PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 179, 28 August 1878, Page 1

PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT

"Wellington, Tuesday night. The Hon. Mr Macandrew commenced the delivery of his Public Works Statement this evening by alluding to the changes he had made in the organisation of the department in placing the working railways under the management of a Commissioner for each Island, as recommended by the Railway Committee last session. The other principal recommendation of that Committee relating to the leasing of one of the Auckland lines had not been acted on, and required grave consideration. In the meantime, he was much in favor of the Stats retaining the management of its railways in its own hand 3. Railway tickets would shortly be sold in all the chief centres, otherwise than at the railway stations. Although the returns on one or two small lines have not paid working expenses, yet they will on the whole be regarded as satisfactory WORKING UAILWAYS — MIDDLE ISLAND. There are 7*l miles open, of which 94 were bnented during the past year. The net balance of receipts over expenditure available for the payment of int3rest was £145,346 against £118,000 for the previous year, show Ing a percentage on the whole outlay for construction of 2-65, a not unfavorable result, seeing that some of the lines in- . eluded in the outlay have only been opened recently and others are still unfinished. . The total number bf passengers was 1,i59,i-t7. The working expenditure on the Dunedin section had been heavy owing to £36 per mile having to be spent on new rails and fastenings. The working expenses on the Christchurch section had been considerably reduced. It was not intended to create a sinking fund for wear and tear, but to charge repairs as needed to current working expenditure. The earnings per mile had been for the Christchurch section £764 10s 7d per mile per annum ; Dunedin section, £1071 19.3 5d ditto j arid lilvercargill section) £331 3s Id ditto. WORKING RAILWAYS — XOKTII ISLAND. There are 311 miles open for traffic, of which 99 were opened during the past year. The lict balance bf receipts over expenditure available for payment ot interest was £18,656 against £13,656 for the previous year, showing a per centage on the whole outlay for construction of 15s. The total number of passengers was 313,728. RAILWAYS UNDER CONSTRUCTION. The reduction in the head office salaries by the substitution of an Engineer in charge for each Island instead of an Engineer-in-Chief, and other changes would amount to £3000. The change is likely to work well and be beneficial to the service. It had been alleged that the changes by which the construction of public works and the working of railways in each Island had been placed under a distinct head was the forerunner of some deep and sinister design on the part of some person or per--Glis, and that it was studiously intended to lead up to the political separation of the two Islands. He need scarcely say that snch a surmise was absolutely without foundation. One of those changes at least had been the result of careful enquiry by a Committee of the House, and, so far as he was concerned, both had been made solely and simply with a view to more efficient and economical administration, altogether irrespective of the political opinions which he had long held, and which he still held,. as to what would have been the best and most Suitable form of Government for New Zealand. He would even go further, and say that in his opinion it would have been well for the colony to have had two Ministers for Public "Works— one for each Island, both being members ot the Cabinet, with seats in, and responsible to, the House. He ventured to think that had such been the case, there Would have been much more to show for our money than there now was. There must be incurred, to Complete the portion of railways already authorised, £958^000 to complete 425 miles in the North Island, fend £1,087,000 to complete 874 miles in the Middle Island. Out of the total expenditure of £2,045,000 required for this purpose, it is proposed to spend this year £1,176,500. THE FUTURE NORTH ISLAND RAILWAYS. It is propposed to fill up the gaps in the North Island system as follows: — Wellington to Foxton, via Waikanae, Gl miles ; Waitotara river to Upper Patea crossing, 51 miles; Teawamutu (Waikato) to Inglewood (Taranaki), 125 miles. This will complete an unbroken line from Wellington to Auckland of 476 miles. Masterton to Woodville 50 miles ; Woodville to Papatu 40 miles ; thus establishing unbroken railway communication from WelV'ngton to Napier by a line of 220 miles. Waikato to the Thames 30 miles ; a branch line to Hamilton 2| miles; Helensville to Kaukapakapa river 2i miles. Except as regards the line from Waikato" to the Thames there are no actual surveys, and the following cost is estimated on the basis of a mileage rate :— Wellington to Foxtou £440,000 ; Waitotara river to Upper Patea Crossing £357,000; Te Awmatnutu to Inglewood £1,115,000; Masterton to Papatu via Woodville £630,000 ; Waikato to the Thames £168,000. Branch line to Hamilton £10,000; Helensville to Kaukapakapa river £25,000 ; Wangarei to Kama (7^ miles) £30,000. Total £2,775,000, or a total, including