in progress, of the Malvern, Awamoko, and Green Island branch lines. The Waipahi-Tapanui railway contract was undertaken on terms of payment differing from the usual ones, inasmuch as no progress payments were to be required as the work went on, all payments being deferred until the line was completed. It was thought that the adoption of this method would enable us to indefinitely extend our railway system, and to obtain such an increase of price for Crown lands in the neighborhood of new lines made under similar conditions as would pay the cost of construction. I grieve to say that these ezpectations have not been fulfilled. The works, which were pushed on with great vigor for some time, are now almost entirely suspended, and the contractors have stated their inability to finish their contract without progress payments being made to them. RAILWAYS AUTHORISED LAST YEAR. Contracts were let almost to the full extent of the votes on nearly all the lines authorised last year; and in several cases the votes were largely exceeded. Sections were let by piecework and day labor at Weka Pass and Albury, in Canterbury : on the Livingston branch and Otago central railway in Otago ; and at Kaiwarra, near Wellington. On all these there are about 2300 men engaged, at wages somewhat less than current rates. It is certain that this number will rapidly become smaller as the ummer advances. ROADS. Certain main lines of road in the North Island are being maintained, such as the Great South Road, Auckland, the TaurangaTaupo road, the Taupo-Napier road, and some other short lengths of road in Native districts. The Government expenditure on roads and bridges in the Middle Island during last year was comparatively small, having been almost entirely confined to Westland and the northern end of the Island. WATER-RACES. Detailed reports up to 30th June, on Government expenditure in aiding mining enterprise, have already been laid before you. From these reports, and the accounts of receipts to the end of the financial year, I find that the colony has spent in these undertakings £887,169 0s. 1d., exclusive of £29,234 2s. 11d. by way of subsidies ; of the former sum, £70,626 5s. 3d. has been handed over to the Thames County Council as a grant, with an addition of £10,000 from the vote of the current year. It has also been arranged to hand over the debt of £11,000 due to the Government from the Carrick Water-race Company to the County of Vincent. The total receipts for all water-races amount to £15,427 7s. 10d., exclusive of £2945 0s. 2d. refund of subsidies and interest theron, being equivalent to an average of 1 per cent per annum on the outlay from the date it first became productive, a very unsatisfactory result ; still the collateral advantages are considerable. The Nelson Creek and Waimea races, worked by the Government, were the means last year of obtaining 25,800 ounces of gold, and employing about 700 men. COAL EXPLORATION. The most important work of the class which has been undertaken during the past year is the examination of the coal beds off the Mokau district by Dr. Hector, who reports that the coal formation there is of considerable extent, the outcrops having a width of over two miles, and stretching from Kawhia harbor towards the upper part of the Wanganui river. Coal seams crop out on the banks of the Mokau river, varying from 2ft to 6ft in thickness, and the quality is excellent for steam purposes, 1 1/2 ton of Mokau coal having been proved by Dr. Hector's trials to do as much as two tons of the best Waikato coal. In connection with a district in which coal and limestone abound, an extensive deposit of brown hematic has been discovered by the geological surveyors at Mount Peel, in the provincial district of Nelson. It is 50ft. wide, and has been traced for a distance of over three miles. The coal measures of the Tokoma riro istrict have also been examined as [illegible] their relation to the auriferous cements between the Woolshed Creek and [illegible] but no new mines have been opened n this field. A new mine has been opened at Fernhill, Green Island. The Kawakawa coal mine, at the Bay of Islands, is undergoing steady development, and the coal is rapidly acquiring an established position in the market as a valuable steam coal. A shaft recently sunk has disclo ed the existence of two seams, 4 and 9 feet thick, of superior quality, and at a greater depth than any previous workings. In t e Waikato coal fields, the company which were working the Kupakupa mine have opened another mine on the other side of the Waikato River, and indications of an improvement In the quality of the coal with increasing depth has also been show by recent discoveries. The heavy work undertaken by the Westport Colliery Company for developing the rich coalfield of the Mount Rochfort district are making rapid progress, and in a few months it is expected that the market will re eive supplies from this source, The further development of the principal coal mines of the colony by increasing the facilities for shipment, deserves most careful c ns deration, as a means of fostering an industry that will profitably employ at home the large sum of in money which is at the present time sent put of the colony for the purchase of foreign coal.

