The Financial Statement.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 805, 14 August 1877, Page 2

The Financial Statement.

The Miuister for Public Works (Mr Ormond) reminded the fcfouse that he took office io January last, and he acknowledged the cordial assistance, by way of information, which he had received from his predecessor, the Han E ttic.ardsou Considerable progress had been made duriug the year in railway works. Ihe votes bad not been fully expended ; but those whj were inclined to complain on that (pound should remember that it was nut until February that monetary arrangements were concluded that enabled the authorised works to be vigorously proceeded with. the railway works. The Kawakawaline was. now completed to the shipping place, and but little additional work on it waa proposed at present. The Auckland- Kaipara line was being extended from tlelensville to a new and more convenient station on the Kaipara Kiver, and from Auckland to Rivarhead a section of ten miles was in progress. The course from that section to Eiverhead had to be diverted, and alternative plans were being prepared. The Auckland- Waikato line was expected to beopmed iu August to Newcastle, 76 milea iu all. Newcastle to Ohuupo was proposed to be completed duriug the financial year, thus adding 26 mile3 to more towards Te Awainutu being also pushed on (sic). The .Railway Wharf at Onehunga was in progress. Durijg the year it was intended to improve the station and workshops at Aucslaud, uud connect' the present, station with the AucklonJ Queen-street Wharf. Tiie Napioi-Alana-watu line wouid be extended live or six imled by October next, whoa it would be completed to Kopua, und abuut 65 idiea would be iu work. During tub year a low more miles would be finished, aud ts this wouid bring the Seventy-mile oush settlement into more direct communication with Napier, the traffic wouul be considerably iucreased. On tae Wehiugton aad Mtttterton line it had beeu found i hat all tu.-ineis must be Jinod. i hi- was necessarily a slow work, and the country was altogether difficult, but it was hoped that py j)ecem.ger tUo liiie

would be open to Kaitoki, 27 miles from, Wellington, and every exertion would be made to complete the Jine to JFeatherston before June next. Formation works .towards Masterton would be proceeded with, as would also those required for connectjng^the Wellington.- station '-with the rWharf. The Wuitara-Patea Jne , would sooii be completed to Inglew^obdi ' A section south of lnglewood was in progress, and it was proposed to continue the works a few miles further, this year. . ..A.- short section to carry fche, Southern section of the Patea- Wanganui line, from the Wanganui River into Wanganui was under contraot, and the whole line from .Wanganui .fc*,l?oxton"'. was-.expeoted to be completed during the year. The NelsonPoxhill railway would be conneotel with the city by June next, and it «vas intended to erect a workshop in Nelson. The Westport-Ngakawau line and the' works for loading coal would shortly be finished. The Picton- Blenheim Kail way was to be extended to Blenheim at once, and work southwards would be begun- as eooo as' ttu survey had been- completed. The Greymoutla-Brunnerton line was Working satisfactorily. River protection' works would be proceeded with steadily. The station accommodation . would be improved, and a workshop erected during the year. The line from Amberley to Waitaki w«s ■; completed some months ago. The works proposed to be carried out during the present year were, — an extensio i of the main trunk northwards from Amberley about fifteen miles, completion of the Opawa Raiiw iy, conversion of the broad-guage from Amberley to Lvttelton to narrow guage, rearrangement* <md- improvements of the railway stations at Chtistchurch and Lyttelfcon, gene al additiouß to station accommodation, and a largo increase of rolling stock. Be ween Moeraki and Dunedin the whole line waa under contract, except the Waikouati section, the formation of whioh had been done by piece work. Every exertion would be used to get the works completed by January -next, which was the latest contraot date for anj of them. Tenders had been invited for the Ralclutba and Clinton section of the Dunedin-lnvorcargill line, and the whole was to be completed by June next. Within the year the Inveroargill and Kingston line would be completed, and the Government hoped that by that time the trunk line from Amberley to King* aton, 527 miles in all, would be