OUR RAILWAY POLICY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2125, 14 January 1880, Page 3

OUR RAILWAY POLICY.

(Australasian, Jan. 3.) The Government of New Zealand lately met’ with the most encouraging response when it placed a loan of £5,000,000 on the London money market. Lai’gely as the colony has already drawn on the investors, it is evident that their trust in its progress and soundness is yet far from exhausted. It is, however, to he hoped that the good opinion entertained by. investors in its solvency and good management will not in any way relax the vigilance and carefulness of those engaged in the task of administering the finances of the colony. They, at least, cannot be ignorant that they have a very difficult duty to discharge. They arc by no means out of the wood. The adventurous policy to which the colony was committed nearly ten years ago is still in a state of incompleteness, and much borrowed capital will yet be required to complete it. The colony is still far from the time when its investments will be able to defray their own charges. A great difficulty which the New Zealand Government has to encounter is occasioned by the fact that the loan of £5,000,000, which has lately been so successfully floated, was anticipated or rather expended, to the amount of £3,000.000, so that only £1,872,046 remains [really available. The colony has entered into an undertaking not to resort to the money market for more loans for three years. The Minister

;hen finds himself with a sum of under

two millions, and with a very large number of railways in an incomplete state, and far from the stage at which they can begin to pay even a part of the interest on their cost. His choice was doubtless a most difficult one, hut what he finally determined on for the work of the current year was to carry on progress works on no less than 25

lines. As we understand the Minister, it will not be possible with present means to complete any of this large number of railways, and all that will bo done by the year’s work will be to carry them on somewhat nearer completion. The difficulties and perils of such a position as this arc too obvious for criticism. We presume no New Zealand politican would profess to believe that to have five-and-twenty incomplete railways on hand at once is a triumph of good management. The clamorous demands of local districts, the logrolling of members, the flabby weakness of average politicans, who find it so much easier to say yes than no when nothing suffers save the interests of the country —all have to be considered as grounds of extenuation for the management which has brought about such a position. We can readily understand the desire of the Minister to appoint a Koyal Commision to investigate the subject, 'and, at any rate, to somewhat divide with him an unpleasant responsibility.