PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 965, 29 August 1878, Page 2

PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

The Hon. Mr Macandrew delivered his Public Works Statement on Tuesday evening.

WORKING : 'RAILWAYS, MIDDLE ISLAND.

741 miles were open, of which 94 had been opened during* the past year. The net balance of receipts over expenditure available for payment of interest was £145,34(3, against £IIB,OOO for the previous year ; shewing a per-centasre on the whole outlay for construction of 2.(15, a not unfavorable result, se inothat some of the lines included in 'he outlay have only been opened recently, and others are still un-

finished. The total number o ( " passengers was 1,159,147. Th«j working expenditure on the Dutiediti section had bean heavy, owii.g to £36 per rnile having 1 to be spent <m new rails and fastenings. -.The working 1 expenses on the GhrUtchurch section had been considerably reduced.' It was not" intended to create a sinking fund for wear and tear, but to charge repairs as-needed to current working expenditure. The earnings per mile had been :

Christohurch section, £754 10s 7d per mile per annum ; Dut o lin section, £lO7l 19s_ sd, ditto.; and Invereargill seeiiou, £331 3s Id, ditto.

WoRKING RAILWAYS, NOTtTH ISLAND.

811 miles were open for traffic, of which 99 milqs were opeued during the past year. The net balance of receipts over expenditure, available for payment of interest, were £18,050, against £I3.GSG for the previous year } showing a per.centag« on the whole outlay for construction of 15s. The total number of passengers, were 213,728.

RAILWAYS UNDKR CONSTRUCTION,

The reduction in the head office) salaries by the substitution of an engineer in charge for each Island instead of an, Eugineere.iu-Chief and other changes, would amount to £3000.: The change is likely to work well, and be beneficial to the service. It had been alleged that the changes by, which the construction of Public Works and the working of railways in each Is'and had been placed uniis),' distinct heads, was the forerunner of sonie deep and sinister design on the part of some person or peisons, and that it was studiously intended to lead up to the political *epara.ion of the two Islands. He need scarcely say that such siuraise, was absolutely without, foundation. One of those changes at least had been the result of careful inquiry by a committee of the House, and in so far as he was concerned bo'h had been made solely and simply with a view to more efficient and economical administration, altogether irrespective of the political opinions which he had long held, and which he still held, as to what would: have-been the best and most suitable form of Government for New Zealand. He would even go further, and say that in his opinion it would have been well for the colony to have had two Ministers for Public Works, one for each Island, both being members of the.Cabinet, with seats in *nd responsible to the House. He ventured to think that had such been the case there would have been much more to show for our money than [ there was now. There must be incurred, to complete the portions of railway already authorised, £958000 to complete 425 miles in the North Island ; £1,087,000 to complete 874 miles in the Middle Island. Out of a ; total expenditure of £2,425,000 required for this purpose, it is proposed to spend this year £1,176,500. THE FUTURE NORTH ISLAND RAILWAYS. It is proposed to fill up the gaps in the North Island system as follows : Miles. Wellington to Foxton, via Waikanae 61 Waitotara Biver to. Upper Patea

crossing ... ... 51 Te Awimutu (Waikato) tolnglewood (Taranaki) ... ... ... ... 125 Tins w 11 complete an unbroken line from Wellington to Auckland of 470 Mastertt-n to Woodville, 50 inilea i Woodville to Papata, 40 miles ; thus establishing unbroken railway communication from Wellington to Napier by a Hoe of 22) miles.

Miles. Waikato to the Thames ... ...48 Branch line to Hamilton 2{Hellensville to Kaakapakapa River 2\

Except as regards the line from Waikato to the Thames there are no actual surveys, and the following cost is estimated on the basis of a mileage rate:—Wellington to Foxton, £440,000 ; Waitolara River to TJpper Ps»tea crossing, £357,000 ; Te Awamutu (Waikato) to Inglewood, £1,115,000; Masterton to Papatu, via Woodville, £630,000; Waikato to Thames, -£1G8,000; branch line to Hamilton, £10,000 ; Helensville to Kaukapakapa River, £25,000 ; Whangarei to Kamo (7£ miles) £30,000 ; total, £2,775,000 ; or a total, including the amount required to complete the lines already authorised, of £3,737,C00.

