B.—No. 2a,

18

PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Road Boards. The result of the whole apportionment was, that out of the £100,000, £45,404 Bs. 4d. was claimed for Provincial Works, and £54,595 lis. Bd. allotted to the Road Boards; and there can be no doubt that these payments in aid of ordinary Road Board funds have been a great boon and assistance to the country districts. GENERAL SUMMARY. I have now given some account of the progress made in the different services conducted by the Eublic Works Department, and have endeavoured to do so as briefly and plainly as possible. Returns giving detailed information on many of the subjects I have referred to, will be appended to a printed copy of this Statement. I hope what I have said will have satisfied honorable Members that the statements which have been so freely circulated through the country, that vast sums (ranging according to the imagination of the originator of the story from one million to two) have been expended without result, are entirely wdthout foundation; and with a view of placing clearly before the House, and through the House before the Colony, the true state of the case, I will summarise the whole expenditure on Public Works and the results. In the Statement of Accounts I quoted from in an early part of my remarks, I showed that of the sum of £801,023 19s. lid., which had been placed to the credit of the Public Works Account in the Colony from the starting of the policy to the end of June last, £750,000 was derived from Loan, the remainder being made up chiefly from Stamp Duty. 3b 3*/ 3J But although ... ... ... ... ... 801,023 is the sum that has been placed to the credit of the Public Works Account, the whole of that amount has not been really available for Public Works, but has been reduced by such charges as Discount and Expenses ... ... 39,272 Interest and Sinking Fund... ... ... ... 33,750 Buildings, English Agency, &c, the expenditure on which has not been less than say ... ... ... 8,044 ... 81,066 Leaving a sum of ... ... ... ... ... ... 719,957 actually available for Public Works. For this expenditure, a most satisfactory return can be shown. On Boads in the North Island, there has been expended ... ... 121, 868 for which 550 miles of roads have been opened, besides the roads in progress. On Boads in the West Coast Gold Fields, there has been expended out of the Middle Island Bailway Fund ... ... ... 32,380 which has opened 27 miles, with 42 still in progress. On Bailways, a total expenditure has taken place of ... ... 12, 287 for which we have to show — 12 miles of Eailway opened, at a cost of about... ... 49, 200 379 miles surveyed and prepared for contract, at a cost of about ... ... ... ... 19,212 of which 247 miles have been let, and upwards of 50 miles are in course of construction, upon which payments have been made to about ... 103, 338 Plant for Bailways and Waitaki Bridge has been paid for, to the amount of ... ... ... 40,537 £212,287 In North Island Land Purchases ... ... ... ... 49,664 has purchased an Estate of 403,815 acres, besides providing advances on blocks under negotiation. On Telegraph Extension there has been spent ... ... ... 58,297 which has opened 801 miles of line, and no one will dispute the beneficial result of that expenditure. There has been contributed to Boad Boards ... ... ... 100,000 and although the Public Works Department cannot point to so many miles of roads made for this expenditure, there can be no doubt the objects achieved are identified with the Policy of Public Works.