REVENUE FIGURES.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13906, 3 December 1910, Page 9

REVENUE FIGURES.

INCREASED ACTIVITY OF TRADE. PRIME MINISTER PREDICTS FAXL IN INTEREST RATES. (BPECIAL TO "THE PKEBS.") WELLINGTON, December 2. Discussing the position of the five million loan, in the House of Representatives to-day, the Prime Minister read a statement relative to the revenue for the eight months ended November 30th, compared with the corresponding period of 1909. Sir Joseph Ward said that he was giving vhe figures not only for the information of the people in New Zealand, but also for the information of people outside the Dominion. He was exceedingly glad to tell the House that the upward tendency and buoyancy was as marked ac when he made his last statement on the subject. Tho various balances were as under :— INCREASES. £ Customs 247,775 Stamps ... - 158,889 Post nnd Telegraphs ... 10,869 Land and Income Tax ... 12,387 Beer Duty ... ... 1,606 Railways 184,978 Marine Department ... 2,017 Territorial ... ... 31,46 d DECREASES. Registration and other fees ... -. — "87 Miscellaneous ... ... 2,658 The total increase, continued Sir Joseph, was, after the deduction of the two decreases, £645,930. The net increase for the seven months ended October 31st. 1910, was £528,759. This showed that there was a further increase of £117,171 since he last spoke on the subject. He did not know anything more gratifying regarding the position of the country than the figures pourtrayed. The increase mtist be put down entirely to "the increased activity of trade to and from New Zealand. Some people not long ago were very pessimistic as to trade. The figures showed that the trade expansion and trade activity had become normal compared with 18 months ago, and more than normal, because there was a steady increase in all departments, and a large increase at that. We were now in the happy position of having not a spasmodic increase in trade, but a steady increase. As a result of a large sum coming into this country, before long the rate of interest would come down. That would result in increased investments, in more land settlement, and in increased building activity in every direction. He was certain that they were going to have all that to a greater extent during the next 12 months, than during the past four or five years.