The Waikato Times. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1878.

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 997, 12 November 1878, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1878.

JEqijal arid epcact ho all men, ; jOf whatever st'aieror pe'rdua«.on','religi6us ' or 'political. . •"'. ' ' ' ''•'"' * * * * *• ' Here shall the Press the People's right maintain, Una-wed by influence and nnbribed by gainl ''•/'",

The ' Sydney Morning Herald' in its late review of the Public Works policy of New Zealand, insinuates, though it does not broadly say as much, that the colony has baen the theatie of over-speculation—" an experiment" it goes on to say, " not "unsound in its theory, provided " the expectations on which it was " based were capable of realisation. "At present the outsome of the ox- " experiment has not beeu deter- " ruined, for it hns yet to be seen how " far the introduced population will " be ready and able to settle down "into a profitable business, when (i the stimulus of government expenditure has been withdrawn, and " how far the Government invest- " ment in Public Works will "be reproductive. At present, the chief flaw in the " scheme is that the public works " have cost more, and are producing " less than was anticipated." Now, apart altogether from the fact apologetically put for the colony " that these works are still incom- " plete, and that, it is as yet, too early ?"to pass a final judgment on. the policy as a. whole," New Zealand can afford to submit to the ordeal. To deal first with the " chief flaw" the cost and return of our public works. The o::e set of works referred to is of course railways. That the cost of these should have exceeded, and the return fallen short of those estimated is nothing more than might have been expected. Tho question really is, has the extra cost been excessive, or has the result been a comparative failure? In neither case has it been so. If we look to the cost of railway construction in New Zealand, and compare it with that of other Australasian colonies, we should find an amount of very telling evidence in favur of the former. In bis statement made to the House, the then Minister of Public Works in 1875. alluded to the 1010 miles of railway constructed and in course of c-itistiuctiou,andseb down the total cost of the lines at £6,091, ( J81. In 1878, we find from the staiement of the Minister for Public Works, Mr Macandrew, that 1062 mik'S of railway have been constructed at an actual cost of £7,947,000, or deducting the cost of the extra 52 one twenty-onth part of th<- whole, £7,569,000, or, say £7,274 per mile. It would not be difficult to show where this increased expenditure has been incurred. One large item is, undoubtedly, the rise in price of iron which subsequently took place, and (he exceptional cost of certain lines in either Island, that of iheDunedin and Port Chalmers line, for instance, which averaged £27,000 per mile, that of Wellington and Peatherston, in th Q . North Island, which averaged £IO,OOO. This is not, however, to our purpo.se. We are quite content to rest the fact that the New Zealand railways have been constructed at an average cost of only £7274 mils as a proof that such excess in expenditure as there has been is not sufficient to prove an element of of faihire in the policy as a whole. As we have said, such cost will compai'e favorably with that of other colonies. In 1874 Victoria had completed 441 miles of railway at a cost of £11,557,494, or at an average cost per mile, of £26,207. Yet New Zealand has nearly two and a-half miles to Victoria's one mile for little more than two-thirds the outlay. At that time, too, the Victorian lines paid 4£ per cent. on the total capital expended.

Wc come now to the difference in the estimated and actual receipts, and this in great measure is attributable to the fragmentary character of the lines. As these have been extended and connected, traffic has increased and we have only to refer to the past returns issued monthly to show that the rail .vay income of the colony is rapidly increasing. Every month as they appear the proportional increase is greater, and in those for the four weeks ending the 2lst September, now to hand, we find that on every line there has been more or Jess increased return over the corresponding four weeks of the previous} year, and on tho whole number of lines the pptfljrn for tho

four weeks 'Vd,s this year as against £31.487 i.'i the coire<*pt)Bßin'g'" four weeks of last year,- man increase of oeavl)* fifty per writ, 'fully, justifying the expectii lions of '-t'iio Government that the lvtnrn of last year from railways of £S4G 000 will this year reach a sum of £710,000, while the proportionate increase in expenditure will be comparatively trifliug.

But it is to the policy as a whole, and not to any particular feature of it, that w; must look. The population of the colony in 1870, wlibm the Public Works Policy was in tuifel, was 24-51,824 souls. The increase from 1861) to. 1870 was undei 11,000; from 1868 to 18G9, but little over 9,000 j but from 1870 lo 1878 the increase has taken the extraordinary leap of from 242,82 ( to 414,412 souls. Nor, as thosr? profess to believe who would imply that the colony has outrun its natural growth—that is, .the growth which it can maintain—is this extra population dependant to any appro- i clable extent for its support on the ] mere expenditure of money on further public works. The great bulk of the new population has settled down: to 'the 'work of reclaiming thb waste lands of fcha colony, either as occupiers or laborers—a fact which is amply demonstrated by,the luige quantities .of land sold ty the Government and by speculators for purposes of bona fide settlement. The future prosperity of our increased, aud 5t.1.1 increasing, population depends not on the amount of Government money that may be put in circulation within the colony, but on the produce of the land itself, an/I the certainty of a market for their crops. Have the settlers of any Australasian colony a better or mor.i legitimate foundation for national prosperity tl.au this 1 We can quite understand that the ' Sydney Morning Herald' should feel sirprised that a colony like New Zealand could nearly double its population in less than seven years, increase its public debt to such an extent, and force on the development of its resources as it has done, yet run no risk from an unduly inflated rate of progress. A careful perusal of the tables of comparison between the several Australasian colonies—showing their past and present revenue and expenditure, their imports and exports, their indebtedness and inherent powers of meeting- such indebtedness (re-printed in another .column from the 'Scotsman') — explains all this. Sir Julius Vogd, a? we have referred to in forme.' articles, drew the attention of the British public to the marvellous inherent resources and natural wealth of the colony of New Zealand, and the ' Scotsman,' with national caution, before fully accepting the statement, seeks facts and figures to prove its correctness. But, having found them, the ' Scotsman' does justice both to Sir Julius Yogel and the colouy, and the article we extract from its columns will have been read far and wide, and redound to the interest and prestige of New Zealand. Tne increase in the last fourteen years of her exports, from less than two and a-half to more ban five and a-half millions sterling, was of cmrse well known to most of us—not so, however, her superior capabilities as a producer of cereals and other crops. Herein lies the great secret of tho successful results of the Public Works and Immigration Policy. The bulk of the population introduced, and a large proportion of the money borrowed, and much extraneous capitai besides, have been absorbed in bona fide settlement of land which pays better for tillage than any other colony, producing 28 bushals of wheat and tons of potatoes to the acre, where New South Wales produces 10 bushels of the one and 3 tons of the other; and, at the same cost of tillage. New Zealand settlers can grow rich, and bear a taxation which would crash the struggling colonist of New South Wales out of existauce.