THE VICTORIAN BUDGET.

Auckland Star, Volume XX, Issue 180, 31 July 1889, Page 4

THE VICTORIAN BUDGET.

The Colonial Treasurer of Victoria is a singularly favoured person. While every other Chancellor of the Exchequer in Australasiahas been cudgelling hiß brains to discover some . expedient by wkj recurring deficits may be overcome, and revenue and expenditure made to balance each other the Treasurer of Victoria meets Parliament with a cash of £1 609 000 upon tho year's operations. This fa no plying fiction, bubflfcaßgible

reality represented by money which the Treasurer can apply to the further developement of the resources of that fine colony. He proposes to use the surplus in giving grants and bonuses for the encouragement of agriculturalandwino industries, in establishing technical- agricultural and military colleges, carrying out rabbibextermination, and giving additional grants to municipal bodies and other existing institutions. As an additional measure to promote tho development of Victorian resources it ia intended to increase the duties on cereals to 3s per cental—an almost prohibitory tax —and on green fruits to 2s per cental, also to absolutely prohibit the importation of butter by a tax of a shilling a pound. This is bad news for New Zealand, but we cannot blame our neighbours for doing the best bhoy can for themselves. We shall have to follow their example by still further baxing products which can be produced and manufactured in the country, but which are still brought from abroad. This colony is now in a position to absolutely stamp out the importation of green fruits and jams from'abroacl and it ought to do ib, and so encourage our small settlers to go on with the development of their orchards. The Victorian Treasurer proposes to make some reductions in taxation. The duty on tea will be reduced by one penny, and the inland postage rate will be lowered from twopence to one penny. These reductions, although apparently slight, will represent a considerable relief to , the public in the course of a year, and the lowering of the postal rates is of that class of remission which tends to recoup itself by increased business.