The Hon. Mr Macandrew continued as follows: The construction of the line through the Waikato country, estimated as I have said, to cost X 1,115,000, will, it is hoped, be fully warranted by acquisition of considerable areas of land suitable for settlement. I understand that the 1 tie will run through some of the finest land in New Zealand, and from what has passed between the Hon. Premier, the Hon. Native Minister, and the natives concerned, there is good reason to hope that the acquisition of the necessary land will be successfnly negotiated. If those natives have a really just conception of the vast revenue which will accrue to them after parting- with sufficient land whereby to construct this railway, they will not hesitate for a moment to enter heartly into a transaction which is bound to increase the value of the land, which will be left to them very manifold. Moreover, they may earu a large amount of money by devoting their labour to construction of the line, and there is good reason to believe that numbers of them will gladly accspt the useful employment which the construction of this Hue will afford. The construction of the , ,Will : ngton-Foxton line will, to some ] extent, bs contingent on th» aqui-

sit ion of land from the native owner. In addition to an «rea of 300,000 acres of Maori 1 ,ml. 180,000 acres of which have been under ne gotiation for some time, the line will tender available for settlement 100,000 acres* now in the hands of the Crown; and there can be no j doubt that, taken togetl e'-, these J hinds will ultimately realise an! amount which will go tar towards covering the cost of the proposed railway. I know there may be considerable'differereiioe of opinion amongst lion, uiombir* with regard to this line ; but I think that apart from any advantages it may of itself yield, by enabling the. country between Wellington and Foxton to b3 beneficially occupied, it is extremely desirable that it should be made, as part of the main trunk line which is to c mnect Wellington with Auckland. If the two great centres, Wellington and Auckland, are to be efficiently connected by railway, this Wellington to Foxtou portion must be constructed at some time. I believe it to be well that we should accept tho conclusion that th-it connuection has to be made, and if so, I think the Parliament and the people will agree with me that the soouer it is done the better it will be for the coun ry. it will be seen from one of the appendices to this statement ■that during the recess the question of the best route from Wellington to Foxton .has (occupied the attention of the Public Works Department, and of ik»s the hon. gentleman may rest assured, that if the Government should be enabled to undertake the work, it will hot be commenced until there has been a further and a most thorough investigatio.i as to t'.ie best route to be adopted. It will be seen 'hat our proposals embrace one main line of communication on the West Coast from Wellington to Auckland aid the Thames, and another on ihe East Coast. WELLINGTON TO NAPIER. To make the system complete, it remains but to establish a connection between these two main lines by means of a short link.of twelve miles between Bunnythorpe ani Woodville. This would place Napier, and nearly all the East Coast country, in communication, not merely with Wellington, but also with Manawatu, Wanganui, New Plymouth, and Auckland. The probable cost of this link would be £119,000, and there c»n be little doubt that, sooner or later, this work will be undertaken. SUMMARY OF.PROPOSALS. Summing up the proposals I have had the, honor to submit, they will be found to "nvolve an expenditure for railway in the North Island of £3,733,000, and in the Middle Island of £4,652,000; altogether, £8,385,000. As I have already observed, the estimates under which these figures have been arrived at are to a certain extent approximate. My belief is that they are moreover the mark than under, and that with judicious and careful administration, uuless circumstances alter very much within the. next few years, it will be found that a much less sum will suffice. We propose that the expenditure shall be extended over live years, which, in my opinion, is the shortest period within which wecould carry out works to this extent, un'ess we are prepared for the importation of labor to a greater extent than. cau be readily absorbed in the permanent settlement of the country. Our obiect will be so to regulate the administration of the waste lands of the Crown as to afford every inducement and facility to men who labor in the construction of mi'ways to invest their earnings in land by laying off allotments for sale along the various lines as they progress. Jam disposed to think that much may be done in this direction, aud that a fiir proportion of the money expended on public works may find its way back to the Treasury. Out of the loan a thorised last session there remained, on June o*o, available for public works, about £2,000,000. If we add to the Public Works Fund from ordinary revenue during the next five years, say £3,500,000, the amount just stated as available will be increased to £5,500,000, and there will remain to be raised by further loms in order to meet the estimated cost of the whole proj>osals. It may, perhaps be asked, is not £3,500,000 too large a sum to expect to be spared, from revenue ? Is the revenue likely to be ina position to meet such a demand ? In order that hon. members may be in a position to form an opinion as to this, I shall enumerate the different areas of Crown lands, the value of which will be specially affected by the proposed railways, and the sale fo which may be said to be contingent upon those lines being constructed. In the Middle Island, the Otago central to Alberton will pass almost entirely through Crown land, and open the most valuable public estate in the colony. It will affect an area of 2,250,000 acres, all in the hands of the Crown. Amberley to Brunnerton will pass through nearly 300,000 acres of freehold, and render available 40,000 acres of Crown land. Greymouth to Hokitika will affect 55,000 acres of forest laud belonging to the Crown. Canterbury subsidiary muin line will pass chiefly through freehold land, but as it cuts au'ossallthe valleys at the base of the hill country, its const ruction will be of considerable value to the settlement of those valleys, and reader more accessible an area of Crown land of

