NEWS OF THE MONTH.

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 142, 16 June 1888, Page 6

NEWS OF THE MONTH.

SUMMARY' FOR HOME READERS.

AUCKLAND. N.Z..

Juke I°t". isß3i

U4BOS political are pretty well monopoMATTEJa p d tl)ab not W ibhgood reason. « on bronghfc down by bu navy S2th ™s>accof ding t0 some c ; f ur a but all tl»e S ame, it was the bitterest Di U-thab tho colonial taxpajor has ever SnScccUoßwaUo^ By its clear, busi. public have for the first time been brought to realise the diffiS- into which the colony has been , L? hv the wasteful extravagance ot §St \^closed a heavy deficit, and m£ hat after cutting down the public difnra for the ensuing year by. SoS it would still be necessary to fncmse Nation by over £200,000 in order to Se both ends meet. Small wonder Satthefinancial proposals-of the Government have been discussed by Parliament SSpeopk with far more than the customJJJ iUree of earnestness, and that the Siiical business of the country is being conducted with more seriousness and less sensationalism ton has been the case for mS'Srds ath9 transactions of the last financial year, thaposition niay be stated in a few words. The expenditure exceeded the revenue by the enormous total of £382 047, which with the deficit ol £146556'fr0m the previous year made a total'deficit of £528,603 for two years. The deficiency has arisen under every heading except Customs and stamps. The railway receipts were £68,176 lew than in the previous year, and the land sales ilZy.blw lesft* This leeway, which is represented by a£«nporary floating debt, had been foreseen duriug the late session last year, and provided for by a measure which enabled the Government to meet; its en g ao-ements without paying off any of the arrears. The .permanent extinction of this debt, however, must be undertaken, and 'the Treasurer proposes to meet it in two ways. £400,000 have been raised upon deficiency bills, ond he recommends that the £70,000 which < has accrued as an insurance fund against errors that may occur 'in the Land Transfer Department shall fae applied to extinguishing deficiency bills to that amount, any loss under Land Transfer Department to be made good from the consolidated revenue as it arises. Tho balance : f of. the £400,000 will, the, Treasurer states, be gradually . extinguished by the surplus debentures now being paid on account of the Public Debt Sinking Fund. .Then there remains the balanco of £128,603. deficiency, as, yet unprovided for, and to cover this he subi.mited the somewhat novel proposal of a one percent, primage duty upon all imports, duty paid or free, to be maintained for a iperiod of two years, Calculating the duty 'nipon the basis of the gross imports, the , Treasurer estimated that ib will yield ; £58,000 a year, and will thus supply the revenue required to cover the deficiency within the period stated, when the duty will cease. i The evil relics of the past being thus disposed of, the Treasurer had to face this . position: The net public debt i 5£35,536,381, : beariflSs an annual charge for interest of : £1,838j039. After taking into account the ; saving of £233,092 which lias been made by ! the recent retrenchments, the expendi- : ture to be provided for (including the , Lands Department) is £4,060,835, besides : £30,000 required for school buildings, - £60,000 for other public buildings, £64,000 : for subsidies to local bodies, and Vi'56,000 to cover half the deficit. ■ Retrenchment has reached its practicable limit, and the money must be ■ found. The Treasurer had, therefore, only 1 to make his choice between tho alternatives offered by the rival forms of taxation. Ho decided in favour of an all-round increase of Customs duties, so arranged as to encourage colonial traded and manufactures. The , Treasurer set out as his purposes in framing i the Budget: 1. Reduction of expenditure to m, th.c lowest point. 2. The raising of suffi- ■ ellnt revenue to prevent the recurrence of ■ dbficits, 3. To assist local industry. 4. To ' r6duce the expenditure of borrowed money • below what was proposed last year. These 1 aims are undeniably excellent, and seem to i be fairly attained. It is part ol the policy of the present ' Budget to further restrict borrowing, with : a view to its total cessation afc an early ' period. There appears to be an honest at- . tempt to put an end to the use of loan : money for purposes which are properly .■chargeable; against ordinary revenue. ' Until the revenue and expenditure of the : country have been made to balance, it is ■no tinie .to make experiments. Therefore, j while we shourd strongly have desired to see ithe inequalities and oppressiveness of the 'property tax grappled with and its evils ; abated, we are bound to admit, afr,er an imj partial survey of tho condition of tilings re- ; vealed in the Treasurer's Statement, that ; the complete revision of tho system of taxation whichj piust be undertaken will •lave to t% deferred until wo breathe a • little more freely. The Government ;by proposing to abolish the Public Works i and Native Departments have shown a due appreciation of the still unsatisfied popular , cry for retrenchment. The alterations in the tariff, which it is proposed to introduce, .have been criticised and are subject to ■■alteration in detail; but they are accepted by the public generally, and by those more . immediately concerned, as genuine con cessions to the principle of protection to local industries. . , It is an open secret that the Government i, proposals embodied in the Customs Duties »«A were not arrived at without serious dis- • sensiqns in the Cabinet, which at one time • ■*™»tened to result in the resignation of a 1 1 faster;and as was expected, the pro'tectlve duties have led to tho formation of ■yree-trade party formed from both sides ,w the House of Representatives. The Jinancmblebafe, wnich has proceeded for i tn®PsMj>rtnight, has shown that political '£i -liw comPletely disintegrated, and nf Jh ■ ,(Jovernment'lost by.the defection : ?„. /iV'^-trade supporters, they gained ! *Vl 0W bJ^oaccession of protectionist ■£$&**$ bho Opposition. The debate on theMecond reading of the Customs Duties "Si W ° a I*Wen termination on TuesiwU V lU?°^ dtyision fcl'c Bill was carried J^^^.^Thisprovedthe strength of ■ t8 ' aud slaved that WHm "nf i aUy were fßlfcllf«l to their foSryiupSffr the House who spfPflpr) i, P1 rtM w Government, but xnotion far committal of® °£asZ - able the Government to S^ £ necessity for imposing apportion of c proposed taxation could noi be obviated by lurther retrenchment." A brief debVo .fo lowed, the chief utility of which was io allow members to speak" through Hansard Sin^S 2?9f# and being defeated By a large majority, the Bill z6 now being considered in committee

