FINANCIAL RETURNS,

Evening Post, Volume LXXVI, Issue 111, 6 November 1908, Page 2

FINANCIAL RETURNS,

* NEW ZEALAND'S POSITION QUARTERLY FIGURES. The quarterly returns of the revenue and expenditure of the Dominion for the period ended 30th September, 1908 appeared in' the Gazette last night. * The revenue for the three months amounted to £2,461,861 (including £422 - 901 balance carried forward frpm the previous three months). The expenditure for the three months totalled £2,065,677. This leaves a balance of £596,184 to credit at the end of the quarter, as against' £422,901 at the beginning. Or, in another form, the 'results of the three months' transaction* may be set out thus_: — Revenue w *« £2,461,861 Expenditure -^ „. £2,065,677 Balance ... £396,104 If the balances at the beginning and end of the quarter are compared, it will be 6een that a direct loss was made oo the three months. Thus :—: — Initial Balance ..< >.. £422,901 Final Balance ~, ... £396,184 Loss ... • ..; w £26,717 The principal sources of revenue, with' a comparison of the amounts received under the same heads for the corresponding period last year, were :—: —

Total annual appropriations... 1,173,537 1,528,913 From the expenditure Jor the 1907 quarter an amount' of £762 charged to unauthorised should be deducted. The largest increases in the expenditure, it will be seen from the foregoing figures, are in interest charges, railways expenditure, postal department, education, roads, printing, defence, marine department, and agriculture. ' The expenditure on the Hutt Railway improvement for the three months ended 30th September, 1908, amounted to £16,115, against £10,214 for the corresponding period of last year.

Quarter Quarter £ £ Customs wv «., 860,769 801,684 Stamps ... t .. 330,305 368,594 Postal ... r ... 11,177 9,155 Land-tax ...• .».« 1,334 10,168 Income-tax .., t ., 4,018 4 322 Beer duty ... ... 24,335 25 465 Railways. 617,036 632,338 Registration, eto ... 36,244 25 180 Marine 9,681 10,617 Miscellaneous ... 69,526 ' 84,067 Territorial revenue 79,852 66,432 Recoveries ... 801 799 Total 2,045,078 2,038,521 It will be seen that, when the revenue for the two quarters is compared, the three months ended' 30th September of this year shows a falling-off of £6557. The figures relating to expenditure are equally interesting. In this return, as in that of revenue, the shillings and pence are added in bulk. Details :— 1907. 19C|t £ ff Interest and sinking _ funds 195,037 254,195 Other permanent appropriations ... 241,217 283,294

Total permanent appropriations 436,254 Annual Appropriations — \ Legislative 10,064 Finance 12,070 Postal . 175,314 Industries and Com- ■ merce 13,988 Old-a§e Pensions ... 1,086 Working Railways ... 436,446 Public Buildings, etc 9,843 Roads 4 371 Printing 11,767 Stamp and Deeds ... 8,761 Native 9,078 Justice 37,512 Pojice 38,061 Mines ... .„ ... 5,964 Internal Affairs .... 16,934 Crown Law ... .., 1,056 Defence t ., .... 31,109 Customs .., ..... 11,408 Marine ...» .., 16,700 Labour ... ... 5,509 Lands ... ... , 4< 41,612 Agriculture w. „. 32,836 Valuation k .. w , 7,934 Education' .... , ... 198,837 Health .... ... 9 213 Hospitals ... t ... 25,058 537,489 12,383 10,938 226,965 17,534 2,450 632,257 19,711 5,482 15,984 9,609 7,170 39,096 43,435 8,492 20,279 1,042 " 42,010 11,693 22,010 9,994 58,620 42,364 8,877 216,061 11,066 32,989