0(30,000 acres. S >ut U Ashburton

to Ai>hb.mon Furks and AI bury extension wi 1 L'ljliuuse lite value of 30,000 acres.

Mr Mncindrew then referred to .various lines in the South, whl.h would opefrlarge ■ areas <yf • rown lands. , vIt will thus be seen that an area of nearly 4,000,000 .acres of Crown land in the .Yliddle Island will be affected by'the proposed lines.' Much of this land, if accessible by railway, and in the market now, would realise £ii an acre and upwards. Probably we shall not be beyond the mark in estimating that it will realise to the State, at a moderate computation, little short of the whole estimated cost of the railways—viz., ,£4,650,000—n0w proposed to be made in the Middle Island. As regards Crown lands in the North Island, I have, first of all, to direct the attention ot hpn. members tq.the fact that about 120,000 acies of the best land on the West Coast portion of the confiscated territory is now being survey«d for sale. I. do not ; wis Y. to raise the expectations of hou. members unduly, but I believe that lam warranted in:reckoning that from this quarter alone (irrespective of the large area of land already acquired and under negotiation in the same locality), we may expect to receive a net revenue of three-quarters of a million sterling. In addition, there are very large qf land in the Thames and Piako districts which will at once acquire a greatly increased value from the prospect of rail way communication being likely to be opened between Grahainstpwn and Waikato, Other, large blocks of laud in the Bay of Plenty, Poverty Bay, and Wellington districts will shortly be available, and we sha 1 hav<3 the gratification of beholding the North Island, for the first time for many years, yielding a substantial land revenue* For more particular information as to area, locality, and probable value of our North Island, land estate, I would refer hon. members to the usual statement on native lands, which will be shortly made by ray colleague, the Native Minister. • , LOCAL WOBK8; . I must solicit the .earnest attention.of hon. members to a question which may virtually affect .the whole scope of the future policy of the colony, arid which, in my belief, may largely influence the functions and the character of this House. I refer to the question of roads and bridges. Although the gradual extension of the railway system is diminishing the extent to which money must needs be expended on such works as compared with what was unavoidable in the past, there are still many districts in. which such works will continue to be for years to come eseeritial. I need not remind you that one of the great advantages which was to be secured by the recent political changes was—that the name of a road or a bridge was never more to be heard of in this House as connected with any asking for money. Such, we were asked to believe, was to be one of the first results of the aboliti'cri of the provinces. As it is, however, unless the House is prepared to make a decided stand, it is to be feared that roads, bridges, and culverts will become subjects of the most anxious and excited discussions to be heard within these walls. What, then, is to be our policy in respect, to these works ? My colleagues and myself; are clearly of opinion that they ought to be submitted to the consideration of local bodies, by whom the requisite funds must-be found. One thing seems to me to be beyond doubt or question: the colony must undertake all such works, or refuse to undertake any. Any other course must be brimful of injustice. Last session, we passed various votes for roads and bridges, on the understanding that the amounts were to be pi'ovided out of the loan. Those votes will, I apprehend, have to be mado good in any case. Many of them are now in course of expenditure, and we propose "to renew all the unexpended portiens by putting them upon this yeai"'s Estimates. This will, in round numbers, mean the appropriation of about £102,000 for local works in the North Island, and about £166,000 for similar works in the Middle Island. Thereafter.' we propose to finally close the account, and to confine public works operations entirely to railway