Already the tariff has so far passed, almost without alteration, that there is no doubt whatever thafc the Government will carry their proposals. The primage duty of one par cent., to cover, last years deficit, was passed without ti division, showing a determination on the part ot cue Hou-;'" "to insist upon a-sound system ot finance at any cost. This will produce a feeling of general satisfaction abroad. Among legislative experiments this session the Fair Kent Bill introduced by the Government is the must remarkable. J-liis Bill is intended to provide a Court ol Appeal to adjust the rents of persons who hold leases from the Government or from local bodies, so as to prevent hardship in rases where there has been a fall in rent values. It is generally approved of, but Sir George Grey and others think that it should be made to include all leases private as well as pu bite. The Codhn Moth Bill caused widespread discussion on account of its proposal to tax fruitgrowers heavily in order to eradicate an insect pest that attacks nearly every kind of fruit The Government took up this measureand passed it through the House of Representatives ; but on account of popular agitation against it the Legislative Council have thrown out the Bill.

The news of the high average obtained for the two-million loan in London, and of the large amount tendered for it, was received with much satisfaction, and was accepted as proof that our credit is by no means so bad as the "Standard" and "Financial News " afiect to believe it is. With regard to railway works for tho cm-rout year, the Government policy will be their practical stoppage. Present contracts will be completed, and the only new contracts to be let (luring the year will be in the Manawatu (Jorge and on the Obago Central. Liabilities will be paid oft" and the balance of money invested; the same course will bo pursued with regard to the North [aland Trunk Railway. The position of that fund is that after deducting £100,000 for the purchaseof land, £55,000 for expenses of floating the loan and paying liabilities-, there will bo only £400,000 in hund towards the completion of tlio line, and this will also be invested for a year.

