THE ESTIMATES

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 263, 2 August 1929, Page 11

THE ESTIMATES

SOME OF THE MAIN ITEMS £125,000 FOR SINGAPORE The Estimates presented to the House of Representatives last night by the Prime Minister show in some cases, notably education, considerable increases in various items, and in other cases, signs of retrenclinient. The following are the principal items:—

The civil list shows that the sum of £7506 voted His Excellency the Gover-nor-General was fully expended. The sum of £5OOO was for salary and £2500 was for other charges. Transport charges totalled £1603 last year. Maintenance of overseas war graves and war memorials cost New Zealand £30,750 last year. The same sum is to be voted this year.

In tiie payment of honoraria of members of the Legislative Council a sum of £11,970 will be involved. The honoraria of members of the House of Representatives is estimated to cost £30,600. The total voted is thus £42,570. Last year £41,658 was expended. The sum of £65,000 is voted under the Family Allowances Act. The vote last year was £60.000, of which £54,815 was spent. A further annual vote of £125,000 in respect to the .Singapore naval base is again provided for. The main highways revenue fund is estimated to benefit this year to the extent of £542,000, of which fees, fines, etc., payable to the fund will total £332,000, anil the amount of duties on tires, tubes, etc., £210,000. The amount expended last year was £441,346. Losses on the operation of branch lines and isolated sections of railways last year totalled £498,578. Provision for the sum of £495,000 is to be made this year. These losses are made good by the Consolidated Fund.

Subsidies to hospital boards involved a sum of £673,689 last year, when the vote was £695,000. The vote this year is

Salaries of Judges of the Supreme Court cost the country £16,920 last year. A sum of £18,250 is to be voted this year, lhat being similar to last year’s provision. The vote for the salaries of Magistrates is also renewed at £27,400. The sum of £27,106 was spent last year. A further grant of £15,000 is to be made toward the maintenance of Massey Agricultural College. Expenditure under the Motor Spirits Taxation Act last year amounted to £793,670. The appropriation this year has been increased from £750,000 to £900,000, which is payable to the Main Highways Revenue Fund. Subsidies and allowances to the national Provident Fund this year are estimated to amount to £103.124. Last year’s expenditure under that head totalled £lOl,367.

Grants In aid to the university colleges this year are estimated as follows:— Auckland, £9750; Victoria, £7750; Canterbury, £6000; Otago, £15,350. In each case this' year's vote is identical with last year’s expenditu re. The estimated payments under the Pensions Act are as follow, last year’s expenditure being shown in parentheses:—Miners, £46,100 (£45,725); Maori War, £ll,OOO (£13,673); old age, £1,062.500 (£1,018,353); blind, £14,000 (£13.339); widows, £320,000 (£312,963). The free issue of postage stamps to members of both Houses of Parliament involved a total of £2326 last year, and the vote this year is £2200. The Public Service Commissioner is voted £l5OO and his temporary assistant £1092.

Pensions and allowances under the War Pensions Act, 1915, cost £1,178,647 last year. This year's vote is £1,175,000. To defray the salaries and expenses of the legislative departments this year it is estimated £89,806 will be required. The cost last year was £9-5,191. Railway concessions and passes to members and ex-members of the Legislature and their families cost £23,784 last year, and the sum of £24,000 is provided for the purpose this year. Expenditure under the heading of League of Nations last year was shown as follows: —New Zealand's proportion of secretarial expenses for year to end of 1928, £9319; expenses of delegate to Geneva £652. For the same purposes this year the sums of £lO,lBO and £5OO respectively- are provided.

Toward the cost of the Auckland metropolitan transport commission the sum of £4lOO was voted last year, and £4098 was expended.

For Samoan administration the sum of £20.000 is to be voted this yea;. Last year’s vote was £BOOO. Formerly £12,000 was provided by New Zealand Reparation Estates, Samoa. The profits from the estates are now to be paid to the public account. For the pay and expenses of the Samoan civil police the sum of £lB,OOO is voted. The cost of the Samoan military police, now replaced by the civil police, was £27,374 last year, «»iat being met by the Finance Act.

For the maintenance of Cook Island lepers at Makogal the vote this year is £3OOO. Last year’s expenditure was £2617. The travelling expenses of judges and associates was more than anticipated last year. The vote was £4OOO, and the expenditure £5224. The vote has been renewed at £4OOO.

