PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1384, 27 August 1885, Page 2

PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

The Hon Mr Richardson, Minister for Public Work*, delivered the Public Works Statement last Tuesday evening. It was a very long ono—occupying an hour aod a-hulf in delivery—and was listened to throughout with attention. After a few introductory remarks, Mr Richardson sail it would be remembered that on tho 31at_o£._Mardi 1 4-584,-_£ha_ colony had 1464 miles Of railway open foi traffic which had cost £11,251,633, and on the 31st March, 1885, 1477 miles, having coßt £11,810,194. There was also on the 31st March last a length of 155 miles of railway in course of construction. . In [accordance with a resolution of the House, negotiations had been entered into for the purchase of the District Railways, and arrangements had been made for the purchase of the Rakaia and Ashburton Forks, the Waimate, the Duntrcon and Hakateramea, subject to the ratification of Parliament. No arrangement hud been made for the purchase of the Waimea Plains aod the WellingtonManawatu lines. Under the East and West Coast (Middle Island) and Nelson Railway Act of last session, the Government was authorised to enter into a contract for the construction of railways from Springfield to Brunnerton and from drunnerton to Belgrove, and after lengthened negotiations terms of an agreement were settled between the promoters of these railways and th» Government for their construction. RAJLWATS IN" COURSE O? CONSTRUCTION AND PROPOSED, INCLUDING ADDITIONS TO OPENED UNES. On the Kawakawa line several buildings had been erected and more accommodation provided. The Whangarei and Kaino and branch line would need extending at the Whangarei end into deep water to enable the largely increasing; output of coal from the Whau mines to be economically shipped, but till a new survey was made he could not make any recommendation to the House. With regard to the providing ot railway communication for the districts north of Auckland the Government were of opinion that the railway should be extended from Helensville northwards, and that the extension should be steady and gradual, constructing a short iength annually, so that aB the timber is cut away from those localities that now feed the railway lina it should reach successive areas of the finest lands, tapping each one in turn, and with that view it is intended to ask for a vote to enable the lino t» be continued to Kaukaukapapa, taking in several miles of circuitous navigation of the Kaipara River with all the heavy timber which is now brought to Helensville for the Auckland market. The line can be continued up the valley of the Kaukaukapapa till it reaches a very large and valuable kauri bush about nine miles distant, and thence onward by way of Wellsford, Port Albertlv.iiwaka, Mungaturoturo, Mungakurame.i, Wairoa Palls, Mungakahia Valley, Kuikohe, and the Omapere Lake to the head of the Hokiaaga river. Improvements had been made on the KaiparnWaika branch of the railway between Helensville and Auckland. The new passenger station at Ain.-k-------j land should be completed in November next. The Waikato-Thames and the Hamilton-Cambridge lines were th«-n briefly referred to, and reference was then made to the North Island Trunk fliiihvay from Marston to Te Avvarrtutii. Tenders had been accepted for 15 miles at the northern end and 13 miles at the southern end, and both contracts had been commenced. About 6 miles of the northern contract it was stipulate! should be performed by the Maoris, and it was satisfactory 'o stato flint this amount had been taken up in small lengths by these men, and that they wished for furt'u-r contracts. The heaviest work on this line is the Puroiarau tunnel, between tinwatersheds of the Mokau and Wanganui rivers, about 48 miles south of the Te A wamutu, and a contract for it had been let. Tenders had also recently been called for two further sections of this line, that at the northern end being about 12 miles in length, and at the southern end about Smiles. Of these tenders for the southern section had been received and were now being dealt with. We have already let contracts for three stationmasters' houses along the line, to be used in the meantime as engineers'offices. On tiie road from Kihikihi a contract has been lf*t for a bridge to cross the Puiia River, and beyond this a road is now being constructed to give approach to the various works along the northern end of the the railway. Some 50 navvies are at work upon this work by contract. A survey has been made for a road about 15 miles long to connect the Purotarau tunnel with the head of the navigation of the Ongarua and Wanganui rivers, and this work is now being carried out by small c< ntracts. A cateful survey of the Wanganui river nad shown that a very small sum would make it available for steam navigation. The railway will strike the river about 140 miles from the sea. This work had been put in hand. The permanent way materials required for the work now under contract at both ends of lln line, had been already contracted for. The location of the rest of tho line is rapidly being proceeded with, and it would rest on the House by its votes to determine at vhat rateof progress this line shall ho continued. I During the last finaiuial year a further length of nearly 12 miles of the Napier' to Woodvil'c and P/ulmerston line was , opened to Ta'ioiaile, being 81 miles from Napier. A coutuict had been let for 13 '