WORKING RAILWAYS. During the first few days of July heavy ood occurred in Canterbury and Otago, dong serious damage to the lines, partially uspending traffic, and causing a heavy outay in repairs and renewals. The permanent way is reported to be in ood working order, except on some of the ranch lines, which, owing to the lightness f the rails and sleepers used in their contruction, are becoming seriously impaired. A very large number of sleepers have reuired removal during the last four months, nd it is worthy of note that they were hiefly American timber. These sleepers ere only imported as an experiment, and t a time when the pressure was great and he local supply wholly inadequate. The traffic returns for July, August, and eptember show a considerable falling-off ompared with the corresponding period of ast year. No doubt this is owing to the nancial depression ; but much may be exected from the grain traffic for the aproaching season, which bids fair to be a rosperous one. A good harvest and the evival of trade— symptons of which are pparent— would speedily produce happier esults. I am glad to say that we are extending he use of New Zealand coal on our railways nd after the expiry of existing contracts or the supply of Australian coal, our arangements will enable us to dispense to a arge extent, if not altogether, with impored fuel, and save several thousand pounds year. In the Public Works Statement which was lately made by my predecessor full pariculars were given of the length of the ailways open for traffic, the cost of their onstruction, the gross receipts, the working xpenses, and the cost of maintenance. Considering the head long and rapid rate t whith our railways have been constructed he uncultivated land through which large ortions of nearly all of them pass, and the mallness of our population, it is no doubt matter of congratulation that the contriution towards interest on the cost of contraction is so large. It may, however, be as well to ascertain ow the account really stands. I find that he cost of railways open for traffic at the nd of the last financial year is £8,690,419 /9d., including £683,229 O/4d. for interest o data of opening ; the gross traffic returns mount to £1,729,695 3/7d., from which ust be deducted £2,259,857 5/7d. for working expenses and maintenance, leavng £479,047 18/- for payment of interest on he loans out of which these railways are ade. Table No 11, which will be appended a this Statefnent, when printed, shows that 758,096 8/2d ; and the working expenses 545,478 15/-, leaving a surplus of £212,617 3/2d. This amount represents 2.054 per ent on the average cost of construction, saving 2.946 per cent to the supplied for ther sources. Sir, we all believe that New Zealand is a ountry of such great resources that, in the ourse of years, even those railways which re now the farthest from paying will beome remunerative ; in the meantime, howver, the inhabitants of districts which ave no railways are taxed to pay for them, s well as those who inhabit more favored laces. How burdensome this charge has become as lately shown by my honotoble colleague he Colonial Treasurer ; and the duty is laced on us of considering how to make ur railways pay a larger contribution toards their cost, by skilful and economical anagement, and of submitting all future roposals for new railways to the same gid scrutiny as private investors would ake, and firmly rejecting them unless a rong probability can be shown that they ill prove remunerative. It must not, however, be forgotten that he demands of the public have forced on e Government the adoption of a more pensive mode of constructing railways, nd greater speed in transit, than was at rst intended, thus necessarily interfering ith the paying character of the underkings. No , doubt great collateral advantages are ined by the construction of railways, but ter all, the practical test of usefulness ally is their being or not being used. If erefore, it is found that on any railway e traffic is so small that a great loss reIts from its working, it may, I think, be sumed that either it is badly managed, or at, being useful only to a few, it ought ot to have been constructep. To quote from the Statement made by y predecessor in 1878 :— " The difficulty mmenced from the moment when the egislature repealed that cardinal condition the Public Works policy, that, in the ent of the proceeds of any railway failing meet interest and sinking fund on cost its construction, property in the district ould be rated to make up its deficiency:" The proposal of the Government is, as on, members know, to devote the proceeds sales of land to local and colonial Public orks ; but if this fund is to be suppleented to any great extent by additional rrowing, to complete the great scheme of ilways, there is no doubt in my mind at either those already constructed must made to approach more nearly to a payg condition, or else a system of rating the stricts beneficially affected must eventually resorted to. Sir, we do not think that the proposals r the varions lines of railway which are ow in course of construction have been bjected, before their adoption, to so close scrutiny as their, importance demanded, has, moreover, become apparent that the nds which will be at our disposal for the rosecution of these works will prove inadeuate to complete them. We think that a time has come, when our whole future olicy with regard to Public Works must reconsidered, and it is therefore our inntion to ask Parliament for authority to ppoint a Royal Commission, to make a ore full and complete investigation into he cost and economical value of the several orks