open for traffio. Additional stations ana stock for the Mare when ua, Waiareka, and Green Island railways were provided for. The Ou train line was nearly completed, but required rolling; stock. There was much yet to be done to complete the Otago Western railways. The section from Wallacetown to the junction with Olaufcau line was now contracted for, and the completiou of the formation" of this section to Riverton and'dt the Ofcautau line would be proceeded with so as to be ready for plat'j laying as soon as the Wallacetown line was available for conveying raila. There was no rolling bto«k for these Hues but what was requisite for their working. The valuation of the Canterbury and Otago railways,' in compliance with the Financial Arrangements Act, 1876, gave these results—Cancerbury, £731,750 ; Otago,^ £372,522. Tne total length of railways yec auGnorioed was 1227 miles, of which 412 miles were in the Norch, and 815 miles in the South Island, and there were open for traffic 212fc miles in the latter —making a total ot 860 mildß. An additional length of 274 miles would be completed during the financial year, about 133 being in the North and 142 in the South Island. This would leave nearly 93 miles of authorised lines to be completed, subsequent to the curre-it fiaancial year, something more than 67 miles being in the North and 25 miles in the South Island. The amount appropriated by the Immigration and Pubic Works Appropriation Act of last year for Railways was £1,300,600, theexpenditure against whioh had been £967,425 13s 2,1, including the distribution lo the several railways concerned of £29,881 15a 6d ; being the balance of the advances made in previous years to general railways account. the total expenditure up to 30 ch Jane, 1877, was £7,129,920 11s 51 ; and the outstanding liabilities, £530,333 4a 4d. The amount included the liabilities of all existing contracts, some of which extended into the year 1878, and for plant and material ordered from home. It was intended to push on the exploration surveys during the present. year, and to lay before Parliament next session full information aa to the direction of tho maiu trunk lines in both Islands, together with definite pro* pojjals for their completion. Roads. The House would be asked to give further aid in the direction of the special provisions made lasc session for roads in oertaiu districts in the North Island, and f>r similar purposes in Wcstland, and the N-l-ioa douch'vvest Golufietds, on the grounds that th*se districts had urgent waits that could nob be provided for by tue 1 >cai bodies, and that cney had special claims to consideration from beiug so situated as not to derive the same immediate and direct advantages from the Public Works policy as other parts of the colony. Including re votes of balances from last year, the total asked for these road works would be £79,172. thus divide 1: ' Roads north of Auckland, £25,206, including £15,2J6, balance for last year, to which ainouut there were liabilities ; roads in native districts, ' £12.000"; roads in Westland, £19,160, iucluding £9614 of balance ; , roads iu Nekon South- West Goldfields, £17,802, inclnding £7802 of balance ; HokioikaChriatohuroh lioad, £SUOO. Information had not been obtained as yet to enable au accurate statement to be made respecting the condition 'and cost of provincial roads and .works in construction when the Abolition Act came into force. Votes would be submitted as soon as the necessary information had been received. The Government recognise (said the hon. gentleman) that the distribution, of the expenditure on these provincial works has beeu auequal in the different parts of the colony. ' We are also' aware that there are some works in sparsely -set tied out-dis-tricts, such as bridges over difficult rivers, which are urgently required to connect important divisions of the couutry, and that in soma cases these works are beyond tue present means of the County Councils. We do not wish it to be inferred thac we think the colony can provide for all the works of this kind that are desirable, 'but we propose at the same time that we submit votes to oover the liabilities ou the provincial works iu progress, to ask provisions for the more important and pressing of the works 1 have just desoribed, and in so doing we shall take into consideration the claims of those districts which have not shared equally iu the Public Works expenditure, already incurred. A bill would be introduce'l to enable the Government to make aivauoeß for opeuing up 'b.bbk'a of land for settlement. Tne Government reoognised ih.it a large sum mi^hc be expended moat advantageously in tbia way, but only £jO,OOO would bi proposed to be so expended this year. The nill would provide that any suuh expehditute should be recouped out of the proceeds of lauds sold in blocks thus opened up. PUBLIC BUILDENGrS. On public buildings £43,300 had been expended during the year, and the estimate was tuafc £215,000 would be neoded for the giUTeut your, This. w.im largely