miles further, coming within 1£ miles from Woodyille, and it ia proposed to let another contract shortly. A very careful survey had been made for the line through the Manawatu Gorge. The contract plans for this length are in a very forward state, and as soon as they are / ready it is proposed to call tendarsfor the work. Considerable expenditure had taken place during the year in providing additional accomodation aleng the line, and owing to the increasing traffic much more was still necessary. Nineteen miles of the line from Masterton to Morrinsville would be completed in December. The Wellington passenger station had been moved to a more convenient site, and provision has been made for a large ! increase in traftc which is expected to ensue when the Wellington-Manawatu railway is completed. The last link on the Foxton-New Plymouth rail way was finished in March last, thus completing through communica* tion over a distance of 190 miles from Foxton to Waitara ; and during the present year a contract had been entered into for the construction of a branch railway from New Plymouth to the Breakwater. The formation works on the Wai-iti section of the Nelson railway beyond Belgrove for 2\ miles, which were stated last year to be in hand were completed in I'ebruary last. The East and West Coast and Nelson railways were then referred to at length. Mr Richardson said they wore included in the original scheme of railways proposed in 1870, and jftar detailing wJmt had been done under the Railways Construction and Land Acts and under the special Act of last year said the Government, believing that they will benefit the colony as well as the districts immediately concerned, intended to ask for a moderate vote this year for the purpose of commencing their construction. A sum of £150,000 had been placed on the Estimates this purpose. The Government are of opinion that by this proposal, they are placing the matter in a position to which no part of this colony can reasonably objec/r while they are relieving the distri&tJS concerned from the sense of soreness and injustice under which they now labor. On the Hurunui-Bluff line the construction of the bridge over the Hurunui river is now well advanced. The formation of the section from thence to Eed Post, 9J s miles in length, is already completed, including station buildings, so that the contract for the platelaying can be let as soon as the bridge is finished, which will probably be about October next. The extension of the railway station building at Dunedin had been continued during the year, and the new platforms had been in use since the Ist November last. The new passenger house, which ia designed to be of masonry, has not as yet been commenced, as it is considered advisable to postpone it for the present in view of the large expenditure which has already taken place. On the Malvern Hills-Whitecliffs branch, a contract for the extension of this railway for about 24 chains across the Selwyn river is in hand, and is expected to be completed in about a month or so. On the Ashburton branch railway, a contract for the forma- •' tion of a further length of about 2| miles is now in progress, and is expected to be finished in January next. When this is completed, the platelaying upon it will be put in hand without delay. The completion of the Little River branch railway, including platelaying and stations up to Little River township, 36 miles from Christchurch, is now under conttact, sad is expected to be finished about January next. The tunnelling on the NgaparaLivingtone branch is completed, and tenders will be let for platelaying. The contract, of nine miles, on the PalmerstonWaihemo branch will be completed next month. Eightjmiles of the Oatlin's river branch will be open for traffic in Octobers nezt. A contract has Jbeen let for laying;" the permanent way of the first section of the Otago Central, about eight miles in length, and as soon as the formation ia completed up to the Wingatua viaduct, the permanent way will be laid thereon also, so aa to expedite the viaduct works as far as possible. The whole of the • rest of the works required for the formation of this line to the end of the thirty-third mile, where it emerges into the plain, are now under contract, with the exception of a few short pieces which will be put in hand in small contracts very shortly. A contract for the completion of the first 64 miles of the Ltimsden-Mararoa branch'of the In vercargill-Kingston railway is expected to be completed hjj January next. The tliverton-Orepuki line has now been opened for traffic throughout a length of 18 miles. Tenders have been let for the supply of 15,000 creosoted sleepers at 4s each. Thia process will enable white pine and other timber, which could not otherwise bj'used, to be utilised, and the works will last much longer than has hitherto boon the case. WORKING RAILWAYS. On the 31st March last theri wis 1447 miles of rail way open for