the amount required to complete the lines already authorised, of £3,733,000. The Hon. Mr Macandrew continued as follows :— The construction of the line through the Waikato country, estimated, as I have said, to cost £1,115,000 will, it is hoped, be fully warranted by the acquisition of considerable areas of land suitable for settlement. I understand that the line will run through some of the finest land in New Zealand, and from what has passed between the Hon. the Premier, the Hon the Native Minister and the Natives concerned there is good reason to hope that the acquisition of the neccessary land will be successfully negotiated. If those natives have a just conception of the vast revenue which will accrue to them after parting with sufficient land whereby to construct this railway they will enter heartily into a transaction which is bound to increase the value of the land wlvch Jwill be left to them very many fold. Moreover they may earn a large amount of money by devoting their labour to the construction of the line, and there is good reason to believe that large numbers of them will galdly accept the useful employment which the construction of the line will afford. The construction of the Wellington-Foxton line will to some extent be contingent upon the acquisition of land from the native owners. In addition to an area of 300,000 acres of Maori land, 180,000 acres of which have been under negotiotiou for some time, the line will render available for settlement 100,000 acres now in the hands of the Crown, anl there can be no doubt that, taken together, these lands will ultimately realise an amount which will go far towards covering the cost of the proposed railway. I know there may be considerable difference of opinion amongst lion, members with regard to this line, but I think that apart from any advantages it may of itself yield by enabling the country between Wellington and Foxton to be beneficially occupied, it is extremely desirable that it should be made as part of the main trunk line which is to connect Wellington with Auckland. If the two great centres Wellington and Auckland are to be efficiently connected by railway this Wellington to Poxton portion must be constructed. At the same time I believe it to be well that we should accept the conclusion that that connection has to be made, and if so I think the Parliament and the people will agree with me that the sooner it is done the better it will be for the country. It will be seen from one of the appendices to this statement that during the recess the question of the best route from Wellington to Foxton has occupied the attention of the Public Works Department, and of this Hon. gentleman may rest assured, that, assuming the Government should be enabled to undertake the work, it will not be commenced until there has been a further and a most thorough investigation as to the best route to be adopted. It will thus be seen that our proposals embrace one main line of communication on the west coast from Wellington to Auckland and the ! Thames, and another on the east coast, Wellington to papier. To make the system complete it remains but to establish a connection between theso two jaaijj lines by means 9 t A }inH of \% mjigg fee- \

tween Bunnythorpe and Woodville. This would place Napier and nearly all the east coast country in communication, not merely with Wellington but also with Manawatu, Wanganui, New Plymouth S ™ d " The probablo cosfc of tbis link would ws £119,000, and there can be little doubt that sooner or later this work will be undertaken A« regards the north of Auckland it will be seen by tUe proposals that if the Kaukapakapa station can lie advantageously selected, railway communication tor a distance of 50 miles will connect that city with the great Kaipona estuary at a point accessible to yes Se i s of ordinary tonnage. The short line from WangareitoKamo, opening upas it will do the important mineral and agricultural resources of that district, will come in as a portion of the main north hue which will, when completed, connect Auckland with the Bay of Islands. S!II>I>LK ISLAND RAILWAYS. Now as to the Middle Island. The works wo propose for the future are Otago, Central Dunedin to Albert Town, Lake Wanaka, 160 miles £1,100,000; Amberley to Brunnerton, 110 mile*' *9QnCn J « U «y moutt to.Hokitikaj 26 miles', £220,000: Canterbury, interior riiairi line, Oxford to remuka 85 miles, £380,000; South Ashburton to Ashburton Forks, 20 miles, £55,000- Albuvv extension to Ileriot Burn, 10 miles, £10,000; Fortrose to Ldeiidale, 26 niles, £110,000; Otautau to Aightcaps, 16 miles, £95,000; Waimea to Switzers i^o I ™^' o^ 005 Mararon, 35 miles ifoS' w^TV 0 H^-Burn; 10i miles Tv£ n °J a , ir . eka bfancli t0 Livingstone, 1G miles £105,000- making a total length of proposed railways for the Middle Island of°s76i miles at a total 'Tofi-nfn' 56 ?'- 0 ? 0 - . Adding t0 tbls an amoiVt of *. 