PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 7 August 1880, Page 2

PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

(by telegraph.) WELLINGTON, August 6. The Hon. Richard Oliver, Minister of Public Works, speaking in the House tonight, said : Sik, Following the usual course, I propose to begin by briefly reporting the operations of the Public Works Department for the seven months which have elapsed since I had a like honor last December. I shall condense this part of my statement as much as possible, as I do not wish to weary the House with a multiplicity of details, and because it will, •; ::!i printed, be accompanied by full r-vpons from the various heads of De-n>-.i«s, by copious tables, and by ui:;ps, which I hope hon. members will find useful as exhibiting the progress we have made in the construction of the railways already authorised. NORTH ISLAND RAILWAYS. Kawakawa Railway.—Beginning with railway construction in the north of this Island, the work on the Kawakawa coal line has been continued. A bridge which is the most important work except the terminal wharf is in course of construction.

■ Whangarei-Kame Railway.—The works let on the Kanio contract of the Whangarei railway has been much delayed by the contractor, and are not yet finished, although the contract time has expired. The delay has se.riously interfered with the development of the coal trade of the district, and with a view of assisting this industry I hsve sanctioned the laying of a branch to connect the main line with a shipping place in the borough of Whaugaiei, the local authorities having permitted the use of the streets for that purpose. An exploiatory survey between Helensville and Whangarcsi has been made for the purpose of ascertaining the practicability of constructing a railway through that country ; another survey of a similar character has been made of the district between Whangarei and Kawakawa, Reports on these routes, with explanatory maps, will be placed in the hands of hon. members. Tfce J£aipara-Waikato railway has been finished satisfactorily, and the station buildings are nearly completed. The line between Newmarket Junction and Waikomiti has been finished and opened for traffic; the gap, however, between Meleusville and Auckland, caused by the non-completion of the Waitakari contract, still remains, and the condition of the work at the Summit tunnel gives not promises that it will be finished in the contract time, which ends in September The workshop site contract at Newmarket is being pus lied on energetically. The contractor for the reclamation in Auckland having failed to carry out hid oon-= tract it was taken out of his hands, and a portion of it has been relet to another contractor, The Ohaupo contract has been finished and the Waikato railway is open as far south as Te Awamutu, about two and a half miles from the confiscated boundary. Waikato-Thames Railway.—> The Grahamstown contract o£ the Waikato-Thames railway is completed, and the Shortland contract nearly to the Waikato contract, extending 12 J miles east .from Hamilton, is progressing favorably. A survey ot this line has been completed from EEamilto to Te Aroha, and up. the Thames Valley for 13 miles from Grahamstown, leaving about 19 miles still unsurveyed. Foxton to New Plymouth was opened as far south as Stratford on IQth December, and a further section tQ will, it is expected, be open in a "few weeks. Some other portions of this line been Stratford and Carlyle are under contract ; s<ime are being done by day labor, and between Carlyle and Wanganui the Waitotara contract is approaching completion. The Waverley section is in hand. The Carlyle wharf contract has been let, while some portion of the works in the neighborhood of Carlyle are now being prepared for absorbing unemployed labor. Commodious workshops have been built at Wanganui, and a' contract has. been made for a new railway-station and wharf at Foston.

Wellington - Woodville Railway.— On tho Wellington - Woodville railway the works of the Carterton section, over 20 rai'es, have been vigorously prosecuted by :he Department, the average number of men employed being 275. It is expected that by September next the whole distance between Wellington and Masterton will he open for traffic. The Greytown branch was opened on the 28tli May. With the view of providing work for the unemployed in the district, some men have been engaged at earthworks and bush-clearing. On Opake section, beyond the Carterton section, and on the Crofton sections of the railway sqijie times as many as 350 of the unemployed have been set at work. This number is now fallen below 100.

JNapier - Woodville. —This railway is nearly completed to Makatoto, about 70 miles from Napier. The last contract of 5f- miles will shortly be ready for public traffic. Works are being pushed on towards Te Tahorite, about 12 miles further, and surveys of the country to the south have been completed fpr abo.ut 15 miles rr}ore.