traffic, the total cost of these lines being £U,810,194>h The receipts for last year from all sources amounted to £1,045,712, and the expenditure was £699,026, leaving a net profit . of £355,686, which is equal to £3 0d 3d* per cent on the outlay. It is 10s Id pec cent, more than that earned during the previous year. The rates of profit wera highest on theßninnT and on the Napier lines, amounting to £4 16s and £4 0s 5d per cent, respectively, while on the Hurunui-BlutTline, witii all its branches, the profit was £3l3s Id, on the Auckland lines £2 12s, on the Wellington-Masterton line £2 2s, and on the Poxton-New Plymouth line 18s 6d. The rates for the other railways vary considerably, and descend in one case to 3s 5d per cent, on the Picton line, which was (he lowest for tha year, the average result being as before stated £3 0s 3d per cent. Two large locomotives were being erected ia_«| the Government workshops. The representations which have from time to in?!* appaared in the newspapers of the colony regarding the quality of a large quantity of material for waggon work, as also wheels and axles, had no doubt attracted the attention of hon. moiubers. He had found it necessary to discontinue getting these articles from England, tiil a course, which he hoped would meet geßeral satisfaction, was tested. Tenders were called in the colony tor a large number of axles to supply the phce of those condemned, but with little response. It therefore became absolutely necessary for the Department to commence making them, and the result has been that we are now making, not only ax'es, but wheels also, at a price not exceeding those which "▼

were being imported. These wheels and axles, on being tested, were also found superior to many imported, and equal to the best sent out from England, thus proving that we need now impoit no material of this class. He hoped that the whole of this clans of work would in future be done in the colony with the exception of the. heavier class of locomotives and such articles as cannot be made in the colony. A contract for the manufacture of 10 engines at a price not more than 27 per cent, above the cost of those of the same class imported from England had been let. In consequence of the [English contractors for 20 locomotives making them 10 tons heavier than the weight specified, he had refused to take delivery of them, and they had agreed to alter them at their own cost. He had been obliged, however, owing to the engines not coming forward when expected, to order 12 others from America. These were each £4OO cheaper than those ordered in-England and were shipped in May last. The total passenger traffic on railways as Bhown by the printed returns was: for the year 1853-84 3,272,644, for the year 1884-85 3,232,866. From this it would appear that there had been a decrease in the actual number of people travelling, but such was not the case, as an alteration was made towards the end of 1883 for the convenience both of the public and the railways by which all passengers who got into a train at a flag station were booked to their destination, each one only counting therefore as one passenger, whereas during the greater part of 1883, and in <tll iormer years eacli one »«« bookou twice, and counted as two passengers. The total traffic in goods and live stock for the last two years had been as follows : Goods traffic, 1883 4 Wool 62,067 tons, timber 143,449 tons, firewood 81,255 tons, grain 432,224 tons, minerals 574,313 tons, merchandise 350,262 tons, chaff, etc., 16,470 tons, total goods 1,700,040 tons. 1884-85 Wool 68,523 tons, timber .178,909 tons, firewood 86,670 tons, grain 414,590 tons, minerals 618,511 tons, merchandise 365,623 tons, chaff, etc. 17,030 tons, total goods 1,749,856 tons. Live stock 1883-84 horses and cattle 39,380, sheep and pigs 656,612, total 695,842. 1884-85 horses and cattle 43,096, sheep and pigs 698,790, total 749,006. As only 4000 acres less had been iown in Otago and Canterbury last year, than in previous years, and the average yield was much larger, he anticipated that much of the apparent loss in grain would yet be made up. The alteration in the grain tariff was then alluded to. He considered it unfair that the Government should have to bear the whole cost of keeping the fences between railway lines and private property in repair. Great cost was entailed by private sidings—there were now 251, a number in proportion to the length of the lines unheard of in any part of the world. For the Post Office Department work had been done to the value of about £19,000. For various other departments, and especially for the Education Department, free tickets had been issued and reductions made to the value of about £9OOO, all of which would be credited to revenue if the railways were in the hands of private companies. These items alone amount to fully 5s per cent, on the total cost of railway construction. It would be seen from the General Manager's report that no less than 46,536 passengers availed themselves of special trains during last year. He hoped that fully double that number would ha carried during the next season. He hoped to accustom the public to travel, so that a general reduction of the passenger fares may be