1,08/ 000, which is the estimated cost of completing and putting into working order the lines already T.lnnT f?, i° pencd fov traffic in the Middle island, we shall. have a total of £4,662,000 for that mpmii As -y osai f tlle Ota S° Central line, hon. members wnl recollect that this House last session S h Dy / f f. ol " tlon and Act, affirmed that 100 miles of this hue through Strath Taieri to Clyde should be proceeded with, and the House also ?Sn a reso J u " on ' in compliance with which 396,000 acres of Crown lands have been reserved iron sale with the view of devoting the proceeds when they are sold, to the construction o/this poS W f nT* V 8 110U> P™P° s ed to extend the mi.fT Cyde^ oLakeWallaka . il of 60 miles, for some fifty miles of which the country i s as level as a bowling green, the whole of it being in the hands of the Crown and available for settlement My belief is that no other of the lines now proposed will promote settlement and increase the productive power of the Colony to the same extent as the Otago Central, and I venture to predict that many years will not pass without this line being, extended to. Hokitika via the Haast Pass. The length of that' extension from Albert town, the now contemplated termination or the line,, is only 190 miles, and the highest point of the range to be crossed is only 1700 feet as against 3000 feet in the next Hue we propose to undertake, namely, that from Amberley to iJrunnerton a distance of 110 miles. Although it does not appear that this Amberley Brunnerton line in proportion to its length and cost of construction will open up a very large extent of country suitable for settlement, yet the area of such land that will be opened up is by no means inconsiderable, and the proceeds of its sale will go far towards defraying the cost of the work. There can be no room for doubt that the traffic between The East and the West Coasts will by this line be developed enormously: It is estimated that even now, were the line at work, there would be at least 1000 tons of coal alone brought across weekly, and if, as I believe, this coal, which is quite equal to the best Newcastle, can be put into ships' holds at Lyttelton for somewhere about £1 a ton, it is difficult to place any other limit than that of the carrying capacity of the line upon the traffic which would be developed. There is also an almost unlimited quantity of timber which would find its way to the market by this railway. ; Honorable members will gather from the Engineer's report that much careful exploration . will be required before the exact route can be determined. From , Brunnerton to Greymouth. as members are aware, there is now a railway in operation, and we propose to continue it to Hokitika. a distance of 20 miles. In accordance with a resolution of this House last session a reserve of land was made in the Aorere Valley in the Nelson district with a view of the proceeds being applied to railway construction. A flying survey of the proposed line is now being completed. The Government is, however, of opinion that before any expenditure in this direction is incurred it is desirable that the river should be bridged, and the district rendered accessible by road, for which purpose £4700 has been placed on the Estimates. It will be recollected that last session the House, on the motion of the hon. member for Akaroa, Mr Montgomery, directed that surveys should be made, and estimates be prepared for a number of branch railways as feeders to the main lines. Those plans have been made, and the estimates are ready, but it has been suggested that the general interests of settlement would be better served, and the resources of Canterbury be developed to a much greater extent, if, instead of these branches, we obtained authority to construct an interior main line of about 85 miles in length, by means of which a very large area of available country would be opened up and made productive. I now submit proposals for the interior main line, Oxford to Temuka, accordingly. The South Ashburton and Ashburton Forks, and the Albury extension lines will facilitate the beneficial occupation of upwards of 200,000 acres of land which must add largely to the exports of Canterbury, and to the revenue of the the main line. Of this 30,000 acres are in the hands of the Crown. Some honorable members may be disposed to think that having regard to the length of the railway which Canterbury already possesses, she is allowed an undue share in our proposals, but slight reflection will show that such on objection cannot be fairly sustained. When we consider the large amount which the coffers of the colony have derived from the land revenue of Canterbury, and the amount which it is hoped will for some time continue to be derived from the same source, I maintain that the district is entitled to even more than is now proposed. We are, in fact, only intending to confer upon the people of Canterbury benefits derivable from applying to a colonial purpose their own money— only proposing to expend a, portion of land revenue for the benefit of those upon the land from which that revenue has been derived by devoting it to purposes to which not only is it legitimately applicable, but for which it ought always to have been held sacred. The same remarks will apply to the other railways which are to depend for their construction upon the proceeds of the sale of lands to be rendered valuable by them. A very important line in Canterbury which is not included in the present proposals is the Akaroa and Lake Ellesmere line. The Government hope that the Trust whose powers will be