THE PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1716, 5 July 1883, Page 3

THE PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

TifK Minifttei for Public Woiks, the hon. Mr Johnston, delivered his annual Statement on Tue&day night. Owing to the demands upon our space, we have been compelled to curtail it, and to gnu piolninenee only to those poitions more especially interesting to readers in this part of the colony. After remarking that it seemed expedient to continue the management of the railways by a Minister responsible to the House, Mr Johnston announced that it was the intention of the Government to ask the Legislature to sanction the appointment of another Minister, so that one Minister might devote himself exclusively to the growing needs of the railways. He proceeded to say :—": — " The Public Works Fund amounted at the close of the financial year to £1,017,725. " For railways and roads and harbour v,crks under the control of the Minister Public Works there was voted ■|1,251,830, of which £574,935 has been and there were liabilities outstanding on 31st March lasb amounting to and iv addition to these liabiliupon works there had been transto the Agent-General for purchase Hf rolling stock and permanent way ■authorities to contract to the amount of £210,205. About 40 miles of railway were opened for traffic dining the year. These consisted of 13| miles on the Whangarei-Kamo line, and 38A miles on the Hurunui-JHuff section, making a total opened for traffic of 1373. Upon the Waikato-Thames section, the Hamilton railway biiolge will, it is expected, be finished this month. The contracts for the erection of the bridge at Te Arolia and formation between Morrinsville and Te Aroha have been let, and it is intended shortly to invite tenders for plate-laying, Hamilton aud Morr,iusville and Hamilton and Cam- j bridge, u < With respect to public works in the North Island, at the end of the current year with the Kamo and Kawakawa ' lines finished, the Foxton-New Plymouth line nearly finished, the unfinished portion of the Waikato-Thames lines in pro- . gtkss, and the gap separating Napier and and Wellington lines sensibly reduced, the colony wilt 're.Q.Pgnj'* with satisfaction

