The Daily News. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17. PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 187, 17 November 1910, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17. PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

It is one of the anomalies of our system of government that the Minister for Public Works lays before Parliament for its sanction his programme of works to be undertaken during the year when eight months of the year have passed and the bulk of the work for which he asks authority has been done. This year's programme is more ambitious than any yet presented. Last year the total ex- ■ penditure reached a record, namely, £2,218,975. For the current year, with the balance brought forward, it is proposed to allocate £3,812,366. This does not mean, however, that all the money is to be spent. That would be against all precedent. The Minister must have a nest-egg, and this year he wants a bigger one than ever, namely, nearly a million sterling. Most of the money is to be provided out of loan, the Consolidated Fund finding equal to the amount that used to be forthcoming in Mr. Seddon's days. The Minister explains that this sum is larger than anticipated when the Budget was brought down, but the great improvement in the revenue of late has enabled the larger amount to be transferred. This is good news. It shows that the Dominion has fully recovered from the effects of the 1908 set-back, and is again in a most prosperous condition. Railway construction claimed over half the total public works vote last year, viz., £1283,932. The extent of new railways opened, was 61 miles. This seems a very poor result for the huge amount of money spent in comparison to what is being done in Canada, Chili, Africa and other countries, but it has to be remembered that the conditions for railway building in New Zealand are far less favorable than in the countries referred to. In Canada, for instance, few cuttings are required, except, of course, over the Rockies and other mountains; the ballasting is done without much labor and the rails are laid at a smart rate. In New Zealand stretches of level ground are infrequent. It is a case of boring through hills, making cuttings, erecting bridges and viaducts, and filling swamps. In no country, excepting Switzerland, is railway building beset with such difficulties as in New Zealand. r Though the results are comparatively small, there is no doubt that the best value for the money spent is being obtained. The Stratford-Main Trunk line absorbed more money than any other line last year, viz., £93,235. The Government . promised to concentrate on this work and make it subsidiary to no other railway undertaking, and, they' have "made good." That there is to be no cessation of activity on this important work is shown by the amount allocated for the present year, viz., £IOO,OOO. The Minister mentions that he expects the section between Te Wera and Pohokura, over nine miles, will be ready for regular traffic by January, whilst the next section, to Whangamomona, is in hand and progressing very satisfactorily. The Whanga,. saddle is now being tunnelled from both sides, and with this work completed the iron horse should soon be in the township of Whangamomona. The next section is fairly easy going, but the negotiation of the Tangarakau Gorge will provide what is stated to be one of the toughest engineering propositions with which our resourceful railway builders have had to grapple. It is clear that the Government are pushing on with tne construction of the line all they can, and it is unreasonable to expect them to do more. Taranaki folk have also reason to feel gratified with the vote of £15,000 for completing the Mount Egmont branch line. At present the district is not receiving very much benefit from the line in the way of a cheap supply of metal, but with the remaining piece finished the line should fully justify its cost. Good road metal is a pressing necessity in most parts of Taranaki, particularly in the country served by the Stratford main trunk, and the opening of the illimitable stone deposits by the line extension will confer one of the greatest boons on the district. No mention is made of the proposed Opunake line. It was perhaps too much to expect that there would be, in view of recent Ministerial utterances. Until the lines at present in hand are completed we are afraid nothing will .be done by the Government to give railway communication to that closely settled and costly roaded country on the other side of the mountain. This being the case, the settlers should seriously consider the matter of putting down tramways, electrical or steam, which, judging by the results obtained in some parts of Australia and America, would prove remunerative and give relief in the matter of road maintenance, the cost of which is annually becoming greater. The Minister announces that the Napier-Gisborne section of the East Coast Main Trunk is to be put in hand shortly, and asks for bigger votes for the Gisborne-Motu and Tauranga-Paengaroa sections. This line will open up some of the finest lawds in the Dominion, lands that are capable of carrying a very large population, and the providing of railway communication is a duty the Government owe to the district and the Dominion as a whole, Larger votes are asked for the North Auckland lines, whilst the CanterburyWestland line vote is being considerably increased. The sum of £599,093 was spent on roads and bridges last year. This year £710,935 is asked for. Roads and bridges are inestimable assets to the country, and the £413,000 it is proposed to spend on public buildings could profitably be diverted to the fund. Public buildings do not increase the productiveness of the Dominion by a penny; roads and bridges add immeasurably to its wealth. The Minister lets off more fireworks regarding his pet sehfme, the developrticnt of our water-power resources, and furnishes some interesting' information regarding the Hutt and Lako Colevidcre schemes, an appropriation of £300.000 in connection with which is pro-posed. As

allocated for exploiting our hvdro-elec-trical resources on the development of our back country, where the need is real and the return certain. Even if the water schemes can be made to pay—and the Mnister submits figures in support of his statement that they can be—we contend there is no real necessity for inaugurating them, for both Wellington and Christ-church have already at their disposal all the electric power they require. The electrification of the railways is also referred to and a promise given that the matter is to be again gone into and the proposals submitted to Parliament next session. The Minister is optimistic as to the future: "Trade, is .rapidly improving, the public revenue is increasing, and with ' the amounts for public works services that are provided, the fullest possible employment should be available for our people in the development of the country, and I therefore look forward to a year of considerable activity and progress." .Let us hope that his hopefulness will be justified.