prolonged and extended by the Bill which has recently passed this branch of the Legislature may have means whereby this work may be proceeded with. If, however, it should be found that the Trust is unable to do so, the Government will at a future time be disposed to deal with the matter, specially with a view to this most important undertaking being pushed forward. As regards the branch line, Waipahi to Heriot, it will be recollected that last session the House decided that this branch should be constructed as far as Tapanui. It voted no money for the work, but resolved that it should be paid for out of land to be set aside for the purpose. j I am pleased to say that this branch is now under [ way, and that no money will be required until after its completion, the terms of the contract being that payment is to be made in cash in three equal instalments at two, four.. and six months after the line is completed. The amount is £(U ,500, and the time for completion 22 months from date of contract, so that we shall have two years and upwards on which to realise upon the 50,000 acres of land reserved. The probability is that this land, owing to the construction of the railway, will realise from 7 ™ Lii * nA u Pwards an acre, and will thus yield double the amount of the contract. I may add .that there were five tenders for the work on the above terms, and the one accepted, being the lowest, w-as £2,000 under the Engineer's estimate, ihis fact is worth any amount of arguments to gp.PT/ liow we might, to a great extant, ceasM

our railways' without increasing the amount of our public debt, or adding to the burden in respect thereof. It is now proposed to extend the line ten miles further. By so doing-, the growth of. cereals will be very largely increased, and one of the most productive districts in the colony fully developed, I have heard it objected that now, Avlien the land fund has been colonialised, it is unfair to the colon j' as a whole to alienate large portions of its landed estate for local purposes. To me such an objection seems, if I may he permitted so to say, simply absurd. We are not alienating landed estate, wo arc changing the form of parts of it, and thereby greatly increasing the value of the whole. Ii portions of land go, so far as the colony is concerned, the railways constructed out of the proceeds remain, and if we manage our affairs wisely, we shall derive a much larger income from' these railways than we ever did or ever could derive from those portions of land. We do not propose to deal exceptionally with the proceeds of land set app.rt for the construction of railways. Those proceeds will be dealt with as ordinary revenue, while, froffi the enhanced value of the lands affected by the line so constructed, we may fairly assume it* as a fact that the ordinary revenue will year by year be greatly increased, SUMMARY OL" I'HOC'OSEI) Aim TO THE PUBLIC IVOBKS FUXD. Summing up the proposals I have had the honor to make, they will be found to involve an expenditure for railways in the North Island of .-t3.3v3.ooo, '■■and in the Middle Island of £1,052,000, altogether £S,38:7,000; As I have already observed, the estimates under which these figures have been amte'd at, are, to a certain extent approximate. I believe that they are more over the mark than under, and that with judicious and careful administration, unless circumstances alter very much within the nextfewyears.it will be found that a much- less sum will suffice. We propose that the expenditure shall Vie extended over five years, which, in my opinion, is the shortest period within which we could carry out works to tliis extent, unless we areprepared for the importation of labor to a greater extent than can be readily absorbed in the permanent settlement of the country. Our object will be so to regulate the administration of the Waste Lands of the Crown as to afford every inducement and facility to men who labor in the construction of railways to iilve'st their earnings in land. By laying off allotments for sale along tile various lines as they progress, I am disposed to think that much may be clone in this direction, and that a fair proportion of the money expended on public works may find its way back to the Treasury. Out of the loan authorised last session there remained on the 30th June available for public works about £2,000,000. If we add to the public. works fund from ordinary revenue during the next five years .say £3,500.000, the amount just stated as available will be increased to jEs,.'