To feed the prisoners in New Zealand gaols last year an expenditure of £17,308 was Incurred. This year’s vote has been reduced by £5OO to £17,500. A bounty of £6730 was paid to the Onakaka Iron and Steel Company last year. The expenditure is governed by the output. of pig iron. A vote of £BOOO is provided this year, the same provision as was made last year. The High Commissioner’s office cost £55,500, including salaries, last year. The vote was £44,936. This year a sum of £44,769 has been provided. Amounts Summarised. AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. Horticultural Division.—Salaries, £14,982 (permanent), non-permanent £1230, total £10,267. Te Kauwhata Station.— £5OOO. Travelling allowances and expenses £6OOO. Dairy Division.—Salaries, £26,735: travelling allowances and expenses, £lO,OOO. Fields Division.—Salaries, £29,914; field experiments, £3000; plant diseases, £1000; pastures, £900; Insects, injurious and beneficial, £200; seed-testing, £550; pliormium research, £600; field crops, £750. Experimental areas.—Ashburton, £900; Galloway, £800; Gore, £750; Marton, £ fix) (part recoverable); Puwera, £llOO. Irrigation in Central Otago.—Experimental and investigation work, £lO. Travelling allowances and expenses, £BllOO. Control of cattle tick, £2000; subsidies to cost of erection of dips, £5O. Subsidies to rabbit boards, £15,000. Destruction of kea, £750. Destruction of wild pigs, with State Forest grant, £325, £l5O. Assistance to bee-keeping Industry, £9OOO (new grant). Egg-laying competitions at Auckland and Christchurch, £2OO. Royal Agricultural Society, £lOOO. Guarantee on export of eggs, £5BOO. Guarantee on export of fruit, £5OO. Guarantee on export of pork, £25,000 (last year, £20,000). Carriage of lime for bona fide farmers, £20,000. Portion of freight rates on fertilisers. £70,000 (last year, £102,000). Cow-testing organisations, £10.500. Steamer service to Chatham Islands, £5OO (part recoverable). N“t total Agricultural Department, £435,383. Last year, £443.957. Expenditure last year, £451,926. TOURIST AND HEALTH RESORTS. Salaries. £39.923. Advertising, photographs, books, newspapers. and other publications, £3OOO. Entertainment allowance for overseas agents. £490. Glade House and Te Anau-Whakatipn-Milford Track, £5600. Rents of offices, £5lOO. Rotorua baths, wages, repairs, and sundry expenses, £l2OO. Rotorua Sanatorium, maintenance, £4300. Te Aruba Hot Springs, maintenance of baths, etc., £lOOO. Waikareinonana, maintenance of Lake House, £2250. Waitomo Caves Hostel, £6750. Total vote, £88.123. Vote last year, £S3,563. Expenditure. £82.987. ' EDUCATION DEPARTMENT. Conveyance of children. Instructors, and teachers' and allowances for board of children who have to live away from home, £80,500. Last year, £67.550. Correspondence school, £6BO. Last year, £420. Health camps for children. £3OO. Last yea r. £ 100. Manual instruction, £90,600. Last year, £85.000.

