PUBLIC WORKS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 81, 9 August 1913, Page 4

PUBLIC WORKS.

The Minister for Finance, in the Budget just delivered, showed the position of the Public Works Fund when the Government came into office, the expenditure which had taken place under the fund during the year and its position on March 31 last when the financial year closed. The “Dominion” says these figures show conclusively the unjustifiable nature of the attacks made on Ministers, more especially of course the Minister for Public Works.'Briefly put, the position of the Public Works Fund is as follows £ Balance at beginning of year 82,58 i Receipts during year ... 3,374,971

Expenditure , v . -2,830,810 Balance at end of year ... 626,741 Of the balance at: the! end of (the year nearly £250,000 was required for •redemption of debentures due on April 15 last. If allowance is made for this and-for the liabilities-at the ehd of the year, which totalled £673,933, it will be seen that even with £991,774 of loan money to he received the Government had worked down to a very fine point, and spent the funds available as fast as prudence warranted. The actual expenditure on public works during the past five ■ years was as follows;—■. Year ~ ‘ • £ 1908- .....f.......... 2,183,245 1909- 2,022,876 1910- 1,891,918 1911- 2,200,745 1912- 2,378,539 It will be seen from these figures that public works were pushed on at least as rapidly as in previous years. As a matter of fact, at the end of the year the state of the Public Works Fund by no means indicated that it was glutted with money:— £ Balance ... ... 376,965 Loan money to receive 994,774 £1,371,739 Liabilities ... ... 673,933 Leaving available ... 697,806 This is a comparatively small sum for public works purposes, and the Government proposes to meet the requirements for the current year by supplementing it with £675,000 to be transferred from the surplus in the Consolidated Fund and by raising a loan for £1,750,000. This will make the total available for public works £3,122,800, which should fully meet requirements without wholly exhausting tlio fund.