>oo;ooo, and there will remain about £3,000,000 to be raised by further loan in order to meet the estimated cost of the whole of our proposals. Itjmay, perhaps, be asked, is not £3,500,000 too large a sum to expect to be spared from revenue ? Is the revenue likely to be in a position to meet such a demand 'I In order that hon. members may be able to form an opinion as to this, I shall enumerate the different areas of Crown lands, the vaiue of which will be specially affected by the proposed railways, and the sale of which may be said to be contingent upon those lines being constructed. In the Middle Island the : Otago Central to Albert Town mil pass almost entirely through Crown land, and open up the most valuable public estate in the colony. It will affect an area of 2,250,000 acres, all in the hands of the' Crown. Amber ley to Brunnerton •will pass through, nearly 300,000 acres of freehold, and render available 400,000 acres of Crown land. Greymouth to Hokitika will affect 8"),000 acres of forest land, but as it cuts across all the valleys at the base of tho hill country, its construction will be of considerable value to the settlement of those valleys, and render more accessible an area of Grown land of 560,000 acres. South Aabburton to Agfcburton Forks and Albury extension will enhance the value of 30,000 acres, Fortroso to Edendale :— A preliminary survey of this line has been made in terms of a resolution of the House last session, and land has been reserved for its construction in accordance with the same resolution. It will promota the profitable occupation of 120,000 acres of land, 40,000 of which are in the hands of the Crown. Otatatu to Nightcapg: This is an extension of the inland line from Riverton. It will render available a very valuable coalfield, and promote the cultivation of over 50,000 acres of fine agricultural land, 10,000 of which are in the hands of the Crown. Cldtha to Catlin'a River is the commencement of a line which passes through a district containing 60,000 acres of fine agricultural freehold land, and it will lead tG the occupation of a territory which contains 60,000 acres of Crown land, chiefly forest. Waimea to Switzer's openß up 200,000 acres of fertile land, much of whioh ia ready for the plough, and all in the hands of the Crown. Lumsden to Mararoa opens up 200,000 acres of Crown land of the finest quality, a Jgreat portion of which will, I believe, be occupied and cultivated very shortly aftGr it is renderod accessible by rail. The Shag Valley branch is a line which was intended to have been made by the Provincial Government of Otago. Surveys and working plans were prepared, and public lenders applied for and received, when Abolition intervened. It commands a rich agricultural and pastoral district of 45,000 ncres, of which 10,000 acres belong to the Crown, and will be one of the beßt paying feeders to the main line between Dunedin and Oamaru. It will moreover greatly facilitate access to the important gold-mining and rapidly increasing agricultural districts of M'Raes and Hyde. It will thus be seen tbat an area of nearly 4,000,000 acres of Crown laud in the Middle Islund will be nffected by the proposed lines. Muoh of this land, if accessible by rail and in the market now, would realise £5 an acre and upwards. Probably we shall not be beyond tho mark in estimating that ifc will realise to the State, at a moderate computation, little short of the whole estimated coit of the railways, viz., £4,650,000, now proposed to made in the Middle Island. As regards Crown lands in the North Island, I have first of all to direct tha attention of honorable members to the fact that about 120,009 acres of .the best land on the West Coast portion of the confiscated territory is now being surveyed for sale. I do not wish to raise the expectations of honorable members unduly, but I believe that I am warranted in reckoning that from this quarter alone (irrespective of the largo area of land already acquired and under negotiation in the came locality) we may expect to receive a net revenue of three-quarters of a million sterling. In addition to these there are many very large areas of land in the Thames and Piako districts, which will at ouco acquire a greatly increased value from the prospect of railway communication being likely to be opened between Grahametown and Waikato. Other large blocks of land in the Bay of Plenty, Poverty Bay, and Wellington districts will shortly be available, and we shall have the gratification of beholding the North '.Island, for the first time for many years, yielding a substantial land revenue. For more particular information as to area, locality, and probablo value of our North Island land estate, I would refer honorable members to the usual statement on Native lands which will be shortly made by my colleague, the Native Minister. In reference to such of those lands as are situated on the "west coast of this Island, forming part of our confiscated territory, I have a proposal to make to the House, which, while it may appear to be a considerable modification, if not a reversal, of the financial arrangements of laßt session id really a moans of giving practical effect tothoso arrangements. These lands have been acquired at an expense of blood and treasure, which, in our opinion, justify exceptional treatment in appropriating the proceeds. In addition to tha 25 per cent payable to the New Plymouth Harbor Board, the County in which they are situated, in accordance with the legislation of last session, would receive 20 per cent of the amount realised from the sale, while the Colony, which had already paid so heavily for the iand, would be called upon to provide them means of constructing the main line of railway. Wo propose then to apply 15 per cent of the 20 per cent, otherwise payable to the County, to the coaßtruotion of the railway through the District, Ab tho land will shortly be in tho Brarfcoiif (ben will be 9 eeni&w&ta 3«ro» gt so