Educational bursaries, £675. Last year, £BOO. Training colleges, allowances and advances to students and transport expenses. £122,000. Last year, £115,000. Salaries of staffs of training colleges, £39,000. Last year, £35,000. Native school buildings, £6OOO. Last year, £3OOO. Education of the blind, £640. Last year, £570. .Schoo! for the deaf, Sumner, Christchurch. £8626. Grant for erection of social hall at Canterbury College, £2500. .School buildings, furniture, and sites, £193,460. Last year, £184.280. Schools for feeble-minded, £16,744. Last year, £14,125. Child welfare, £150,939. Last year, £134,885. Total education vote, £3,170,668. Last year, £3,082,811. Expenditure, £3,092,296. SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH. Total vote, £63.760. Last year, £61,916. Expenditure, £57,535. Wheat research, £5lOO. Last year, £4OOO. Grant to expenses Meteorological officer attending conference at Copenhagen, „ £5OO. Passage money, allowance for purchase of instruments, and other allowances to officers joining Mawson Antarctic expedition, £2OO. LAND SETTLEMENT. Discharged Soldiers’ Settlement Account, £40,000. Lands for settlement, £18,600. Last year, £3465. Expenditure, £2153. MAIN HIGHWAYS ACCOUNT. Total vote, £1,113,250. Last year, £1,017,208. Expenditure, £959,510. Improvement, maintenance, and repair of main highways, £1,000,000. Last year, £840,000. Expenditure, £855,480. Charges and expenses of raising leans, £35,000. Last year, £5OOO. ExpendiI ture, £5B. Interest on loans recouped to Consolidated Fund, £60,000. Last year, £25.000. 1 Expenditure, £37,219. Redemption of securities issued for Main Highways Construction Fund, £40.000. Last year, £lOO,OOO. Expenditure, £59.1)48. NATIVE LAND SETTLEMENT. Total vote, £6185. Last year, £7437. Expenditure, £6463. STATE COAL MINES.' Total vote, £307,394. Last year, £315,654. Expenditure, £280,285. STATE FORESTS. Total vote, £262,802. Last year, £301,393. Expenditure, £2*3,648. 1< orest reconnaissance, including cumpilauon of forest inventory, £4150. Last rear, £946. RAILWAYS. Total vote, £6,658,479. Last year, £6,6,1,337. Expenditure, £6,oe*,rjJ. ui'ui islanu mam line and u ranches, buucn island mala line and branches £1,311,100. bisuorne, £16,600. Mescpuri, £4u,uao. Neioou, £13,160. Ricco a, £lc;,uou. Total working expenses of sections, £6,0ui,03a. bast year, £6,255,8u8. nxpeu(lltlx.C, 5~U,124,306. -io.erasing service, £53,700. Last year, £ OO,lOO. Expenditure £ov,iia. Road motor services, £120,590. Last year, £l2i,ouu. Expenditure, £111,713. local nead office working expenses, and subsidiary services, £i,vui,o9o. East year, bi,uio,ooi. Expeuailure, £0,802,0fi. state sawunus, estimate £l3,xuu. Estimated credits, £oo,iuo. Advances to euipmjees under workshops reorganisation scueuie, £2o,Ouu. bast year, £ou,ooo. .expenditure, £02,904. Estimated gioss total, £8,1ie,479. Estimated credits-m-aiu, £1,46u,u00. POST OFFICE ACCOUNT. Total vote, £2,639,398. Last year, £2,u2a,969. bxpenuicure, £2,492,i00. salaries, bi.isa.uui. Conveyance ot ocean mails, £89,958. Irnanu mans, £aio,ooo. lelegrapn and te.epnone maintenance, £loB,oov. Motor service ana woritsuups, £93,300. .sew Zeaiana-sau hraucisco man service, £20,000. ixisc year, £2*,000. T’ne negn Commissioner’s nouse allowance is renewed at £lOOO. Last year s expenditure was £ll6l. Expenses incurred in special publicity wont, advertising New Zealand, totalled £39,667 last. year, exclusive ot salaries. The vote was £30,440, which has been increased to £35,590 this year. Entertaining visitors to the Dominion cost the country £6931 last year, although the allocation was only £3109. The vote has been increased to £5OOO this year. A sum of -£3OOO has been piacea on the estimates for Hood relief at Dunediu. The sum of £4lOO was voted last year for the - beautification of the area in the vicinity of the grave of the Right Hou. W. F. Massey, but only £1919 was spent. This year's vote is £2083. A sum of £20,000 has been voted to the Otago University Museum. Last Year £5OOO was voted and expended. The money is in the form of a pou''d for pound subsidy up to £25,000. The Parliamentary delegation to Canada cost £994, which is within £6 of the sum voted last year. Another £lOOO is voted towards the maintenance of the Karitane Hospital, Auckland.

Subsidies towards the salaries of Blanket nurses cost £15,707 last year. The vote this year has been increased by £5OO to £16,500 on account of the increase in the number of nXses. The vote for the i.ing George Fifth ami Infectious Diseases Hospital, Rotorua, has been decreased from £16,000 to £13,599. Last year’s expenditure was £12,778. The St. Helens Hospital, Auckland, is again to receive £l6OO for wages. The maintenance vote is £4350, also the same as last year. Naval defence is estimated to cost the Dominion £504,967 this year against £463,496 last year. Wages, etc., in connection with the Dunedin, Diomede. Philomel, and Nucula are placed at £226,100, against an expenditure of £232,304 last year. On account of the erection of naval barracks and lengthening the Calliope Dock a sum of £25,000 has been voted. The sum required for the year by the Defence Department is placed at £490,587, against an expenditure of £464,595 last year. Last year's vote was £464,595. Pay and allowances for Territorials attending 'camp last year absorbed £30,796, and the vote has according!’.' been increased from £25,500 to £29,000. The proposed additional stair to complete establishment at Hobsonvllle and Wigram have been voted £5930 for wages, the period being for six months only. In the purchase of aircraft and equipment last year, £25,916 was spent. This year’s vote is £28,500. Machines now under order will cost £14,000, an dnew machines. replacements, etc., to bring the equipment up to requirements for increased activities are expected to absorb the remaining £11,500. A grant of £l5OO is made to aero clubs in respect of pupils qualifying for private pilots’ certificates, the calculation being on 60 pupils at £25 each. The grant is to be divided among the Auckland, Blenheim, and Canterbury clubs. Some indication of the cost of the general election is given in the fact that the Dlectoral Deparement will require a total vote of only £9765 this year, against an expenditure of £89.773 last year. There was an expenditure of £4903 on the Te Kauwhata horticultural station last year. This year’s vote Is £5OOO. There are credits in aid amounting to £7610.