The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1914. PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 56, 22 October 1914, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1914. PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

The Public Works Statement presented by the Hon. W. Fraser is, from many points of view, quite as satisfac tory as such documents usually are. Whether or not it is matter for congratulation that the expenditure for the year on Public Works has been the largest for over thirty years, is open to question. It has, however, to be remembered that the present Minister in charge of this Department has had a particularly difficult task in so much as, though with the progress of settlement and the advances which the coun. try is making, the demands for roads, railways, bridges, and other public works have been exceedingly heavy. the state of the financial barometer has been so unsettled that the necessary' funds required have been difficult to obtain. Mr Fraser has certainly succeeded in surmounting many of the obstacles in his path, and has made some excellent progress, the more pressing needs of the country having received reasonable attention with as little delay as possiblp. The total sum expended was within fifty thousand pounds of three millions sterling, and

the credit balance at the end of the year amounted to £1,178,584, a substantial and valuable asset at a time like the present, when the great upheaval in Europe must, to a great extent, affect the internal policy of every part of the Empire. As to the outlook, fche Minister has apparently prepared his Statement very much as he would have done had no war been rag-* ing. Of course the votes on the present Estimates must be subject to the ability of the Government to raise the suggested three million loan at a reasonable rate, though we have very litfcle doubt but that this will be effected. Probably Ministers have now had sufficient experience to realise that it is

not so easy to keep expenditure even within reasonable bounds, and it almost appears as if the most ardent supporters in the past of a non-borrowing policy have seen the impossibility of their ideals—if not the error of their ways. Practically it is certain that in a new country such as this, with its enormous undeveloped resources, borrowing is an essential factor of progress. Since assuming office the Hon. Mr Fraser has visited a great deal of New Zealand and has endeavoured to make himself personally conversant with the needs of the different. districts, and it is to his credit that no previous Minister in charge of the Public Works Department has ever made greater effort to ascertain what is wanted and what is best so far as the financial resources of his Department will permit. Naturally he has not succeeded in pleasing every district or every section of the community, but generally speaking his policy lias been a good one, with due regard for the welfare of the majority InI eluding the proposed loan, the actual

sum at the disposal of the Government for Public Works will be £4,756,212, while the estimated expenditure, as set down in the Statement, for the current year is £3,402,750. So far as Taranaki is concerned, the estimates provide for a liberal *jxpenciitur:2, though we could have hoped that a larger sum had been provided for the Stratford-Main Trunk line, recognised as it must be to-day as the most im-' portant of the uncompleted railway works in the Dominion at this time, i The expenditure on the work last year was a little over ninety thousand pounds, and the amount set out in the Estimates this year is one hundred thousand pounds. Votes totalling £32,325 are asked for expenditure in the Stratford Roads District, which covers the whole ox the eight counties in Taranaki. This amount is something under two thousand pounds more than was voted last year, and eight thousand pounds more than the actual sum spent. Settlers and local bodies should note this latter fact, for it seems certain that amounts which ought to have been , expended were let slide from a variety of causes. Stratford will note with some pleasure that after many years" of protest- the first instalment of one thousand pounds has been put down towards the erection of a new Post Office, and so far as urgent wants are concerned appropriations for public buildings ;in Taranaki have nob been overlooked. As the Minister remarks, the year should be a busy one, and if the Government io enabled to carry out its programme a good step forward will have been macte.