found possible within a reasonable time. He had seen no reason to alter his opinion that the best method of managing the railways is by Boards of Commission. He had taken a considerable amount of pains in preparing a Bill providing for the appointment of these Boards, and the measure of success or otherwise which would attend their labors, always providing that due care is exercised in electing good men, would much depend upon the amount of power Parliament gave them. The House would, however, only be asked to carry the Bill through its preliminary Btages this session. ROADS AND BRIDGES. A number of roads under Government control in the North Island were then briefly referred to. The chief works in the Middle Island had been the completion of the road from Blenheim to Nelson via the Pelorous Valley and Ria Saddle, and various improvements in the road to Nelson and Greymouth; also the construction of the Kaikoura and Waiau road, a length of about thirty miles of which is well in hand. A survey has also been made for a road from Kaikoura to the Clarence, and the works along this distance will soon be put in hand. The bridge over the Clarence is now well advanced towards completion, and we may therefore shortly expect to have completed a coach road through from the Waiau township to the north side of the Clarence river, and thus get rid ot the long standing obstruction to the progress of settlement between North Canterbury and Blenheim. Bridges are also in progress over the laipo river or the road from Uhristchurch to Hokitika, over the Taieri river in Otago, the Clutha, and Beaumont and Roxborough, also in Otago. A contract has also been let for the construction of a bridge over the Waiau river at the Hanmer Plains, and this will supply a want that has been long r e\t in the shape of a safe road to Thermal Springs near Jollie's Pass, as well as to the whole of the interior of the Nelson and Marlborough districts. On roads to open up Crown binds the expenditure durine the last financial year had been £49,314 and the liabilities at the eod of March last amounted to £70,720. There are still, however, many millions of acres of Crown land to be opened up, so that a large amount of work of this claws will require to be done for many years to come. The expenditure during the present financial year is expected to reach about the amount of the liabilities existing in March laßt, viz., the sum of £70,702, and that is all that is proposed to ask for as a vote ; but in addition to this sum it is proposed to ask the House to authorise the incurring of further liabilities during the current year to the extent of, say, £90,000. Under the Roads and Bridges Construction Act one-fourth of the sum borrowed to be repaid or provided for within ten years by the local body, the total amount of the applications received on the 30th June, 1884, when reduced in accordance with ttie Act of 1883, came to £250,484. The total amount distributed for bridges and road works together, amounted to £10^,294.

In addition to these ordinary applications, there were also applications for repairs of extraordinary damage by floods, amount ing to £13,577, and grants were made on these to the extent of £9005- The total applied for altogether on account of main roads, was therefore £264,061, and the total granted £112,299, of which £60,975 was for bridges, and £51,324 for other works. An amount was also granted, to be paid in fifteen years, on account of district roads and river works, and the total amount applied for during the year ended March last had been £34,593 (including applications amounting to £llß6 for flood damages), and in pursuance of these applications loans had been granted to the extent of £26,002. It would thus be seen that the total amount granted for the year had been £138,301. As several local bodies had, however, since decided to deal with their grants under different sections of the Act to those under which the grants were originally made, the amount finally granted had been thereby reduced to £108,678 for main roads and £25,274 for district roads and river works, so that the grand total for the year, as revised up to the 3Jst March, had been £133,952. The expenditure on roads and tracks etc., for the development of goldfields and other mining districts was £15,630, and the liabilities at the end of the year amounted to £33,122. WATER WORKS ON GOLPFIELDS. The expenditure on the construction of water races during the year had been £8209, and the liabilities at the end of tlie yeai £,TOOif. PURCHASE Or NATIVE LANDS, NORTH ISLAND. Through the operations of the Native Lands Purchase Department during the past year sixteen negotiations, some of which were open for the last 13 y\irs, had been brought to a close, thus im leasing tho public estate of the colony by an area of over 70,000 acres. Under theso circumstances it was only considered necessary to ask for an appropriation of £70,000 for the current financial year as against £90,000 last year. Returns would shortly be placed before the House regarding the whole of the land purchase transactions, the result in round numbers being : Complete transections, 4,040,000 acres, incomplete 1,000,000, total expenditure £1,000,000. IMMIGRATION. The