D.—l

My immediate effort must be directed to acquiring a personal knowledge of the developmental work now in course of construction, its objective, and the planning of its enlargement in the future. The errors of the past which now confront us, and which have largely arisen out of altered conditions, are in themselves sufficient evidence of the necessity of comprehensive planning of public works. I desire to acknowledge that in the staff of the Department which I have the honour to control there exists a body of public servants- exceptionally well qualified in their duties, and imbued with a devotion to public service. No Minister can achieve real success unless he can inspire his men with confidence and the assurance of his support in their work. To the staff and employees of my Department I give this assurance, and I have no fear that they will fail to respond. Whilst lam with them I demand their best service, and I want their fearless judgment. The change in Ministerial control may possibly raise a question as to the policy to be followed with regard to the employment of workmen on road, railway, hydroelectric, and other constructional works. As I see it, the position is clear. There are certain classes of work on which men can be employed only on day wages. There are other classes of work which, both in the interests of Department and men, can best be dealt with on the system of open contract, be it large or small, or on the co-operative contract system, according to the circumstances of the men concerned or the class of work, whichever, in the particular circumstances of the case, is the fairest way to both parties. The Department must secure fair value in work product for which it pays. lam not particularly concerned as to how that result is achieved. The resultant daily earnings must not be the deciding factor, but the cost of the work per unit of material dealt with. If parties of men, by their special effort, are enabled to double the day's wage-rate, then I shall be glad to know that our conditions of employment can attract such workmen, for such results pay the Department and encourage and profit the men. The allocation of public-works funds for development works must necessarily be a vital issue. Applications throughout the country for grants from the Public Works Fund amount every year to a sum far beyond the resources available. My predecessor evolved a system of automatic allocation based on essential factors, and, in furtherance, a system of authorization automatically relative to appropriation. Believing these systems to be sound in basis, I intend to adhere to them, though experience of their working-effect may suggest modification of detail application. My endeavour will be directed to perfection of a system of allocation of grants from the Public Works Fund which is based on the absolute economics of the application free of any other consideration. My predecessor directed his policy in determined manner towards freeing the allocation of Public Works Fund moneys from any suggestion of satisfying political demands. lam no less determined to follow the same policy. The work which has been achieved during the past few years is self-assertive evidence of the wisdom, and benefit of such a policy. I have no wish to discourage local and district ambitions, but I do insist that these ambitions, before they can receive any support from the Public Works Fund, must stand the test —that is to say, they must be found to be good and justifiable as part of a comprehensive plan or directly subsidiary to it. The operations of the Department, and therefore its expenditure, have been temporarily enlarged during the last few weeks in order to provide work for unemployed. The unemployment problem, when it arises, is almost essentially seasonal — that is to say, it finds its peak in the winter, when many avenues of employment are restricted. I am not satisfied that the enlargement of the ordinary publicworks activities of the Government, which should be conducted according to plan, is the proper remedy. Winter is admittedly the least suitable season in which to obtain the best results on public works. Public works should be carried on throughout the year with a trained and regularly adherent staff. The addition of large numbers of inexperienced and often physically incapable men at a time when only trained and experienced men are worth while is economically wrong. It seems to me that unemployment difficulties due to, or emphasized by, loss of seasonal occupation should be met by the provision of-employment seasonably suitable. I have been able to discover no occupation more suitable to the capacity of those usually unemployed in winter, and no avenue of expenditure more likely to give a better asset in return for expenditure involved, than reafforestation.

II