NapierWallingford. An examination of the country from Napier to Walljngford, through the districts between the ukiki River and the sea, has been made, but the country appears to be very unfavorable for railway construction. MIDDLE ISLAND RAILWAYS. S'elson-Greymouth.—The works on the I">* elsi in-Grey mouth line on the northern end have been continued to the completion of the railway connecting the city of Nelso}i with the port, and an extension of three niiless beyond Foxhili by the Bellgrove contract, now almost completed. At tbe'Greymouth end of the Stillwater contract, an extension of the original Brunner railway for three-quarters of a mile, has been found to be a work of considerable difficulty and expense, the contract price for 63 chains being L 12 4 234 for formation only. The harbor works at Greymouth, which have been oarried on as a part of the improvement designed to develop the coal industry in that district, were almost suspended for some little time while awaiting Sir J. Coode's report. It arrived in March last, and it is satisfactory to find that the work already executed' has been approved and adopted, by him as a part of his design. 1:1 okitika-Greymouth Railway.— Some small contracts an the Greymouth-Hoki-tika railway have either been, finished or are near completion, and. now new works were begun this year. Bicton-Hurunui Railway,—The lastone and three-quarters of a mile of the railway faom Picton and Blenheim has been completed, and the station buildings at Blenheim are in course of construction, Amberley - Waitaki Railway, with Branches. —The new works on the main line from Hurunui to Waitaki are the Waipars contract, extending from Amberley to the Waipara River, and the Weka Pas 3 section, nine miles long, a continuation of the line through the Pass to the Waikari and Hurunui Plains. The latter section was reserved from contract in order to provide work for the unemployed of Christchurch. Springfield Branch.—The Springfield cutting was completed in February last, Little River and Akaroa Branch.—The Ellesmere formation contract on the Little River and Akaroa branph was finished in March; a contract has just been made for portion of the pjatelaymg, Ashburton Branch.—The first lOf miles of the Ashburton branch will be open for traffic on the 7th April. Opawa Branch. —On the Opawa branch the bridge over the Opawa River has been

built by and the remainder of the work, with the exception of another bridge, has been reserved in order to give work to the unemployed in the neighborhood. On the Canterbury interior main branch, which has been caraied on during the year, there are two bridges—those over the Eyre and Temuka rivers—which are now finished. Lines south of the Waitaki. —Work has been almost entirely confined to the improvement of stations, the increase of wharfage and other necessary accommodation. ~

Branch lines—Further railway extension has been made on the following branch lines :—The Livingstone branch ; the Catlins River, Tapanui, Edendale, Lumsden, Otautqu, and Orepuki branches, and on the Otago Central Railway.' On this latter, the Wingatui section is under contract and at the Hindon section work has been afforded to large numbers of the unemployed. The great depression from which nearly all our industries has suffered lately has thrown many workmen out of employment, and the Government have been called on to alleviate the consequent distress by finding work for them on the railways and roads which are in course of construction. We have thought it our duty to comply with these requests, dnd I am sorry to say that no less a number than 1674 of these men are now being employed at low wages in various parts of the Colony. Although it is to be deplored that in a new country of such great natural resources as New Zealand this state of things should exist, yet it is by no means a new experience in tha history of the Colony. At various times during the last 20 years the authorities have found it necessary to afford similar temporary employment, but fortunately the need for the interference of the Government has in every case soon passed away, and has been succeeded by a large demand for labor in the ordinary industries of the country, and at the highest rate of wages known in any part of the world. I believe, Sir, that hon. members will agree, with me in thinking that this season of * depression will also pass away and give place to another period of prosperity hot inferior to that which we have until lately enjoyed. The disorganisation of the labor market is already beginning to show its own remedy by bringing into existence new industries in the chief centres of population, and developing the self-reliant spirit of our working classes. There are also the most encouraging indications of a revival of the goldfields industry, which may be of the greatest value to the Colony at large. Meantime it is satisfactory to find that though many of the men thus employed by us are engaged in work to which they are unaccustomed, yet from their labor the Colony has obtained a fair equivalent for tha outlay.

