The Daily News. WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 24. PUBLIC WORKS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81873, 24 October 1906, Page 2

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 24. PUBLIC WORKS.

lii. Publie \\ 01 k- Statement is not ccung with veiy vigoious cr.ticiMii ihe House, as a reference to ihe le

por. oi VL-biL'iday's si.ung of tn Chamber shows. Tin' Statement ; really a recoid of the past lyear' work, a\d a fotecast oi the uomg of tlis multifarious Departments con nulicd by the tUinislei fur I'ubh WoiKa. Tin' oltices and purpose u the Publ:c Service, like tne Stale debi are increasing eveiy year, and til growth of the said seivice is reail the growth of the colony. This yea it is proposed to burro,v another mil lion. That million loan seems in ev:table. indeed, with the colon committed to its big undertaking? wo either have to borrow to comple; them or lax ourselves up to anofne million a year, a proceeding whic; the average elector would scarcely ai: prove of, preferring that the burden or the greater part thereof, shoui> be left as a legacy to posterity. 0 course, works like the Main Truni railway have to be completed befor they can be expected to pay for them stives. Railway construction is, a a matter of fact, the largest item ii the colony's expenditure. If we ha not to keep finding about a miliio; and'a quarter for this work, we wuul< have no occasion to go to the mono, lender; but it would be quile unwi" to entertain the idea of stopping th construction of the iron- highways Considering the country was pracli tally in a state of barbarism half century ago, it is really surprisinj what has been done in railway coc siruction in the colony since tha time. And it is surprising, too, th txlenl of money that has been frh tered and thrown away on lines whic id ail practical purposes arc little us to the country. Had the m"ne which has been sunk in these, line been put :nto the Main trunk o slratford-Ongarue, the colony woul have been very much belter off to Jay. But to return to the Stat> mcnt. >Mr Hai'j Jones sa'ys life x peels to have the gap betwen tne iw uads of the Main Trunk line railo< JV the end of itjoS, two years hence ;ut the gentleman in question ha: 11ways been on the sanguine side ir egard to this particular line, and h,i may prove tu be like o hers le has made in the same connection—i little astray. In his initial speech Sir 'osepii Ward, u will be remembered, aid ihat. the purpose of the Government would be to concentrate their fi'orts up-"ii the railway trunk lines, :nd cluck the work on the smaller nes. but the ''.oaves and fishes nindpie seems to have prevailed afcr all, and t'.i'.se smaller line, jre !) be given-as large—in fact, larger ! ppropriations than even. Witii this lie caue the Stratford-Ongarue line hould have been more liberally treatd than h has been. Last year bu; paitry .iio.JicjO was expended on its (instruction, though £zo.oo:> was vo.d for the work, and this year anther £20,000 vote is asked for. To ■velop Taranaki a- it should be de-

veluped, and to give means of ingress, and egress to the unfortunates who luive been luted into taking up sections in iiie.se roadless regions, and who have been crying their hearts out ia a vain endeavour to obtain help n regard t" Iran-sit, tlu- prosecution oi this line is a matter of urgent necesi.i'.y and importance. Were the dis iricN well roaded, or decently loaded; the liiie would not be so urgently n'ed'-'d. And about roads . I.asi vcar the Public Works Department spsnt £34.790 on the const! uction and niainienace of roads for the Taranaki road district, and incurred liabilities 1.1 the extent of another and this year £32,53') is being asked for. On tho face of it, this is another injustice to Taranaki, but it has 10 be remembered that the Department arc putting their transactions on a little better business basis, and will m future charge maintenance and repairs to the Consolidated Fund and not to the Public Works Fund; or, in plainII words, to the current revenue, instead of to what is the colony's capital account —an innovat on for the making of which Mr Hall-Jones is 10 be commended. We have no means »i ascertaining what maintenance and repairs cost the country—the account V construction and maintenance is lumped with the account for con structior.—but no doubt it will be found that Taranaki's mad vote will work out at about die same as it was last year, which is n»i saying a great deal, seeing how shabbily the un tunate back settlers are off for roads, and how lung they have been promised help. It was not to be expected that the Minister would recommend ihe taking in hand of the Opunake branch lailway, and unless the penpie concerned supply the wherewithal themselves on lines similar to those in connection with the proposed Gore Waikaka. and Pacrua-Waihi branch lines, we arc afraid there will be little help low aids such a work forthcoming from the Government during the next decade. In the Statement a -■ehemc is outlined for the utilisation oi' water power for generating cleciriciiy in various paits of the col ony, and a vote of £53,000 is being asked I r v.ith which to make a start.

The Government have gone to a good deal of trouble and expense duting the past year in making preliminary •.urvo<s. etc.. of the different source oj power. There U little doubt tha<. the utilisation of water power must largely contribute 10 the industrial development of the colony, and the (iuvernmeni are wed advi-cd in facilitating in Ihe way they are the utilising of a power that might do fer New Zealand whal the successful exploitation and use of it have done for some of the Continental manufacturing countries. In pursuing their work in this connection, however, the Government should take care not n. hamper private cnleipri-c. On lie' other hand, private enterprise in this direction should be enc.ouaged in ev'-i'v wav pos-ible. consistent, of course, u ill the proper safeguarding o; the public ink-rests.