commenced and proposed than it ould be possible for the Government unded, to complete before the next Session f Parliament. The Government hope, by eans of the report of these commissioners, be placed in a position to make proposals Parliament for the prosecution of public orks upon a plan carefully adapted to the rcumstances of the colony. Our efforts must now, therefore, be rnestly directed to the economical manageent of our railways, and, amongst other eans, I think the keeping the accounts of e various sections separate and distinct, that it may be seen what each is earning nd spending, will have the good effect of rousing emulation among the officers, as ell as of showing on which of the lines a ifferent system of working should be dopted. PROPOSALS FOR THE FUTURE. Sir, my predecessor has had the gratificaon of proposing and initiating many new orks of great magnitude. To me has llen the unwelcome task of showing that ur resources are inadequate to bear the ontinued strain of so rapidly constructing ese expensive works. Believing that to be the case, we do not tend to ask for authority to begin many aw works. The funds at our disposal for e next few years will be only sufficient to ot the necessary requirements for miscelneous public works, and for carrying on e works already authorised at a rate pro-

portioned to our resources, and to the point at which they will be of real use to the community. Our position is briefly this in respect of the £5,000,000 loan, and the balance of £517,120, including credits, with which we began the year. The positive engagements on contracts entered into, and liabilities which must be met, together with the expenditure already made during the current year, will absorb £8,800,865, including £1,210,802 for land purchases, and £154,791 payable to counties in the Provincial districts of Canterbury and Otago in respect of stoppages from the surplus land revenue of those districts. If finished in the stipulated time, these works will require £2,559,082 of this amount to he paid before the 30th June next, and the remainder of the liabilities, excepting a portion of those for land purchases, within the following year. The balance, therefore, which is available out of the new loan is £1,872,0467 and the only method of adding to this for public works, in addition to receipts from land sales, is by diverting to this purpose a sum from one of the other objects for which the loan was authorised. I have stated generally our intentions, and the principles which we believe must guide our proposals. Whatever may be the opinion of the House as to the expediency, of the course which we propose, that course must, to a large extent, be guided by circumstances which we cannot control. It is my duty to inform the House that the understanding on which the Loan Agents are likely to obtain the £5,000,000 loan is such as will preclude our going upon the English money market for further loans for a period of three years. It is imperative, therefore, in the interest of settlement, that the expenditure of this loan should be judiciously spread over that period. Our proposals for expenditure will be placed in detail before you. I regret to state that, although an earnest endeavor has been made to keep the Estimates within a reasonable compass, they reach a very much larger sum than honorable members will probably expect. It will be seen, however, that no less a sum than £2,356,729 7s. in our Estimates is for liabilities which we found in existence upon our assumption of office, and a large portion of the remainder is for works which are necessary to make available those sections already in course of construction. However much we have desired to contract the large expenditure to which the colony is committed, we have felt bound to ask for appropriations which we are advised will be required for the above purposes ; but should Parliament agree to our proposals it will be our anxious endeavor to limit the actual expenditure during the current year considerably within the amount of the votes. I will proceed, sir, to briefly indicate the principal works intended to be carried out during the current year. RAILWAYS. Kawakawa.— Another section is nearly ready for tendering, and it is proposed to go on immediately with the work, its prosecution being an obligation imposed on the Government under an agreement between the Superintendent of Auckland and the proprietors of the Kawakawa coal mine, ratified by an Act of the General Assembly, the proprietors, under agreement, being bound to pay 6 per cent, on the cost. Irrespective of the agreement, however, this work would be a very desirable one, developing, as it will, one of the most important coal fields in the colony. Whangarie to Kamo.— Plans have been prepared for the second section, extending into deep water, and tenders will soon be called for. Kaipara to Puntu.— The whole of this work is now under contract, with the exception of the station at the Newmarket junction. Tenders have been received for this work, and their acceptance is only awaiting the passing of the Estimates. Tenders have likewise been received for levelling and draining the site at Newmarket on which it is proposed to erect the district workshops, as soon as authority has been obtained from Parliament. Waikato to the Thames.— lt is intended to construct a bridge over the Waikato, and a section from Hamilton East. Orders for the bridge material will be sent to London by an early mail. Napier to Woodviile.