GENKRAii PROGRESS IK RAILWAY, CONSTRUCTION. The sums voted by Parliament for additional railway works in the last session, exclusive of preliminary surveys for lines not yet authorised, amounted to L 2,308,800. On the 31st March L 856,550 of t&is sum had been expended, and liabilities incurred amounting to L 910,506; making a total of L 1,767,056, leaving an unexpended balance on last year's votes of L 504,644. Recognising the necessity for spreading the expenditure of the remaining public works fund over a period of at least the next 3 years and believing that as some of the railway works had been adopted in timea of great prosperity, Parliament would not disapprove in our changed circumstances of having an opportunity afforded of reconsidering them, I have not been in haste to press on the construction of new works, Jn fact, in the Middle Island only one new section of railway has been commenced since the end of our last session. Many ne ,v vvere got ready for contract, and in some instances tenders were invited and received, but the grave considerations connected with a falling revenue and increased deficit from onr finished railways could not be evaded, and obliged us to defer the acceptance of some of these tenders, so that time might be given for re-examining our future railway policy.

ROADS. The expenditure of the vote for roads in this island has for the most part been entrusted to various local governing bodies. The main roads under the charge of the Government have been maintained as usual during the year. These include the Great South Auckland and TaurangaTaupo,the Taupo-Napier roads and several other local roads. A considerable "amount of work has he en done. The road works instituted on the West Coast between Waingongoro and. Stoney Rivera, crossing the Waimate Plains, have been carried on very satisfactorily, anc\ the two sections of the road will probably meet in a few days, '1 he character of the country is | very favorable, no natural obstacles having been met. The cross-road from Stratford to Opunake, through the bush, is also being pushed on, and good progress is being made. The amount expended on roads and bridges in the South Island during the past year is very small, and no new works have been undertaken, SNAGGING IN THAMES RIVER., Although not such a public work as is usually referred to. in a, statement of this kind, I cannot refrain from mentioning the self-reliant and public-spirited efforts made by Mr, Firth, Matamata, to remove the snags from the River Thames at his own cost. In these days, when colonists are too much in the habit of looking to the Government for almost everything, it is refreshing to see a public work so useful to the community begun and carried out and finished by a private person, without even an application having been made to the Government for aid from the funds of the Colony. WATER-RACES. As will be seen from the reports and statements attached, the expenditure upon water-races does not prove to haye yielded the large benefits which might naturally have been expected from them. None of the companies subsidised by Government have been a success, and in moat oases the undertakings have been abandoned. The total expenditure and liabilities upon water-races upon goldfields up to the 31st March amounted to L 441,633. Of this amount L 42,329 gives no return whatever. Works which have cost L 86,485 have been handed over to local bodies, from those races which are comparatively successful, viz., the Charleston, Nelson Creek, Waimea ; and Mount Ida races, costing L 312,819, the yearly return presents only about 1 per cent. The number of men, however, to whom these races afford .the means of remunerative employment is 771, and their earnings per man average t44Q a year. * THE COAL INDUSTRY. ! Almost every month brings new discoveries of coal in some parts of the ! Colony, and it has become apparent that New Zealand is exceptionally rich in this mineral. Our most important lines of steamers are now almost wholly supplied from the coal mines of the Colony, and the more extended use of native coal will effect a saving of LBSOO on our railways in the Middle Island for the current year, in addition to an almost equal amount heretofore saved on those in the North Island. WORKING RAILWAYS. During the recess the management of the working railways has been the subject of inquiry by the Royal Commission appointed by His Excellency the Governor to report on the Civil Service of the Qolony, and also to some extent by the Royal Commission on Railways. The reports of these gentlemen are calculated to be of great service, and points out many defects in organisation and prac* tice, some of which have already been removed, or are in course of removal, j