Strong influences are evidently at work to secure, if possible, the discontinuance of the monthly "mail service via San Francisco, on the plausible ground of retrenchment. The contract;, to which this colony and New South Wales are joint parties, expires this year, and Southern influence is beingexerted to have the subsidy discontinued, and an addi&ion made to the subsidies paid to the two lines of direct steamers. There is sure to bo a keen contest on this subject. The Government proposals with regard to the new contract for the San Francisco service, which will be laid on the table this session, will provide for a contract of not less than five years, as they consider that no syndicate or company would build boats for a lesser period. If the Canadian people had been ready the Government would have proposed to adopt that route. It has been ascertained that there is almost a certain small majority against the renewal of the contract, and if divisions show such to be the case it i« probable that the very rare practice of challenging votes will bo resorted to, and in such case any member who is interested in the direct or any opposing ■ service will be liable to have his vbte disallowed. In this event it is thought that the renewal of the San Francisco service will be practically certain. • The excitement over the Chinese question has subsided so far as this colony is concerned—the Government having very promptly passed a restrictive measure. That the Chinese citizens of Auckland are alive to the privileges they enjoy here is proved by the fact of their having employed Dr. Laishley to draw up a petition to Parliament on their behalf. Tne Conference on the Chinese question has just concluded its session at Sydney, after resolving that diplomatic action by the English Government; and identical legislation by the different; colonies were the proper means to employ in combatting the influx of Mongolians. A resolution was carried unanimously pledging all the colonies, excepting New South Wales and Western Australia, to introduce the draft Bill approved by the Conference in their several Legislatures, it being understood that the two colonies referred to should alter their bills to meet the precisions of the general bill of the Conferet.o. The New Zealand delegate, Hon. R. Oliver, M.L.C., did not reach d.ydney until the Conference had concluded its labours, but probably our Government will coincide in the resolutions arrived at. Universal regret was expressed all over the colony On receipt of the news of the death of Mr Justice Johnston. The question of the probable successor to the deceased is already being discussed, but as Mr Justice Ward, who was temporarily appointed during Johnston's leave holds ofiice till February next, the Cabinet are not likely to till the vacancy for several months. The Attorney-General would admittedly make an excellent Judge, but it is unlikely that he would accept the office, even if it were offered to him. The others spoken of are: Judge Ward, Sir P.. Stout, Hon. T. Hislop, Mr E. Hesketh (Auckland), MiHarper (Christchurch), and Mr Haggitt (Dunedin). Mr 1). L. Murdoch, who recently returned to Auckland after paying a visit to England, has resigned the position of General Manager of the Bank of New Zealand, with the intention of devoting the whole of his time to the duties of Managing Director of the Loan and Mercantile Agency Company. An important transaction was recently conclcded in Auckland, by which a Melbourne syndicate has acquired the timber business and extensive forests belonging to the Union Sash and Door Company, Auckland Timber Company, JS'cw Zealand Timber Company, and about a dozen other companies engaged in the same trade. The intention is to float a f company, and a number of shares will, it is i stated, be reserved for Auckland investors. The purchase money paid by the syndicate approaches a million sterling, and it is considered that they have secured a practical monopoly of the traffic in kauri timber, a special product of Auckland district, which is increasingly coming into use in Australia and elsewhere. The effect of liberating a large amount of local capital cannot tail to prove highly beneficial, and with more economical management and greater energy in finding markets for the timber, it is expected that the colossal transaction just ccnclndcd will have £pod results in the way of stimulating the timber industry here, which has for years been in a languishing condition. The New Zealand Medical Association mot for their annual conference on the 23rd May at Auckland, and sat for several days, discussing, with closed doors, matters affecting the profession. The most important work done was the final amendment and approval of a proposed Medical Act, which the doctors wish to get'passed. Two unfortunate wrecks have taken place lately on the coast of the North Island. The first was the stranding of the barque Sophia R. Luhrs, near Kaipava Heads, on the sfch inst., caused by the vessel dragging her anchors. She became a total wreck, but all the crew were saved. In the other case, the steamship Hawea came to grief while entering New Plymouth Harbour on the 12th inst. She either ran on a rock not known to exist, or got a hole knocked in her bottom by the fluke of her own anchor, and rapidly filling is now apparently becoming a total loss. She was insured for £3,000 in colonial offices, and for £2,0C0 with English companies ; but as her total value was £13,000, her owners will be heavy losers. In this case the. crew and passengers were landed in safety, although the captain and chief officer narrowly escaped being drowned. Both these vessels

belonged to the Union S.B. Company of New Zealand. Tho English football team played two matches in Auckland. The first resulted in En"l:uid scoring 6 points and Auckland 3. The second match, played on Queen's Birthday, was the most keenly contested game that die visitors played in New Zealand, and resulted in a victory for the local team by 4 points to nil. hi commemoration of the victory the Auckland players ore each to be presented with .gold medals by Mr Brett, of the EvuMKG Stak. Tho English footballers are now in Sydney. Thecrimm:il.«t:-'.tisticsGf the colony for ll: 87 g'jow a Mifc's tico y diminution in the more cerious oifences suoh as murder, attempted murder, arson, manslaughter, forgery, and horse and cattle stealing ; and few crises of larceny have occurred. The year has, however, bsen specially noticeable for a marked decrease in the offence of drunkenness, the number of cases being 812 less than in the previous year. Much the same may be said of wife desertion, which it one time bade fair to become a common offence. The decrease in this criminal item is attributable to the prompt measures taken for the arrest and enforced return of a man who had fled to the adjoining colonies. Durum the same period the actual decrease in crime throughout the colony has been 593 cases as compared with last year, viz., a decrease of 747 cases in the South Island and an increase of 364 in the North Island. So far tho balance is in favour of the former, but in thafc Island there has been an increase in many of the serious offences, while in the North they have decreased notwithstanding that the minor offences have increased. The Customs returns for the month of May (with the exception of the ports of Kaipara and Tamvuiga) amount to £103,830 Vs lOd ; the principal contributions being : -Dunedin, £38,380 10s lid; Auckland, £32,264 8s 4<i; Lytfceltori and Christcliurch, £27,887 2s 8d ; Wellington, £28.318 3s 9d. Tho amount collected in April (this year) was £101,553 16?, so that last month's collections top it by over £1,000. The estimat s was £104,166 13s 4d. The municipal accounts of the City of Auckland for the half-year ending 31st March have been printed. They show that, with the exception of the general account, the several city funds are in a healthy state. There was still a debtor balance at the General Account of £20,272, which we should like to see wiped ofF The Ward Accounts had the following sums standing to their credit: —North Ward, £7,496} South Ward, £1.55*5? East Ward, £4,034 ; Ponsonby, £2,438 ; Grafton, £1,175 ; Ksiraugahape, £1,637. No doubt these amounts have since been reduced by payment on account of contracts in band. The "waterworks revenue contributed £3,415 towards the interest on cost of supply. Tlh* Free Public Library had a balance of £1,631 to credit: and there is £3,192 to the credit of the Waterworks Conservation Fund. The Wuikomiti Cemetery, although indebted for improvements, gives indications of becoming self-support-ng. The policy of the Council ought to be to set itself steadily to secure the extinguishment of the overdraft on General Account, so that tho need for further borrowing may be avoided.