number of immigr-intj introduced for the year ending June 30th, 1885, was 1262. Nominations of 310 had been received since November, 1884 —the amount to be paid being £8 10s for each adult, and £5 for each child. The tot-il number of immigrants of all classes introduced into the colony since the inauguration of the immigration scheme by the Colonial Government is 111,948. TELEGRAPH EXTENSION. Teltgraph extension during the year consisted of the erection of 190 miles of new lines ahd 437 miles of additional wire. The telegraph lines in use in the colony at the end of March last extended to a total length of 4264 miles, carrying 10,474 miles of wire, of which 2820 miles is duplexed. Telephone exchanges were set up during the year at Napier and Oamaru, and arrangements have been made for such exchanges at Timaru and jfoapier. The exchanges in operation vielded a gross revenue during the last financial year of £IO,OOB 3s 6d. The expenditure on new works and extension of all classes last year was £25,799, and the vote proposed to be asked for this year is £25,900. PUBLIC BUILDINGS. . The expenditure on public buildings during the last year has been considerably less than for the previous year, haying been only £117,361 for 1884-85, as against £164,376 for 1883-84 and £153,072 for 1882 83. The principal works in hand, when considered individually, have been new convict prisons at Auckland and Wellington, The largest portion of expenditure during the year had been for school buildings £66,069, lunatic asylums £24,992, and Poßt and Telegraph offices £8955. LIGHTHOUSES AND HARBOR WORKS. The lighthouse at Kaipara has been completed and a light is now exhibited there. The beacon at Jackson's Head was carried away in May last, and steps were being taken to replace it with a more substantial structure. The harbor works at Greymouth and Westport were then referred to at length, it being shown that in both cases the works authorised by Parliament last year were progressing satisfactorily. HARBOR DEFENCES. The total cost of the defence works recently undertaken at Wellington, Auckland, Lyttelton and Dunedin, with the land required, will be about £52,000. It has also been considered necessary for the better protection of the harbors, and to prevent their bombardment at long range, to provide three guns of the largest type, as well as twenty machine guns, Whitehead torpedoes, and other necessary accessories for coast defences. These will be supplied shortly at a cost of £166,000. It is also proposed to establish a complete system of torpedo defence for all ports, which will cost about £35,000. PUBLIC WORKS FUND. On the Ist April, 1884, there was £488,912 to the credit of the Public Works Fund, to w'hioh had to be nrlded £?89,000, the last instalment of the loan of a million negotiated in January, 1884. Together these amounts made £877,912. To this must be added receipts during the year and £IOO,OOO the proceeds of deficiency bills, £500,000 temporary advances, and £845,440 the instalment of the million . loan negotiated in July last, which was I brought to credit befoie the end of the financial year. There was besides £4113 leceived under the Railway Construction Act of 1878. The receipts, therefore, amounted altogether to £2,327,005. As against this, the expenditure was £1,336,727, leaving a balance of £990,298 on 31st March, 1885. Of this?, however, about £250,000 was outstanding as advances in the hands of officers, and there was £600,000 besides required to pay off the deficiency bills and the temporary advances. The expenses of negotiating the last million of the three million loan had no*; heen brought to account, but, on the other hand, an instalment of £155,000 of this loan remained to be paid. It would be seen, therefore, that of that famous three million loan, together with its little sister, the £250,000 colonial inscribed loan, all had passed away on the 31st March last, excepting about a quarter million, and about a like amount im the hands of officers to be accounted for. In these figures the million loan authorised for the North Island Railway

had not hei-n included—that loan, as hon. members werti;; aware, not having a 8 yet been raised, and the funds for the work* so far undertaken on that railway having been temporarily provided by advances from loans authorised for other purposes. Tlie*e advances will, of course, have to be recouj ed »• ben the loan for the North Island line is flouted. The credit balance, therefore, at the commencenieni of the present financial year was, as already Btated, £990,298. To this had been added £155,000, the last instalment, to which he had also alluded, of the three million loan, and £1,500,000 for tho loan of that amount floated in May, making together £2,645,298. On the other hand, there must be deducted from this sum the £600,000 required to pay off the deficiency bills and to repay temporary advances obtained last year. There would thus remain a little over two millions available for expenditure on the Ist of April next. This last is subject, however, to the quarter of a million in the hands of officers and to be accounted for, and subject to the cost of negotiating the million loan iu January and the million