distant date, specially available for this work, which can be commenced immediately, The Countj will, in this way, receive the whole of the 20 per cent, while the Colony will bo assisted in a work which will contribute so materially to enhance the value of property in the District, and to increase the financial resources of the Ctilony. Assuming these proposals to bo approved by the Legislature, ifc becomes an important question, what v to bo our procedure with regard to the works not already sanctioned. The Home will, of course, recognise the impossibility of coming to any conclusion on such a matter which can be satisfactory to all. Each district in the Coloay believes that its claim to be provided with railways at the cost of the State ranks at least a3 high as the claim of any other district, and none probably will admit that any such claim ought to bo met before its own, this, in truth, is a great difficulty which the House by its past legislation has brought upon itself. That difficulty commenced from tho inomeut when tho Legislature repealed that cardinal eoncution of the public works policy, that in the event of the proceeds of any railway failing to meat interest and sinking fund on the eos^of its construction; property in the district should ba rated to make rip the deficiency. The difficulty is one which I confess, I oannofc solve. As things stand, the Government are desirous td distribute io the bait advantage whatever fund may be available for the construction of public worke, and, to do this as fairly as possible under th 6 circumstance*, we shall endeavor to carry on, us nearly as may be simultaneously, the various work* that may he authorised, and to apportion the expenditure each year, in such directions as ahull seem most likely io promote the speedy settlement and beneficial occupation of tbq waste lauds of thecountry. Much of the difficulty of the situation arises from the, 1 fact that here in New Zealand, we are expected to do in a few yean, what it has hitherto takeni centuries, elsewhere to accomplish. A few hundred. thousands . of people are; benfc upon doing in a lifetime, 4hati which in the past has been the work of millions of men during generation*. If New Zealand goes onward as she is now doiug until she reache* her first centenary, it is bard to decide which will be the " greater" and which the "lesser" Britain. It is the remarkable progress we havo made which -readers ua ao impatient witb regard to our future progress, and this impatience is for us an evil, egainst.- the possible effects of which we must zealously guard. I need scarcely say that there era lines o&, railway in each. Island, besides those embodied in my proposals, the importance of which are fully recognised by the Government, and which we should have been glad to have included. This present proposal involves an expenditure of £l,6?7,000 a year until the line* mentioned are completed, and if we can come to an arrangement at between ourselves, an honorable on- ' derstanding which ought to b> held aa.bindingVjks the laws of the Medes and Per«ian3, that upoa the cotn,pletion of those lines a similar a'uVounfc shall continue to be expended on productive railways' only, it i B a mere question of tima when all the land throughout the Colony, which, it I*9 required to occupy and render available by means of railway communication, shall be so rendered available. By the time that the railways now proposed are complete, we shall, no doubt, find that many branch lines will be undertaken by private enterprise. There are at present throughout the Colony nearly 100 miles which are heing taken in hand under.j the provisions of the District Railways Act of hsfc ses«u)a, and it is believed that by slightly amending .that; Act; advantage will betaken of its provisions^ a much larg<r extent, and the Government will thereby be relieved of constructing many, lines which, sooner or later, must olherwiso devolve, upon it^. I-lpok upon this as one of the moat gratifying, features in the future railway policy of New Zealand. tOCili VOBtfg. I must now solicit the earnest attention o£ honorable members to a question whiou may virtually affect tlio whole icopo of the future policy .of the Colony, and which, in my belief, may largely influence the functions and character jof lute-House. I refer to tho question of roads and bridge*. Although the gradual extension of tho "railway eyslem ii diminishing tb« extent to which money mutt needs be expended in such work, aa compared with what was unavoidable in the past, there are still many districts in which such works will continue to be for years to come aßiential. I need not remind you that one of the great advantages whioh was to ba secured by the recent political changes was, that the name of road or bridge was nevor more t» be iieard in this Houso ac connected with any askings for money. Such, we were atked to believe, W» to* be ono of the Orst results of the abolition, of the provinces. As; it is, however, unless the Houie ii piapared to make a decided stand, it is to be feared:, sliat roads, bridge*, and culverts will become subjects of the most anxious andexcited dissuasion to be heard within these walls. What then is to be our policy with respeot to these works? My colleagues and myself are