and the question i>i "ttte management of the rwlways is under consideration in connection with the reports of the Commissioners. The working railways department began the last financial period under circumstances exceptionally un favorable, heavy floods in the south having interrupted traffic over more than a linn dred miles of line, causing loss of revenue as well as a lferge expenditure for repairs. Amongst the first effects of the commercial depression from which we have been sufferinghas been a diminution of our railway traffic. The result was to be expected, and the efforts of the department were directed to still greater economy in our system of railway arrangement. By working with a smaller staff of officers and men, and by reducing the number of trains and the speed at which they were run, a considerable saving been accomplished, while the convenience of the public has not been materially curtailed. Train services have already been reduced by 37,000 miles a year, and tho staff reduced by 266 men ; and it j 8 estimated that these and other economioa which have up to this time been effected, will save in the year upwards of L 44,000. Serious and constant attention, is still being given to economy, and witlt changes in system I am satisfied that thij working expenses will be much further reduced as these alterations to which X have referred can hardly be said to have commenced. Until after the prorogation, of Parliament they had but a smallppr» 0 r» tion of the last financial period wherein to operate. I am sorry to say that forthe nine months ending 31st March the railways only gave a return equal to slightly under per cent, per annum, while the rate of interest which we have to pay is over 5. The loss on cost of i lines, which stands at L8,G29,582, was at | the rate of L 237,730 per annum, and had to be furnished from taxation. In the prosperous years through which we hnvo just passed we did not seriously regard the railway deficit, but thought only of the immense advantage of the railways in settling and developing the resources of I the Colony. We pointed to these advantages as justifying the expenditure, and spoke of our railways as remunerative undertakings, whether they contributed interest on their cost., or not. Now, if the Colony were a large,' j joint stock company, with equal aharea and interests, this view might be correct., But the benefits of the railways are vony unequally distributed. Many districts are unprovided with them, while all have to contribute to the taxation from which the loss is made up. This charge oa Colonial revenue is so great, that it is % serious element in the expenditure of the Colony, and it becomes questionable! whether a desirable outlay in some of tho departments of Government can bo continued if the railways be not made mora nearly self-supporting. The failure to obtain a greater direct return from our railways such as is looked for in ordinary commercial enterprises, is no doubt mainly attributable to the smallness of our population. We are certainly a small community in point of numbers, and arethinly scattered over a wide extent of country, our people are so few that they fail to furnish traffic enough, either of* passengers or goods to make our lioes pay at the ordinary rates hitherto current.. We have already many more miles of railway in proportion to our population than either England» France, the United States, Canada, or any of the Australian Colonies. In Great Britain there is & mile to about every 2000 inhabitants, while in New Zealand there ia one mile to every 406. For every mile in Victoria, there are 108 per cent, more customers; than we have. In the United States theyhave 43 per cent. ; in Canada 53 per cent, j in New South Walesl4Bper cent.; in Great Britain 383 per cent. ; and in Franco 614 mare people per mile of railway than in New Zealand. If this contrast with other countries were confined to the South Island, which contains by far the largest, portion of our railways, it would show tha disproportion still more forcible, for instead of having 406 people per mile of railways, which I have said is the average for the Colony, the South Island has only 330 people per mile. In New Zealand our average receipts per mile last year were L64S, while in England they amount to L 3485. Yet even with these comparatively large receipts the railway dividends declared in England only average 4£ per cent, per annum. Next in importance in my opinion among the reasons for tha want of commercial success in the rail-* way working is the needlessly low tariff' adopted in many districts. Between two places to which my attention haa been called, where before a railway was, made the freight charged was L 3 per ton,, our railway rate is 16a Jod. In anotherinstance the former rate was LQ and ia now 17s 2d. In another it haa beea reduced from L 5 to 22s 2d. No douM at the commencement of a railway system in a new country it i 3 easy to make mistakes, and by no mean* easy to make railways pay with only 406 people to every mile. The result, ho\\> evar, Haa proved that the reduction too great, for, although our chief end* and aim in railway construction is, by fiacili-. tating travelling and cheapening the. transit of goods, to open the, country andj develop its resources, we now; discoverthat we have £one too far, and find omselves face to fac.O with a stskte of things as unpleasant as i,t waa unexpected. I hope, Sir, that I shall not be misunderstood a,& advocating any illiberality in tho. management of our railway—the b<s?th | policy is to reach the multitude. I snl)y--adopt the opinion expressed by Mr-. CStfad-. stone. When discussing the heat meana of making the metropolitan district rail-, ways pay, he said that, As a rule, theState, or the individual, or the company* thrives the hest. which dives deepest doww into the. Hiasa of the community, and adapts its arrangements to the wants of the greater number," But, Sir, our popiit | lation is, .aa 1 have already said, so and the country is so sparsely that rules of the kind juat. hnvq, amongst us only a limited The large use made of th®. WlwaySj, haw-, ever, proves that i£ o,u.V people were as numerous as the resources of tho country warrant ua \n expecting they will become,, our railways would pay far more th®Bi mere interest on cost even with ovuf present tariff. The tonnage carried oa out railways compares very favorably with the neighboring Colonies, Victoria" carrying 1062 tons, New South Walea, 2299- tons, and New &ea,land> 2247 tons per IQft of population. The number of; on the New Zealand railways last year v?aA 2,932,279, being 5'78 per eept. of out population ; the number in Victoria was 3,829,256., being p e r oent, of the population. Now our freight traffic is not capable of indefinite increase, however low the rate may be, nor can we raise tariff beyond a fair payment for th® ?ervices rendered, however much might be inclined to do so. Our principal rail-, ways skirt the sea coaat, a,iid we are re-, stricted in our tariffs, by the competition of water carriage, On' the inland railways, too, the tariffs are at present more strictly limited than they would usually be, because of thp cheapness of horse food and the competition of ordinary vehicles. Even if this were not so, 1 should not in any case advocate excessively high rates. It will take time to develop a true system of tariff, adapted to our circumstances. Our efforts must necessarily be oarefully made and constantly watched, but railway rates, that are only designed to bring in five per on cost, surely cannot be considered Ingulf competition modes of conveyance permit their adoption, we need not despair, I believe, Sir, of "' tim attaining a good result. covered the country with these stimulating and civilising agencies; in their neigiv»