owing to the charge and maintenance^ o* a|l public building* in the colony haying .to be provided for, many of whioh were formerly provincial oharges. It was found .that many of these buildings were in a bad state of repair, and afforded insufficient aocommodation. For aohoola ulbne it was estimated £50,000 was required. The provision needed for lunatic asylums, lighthouses, gaols, police, and Court* houses, was very considerable. COAL BXPLO RATI >N. With reapeot to coal exploration, the results of the yaar had included the completioa of the survey of tho Buller field, whioh had been proved to contain over ona hundred million tons of gojd eoal advantageously workable. Only one mine, that of the Wellington Company, lud yet been opened. At Greymouth, - the Brunner Company had in thrc-e years extended their workings from 22 acres to 38 acres, and their total output during that time had been 49,833 tons. Tlie Coalpit Heath Company h*d coal in the market, as had the Grey mouth company ; and the Greymouth Company bad reached coal in their new shuft, and expected to be at work shortly. In the Waikato Basin it was believed to be probable that more coal existed than had yet been stated in most sanguine estimates. Two new mines' were sending coal to market, and one of them the Bridge water, had a seam 25 feet thick, only eighteen feet being at present worked. RAILWAY MANAGEMENT. Coming next to two question of rail* way management, Mr Orinond explained that * hen the (Government took over the OUgo and Canterbury railways, they fdund that the tariff charges on them differed from each other, and that the tariff on the general Government lines differ from both. Hence, the necessity tor the Railway Commission— the esaen* tial recommendations of which, after very oareful consideration, had been put into force. As to their effect, he said the Government believed that the tariff should be as nearly uniform as poasible ; but experience has already shown that there are cases in which either uniformity must be abandoned, or the tariff of the railways suffer, and the government will not hesitate, in such cases, to depart from the general principle of uniform rate. In the meantime I liave instructed the managers of the different railway a to report on the working of the tariff, and generally as to the operation ef the new regulation, ■, with the hope that, aided by information they can afford, and assisted by the representations that are freely made by the settlers, such alterations can be effected as will meet the public requirements. B AILWAY .. WORKING. The principal recommeudutions of tho Auckland Railway Commission were that charges should be reduced and more power given to the looal manager. The O-overn-ment concurred in che desirableness of the railway managers being allowed more discretion cnan hitherto, and effect was bbiug given to this view. Tne recumuieudation as to charges involved the whole question of the tariff. After very carofuuy considering the subject., the Governmentproposed taking p,*w«r this session to lease the Auckl >nu and Waikato. Jrtadwuy with the view of practically testing the advantaged of that mjde of inanageuieut. On tha Canterbury railways, iue great increae of traffic caused uiuim inuoiiven* ieuce during tue grain season. Tue tariff return for March lasc showed a tutal of 51,000 tous, as against 3/, 400 m ibe corresponding mjutti of 1876, and in April the returns snowed 49,000 tons, as againsc 33, 8 JO. Each increase could scarcely have been foreseen and provided tor by the Provincial authorities, lo guard agaiuat like difficulties iu future, phe ck> veru tuenfc were procuring a large adiuion lo the narrow guage rulliug sioclt, u.u iho Ambeney (Lyteitoa) seuiiou was being aUcrod •o l lie JNew Zealand alaudara ot gauge. When the Financial Sbatemeut w«a nu u e, some of the depari.ujeui.ai account* ot tlie Southern lines Dad not been fiuadj adjusted. Therefore the auioums given in ttiat state neut