PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 195, 9 August 1873, Page 2

PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Friday, August 8. On the House resuming at balf-past 7 o'clock, the Minister of Public Works, the hon. J. Richardson, moved for kaye to introduce a bill to amend the Immigration and Public Works Act, 1872. He said that he would avail himself pf the opportunity to make the annuaj statement as tp progress of public works. He thanked his predecessors, Messrs Ormond and~"Reeves> for valuablo information as to the position of various matters, and lie said thai through the arduous exertions of the officers, especially Mr Carruthers and Mr Bla"kett, the Government had been enabled to perform their promises. The enormous work in. preparing the tetuens called for by members almost stopped the ordinary work of the department during last session. The tables appended to the statement had not been altered in form with a view to save time by supplying such information as was derived last session. In connection with tbe North Island Road Works, the Government had endeavored speedily to- bridge ail the larger and more dangerous streams on the lines of road ordered to be constructed. Natives had been employed on roads wherever possible ; they hid worked faithfully and at moderate rates, and tbe desire |p. enter into contracts was spieading amongst them. Mr Katene had general charge of the works in tbe tipper portion of the district of the North Island, and the Government had taken charge of the expenditure of IO,OOUZ in the more immediate neighbourhood of Auckland city. Armed Constabulary had done work during the year amounting to 2,6302. The amounts expended in the several provinces during the year were— Aucklimd, 35,555? j Taranaki, 16,694? ; *fa«f a« kes Bay, 7,507? ; Wellington , 32,047 j making a total 93,80 U. The tot al expenditure out of the North Island Road Fund up to the end of the year was 215,780/, divided thus— Auckland, 66,395* ; Taranaki, 37,608? ; Hawke's Bay, 30,956 ; Wellington, 79,081? ; and unapportioned, 1,747?. The liabilities for contractors in hand at the end of the ye*r were— Auckland, 35,934?; Taranaki, 5,631?; Hawke's Bay, 8,972; and Wellington;, 24,424?. There wnsth™ o total of 200,752? expended,, pr apportioned, leaving 109,247? out of the 400,000? voted. The allocation of thai sum was, however, subject to a balance of 43,270? out of the 60,000? set aside lost scMion for roads in the North Island. The 200,752? represented 141 miles of dray roads, and 470 miles of horse roads opened or in progress. Paten, Wuitotarn, Whenuakura bridge*, and "West Coast and several other large ones would 'be completed during Jthe financial jrear. The bridge at Manawatu gorge would be made suitable for railway purposes, and it wns lipped tha.t by next summer there would bo a good traversnble road from Wellington to Nnpicr and Wnnganui. The Scandinavians have done much good work pn this road,. On thp Nelson, South-west Goldfields, 26,652? had been expended during the year, aud the outstanding liabilities amounted to 9,293?. During the year there had been opened in thij district 33fr miles of firstclass metalled road. Nine miles had been madp passable for heavy traffic, and surveys for iifty miles of main road had been completed. Balance qf vote would be expended this year on Westland roads. Eair progress bad been made with all authorised works, and it was expected that the vote woidd be wholly expended this year. The expectations raised by Mr Ormond's statement last year have been realised as far as possible, and, except' as fq Wellington province, all railways were now as iqrwarc^ if not more so, than it was last year anticipated. There had been,f&,ir progress made with the Eiverbead and Helensyillp line ; there had been delays as to rails, but it was to be hoped they would be received in three months. The line was to cost less per mile than many others, but the gradients were heavier than that of any other lines except the Wellington and Masterton and the Eimatuka ranges ; there was no ballast in the ordinary sense of the term. This would have to bi» provided for ; it' there proved to be much heavy traffic on the lines considerable additional expense would have to bo incurred. Satisfactory urrangcracnts would no doubt bo arrived a, t, but

at present, between provincial and General Guxcrnments, com ractor* had more or less suffered. It was expected t hnt tno Mverhea,d and Aupfclaiicl line would be rendv for contiact in fcepfjember; an entirely new surrey w,oi{ld i?e*ult in es^eiyng coat and increasing accommodation. TI o Auckland JWd lauranga line would be ready for c m tract in about bix weeks, and between AuckLmd iyul Mercer works would doubtless 'be completed within contract time. (SMpterota'. 18/.}). On tjhe Niyncr and Waipukurau fan Q Messrs BrogJeii would l W e to, exeit themselves more than they have yet done if the.y were to complete tbe Nap er and Paki Pajfi section by the 11th December, 1873, according to contract. The remainder of the lino would be advertised us soon as the surveys, now m a forward state, were qouv pjeted. On the line between Waitara an. l Wanganui Messrs Brogden had contracts for 11 miles from Waitara Ho flew Plymouth. It was propos -d to push on the survey ! of *be, tines generally and incur an ndrf.tional expenditure ;of 100,0003. The greatest care would bo taken not to let other contracts, especially for 11113 portion in the rear ol Mo,um; Jumont until, t,be J&iginpeni arc satisfied that the best possible route had been obtained. The cost would be about 5,1051 per mile. Many bridges Mould be required Ibe works would bo begun at the Wauganui end. No satisfactory account of the progress, of