wfcood settlement will succeed, population and industries will increase, and tfcen oar railways will become, if we . it, aids to our revenue instead of a „orce of temporary embarrassment. At ■ Sesent, however, there. » a feeling of S disappointment at the result exhibited by the yearly balance-sheet; and, " on2 Bt other remedies, it has been proVg g< i to sell the railways. No doubt, Sir, Twe could find a purchaser for them at " t price such a coarse might seem to ntesent an easy solution of the difficulty. Tfc is a suggestion that might have been e cted, and has at least one merit—that of 'extreme simplicity. Given a svstem of railways worked at a loss, to nd the loss sell the railways. Nevertheless I fear, Sir, the preferred solution •wili'not help us much, for it is clear that comnany wonld buy our lines except 3 price calculated to yield at feast the current rate of interest, •which at present may be stated at fto 10 per cent - These are the rates riven for money advanced on freehold security, subject, to little risk and reouiring f rom t * ,e owner scarcely any personal attention; while railway investments are exposed to dangers of various fands, such as floods, heavy payments for accidental injuries, depression of trade, and so on. If, therefore, we seek to sell onr railways, which are now paying only ol p er cent, interest, we shall have to accept for them a sum representing only a portion of their cost. Probably we should have to face a loss of millions of money, and certainly we should still be liable for the payment of the whole of the interest as at present, while we should abandon all chance of retrieving our position by improved management, and forfeit for the railways' system the advantages t>l increased population and growing industries. If the Colony were to sell the railways to a private firm, what would that firm do to insure a profit 1 It may he answered in general termor would manage better. Well, gjr I admit that the management is capable of .improvement; I concede that the Government will probably never be able to manage so well as a private firm misfit; but no private firm is likely to engage in such a gigantic undertaking, and gross mismanagement by large public companies is a state of things with which we are not entirely unacquainted. Of course, a railway company would try to charge higher rates for carriage, but why cannot we ourselves do that ? Why should we submit to a heavy 1033 of capital to begin with, and then to thej payment of extreme rates 03 well 1 Another, and not the least objection to tie proposal i 3, that a company occupying Bucfc a position would be a great power in the State, whose influence would probably not always be wielded in the interests of tie people. I feel quite sure, Sir, that it will never be necessary to accept this alternative, for I believe that careful and intelligent management, and the natural growth of traffic, will yet make onr railways commercially successful. Sir, the goose will remember that, at the end of last session, Government expressed their opinion that the character of the various lines of railways in course of construction Bad not been sufficiently examined before their adoption ; that, in the prospect of an insufficiency of funds to complete them, tiey ought to be re-considered ; that we announced our intention of advising the appointment of a Koyal Commission " to make a fuller and more complete investigation of the cost and economical value of tie works commenced and proposed than it would be possible for the Government to complete before the next session of Parliament." His Excellency the Governor accordingly commissioned five gentlemen from different parts of the Colony to make tie enquiry. The Commission promptly entered on their duties, and after taking