and a half in May last. It wag necessary he should say a few words as to liabilities. During the first four months of the present year, the expenditure from the Public Works. Fund had proceeded at a little over the rate of £850,000 a year. Some heavy oiders for defenoe material had been given, and payment may have to ba made on this account shortly. Even taking the defence expenditure into account however, he sstimated that the amount coming in for Daymen i up to the 31st of March next may be kept within £1,250,000. The expenditure, hovirever, will continue to proceed under the liabilities contracted without reference to any further expenditure to be authorised next session, and we must always calculate upon about a quarter of a million being in the bands of officers for advances. Taking this into account and the million and a quarter of expenditure which he anticipated within the year, we shall have available of the balance with which we begin this year about about half a million for neit year on the 31st March. Seeing the period at which Parliament generally meets, and the pressing business which at first engages its attention, we think it desirable that provision should be made for another million, which might be negotiated any time after March, when the opportunity seems best. He hoped it. would take us well into 1887, but of that, of course, the House would best judgo next year. Having already detailed under their several headings the nature of the works proposed to be undertaken during the current year, it was only necessary for him to state the amounts of votes which tbey proposed to ask for on uccount of each class of undertaking. For the year now current the amounts which he proposed to ask the House to authorise ] were as follows :—For immigration, with liabilities to the end of March, amounting to £BOOO, he asked for a rote of £40,373, thus providing for new undertakings to the extent of £22,373; for departmental expenditure, with liabilities of £779, he asked for a vote of £28,931; for-railway work of all classes, with liabilities of £497,525, he asked fur a vote of of £1,347,400; the details for the several works being as follows, namely : New works, construction and land, with liabilities of £231,444, amount asked for £904,300; additions to opened lines, with liabilities of £83,563, amount asked for £172,100; permanent way sleepers and rolling stock, with liabilities of £181,586, amount asked for £268,000; surveys of new lines of railway, .with liabilities of £932, amount asked for £3OOO ; the grand total, as before stated, being £1,347,400, including liabilities existing at the end of March last amounting Co L 497.025. This trill gb-e L 849.876 for new undertakings. For roads of all classes, with liabilities of L 380,453, he asked for a vote of L 586.704. This includes various classes of road 3as follows: -Roads north of Auckland, with liabilities of £66,301, amount asked for £69,229; main roads with liabilities of £15,209, amount asked for £45,100 ; miscellaneous roads and bridges with liabilities of £29,420, amount asked for £83,974 ; grants in aid under the Roads and Bridges Construction Act and subsidies to local bodies, with liabilities of £166,329, amount asked for £268,329 ; roads to open Crown lands with liabilities of £70,072, amount aßked for expenditure this year £70,072; roads on goldfields with "iabilities of £33,122, amount asked for expenditure this year, £50,000 ; total for roads of all classes as before stated £586,704, with liabilities of £380,453, being an addition of £206,251. For waterworks on goldfields, witfi liabilities of £7367, amount asked for £30,200 ; for public buildings, with liabilities of £10,424, amount asked for £156,518; this includes school buildings £68,230, as against liabilities at end of March last £2230. For lighthouses and harbor works, including harbor defences, with liabilities of £119,220, amount asked for £266,010, thus providing £146,790 for new undertakings. The amount included in this for harbor defences is £250,000, as against liabilities at 31st March L 114,700, but the liabilities since that date have been largely increased, and now mounts up to close ou the amount of tho vote proposed. For telegraph extension, with L 25,900. Forpurchaseof Native lands, he estimated liabilities in all L 173.200, and asked liabilities of L6OOO, he asked for a vote of for a vote of L 70,000, that being suffioient to meet the prebable payments which will bocome due during the currmt year. For charges and expenses of raising loans he asked for a vote of L 60,000, The total amount proposed to be voted is thus L 2,602,036, which includes liabilities amounting to L 1,202,970. Deducting from these liabilities the sum of L 103.200 prospective liabilities on Native land purchases, Wlliutl are Hub nb prooctib roqui -od to bo provided for, the amouut available for new undertakings would thus be in all L 1,502,266; but, as already stated, it is only contemplated to spend this year about L 1,250,000, which is very slightly in exoess of the liabilities already existing. The speaker then mide a few explanations regarding tho expenditure on roads, and concluded by acknowledging the attention the statement had received.