the first section 1 £? Wellln Btou8 tou « lld Mu-.lerton line could be Riven, but Messrs Brogden had given assurance that its completion Mould not be much delated beyond the contract time (Ist September). The works on second section were progressing favorably in spite of the uneasiness felt. He vu convinced that every day s delay had been for the benefit of the country, and there had been no more delay lhan necessary. The government was satisfied that the cheapest way of crossing the Rematuku had been ascertained. The line to Featherstone would speedily be put under contract. The best route 1 om Wanganui to Manawatu had at length been settled on us iar. as. Turakira. The point of crossing Wanganui had fcNtvbo^ decided, and designs for a large bridge which would bo necessary were being prepared. Time had unfortunately been lost at first, though they were now getting good surTeyo.s ; but the delay had enabled the Chief Engineer to reduce the cost very considerably. The Provincial Government of Wellington had agreed to hand over a block of 46,000 acres as part security for additional cost otjnakiii>thie>lkMM>tirailvffaj instead of 'a tramway, and they wril hand over additional lands as the works praarcpaj the speed of construction will depend on the progres- of settlement. The Nelson and Fox Hill line ou;ht to be finished m about 18 months. It was at present intended to take the direct route, but the Government are determined to hear and to judge of all that could be advanced in favor of the more expensive coast route. The Picton and Blenheim \me could no doubt be finished within the contract time, and lor somewhat less than the authorised amount. The Eangioroand North Kowai (Canterbury) would probably be completed m eighteen months. Considerable progress 1 -.1 lnado by a con fr*ctor, Mr Wright, withgjjthG work on the very large bridge across the Ashley. The Rakaia and Ashburton section of the Great Southern Railway oF Canterbury was so far advanced W& % completion depended upon the supply of sleepers, which were coming forward. There had been difficulties in deciding the best route for the Ashburton to Temuka section of the same line. The greater portion of it had been offered to Messrs Brogden under an old agreement, but this offer had been .refused, and tenders would soon be invited for smaller contracts. 'I lie Tnnaru nnd Temuka section was under contract to be completed in January, 1874. The Waifaki Bridge had h. Un delayed by change of design in England. No doubt the bridge now ia more substantial than was intended to be built there was equally no doubt thai had the design of the engineers in charge been approved, the m er » ould now have been spanned by a useiul bridge. Tenders would be called for the erection as soon as sonuf.preliminary.enquirics could, be mnda. Satisfactory progress wa3 being made with, Waitaki to Moeraki line. The DunedinandClurbalinehad progressed so faros toenable Messrs Brogden to complete within contract time. A bonus had been otiered for each month the line to open for traffic within contract time. Tokomairiro and Lawrence line was under contract, and would in all probability be completed concurrently with that from Dunedin to Clntba. The Invercargill and Metairu line was not progressing satisfactorily ; the first section of the line— Winton to Kingston— had been let, and it was intended to let another section about tho end oi this jeni. The coal railway in hand,was that from Brunner to Greymouth. The deed of purchase of the Port Chalmers line was on the table of the Hou^o, when ihe contemplated improvements were completed the 175,0003 paid for the line would be increased to 210,000?. The lfo.«se would be asked to vote the additional sum. The Government had no dqubt that the price would have been m\\ch increased had the purchase been delay vd, and possession of tht? Ymo xras an absolute neeemty. 'Avv offev. $0 lease %he Yme for seven years at u mte which would have given 7£ per rent, on the omlay, was received immediately after the purchase. The line was under lease. \o the Provincial Government from year to year, the province being charged interest on the cost of railway. Considerable progress l.ad been made with the Canterbury branch railway. Jt was estimated that in addition to the 31 miles now open in Canterbury, and the 8 miles of the Port Chalmers, 125 miles vyould be open and in full working order b} the end of the financial year, making a totql of 164 miles. Another 42 miles would, probably, be opened during May nnd June uexj, tho,ugh not 111 full working order. Apart fiom flic lines now open, 404 miles were under contract nnd }(><> miles more would be let in the course of a few months, the >urveys and plans for which might be sajd to be complete. There would then remain 168, mi\es authorized lipes for which plans had been prepared. He believed that all the authorized lines would be completed within the cost authorized by the House, and also within the times named last year, excepting the length between the Ashburton and Eukam Rivers in Canterbury. All railways thot the Government were bound to offer Messrs Brogden had been o,ffered to that firm ; but every work would be advertised for by public tender. Of Goldfields Water Supply Works four were in progress of constructipn or survey, namely : The- Thames race, estimated to cost 48,5943; the Waimea race, 6,125* > the Nelson Creeek race, 30,4463 ; and Mount Ida sace and "sluice channels, 42,3752. The following subsidies had been granted to companies : Tohonu, Westland, 1533?; Heberina, 2,0003 ; New River, 3,3333 ; Arrow River, 6123. Seven applications far subsidies had not yet been dealt with. The examination and developcraent of the coal resources