evidence in nearly every district, in which railways are being constructed or are proposed to be made, they have presented a very valuable report as the result of their hbora. Copies of this report have by command been laid before Parliament; and, although the views at which the Commissioners arrived may not be universally approved, yet we feel sure that tie Colony will recognise the impartial lystem on which their enquiries have been conducted, and we believe that these gentlemen have well earned the thanks of the community. In saying this the Government would not be understood as adopting implicitly the whole of their recommendations. It is perhaps hardly within the bounds of possibility that reports dealing with so many works and proposals for all parts of the Colony should be accepted in every particular. For the present, however, even the restricted programme recommended by the Commissioners is far beyond our means. The estimated cost, beyond the present liabilities of completing the lines of railways authorised by Parliament is L 6,666,200.! That being the case, it becomes sufficiently apparent that we must greatly modify our icheme of railway construction, postponing tome important parts of it antil population and settlement have largely increased, and until the railways already constructed have become more nearly self-supporting. We have not the funds I necessary to complete it at present, nor I 'ill oar ordinary revenue bear the in- ! leased demand which every additional mile of railway makes on it for yearly fcja in working. We have no alternative, therefore, but to confine our operations to the extension of Home of the incomplete lines to such nearest point 3 as will bring into use ; and, as far as possible, ®ake the expenditure already incurred to wme extent reproductive. Of the amount 70tedlaat year for public works no less * row. than 142,356,729 was for actual liabilities, which we found in existence; and further expenditure to a considerable jimount was made necessary by these liabilities. Realising the position of the Public 'Works fund, we have endeavored, . > minimise expenditure, and to spread it aver a3 large a space of time 33 possible. We have stopped many new works, even after contract# had been prepared by the Department, and tenders received. Nevertheless, the country has teamed from my hon. friend, the Colonial Jteasurer, that the state of the Public orka Fund is most unsatisfactory. In m 3 financial Statement the Colonial teasurer showed that the total ways and I ® ei ®s on 31st March last was L 3,262,410, Wd.that the liabilities of the public works To ,-. Qa same date amounted to Peaceable, however, by n«! ' advances in the hands of t 0 ? 13 *ke Government j thns leaving I«!vf o£ on 31st March, y_ J. c ' ea r of liabilities. Since 31st the ways and means have been Planted by miscellaneous receipts and 129,934, and during the four the f T 8 ? £ 31st July the liabilities of tn Te een unavoidably increased L %^ Qt of L 330,871. Adding, to the balance of LITA fl<~i on March, and deducting JJWOTI, we arrive at 1831,933 as the tain- Mce on sl3t -Jnly. The tton of the account may, perhaps, be SiPin mo * e clearl y thus. The way 3 and iTs i^ Q JaI 3 r ? 1 amounted to L 2,677,910 taift cttft ® on31 * 36 ing of cash in hand, hi])_ Id : treasury and deficiency ' investments, L 67,000; K wft,£ ebe ? tare3 > L 8°,000; total, Umo. iS The liabilities on the Ihgj tta£e amounted to L 2,202,474. itw however, imprests outstandU,856 July k 246 . 486 ; making to t,. '' the net amount of liabilities ; and leaving, as a le T ' as already stated, for "fecit a » aer vice3. The estimates fortiiw j Ol OQ k to submit make a 900 enanA on this balance of SWtf?* k&ving L147,G80 only for gla tions from the Public Bearing in mind the