as the earuiugts auu proiiis of the railways were nob quite accurate ; they wore now found to ue : L'utol receipts during the twelve months on hues under Public Works Department nianageuieutand during six months on the Canterbury and Ougo lines, £311,187 7 > lid ; expenaiture, £224, d(K) 17s 9d ; leaving a balance of £86,386 10s 2d. THE FUTURE. As to the future, the hon. gentleman said " The traffic returns lor plia prescuC year will, wicnout douut, be largeiy in excels of last year 'a. i\oD only nave wo to expeol au iucreaSa »u ttie dues now opened, but it must be renumbered that dunug the prodenb year ib u proposed to complete .the wor&a uu<v m progress in Otago, whioh will couuect che northern and Boucuern disurbvs wich Dunedin, and make oue coutiuuous iiue from Amberley to Kiugstone of 327 miles, exclusive of 222 mites of brauuu lines in the same districts, l'heu the railway from Auckland co Waikato, Welliogtou to Wairarapa, aud Wangauui to Foxton are also co be completed within the same period, each line open* ing large and important districts, and although all these lines will not bo completed m time to get returns irom ihem within the present year, yet tne additional mileage that will be opened at an early date, will materially add to the traffic reoeipts. Taking the three principal classes of works, the expenditure in each Island up to Jane 30th, had been as follows .---North Islund : Railways, £2,199,465; roads, £571,160; water, races, £66,321 : total, £2,736,947. South Island : Railways, £3,930,455 j roads, £198,411 : water-races, £288,741 : total, £4,417,H97. Aggregate for both islands, £7,154,555. The expenditure proposed for the current year fur railways was £1,370,100, but that amount; included liabilities, whioh on the 30th Jnne last aggregated £530,333. In the following Bcatement ,of railways and proposed appropriations, the liabilities were included in each case :— Kawakawa, £6113: Kaipara-Panu, £142 833 ; Waikato (Wairoa (?) Patea, £00,000 ; Patea-fllana-watu, £141,956 ; Napier-Manawatu, £75,633 ; Wellington - Maaterton, £162,677; Nelson- Foxkill, £ll,u83; Picton- Blenheim, £29,235 ; Grey mouth - Bruunertou, £35i006 ; Westport-Nga-kawau, £38,234; A mberly- Waitaki and Norteward, t182,754; Waitaiu-Blutfand braaohes, £365,488; Wintou-Kmgatoo, £39,206 ; Western railways, £37,581 ; surveys, £10,000; land, £42,208. The (said the honorable gentleman in conclusion) would have preferred ito proposed a similar expenditure for the year; but, taking into consideration that, in the case of some of the most important railways the works are far ad* vauced, and represent in their unfinished state a large unproductive expenditure, we consider it necessary to provide for their completion at as eaily a data aa possible* We also think it requ ite to push on the completion of tho m»m lino > froui Dunedin to luvercargiil, atad through to Kingston, and to advocate ity* works on the different sections ot the' main trunk lines in both Island*, and to provide the rolling-stock aud station aooomo.lation which is necessary to eecuie the efficient working of the railway* throughout the colony. With the txoeption that we undertake tjhe completiou of those brauoh railways in the Mouth island which were in oourse of construction by the ftoYJuwil Governments, ottf

proposajs-are, confined to works on the main trunk "lines. We .consider. .tni. ■ , colony. is not. in. a. position , at present to undertake the responsibility of cbn-i' struotini! brai oh lines,, but must [confine 1 itself . to steadily proceeding .with the main trnnk lijiett. i; ' j £ ' BRANCH BAILWAYS;; * : We folly recognise, however, rhas many important districts in the colony may be immensely ansisted l in the development of • their resourced by ; the construction of, branch or district railways, and to provide for' this • District Railway Bill fans been prepared, which we believe i ill enable any dißfrict that is in a position to support a} railway-' to secure it. I purpose eabnr.ittine this bill to the House" very shortly. lflParlia--tnent sanctions the works I have proposed* a very considerable inoreaee will be a^ded during the year to the mileage of working railway, and looking 'at the results of the past y ear, . we may; confi ; dently * xpect a larger increase of itroffio ■ And such returns as. wi'l amply justify us in providing for tbe further extension of our i ail way system. . . ; After a few remarks by Mr Joyce, Mr Barff, and Mr Maoandrew, tbe Bouse adjourned at 8.50.