construction. I admit that, if we are sustained in this course, it will be productive of hardship to. those portions of the colony which .were not fortunate enough to participate in the scramble for roads and bridges last year. It seems to me, however, as 1 have said, that, in fairness, we'have no middle course open; If we are to conntruct arterial roads and bridges, we must take charge of all such works, and subsidies in aid of them, which are now paid to local bodies, must cease. It is manifestly unreasonable to expect that the colony can go : on paying, as it did last year, nearly three-quarters of a million to local bodies, if.it has to perform, the functions-" which devolve upon such bodies besides. One way out of the difficulty, perhaps, would be to increase the borrowing powers of local bodies: To this, however,. many objections may be urged. Some people are of opinion that the colony should, raise the money, and leave the local bodies'to expend it. But here, again, we should trample under foot a fundamental principle on which the new order of things was so recently based —namely, that no money should be raised, by the colony, the expenditure of which is not to be placed directly under the control of the House. For my own part, I have never believed that that principle ought to be rigidly and unreasoningly observed; but it was one of the cardinal points -of Abolitionism, and I presume it will be adhered to by the piesent Parliament. Altogether, I confess that this is one of the most difßoult problems which we are now called upon to solve, and | there can, in my opinion, be only one way out of two fair solutions: Either thfi colony should close its bowels of compassion in respect of every application for roads 'and bridges, however exceptional may be the claim (and that they are all exceptional may be the opinion of the olaimants), or it should distribute its gifts to all upon some equitable basis. As 3 it is, unless we go into the money market,; there will be nothing to distribute over and above the subsidies already fixed. 'I here remains, therefore, only the one solution—that every locality rely upon itself. I need scarcely say that, under all the circumstances of the case, we have been reluctantly compelled to turn a deaf ear to numerous and pressing applications for local works throughout the colony. Appended to he statement: art* reports, all of which embody much valuable information, and will no doubt be found both useful and instructive. I oonclude, Sir, by once more commending to the approval of hon. members the proposals I have had the honor to submit. I have had pleasure, too, in submitting them, for I believe they are calculated to meet tbe requirements of settlement ovor a great portion of each Island. To give effect to theui will, I am convinced, bs to increase enormously the productive power of the o>lony, and to do that the constantly growing tendenoy of which must be to lighten the public burden. Under these proposals our industrial population ought to be at least doubled during the next few years, aid the great proportion of the lnoomers ought to be. and may bo, so located that while laboring lovingly to snbdue the *arth, until that which is barren yields its kindly and natural fruits, they miy lahor stubbornly, because they are creating homes for their children, and proudly, beotuse tkAv names figure on no man's rent-roll, It is in mob a spirit that moat of us hive

to create a „reat nathn in this w favored land. Sach w.»b the npirii in which we atrove through the days of small things, and now, when our virion is clear as to what we may do and become, and when is tirmur upon all we 1 confers th*c I am j a'.ous to have some share with thoee of whom it shall he said that they hal influence in I'romciiing the prosperity and the greatness a an-l. Onlconoluding, Mr Macandrew waa greeted with loud applause. The delivery J of the Statement occupied about an hour and a-quarter. Stoutr then said the Government had advised the Governor to withdraw from sale all Crown lands in the vicinity of the projected in the Canterbury district, sd' as to prevent operations of land speculators. The House thewupoiv^4jpurned.