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Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 45, 20 May 1875, Page 5

The estimated revenue of the colony from all sources, as shown by the financial statement brought down on the 21st July last, was £1,496,000. In making this statement the Treasurer said : " The revenue for the year has " been estimated with great cure, and I *' do not think on the whole, if there is " nothing to disturb the prosperity of "the country, we may safely anticipate " receiving at least the amount es- *' timated," These figures represented a sum of L 316,100 in excess of the estimate formed for the preceding year, and £75,784 in excess of the amount actually realised, The surplus -with

which the year commenced amounted to L 207,461, which added to the revenue as- estimated made a grand total of L 1,704,061. We give these figures in round numbers, omitting for convenience all fractional parts of the sums named. The estimated expenditure for the year, exclusive of what may have been trenched upon by the supplimentary estimates, amounted to Ll ,637,998, leaving a surplus of L 66,063 with which to commence the financial operations of the forthcoming year. This favorable state of matters was looked upon at the time with a considerable amount of mistrust, and they were not awanting who predicted that the close of the year would exhibit a very different state of affairs. To some extent the gloomy predictions were borne out by the result of the first halfyear's transactions ; the revenue from all sources at that date being L25,00U short of the Hon. Colonial Treasurer's estimate. Now, however, that the third quarter of the year has been published, that apparent defect has not only disappeared, but a certain surplus has been provided for by the transactions of the last quarter— viz., the quarter ending 31st March. While at the close of the first, or September, quarter of the year the revenue derived from all sources amounted to L 355,434, and the second, or December, quarter to L 366,810, it amounted (as shown by the returns published in the * New Zealand Gazette') for the quarter ending 31st March to L 4 19,367. Ihus for three-quarters of the year we have a total income of L 1,122,000, as against tbe Treasurer's estimate of L 1,496,000, 496,000 for the entire year. Mr Yogel in his estimate puts down "incidental receipts L 35,000," Alluding to this item, a well informed contemporary says : " Unless the item " includes ' recoveries,' which up to the " present amount to L 32,280, we can- " not account for the smallness of the " returns under that'head. Excluding " that sum, it may be fairly computed " that Mr Yogel will be able to come " down this year with a surplus of " nearly L 25,000. And, if our surmise " with regard to l recoveries ' be correct, " the surplus will be brought up to " L 60,000."