clearly of opinion . that they ought to wholly devolve upon local bodies, by whom the requisite funds must; be found. . Onejithing seems* to me to be beyond doub£;orsU«igtioH. The Colony must undertake all Such: Jvorks, or must refuse to undertake any; Any otfcer eoulrse w>ald be brimful of injustioe. Last session, we passed various rotes for roads cud bridges, with the understanding that the amounts were to be provided out of loans. Those votes will, I apprehend, Lave to be made good ; ia any easq many of them are liow in cosirie of 5 expenditure, and we propose jo renew all the unexpended portions, by putting them upon this yetfr's estimate*; This will; in round numbers, mean the appropriation of about £102,000 for local works in the .North Island, and about £166,000 for similar works in the Middle Island; Thereafter, we propose to finally close the account, end to confine Public Worki operatione entirely to railwaycon»truction= I admit that if we are sustained in tmV course, it will be productive of hardships tajtboie, portions of the Colony which were not fortunatflt, enougb^ito participate in the scramble for roads ana sbridjjaji last year. It seems to me, however, a» I havo said," thai in fairness we hare no middle course opsn. If we are to construct arterial roads and bridges, we must take charge of all such works, and subsidies in aid of them, which are now paid to local bodies, must cease. It is manifestly unreasonable to expect that the Colony csa go oa paying, as it did last year, nearly three quarters of a million to local bodies, if it has to perform the funotions which devolve upon such bodies besides. One way out of the difficulty perhaps, would ba to increase the borrowing power* oo r the local bodies;. To thu, however, many objections may. fas urged/; Spate people ace of opinion that the Colony should raise the money, and leare the local bodies to eijtpenififc, but here again, we should trample- under foot a fundamental principle, on which the new order of things was co recently based, namely, that no money shall be raised by the Colony, tha expenditure of which is not to be placed directly under the control of this House. For my own part, I hato never believed that that principle ought to be rigidly and unreasoningly observed, but it wua one of the cardinal points of abolitionism, and, I presume it will be adhered to by the proaont Parliament. Altogether, I confess that this i< one of the most difficult problems which we are now called upon to solve, and there can, in my opinion, be only one of two fair solutions. Either the Colony should closo its bowels of compassion in respect of every application for roads and bridges, however exceptional may be the claim ' (and they ore all exceptional in the opinion of the claimants) or it should distribute its gifts to all upon some equitable basis. As it is, unless we go into the money market, there will be nothing to distribute over and above the subsidies already fixed. There remains, therefore, only the one solution, of every locality relying upon itself. I need scarcely say that, under all the circumstances of the case, wa have been reluctantly compelled to turn a deaf ear to numerous and pressing applications for local works throughout the Colony. I omitted to observe that the two amounts, above referred to, are irrespective of a sum of £225,000, which is required to meet provincial liabilities, and £35,000 for roadi in Native districts. It will be recolleoted that last session » bill was introduced entitled, " Tha Settlement's Works Advances Bill," the object of which was to enable the Government to open up landf for settlement before they were pat up for tale. In many localities Crown landt are comparatively inaccessible, and, uuleig they aw, to gomo extent, opened m» by roagi, they are Ufeety te segita pi

occupied, or (0 be sold below their value to ppeoulatore. This bill, however, did not become law, as the Government did not specify the precise localities in which the proposed expenditure was to bo applied. We intend to ask a vote of £58,590 for this object, full particulars of the proposed expenditure of which will appear in tho Public Works Estimates. It is estimated that this amount will, at an average of 2a lOd per acre, enable upwards of 414,000 acres in furious districts throughout the Colo»y to be brought into tha market under conditions winch will largely enhance its value. It will be aeon from the Public Works Estimate?, that a sum of mosey is required for expenditure on various publio buildings throughout tho Colony. Among those to which I ruay specially refer i« the Lunutic Asylum at Dunediu, which is too small for the number of inmates, and winch it is proposed to remove to a more suitable locality, being an eatensivo reserve of 900 acre 3of good land, the cultivation of which on the part of the patients will, it is hoped, render the institution self-supporting, thereby relieving the State of a large annual burden, which mast otherwise continue to devolve upon it. It is proposed in the new establishment to make suitable provision for tho care of inebriates, to enable whioh class of patients to be dealt with some epeciil legislation will fee necessary. It ia also intended to erect upon the saffle) reserve