importance of spreading the expenditure of the balance of loan over the next two yeara, we should have preferred; Sir, to" ask for the appropriation of a much smaller sum; but we have not found it possible to do so. The votes for the 1 various works which we now propose are designed to provide for the expenditure up to 30th June, 1881. After that date, and until we are again in a position to become borrowers, the only sources whence we can draw supplies for these purposes will be some portion of the proceeds of land sales, and the saving from the Estimates for the purchase of native land, a saving which we have reason to believe may be considerable, but which at present it is impossible to estimate.

WORKS PROPOSED. I will proceed, Sir, to briefly summarise the works of proposed railways. The present contract at Kawakawa will be completed, and the remaining part of the line will be finished with a branch to the town wharf, so as to admit of the coaltraffic being carried on. The line from Kaipara to Te Awamutu will be completed for traffic. The question of the propriety of constructing the WaikatoThames railway has been raised by the -Railway Commissioners, who have recommended that it should at present be | completed only to the junction with the I projected Cambridge line, and that th Cambridge section of eleven miles shoul be substituted. The Government inten to have the subject very carefully invest gated with a view to determine whic proposal will be most beneficial to th country, and will act accordingly. Th vote will therefore be proposed in th alternative. The line between Napie and Makatoko will be completed. Th Wellington and Opake line will be com pleted as far as Mastetron, and provi sion made for the unemployed on the es tension to Opake. The station at Welling ton will also be constrncted. The Foxtoi section and wharf on the Wellington am Fox ton line will be completed. Sundr necessary works on the opened lines be tween Foxton and Kaiawi will b executed ; and the extension to "Waverley which is in hand, will be finished. Th works in the neighborhood of Carlyle wil be proceeded with, giving work to th unemployed. The contracts between Strat ford and Hawera will be pushed on, an( the formation to Normanby will probabl; be completed within the present year The extension of the line from Foxhil to Belgrove, on the Kelson to Greymoutl line, will be completed. The Stillwate section now in progress will be finished and the Greymouth Harbor "Works car ried on. The Picton and Blenheim lim will be completed at the Blenheim end where there are still some station worki unfinished. The section of the main lini from Amberley to the Waikari Plains i; to be finished, the nine miles through th« Weka Pass being reserved for the unem ployed. A few urgent station works 01 the opened lines are provided for. The Waimakariri Gorge portion of the Oxford; Sheffield line, which was reserved for the unemployed about a year ago, will be carried on as the demand for the work may require. The extension of the Opaws branch towards Fairlie Creek will also be carried out by the same means. The Ellesmere section of the Little Kiver and Akaroa branch is to be completed. The general expenditure proposed on the Otago main line is for the completion of the stations and other works now in progress. The Dnntroon branch is to be finished acros3 the Maerewlienua river, the bridge over which is already built. The formation on the first section of the Livingstone branch, recently resumed to give work to the unemployed, will be finished by them. The sections of the western railways now in progress will be completed. The Hindon section of the Otago central railway, which was opened to the unemployed about a year ago, will be reserved exclusively for them, as it is now almost the only suitable work in Otago on which a large number can be employed. At present there are about TOO men at work there ; and, although this number will in all probability decrease during the summer months, I fear there is no prospect of a complete cessation of the demand that will be made on us for this kind of employment, and we have therefore made provision for supplying it on this section.

"WATER-RACES, MIDDLE ISLAND. The work of improving and extending the various water races now in progress will be carried on. ROADS. In the North Island the proposed appropriation will admit of the road works on the Waimate Plains and other native districts being continued, as well as of the maintenance in a serviceable state of certain main roads, which it is necessary to keep open for traffic. In addition to the completion of the various works in hand, the,road from Nelson fco Greymouth and "Westport is to be improved throughout, so as to render it fit for coach traffic, and make it an arterial line of communication between the north end of the island and Coast. In conclusion, Sir, I would say that although the Government found it to be | their imperative duty to abate the speed at which public works have until lately been carried on, yet we believe that the time 13 not far distant when the works now temporarily suspended may be resumed, and those now proposed to be curtailed completed. The resources of New Zealand are so great that for her there can be neither retrogression xior standing still. But, Sir, it is incumbent on us to recognise that, for a State as for an individual, a steady progress and an assured prosperity can only be maintained byi obedience to the rules of prudence. I have now, Sir, to express my gratitude for the patient attention with which the House has heard me.