THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Hastings Standard, Issue 68, 15 July 1896, Page 4

THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

On the Hcuso meeting r.t 7.30 la«t evening t ; • C io-.i .1 Tr-. - , . (I ton It. J. delivered hj.; Financial Statement, of v.hich the following is a aum.v.i.ry Mr So«:>i« n Kgretted the circumstai.which bd up to the retirement of Mr Ward, s»nd eulogised that gentleman's -cn ice ; t>"« the colony. lie was gratified to be able to state that the financial result* of the year had excce Tul the expectations of Mr War.'.. '! i ;• r i.- : .-■! ~;hcr receipts reached £4, 556,03 5. The expenditure was Ci,370.4-1, the balance of receipts ovrr t r_dit"r. being £1*5,534. Add " to this balance of the previous year. £180,021, making £3G",558. and dedu c t|t he"amo un t t ran - f * ■ r red dun ng the year to the Public V- ork.s Fund, £l. (>.(>,-). v;-s left a net surplus of J 1.55 v! i. h i;-' thought «11 would a'.:*=•• a ni&tur for much eoiigri.i. The c 1 c L > were -21 !>!-") ..bove tl < < - i 1 i "• a d wer.. nearly £i■">>if*:o m excess of ihe receipts of this previous jtu r l hj« Curtail s tv \Ii~» d -£7n."_i i i i\n - of th< ftiiuait , iz'.).ami railwayThe falling off in the land tax had been counterbalanced ironi receipts from occupied Native lauds not pr-j----viotislv c-oltected. In the Postmasur-frcua'al's Departnitiit there wa- an e\cv-; of £32,296, of which tiis conveyance of mail 5 by sea and laud was responsible for £23 < ) I n the head of " Services not pro r " was the unusuallv large item of £22,122, of which_ £11,883 was for purchase of Martini-Henry rifles. The expenditure from the Public Works Fund -.<•, - £osP »*l-i. To provide for thecxp nditurs made out of the lands improvement and the native lands purchase accounts, debentures amonntir-g respectively to £lo£.ooo and £160,000 have "been cre-.u.-d and sold and proceeds placed to credit of the individual accounts. Estates amounting in value to £168,467 were purchased during the year. Three and a half per cent, inscribed Stock to V;of is2_ "7"'> 1) IS Wen issued, ton- th.er with I <>) of 8 A- per cent shore- deb n u»» at par. The loans sc.) local bodies had amounted to £75,21'-' „during the year, a decrease o£ £27,">93 as compared with the previous year. The transactions within the New Zealand consols account have not been large, only £3,365 of deposits being received. The net public debt on 81st March last was £12,271,889, an increase of £2,038,857 during the year. He estimated receipts from. land and income-tax at £360,000. Under the Advances to Settlers Act 3270 application-: for advances had been made, amounting in the aggregate to The administra--tion had arrived at the turning point at which the income began to exceed the expenditure and afford a balance which would rapidly make good the temporary loss which the accounts now exhibited. To encourage the export of timber for paving purposes, Government had agreed to guarantee an amount equal to one-hall the freight on cargoes to distant markets in case of the sales resulting in a loss to shippers. Land settlement had proceeded with briskness during the past twelve months, as was shown by the fact that 2Hi».> .-elections or purchases took place, an excos of 818 on the previous year's transactions. The total amount of territorial revenue received was £291,673, an increase of .£.1.673 over the estimate, but a decrease of £24,193 on receipts of previous year. On the Slsfc March last 89 farmsettlements had been started under the # Land Improvement and Native Lands Acquisition Act, 189-1, the area set aside being 63,549 acres, in 665 allotments, and on that date 679 persons were residing on these selections. Twenty-eight estates had-been purchased by the Crown under the Laud for Settlements Act, for the sum of £837,551. The progress of the settlements in improvements, buildings, fencing, Ac., was very considerable, the total value amounting to £18,022. The census returns are dealt with at some length. Under the Public Works Fund, he indicated that bills would be brought down to provide £250,000 for railways, £250,000 for the purchase of Native lands, £250,000 for roads in new settlements, and £200,000 for roads and waterworks on goldfields. The railways to be proceeded with were the Thames-Paeroa. North Island Main Trunk, Helensville northwards, Kaihu extension, Kamo-Hikurangi, Eketa-htuaa-Woodville, Otago Central, C'atlin's Iliver, Seaward Bush, and Midland Railway. A vote for a considerable sum would also have to be asked for to supply rails and sleepers for all the above railways. The Government considered a large yearly expenditure on railways construction unnecessary, bat at the same time it was advisable and in the best interests of the colony to complete at as early date the Ekefcahuna-Woodvilie railway, and that in respect to the other lines mentioned reasonable progress should be made. The money authorised to be raised nnder the Land Improvement and Native Land Acquisition Act, 1891, had been either expended or contracted to be expended, and it was proposed to ask the House to give authority to raise a farther sum of £250,000 for the construction of roads and other works. Da mag the last year the amount of Nitive land a quired, 516,000 acres, was greatly is t-xcess of the acreage purchased in any one year for many years post. 15nt tjjg, whole of the jayasf available was now exhausted, •&&fafcwx&!g *l2 fcfce «haoge of policy ] i. , .Z, ...... J'. .

by the Crown resuming the pre-emp-tive richt, it would be ft- !y unjust t j t-. Xitivc-s nnkss >onie provision ui 'de f:>r the purchase cf lands which might be oll'ered and found nectary in the interest of settlement- to acquire. It was theretore necessary that £250,000 should be provided for this purpose, anti proposals to give effect to that would accordingly be submitted. For aid to the goldminmg industry and for roads on the goldfields £200,000 would be necessary, and proposals to that end would be placed before the House. The Government with confidence asks provision to be made to the amount of £50,000 for the drainage cf Rotorua, the erection of proper buildings and bathing establishments, the construction of roads and bridges to give easy access to the volcanoes, glaciers, fern groves, lakes and other native treasures of our colony, in order to attract to our shores the pleasure seekers anil art lovers of the world. Taxation will be- necessary to provide for the proposed old-age pension scheme. The Treasurer spoke favorably of the resources of the colony, and concluded a statement full of hope as follows : —" With every indication of a buoyant revenue, with the largeimpetus io our mining industry, the firm prices of our wool, and the general commercial activity, I do not think I am too sanguine in anticipating very favorable results at the close of our present financial year. The estimates of expenditure I set down at £1,452,165. and revenue at £1,48-1,000, or a surplus of revenue over expenditure of £31,835, or with the balance brought over from last year, £215,558, a total gross surplus on the 31st March, 1897, of £217,393. I intend to devote £150,000 of this surplus to Public Works expenditure, as has been previous done. The balance, amounting to £97,303, will more than provide for the usual supplementary estimates."