adequate separate buildings for the Otago Reformatory and Industrial School for boys and girls. The cost of this latter will be more than recouped by celling tho pro- J perty upon whfoh tho school at present stands. Whilo on this subject, ifc rtiay not be deemed out of place to notice that the hulk in the Wellington harbor, belonging to tho Public Works depoiltifcttt, being no longer required, we propose to , have -it fitted up as aTraining School and Reformatory into whieli boys convicted of criminal offences may be drafted from all. parts of the Colony, instead of their beiri£ associated with hardened criminals in the common gaola or mixed witb those whose only ciime is that thoy have been loft dostisute and nergleetod. Much as the Public Works and Immigration policy has conduced to the prosperity of Now Zealand, there can be no question that, if ifc is followed up as ■is now proposed; the future results will y.ery largely; exceed those of; the paat. Wo know tb/e extent ;to which railway* have helped: to increase our settled population, our agriculture, and pur trade; and we know that for some of these irailwaya ;we have paid very dearly, not alone in but our experience, whatever ifc has cost us, should at least have taught us in what directions and in what manner we can beat spend the money hereafter available for euch undertakings. Not only ought We resolutely to resolve that we will never ' again sanction the commencemiint of a railway as to which we have not at least reasonable: evidence that it will pay, butiwe Bkbuld equally resolve that, aa one part of our expewencejlOi shall hfi madeto represent. as muoh work as2Qs have unfortunately in too many cases represented heretofore. We now see clearly many things, after which we could only blindly grope when be began to construct our railways. We have many appliances that were then wholly wanting, and we have in our midst responsible and capable contraotors, for whom at the outset we had to go far & field. In addition, the prices of material are greatly reduced, indeed upon rails alone the reduction is so great that, could we afford at once to purchase all we shall want for our contemplated line.*; we should save probably-£600,p00 as compared with the prices we have as aiTnle>: had to' pay; Advantage has beep, tb.a limited extent/taken of the low state of the market by ordering 10,000 tons of steel rails at £5 14j delivered at Cardiff. In expressing these opinions, I desire to disclaim any reflection upon those who have hitherto had the professional overcharge of our public works. If there have been blunders, they have been obiefly incidental to circumstanoes and to the nature of things. In my belief they have been more political than professionals coNcttrsroK. >, •I do not think Ivneed flceupy the 1 time of the H&UBe- fatthaK; Appended ta the statement ise tables artd reports, all of whioh embody much "valaable information, and will, no doubt, be found both useful and instructive. I conclude, Sir, by onoo more commending to the approval of honorable members the proposals I have had the honor to submit. I have had pleasure in submitting them, for in my belief they are calculated to meet the requirements of settlement over a great portion of each island. To give effect to them will, I am convinced, be to increase enormously tho productive power of the Colony, and fci do that, the constantly growing tendency of which must be to lighten the public burdens. Under these proposals, our industrial population ought to be at least doubled during the next few years ; and the great proportion of the in-comert ought to be, and mayr-.be^-so located that, while laboring lovingly-toi gubdub the earth, until that whioh is barren yields its kindly and matured fruit?, they may labor stubbornly because they are creating homes for their children, and proudly because thoir names figure on no man's rent roll. It is in such a spirit that most of us have struggled to create a great: nation in this .favored land. Saoh was the spirit in which we strove through the day of small things. Now, when our vision is clearer as to what we may do and become, and when our grasp is firmer upon all that we undertake, I confess that I am jealous to have soma share with those. of .whom it shall hereafter be said, that they :had influence in promoting the prosperity and greatness of New Zealand, STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF LANDS. The Hon, Mr Stout said : . With the permission of the House, I have, as Minister of Lands, to make a short statement. : In consequence of the various pro* joeted lines of railway through waste lands of the Crown, the have thought it necoasary to advise his Excellency to withdraw from sale lands near those projeotedjlines. This will prevent speculators taking up such land ia the hope of reaping large profits from the increased value that will be given to the lend through the proximity of railways. This withdrawal has been principally made in tho land district of Canterbury, and the Waste Lands Board of thafe district will havo to consider whether advantage should not be taken of the provisions of section 49 of the Land Act, by which lands increased in vftlue by railways may be set apart and disposed of at special value land.