— Tenders have been received for the plate-laying on the section south of the present terminus at Kopua, the acceptance of which is awaiting the passing of the Estimates. A further section will be put in hand with a view to contract. Wellington to Woodviile. — It will probably not be possible to do more this yeat than complete, the line to Masterton, bur arrangements will be made for laying the permanent way on the Greytown branch, and tenders will be called for the erection of the necessary stations, so as to open the line and branch as nearly together as the state of the work will allow. Surveys of the extension of the line beyond Masterton will be proceeded with. Bunnythorpe to Woodville.— A proposal has been received from the Emigrant and Colonist's Aid Corporation to construct a portion of the main line connecting the East and West Coast railways, with a view to open up the valuable timbered lands through which it passes. The portion suggested is from Bunnythorpe to the Manawatu Gorge, and you will be asked to give the necessary power to enable the Government and the Corporation to enter into arrangements somewhat on the terms indicated in the proposal now laid on the table. Wellington to Foxton. — The necessary extension of the wharf and station at Foxton will be undertaken, and the work on the Crofton section, near Wellington, will be proceeded with by day labor. The surveys now going on from Foxton will be continued to completion. A line from Palmerston to join the Wellington and Foxton line is also being surveyed. Foxton to Carlyle— The section from Kai-iwi to Waitotara is under contract, and the acceptance of a tender for the next section to Waverley is awaiting the passing of the Estimates. The gap of about nine miles thence to Carlyle will be surveyed and plans made ready for tendering us soon as possible. The formation of the branch line from Greatford to Buills, and the extension of the Taonui siding through about a mile and a half of timbered land is under consideration. Carlyle to Waitara. — It is proposed to complete, without delay, the remaining sections, between the port of Carlyle and Hawera, and from thence to Stratford. A portion of this line is being executed by piecework, it having become expedient to do so owing to the temporary unsettlement of the ordinary avocations of some of the residents. Waikato to Taranaki.— While it is not at present practicable to survey or do any work on this line, you will be asked to grant a small vote to enable the Government to take adv ntage of any opportunity that may arise in that direction. Nelson to Greymouth.— lt is intended to call for tenders for a section at each end of this line, and to carry on the Greymouth harbor works more vigorously than circumstances have rendered it possible during the past year. Greymouth to Hokitika.—The continuance of this line will be kept steadily in view. Westport, to Ngtakawau. — The Buller protective works will be completed, so as to insure the whole district, as well as the rail-

way, against the encroachments of the river. There is every reason to hope that very shortly coal mines in this district will be in full working border, and the expenditure incurred on this line turned to profitable account. Picton to Hurunui.—In addition to completing the line to Blenheim, a section to the south towards Awatere will be surveyed and advertised for contract. Hurunui to Waitaki. — The main line through the Weka Pass to the Hurunui Plains will be completed and the stations at the large centres improved. The branch lines to the Upper Ashburton, Little River, and Opawa will also be proceeded with. Canterbury Interior.— Three sections will be gone on with— viz., one at each end, and one southward of the White Cliffs branch. Waitaki to Bluff,—Further station occommodation will be provided at the principal centres, and increasing wharfage at Port Chalmers. The branch lines from Oamaru to Livingston, Palmerston, to Waihemo, Clutha to Catlin's river, and Edendale to Toitois will all be proceeded with. Waipahi to Heriot Burn. — In order to facilitate the opening of the line to Tapanui and thereby place the district in easy communication with a market, it is proposed to assist the contractor in the completion of his contract. Parliament will be asked to empower the Government to make arrangements with the contractor to ensure the completion of this work. Otago Central.— Tenders will be advertised for a further contract in continuation of the Wingatui and Hindon sections. This will finish the heaviest works in the Taieri Gorge, and bring the line into the open country of the Sutton district. Western Railways. — The works on the lines from Otautau to Nightcaps, Lumsden to Mararoa, and Riverton to Orepuki, will be steadily carried on. East and West Coasts. — This line will not be lost sight of, and while no special portion can for the present be begun, the surveys will be continued during the summer. Hitherto only preliminary surveys has been made, and even these have not been completed on the routes which seem to present the greatest advantages. In the absence of the fullest information, it would evidently be impossible to give a trustworthy estimate of the cost of this undertaking. I have abstained from burdening the above proposals with details of the mileage and cost of the various works to be undertaken ; but very full information will be found in the table No. 1., attached to the printed Statement. This table is intended to form one of the schedules to the Immigration and Public Works Appropriation Bill, in compliance with the provision in Section 9 of the proposed Public Works Act, 1879, and this Bill, if adopted, will practically provide the guarantees sought to be obtained by Parliament in the Railways Construction Act of last year, (To be continued.)