that the great efforts it has made during eleven years for railway construction in this island have achieved a large part of ,the results striven for, and that the necessity for annual disbursement will have become much less." With lcgaid to the Middle Island Trunk line, Mr Johnston said the Government could not come to a decision re route uiitil the Legislatuie had decided what effect be given to the resolution passed last session in favour of rating lands benefited by the laihvay. Regarding the East and West Coast line, he said Government did not feel justified in spending moie than the million per annum. The work was not in gent enough to justify a special loan. " But down l.mds within 15 miles on either side of Arthur's Pass line and the lines leading directly to Binnnerton will be lcseivcd hoin sale, so that if in the future the Legislatme, should deteimine to construct this lailwny, no paitof tht> public estate to be benefited will have been alienated." It was " not the intention of the Government to ask the House to make any further special grants in aid of county roads and bridges, believing that m the future all the assistance afloidcd to local bodies should be under the Roads and Bridges Construction Act. But balances unexpended will not be withdiaun." " The receipts irotu railways during the last year show a \ cry gtatitying increase, having risen from C«SM2,22<j in J SSI -2 to 1952,347 in 1882-3, an liiciease of £01,321, and this despite of the fact th.it fanneis enjoyed during the year a conbideitiblc concession on latcs of fi eight for gram, a reduction having been made in 1881 amounting to about £40,000 per annum, which nminly affected last) en's iceeipts, over 1 12,01)0 tons lecehine the advantage ot a further reduction which I made lust year. The use of the mil way is steadily growing, the mcie.ise in in number of pa^bengeis c,u i icd dm ing last year, a> cnmpaicd ■with the piewous year, being o71,!'0l, and 11«")7 reason tickets hotdcib. The meie.ise in tonnage hauled was 127,07!* tons, and in the numbei of livestock earned 140,020. Tin 1 increase last ycai in i.ulway e\pendiluie w.ii i ither iikuc than the inciease the receipts In 1 881 -82 the expenditure was LV>"23,000 ; last >ear it was £.-)!)(), 2SI, oi Lll,.")2."» moi <• than the estimitc, the diflcieiieu between tho two )caus being 1(i0.7.T2. Tlie incicase in the tunning and tiallic expenses, cuised maiidy by liiucasc of tialiic, is C28,0(J0. I have estimated the expenditure at £034,000, and incieaso o\er thai of last year of £.">"2,70i. The lccupts I lui\e estimated at £1,020,000, ot L'(io,oj4 moie thon they amounted to last) car, bung about the a\ciage inciease for the List tlnee \eais. I now come to the consideration of the manner in w liich lands specially benchtted by the constiueti.m of lailvvays >hould be dealt with With lefeienee to thy advantages whn.li li.nc aceiueil in the past, the Government does not intend now to make any piopo^al, for it is not piacti cable to suddi nly -ei/e ior the State a sliaie ot these advantages without mflietinu lmmlvtles^ wiongs, but with icg.ud to the iutine tho ciiso is (lilleicnt, and we arc fiee to eonsidci, uuembaiasscd b) an) appiehension ot eomniittiiig injustice, w hat <-hate the community may be entitled to ot the wealth cieated by the construction of lailways with public moiled. In seeking the simplest and fancst com si to adopt, the liist suggestion w Inch w ill have piobahly oceuiml to tho minds ot lion, niembeis is that the State should le-pni chase all the land for a cci tain distance! on either side of t!ie pioposed line at a certain incicase upon the piopeity tax valuations, for taxations aic usually low. On the other hand, compensation foi expulsion .should be liberal Pei haps compensation to the distiessed land-holders of 2."> per cent moie than the valuation foi piopcity tax would not be inequitable, and when lailwa)* weie extended throuah country suitable for settlement, thcie can he no doubt that the le sale in modeiatc si/ed fauns of lands so taken would pioduce a piofit suftkient to nuke a considciablp eontiibution tovvaids the cost of the iailwny, and moi envoi would bung into existence a tiafhc laige enough to cause the l.ulw.iyto be a souiee ot eonsuleiable inciease over piodiietion, and fiom tlic leveniie eojitiibnted by an additional population. No new pnneiple is fulfilled in this proposal abeady iindei the Public Wo iks Act, and under the Resumption of Land foi Mining Pin poses Act. we have dctei mined that for seveml public pm poses land may be lesumed by the State, and no moie impoi taut oi desuablc purpose can be imagined than the pioper settlement of the land by a numcious population. But to cany out this process would mean laising a considei.ible loan to be applied to this special piupose ; for if the bind weie «old by tlie Government on defened payments or leased, as w ould piobably be the case m order to secure mpid settlement, for some time the colony w ould hay c to be out of a laige sum. This diavvback requites us to considei the alternative which has been suggested, viz , that ot having the laud lev allied aft'Tthe laihvayisinadc, and chaigiua it with a share, say one-half of the inclement ot -value, tho landowner to bo at libel ty to ledeein tins eh.ime when he may jjlease, and in the meantime to pay inteiest upon it at the late ot ."> per cent, per annum. This would no doubt ;_nve tho State a good i etui n for the cost of the iiulwa)s, but it would not secuie the settlemi nt of the land with the srtme ccitainty as the foi mcr method Jt has, howevei, the advantage of requiring no money it out. The Government has determined to submit a Bill empouei ing it lo adopt both plans with ths intention of geueially acting on the second. With either plan the gam to the community is great, and no injustice is done to the individual. The Government has also considered the .question -whether iates shall bo levied upon land in distiicts through which State lailways run to make up any : deficiency between the earnings ot these railways and the inteiest paid by the Slate upon the money used on their cousliuction. Jt seems to me that only one late should be levied for such a purpose. The very idea of a system of btate i ailways in a new country must imply, I think, the construction of many lines which would not pay for some ycais much moie than their woiking expenses. The object of the State in making railways is not to obtain an immediate div i- ! dend upon the cost of constitution, but to open up communication and to encomagc the settlement of the countiy by making it possible over a large area to cultivate small holdings at a profit, which it would have been impossible so to cultivate without a ready and cheap means of communication with a market. Since 18S0, the Government had made concessions on the freight of agricultural prducts amounting to over £100,000 per annum. The justification is that theieby the area of cultivation is extended for the benefit of the colony as a whole. The contrary system of imposing special disabilities upon scttleis who located themselves near a railway which did not pay five per cent, upon its construction, could no but have a retarding effect upon our progress. Such, thon, are the intentions of the Government, which it is my privilege to announce to-night. They are only further steps in a policy consistently adhered to. We have inaugurated the system of perpetual leases of State lands ; we have announced our intention of introducing a Bill for the abolition of all restriction upon the % alienation of land, the far-reaching effects ot which in bringing to pass the subdivision of land it is difficult adequately to appreciate ; and in now submitting to the judgment of lion, members proposals to {rive to the country a right lo share' in the wealth immediately created by public expenditure, and to enable to resume upon fair terms land lequired for settlement, I trust they will recoguise that these pioposalu have for their aim not only the promotion of the .general advantage by an act of justice? to tho community, bntindso^be, establishment of a, numerous , body! of independent, uettlerß, (1 . „,>.!<' /»• ,", »/ , ■