NEW ZEALAND FINANCES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 112, 13 May 1910, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND FINANCES.

THE YEAR'S BALANCE-SHEET. Details of the receipts and expenditure of the public account for the year ended 31st March last are gazetted. The subject of the financial position of the country from the revenue point of view was fully dealt with by Sir Joseph Ward in his speech at Winton a week ago. The actual revenue for the year was £9,238,261, an increase of £237,076 over that of the previous year, and. the. expenditure amounted to £8,990,922, as compared with £8,785,513. That left an excess of revenue over expenditure of £247,995, which, added to the balance brought forward from the previous year (£184,321), left a surplus of £432,316. The details regarding expenditure show that the permanent appropriations increased from £3,210,050 to £3,514,409, the chief increase being in interest and sinking fund, which was £2,258,364 in 1908-9 and £2,397,461 in 1909-10. In the annual appropriations there was a falling-off of nearly £99,000, as under ;

PUBLIC WORKS FUND. The Public Works Fund receipts totalled £2,883,166, including a balance at the beginning of the year of £383,709. The annual appropriations, witjh the figures for 1908-9, were as follow :—: —

The sum of £24,990 was transferred to the State Coal-mine? Account, and the year closed with a balance of £312,366. The amount expended on the Hutt railway and road improvement was £59,282, and the account had a balance in hand at the end of the year of £12,210. RAILWAYS. The railways working account is also gazetted. The main results of the year have already been given, first by the Prime Minister in his speech at Winton, and in more detail by the Minister of Railways (Hon. J. A. Millar), in a subsequent interview. Tho figures are as follows, those for 1908-9 being given in parentheses : — Revenue — North Island £1,6 M,874 (£1,408,889) : South Island, £1,634,915 (£1,520,635) ; grand total, i! 3.249,789. 249,789 (£2,929,525). Expenditure —North Island £1,068,306 (£rf88,358) ; South Island, £1.101,166 (£1.125,956); grand total, £2,169,473 (£2,114.815). The passengers totalled 11,141,142, against 10,457,144 last year, and the tonnage carried amounted to 5.223,414 tons, an increase of 351,539 tons. There wer« 2709 miles of railway open, and the- expenditure per cent, of lovenue was 66.76.

'I hoss gocil people who are ever lamenting that modern art is not appieciated (writes the Westminster Gazette) will be relieved to hear that one of Mr. Leader's pictures has been stolen twice in less than two years.

£ i.aua-iu. £ Public Works, Department ... -... 47,278 la-ilways 1,102,793 3 ublic Buildings ... 285,385 lighthouse, Harbour Works and Harbour Defence ... 19,217 Courist and Health Resorts 23,910 immigration ... 15,076 iloads 446,781 Development of Gold • fields 32,859 Pelegraph Extension 163,033 contingent Defence 10,765 jands Improvement 19,542 Purchase of Native Lands 2,099 Unauthorised ... 511 41,176 1,103.410 276J948 16,683 14,507 17,002 338,762 18,597 123,422 4,977 6909 30,566 208 2,169,278 1,993,171

j.ovo-vo. £ Legislative 29,281 Finance 96,457 Post and Telegraph 814,636 Rail-ways 2,120,308 Public Buildings, etc 85,596 Native 30,840 Justice 350,840 Mines 31,457 [ntevnal Affairs ... 344,566 Defence 195,685 Customs, Marine, etc. ... „.. 131,321 Labour 30,277 Lands 232,167 Agriculture and Tourists 219,690 Education 848,234 Not provided for ... 14,128 i. i i I y > i t £ 28,6373,75' 855,86! 2,168,18! 86,72; 18,871 357,14: 24,70' 256.461 190,341 122,78! 24,21! 205,531 189,91' 862,941 10,41! 5,575,483 5,476,51: