Untitled

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5378, 22 June 1878, Page 2

An Act was passed last session which is calculated to effect the greatest reform yet initiated in the conduct of public works in New Zealand. The District Railways Act of 3877 provides for the construction of district railways by Joint Stock Companies, and practically leaves it to the ratepayers of a district to determine whether such a railway shall be made, and on what terras it may be initiated. This Act, while providing ample means for making local and district railways when they are really wanted, takes away all excuse for voting away public moneys for local works on the strength of temporary political combinations. The discreditable log-rolling scramble which took place at the end of last session, after the defeat of the Atkinson Government, was calculated to alarm the least prudent of our legislators. The Government of Sir Gkoeoe Grey, afraid apparently of offending any section of its heterogeneous following, abdicated its functions, and allowed the wildest proposals to be carried or rejected without interposing in any way as guardians of the public purse. Everybody wanted a railway, and the Treasury was to pay for all. This, at any rate, was the apparent meaning of what occurred ; whether a comedy on a large scale was being enacted to hoodwink constituencies, the Government and their supporters in the House alone knew. But when, next session, the money for public works has to bo provided in stern reality, the Government itself will perhaps be thankful that Mr. Ormond, before he left office, carried the District Railways Bill, and thus provided a fair answer to those who press upon Government and upon the House the wants of their respective districts.

New Zealand has admitted the necessity felt by all young countries of State interference in the formation of main trunk lines of railway. It is easy enough to obtain private capital to open up traffic through populous countries, when an immediate return is to be got for tho outlay; but no private company will undertake to be the pioneer of settlement, to open up country for farming and occupation, without insisting on such concessions/ in the shape of land grants and monopolies, as would be ruinous to the enterprise of the people. It was therefore a wise act of foresight on the part of tho State to initiate a system of trunk railways throughout the two islands of New Zealand, and tho country will always recognise the impetus given to the progress of the colony by the adoption of the Public Works and Immigration policy. Although it is too soon to look for a direct return in the shape of interest for all tho money expended on our yet incomplete lines of trunk railways, we have already reaped an abundant profit in tho encouragement given to every kind of enterprise, the results of which are to be seen in the returns of the census recently taken. Nobody can deny that the expenditure on public works and immigration has been almost as nothing to the increased and increasing value of the estate we have had to administer, and to tho growing wealth of the country. But tho possible embarrassments arising from tho State management of railways grow more and more apparent. It is bad enough to feel the effect of political action in the conduct of tho original works. Tho result in many cases is tho choice of lines of country which would not have been chosen by the engineers if left to exercise their professional acumen, untrammelled by the political considerations which have actuated Governments and Parliaments. We have lately seen able engineers, who have borne all the burden and heat of the day, superseded, to the detriment of the public service, for political reasons. The Government will find it more and more difficult to secure the services of such men as can be obtained readily by private companies, whose interests compel them to care only for obtaining the best engineering advice attainable at whatever cost it may be necessary to incur for that purpose. When the railways have been completed, tho difficulties increase ; and no prophet is required to foresee that in all the colonies, where the railways have been made and are managed by the State, dangers and difficulties are in store for Governments and people—dangers political as well as economical. Without following up. this subject for tho present, we ask our readers to watch with the keenness of au enlightened self-interest the growing evils arising, from the direct State management of constructed railways. Necessity has forced bn the State tho

construction of the main trunk lines; let us take cave that party interests do not force on the State any further interference with the domain of private enterprise. Let us once begin a system of scrambling for local lines in the House of Representatives, and we may say a long farewell to the credit of the colony. The County system was established to put an end to the provincial log-rolling which took place annually when Superintendents and their tails ruled in the Parliament of New Zealand. It will be the fault of the Legislature if public works votes are for the future to be made the means of buying and selling the representatives of • the people. Whatever money is available for public works, beyond the sums voted annually for the completion of the main trunk lines of railway, should be distributed among the counties in proportions determined on a principle to be fixed by the Legislature. But a resolute stand ought to be made against a haphazard distribution of it by way of special votes for specific local works. If such an exhibition as was witnessed last year is to become habitual, the Parliament will be degraded into the lowest type of vestry, and the resources of the country will be frittered away, and jobbed into the hands of Boss Tweeds and men of a like character. Wo shall begin with corruption in the name of local public spirit, and end with personal corruption pure and simple, such as has disgraced for many years the city of New York.

To those who say that districts must be opened up by branch railways at any cost, and that, where unaided private enterprise will not do it, the State must interfere, the passing of the District Railways Act is a sufficient answer. That it affords sufficient encouragement to private companies to invest capital in railway undertakings is sufficiently proved by the fact that the Act has been already taken advantage of in the South Island and in the North. Wherever a good case can be made out for a railway, there we may feel confident that, under the Act, private enterprise will find the capital. We recommend all persons interested in the formation of local lines, particularly county councillors, whoso especial duly it is to promote local interests, to study this Act, and to judge how far it may be made useful in furthering the welfare of their districts. The more the powers given by this Act are utilized, the greater will be the security against undue tampering with the credit of the State by jobbing Governments, and their complement, the local jobbers.