The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 1882.

Thames Star, Volume XIII, Issue 4221, 12 July 1882, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 1882.

The Public Works Statement is a plain matter-of-fact document. It treats of millions and tens of millions, but affords but little consolation to this district. The Minister for Public Works speaks of the Tfaames-Te Aroha line, but that is a palpable mis-statement. He "keeps the word of promise to the ear, but breaks it to the hope." Eridently there is no intention of constructing the line further than Kopu, therefore the introduction of the word Te Aroha is altogether misleading. £23,000 only is voted, and that for the work in hand; it is the unexpired balance of last year's vote. The • Thames Valley Railway is not mentioned in the State* ment amongst the things either that are to be, or are contemplated. The Kopu work was to hare been gone on with months ago, but it will not be commenced for three weeks. The reason of the delay is only known to the officials of the hownot* to-do-it department and high Heaven. There are three proposed rotes that this district should strain every nerve to have a slice of if possible, viz., £103,000 for goldfields, £100,000 for roads, and £100,000 for harbors. Mr Johntson also hints at helping the Te Aroha district. This would be welcome aid, for, although not directly connected with the Thames, this district cannot help feeling the beneficial effects of the prosperity of that country. With regard to the railways, there has been an increase, of revenue during three years of about 17 per cent., and a decrease of expenditure of 10 per cent. Almost £11,000,000 had been spent in railway construction up to March 31, but of that sum £1,500,000 was not in a position to contribute Co the revenue. Of the balance (£9,443,000), £6,249,000 bed been expended in the South Island, as against £3,194,000 iv the North Island, ot about

double.. The proposed expenditure on railways out of the three million loan is in slightly better proportion, still out of a total of about £1,650,000 the South would fare better than the North by the modest .sum of say £350,000. Here are the figures, according to the telegram, but they do not agree with the total, which is £1,650,000, whereas the works as we have them detailed below would be above £1,700,000:— PROPOSED EXPENDITURE: SOUTH ISLAND. Nelson-Roundell.;. ... £40,000 Greymouth-Eeeftori ... 100,000 Blenheim extension ... 90,000 Horsly Down section ... 75,000 Main line northward ... 180,000 Upper Ashburton ... 15,030 Little Lincoln ... ... 30,000 Borke's Pass ... ... 35,000 Southward to Sheffield ... 12,000 Livingstone branch ... 22,000 ! Palmerston 18,000 Catlin River ... ... 22,300 Heriotßurn 12,000 Edendale 13,000 Otago Central extension... 300,000 Lumsden«Maroa branch,.. 35,000 Riverton .„ ... ... 16,000 £1,015,000 NOBTH ISIAND. Kawakawa £17,500 Whangarei-Kamo ... 70,500 Hamilton-Cambridge 7;. * 50,000 HamiHou-Te Awamutu ... 92,000 Thames-Te Aroha ... 23,000 Main trunk line Te Awa*' ■ \ mutu southward ... 10,000 ( Napier-Woodville,' ... 160,000 Wellington-Wdodville ... 200,000 New Ply mouth-Foxton v .r> 75,000 £698,000

Grand total, £1,713,000.

We suspect that an error of £50,000 too much has been made in some of the Auckland items, ' possibly in the Whangarei-Kamo line. The foregoing figures would give a proposed expenditure of £263,000 in Auckland; whereas our Wellington correspondent puts it at £200,000 as against £435,000 for the rest of the North Island. The condition of things is anomalous. The South Island was originally enriched by the localisation of land revenue, which should have been colonial revenue. This gave it the greater voting power in the Assembly, and between possessing the larger population and the earliest constructed and much the largest proportion of railways, that island was rushed far ahead of its northern neighbor, possessed of less influence, land revenue, and plus a native difficulty, which locked up the land. The difference is altogether too great, and is an excellent plea for the Separationists. An expenditure of almost £2 in the South Island to £1 in tbe North Island is surely enough to cause the blood of the North Islander to boil. It is prcc'ically the stronger preying upon the weaker; the favored fattening at the expense of the downtrodden. This is an excellent reason for the lines of the South Island yielding a revenue of better than 4|- per cent., against a little over 2 per cent., for the North Island. A promise of a million for the railway froia Te Awamutu to New Plymouth, else through Taupo, is dangled before the eyes of the North Island mem* bers; a veritable Bop to Cerberus. It might be voted for that purpose this year, but what guarantee is there that it will not be diverted next ? Amongst the principle items to which the balance of the loan would be devoted are the following :—

Purchase of Native Lands ... £200,000 Public Buildings 300,000 Immigration 200,000 Opening of Crown Lands ... 20,000 Roads, wharves, bridges north of Auckland ... ... 100,000 Goldfields ... ICO,OOO Telegraph extension 50.000 Harbors .., 100,000 Roads and bridges 100,000