of the colony were being prosecuted as vigorously as- was consistent with due caution, in order to avoid the misdirection of capital. The expenditure on exploration during the year ljad been 1.600Z, and there were liabilities amounting to $,40$. The Government were in treaty for the purchase of several blocks of native land. Others bad secured large tracts on long leases. The expenditure for such lands during tfie year had been 36,6553, and the total amount was 86,319/. For this sum 711,849 acres had been purchased, and 556,569 were under negotiation for purchase, which was estimated to about all that remained of the amount apportioned for the purchase. The additional railway works proposed were — Mataura to Olutha, 50 miles ; Dunedin, to Moornki, 55 miles ; Titnaru. to Waikiki, 40 miles; these were in the South. The survey of the first has been completed, that of the second will be completed this month, and an old preliminarj survey of the third was enough to enable an estimate to be made. In the North Island a survey has been completed fro^n Merger -to Newcastle, and a crossing on the Waikato had been, fixed. No wcrk would be undertaken beyond Newcastle except such as would form part of the North Island trunk railway. The Waikato bridge would be used for road and railway purposes, drawings had been prepared and an order for the cylinders was sent last mail. A flying survey had been made to ascertain whether the Thames district could be connected with the trunk line south from Auckland. Th.p report was before the House, but it was not intended to incur farther rxprmliture at present. Tbe report; shewed that there are no engineering difficulties in the way, but action would be unwise until the direction of tbe trunk line hod been settled. The Greymouth protective works had so far resulted well, but to provide for anticipated coal ordinary railway traffic further appropriation would have to be asked. The unappropriated balance for surveys would enable the route for Fox Hill and Brunner line to be explored, and would also enable the Engineer-iu-Chief to survey for a junction between the West Coast and South line on East Coast of South Island ; also for the continuation of the Waikato Railway. The Government purpose to constrnct a railway fiom'the Ngakawau river to West port, und t« oarny out gradually Mr Higginson's suggestion for protective works on the Buller, works which it is believed will protect West port and will improve the means of shipping coal. During the y<»ar 18^2 there waa expended 1,116,2593, making a total of 1,794,942. There was on the 30th June last liabilities in the colony and for railway materials and rolling stock ordered iroin England sufficient to complete all the railways already authorized except the coal lines amounting to 2,035,5112. There was thus a grand total of expenditure and liability amounting to 3,830,4543. The additional works now proposed form part of the original scheme adopted in 1870; without them the number of working hands would be of comparatively little value. The Government would use their utmost endeavors to bring the works to a successful termination, and that termination could have no other result than to add to, the wealth nnd prosperity of the colony. Leave was given to introduce the bill, which was read a first time, and was ordered to be read a second time on Friday next. Thursday, August 7. Lns l -. night, Mr Fox moyed the second roadins of the Licens ing Act Amendment, Bill. He dwelt on the eyils of drinking hnbits, and said that fivo hundred persons died last year from excessivo drinking. To replace thorn with immigrants would oost £50,000. He criticised the proposal of Government to appoint licensing commissioners. Jie advocated the licensing power being in tho hands of the people. He did not care for Adulteration Acts. Coccalus never sent a man home drunk or made him beat his wife. Tho alcohol did it. England

bad been four hundred, yw& Imkftm ft, iWWWft few mid yefc last yean the mpmk W feftot djjupfc «a enomiou* incmue upon, tyi* qpmffi WUmtfi *H Wfr vious year, Ibe arfrump* faltf* ]jj^, ft Ijp,^ broken, down, Amem-a^u. btffc W ram U&W Ifflmjte had never been tnerl tjiere ; bu^ ( Qft '#» TUft/wngJ W^ been, tn<jd it woi# h w , pro V <Jj - ft .m^'v^^sa iVlJf' *i>x read Qopioiy extiia^ts wH<Mte f »tit)^rti f «« met the arguments i;esp(»cti,ng- nfiy, r}Q4wl«^ (^ WW>W follow %m? fie adoptipn,of thapernj^TjQ.ajlij^jj, oueQq|i, oc-cupioil an hour and; v, half., of seconded the motion, Mr,. Bti^lig^ 9 , od^ocki^di' Varo/we • being placed in the hands 0% commissioners a»^j veijy heavy1 licensing fees. Mr. Thonip3onopi>oted the bill. Mp JBmuw supported the bill and prohibitory clausei. two, thirds of the population, wished to shut up houses they might do so. Still he did not believe tJsoso clauses would be imperative. He lilted the remainder of the- bilh Cuthbertson, Katene, and Karaitiana supported the bill. Mr Vogel supported, the biM. He said the arguments of Mr Fox Qn the power of licensing being given to the people was un- ! sound. Licensing courts were Courts of Justice, which , should be nominee-elective. Still he liked- much in $he bill, and would support its second reading. Mr McGtfllirray supported the bill. Mr Fox replied. The second reading was earned on the voices. Mr McGjllivray moved for. the abolition of- Grand Juries and the establishment of public prosecutors, and requested the Government to introduce a bill this session for the purpose. The Premier said the Ministry were not decided in the matter, as it was very important. They would give it every consideration, but it was impossible to introduce such a bjU this session. If pressed, he- must oppose it. The motion was withdrawn.