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Press, Volume XLVII, Issue 7527, 17 April 1890, Page 5

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[FROM OT7B OOKRESPONOSNT.I WELLINGTON, April Iβ. The returns of the re venae and expenditure are now complete, but one email item in connection with the Postal Department has not yet been passed by the audit; hence the figures to that extent must not be deemed final and: authoritative. The amount not yet passed is, however, only a few pounds, and does not appreciably affect the result either way. The Customs (including primage) as brought finally to account in the Treasury have yielded £1,500,873, stamps £629,755, property tax £355,460, railways £1,093,340. The Customs are £49,126 short, railways £63,340 to the Hood, stamps £24,755 to the good, territorial £21,560 short, property tax 24,609 on the right side of the estimate. The total revenue actually raised during the year was £1,209,247 8s 3d. This is £21,447 8s 3d more than the estimate. The total expenditure is £4,121,841 lie Bd, or £28,861 bs 4d less than the estimate. This gives a balance of £87,405 15s 7d on the right side, to which must be added the credit balance with which the year began, after paying off £50,000 off the floating debt left, from the Stout-Vogel deficiency, amounts, Ing to £27,768 3s Bd. This gives a net surplus of £115,174, neglecting the small sums, already mentioned, as in abeyance, The Treasury Officers bring out the same results In another way. The cash in hand at the close of the year was £497,388 Is 3d, advances in the hands of Government officers £59,080 18s Id, total £556,468 19s 4d, but against this there are deficiency bills outstanding to the amount of £441,29419s 4d, which, deducted from the cash and advances just quoted, leaves a balance of £115,174 to the good, or in a third way the same result may be obtained. The estimated revenue for the year was £4,187,800, the estimated expenditure £4,158,700; the estimated surplus £37,097. The excess of revenue was £21,447 8s 3d, savings in expenditure £28,861 8s 4d. Add these two sums to the estimated surplus, and the result again is £115,174, the actual net surplus. It is now admitted, even by Oppositionists, who understand everything about the matter and have taken the trouble to investigate It, that the surElus cannot now be manufactured by olding over liabilities; and even the Post says, in reference to the announcement of the surplus:—'*• We are glad to hear it, and are not disposed to question the accuracy of the Treasury figures. The balance sheet will, no doubt, show that the amount on paper was arrived at in a perfectly legitimate manner. In connection with the surplus, there is one thing we may at Once admit, and that is that its existence cannot be and is not affected in any way by the holding over of accounts until after the close of the financial year. Oα the systemunder which, bylaw, the public accounts are now kept, we find that this is impossible, the permanent head of every department being required to send in a full statement of all outstanding liabilities at the end of the financial year, which statement also has to be certified by the Auditor-General. In making up the balance-sheet these liabilities are all taken into account. It is only right that this should be clearly understood, as considerable misapprehension, we know, exists on the subject. It was only on carefully looking into it that the misapprehension on our part was dispelled." I may ad«V that the amount paid away in subsidies to local bodies was more than double that paid in the previous year, or £57,235 as against £28,630. Clearly subsidies have not been held back. Assuming that out of the surplus of £115,174 the floating balance of impounded debt—a remnant of the Stout-Vogel deficiency—ie paid off, that would absorb £78,605 Os Bd, leaving a credit balance of £36,588188 4d to begin the new year with.