The Financial Statement.

Hastings Standard, Issue 292, 8 April 1897, Page 2

The Financial Statement.

[By Telegraph.] Wellington, This Day. In the House of Representatives last evening the Colonial Treasurer laid on the table a statement showing approximately the position of the public accounts on March 81st, 1897» The following is a summarised version of the statment: The necessity for laying this memo on the table of the Houaa arises, as hon members are aware, from the tact that it was deemed advisable to hold a special meeting of Parliament for the purpose of enabling arrangements to be made for the fitting representation of the colony at the celebration in honor of the sixtieth anniversary of Her Most Gracious Majesty's reign. To get the accounts audited and passed is impracticable, for members will remember that according to the existing law the Treasury has thirty days allowed for preparation and printing of the abstract of the revenue and expenditure of the year, and within this period the abstract has to be sent to the audit officers, who have a further period of fourteen days allowed for the examination and passing of accounts. Hon. members may think this is a long period to be allowed when it is compared with the rapidity with which the public obtain somewhat similar information of the year's results of the Australian Colonies, but a little reflection will show the cases are dissimilar inasmuch as they have in each colony only one or two centres, and, more important still, the information supplied has not been audited, which in our colony, which takes 10 days. We are obliged to wait until the accounts reach the Treasury from long distances to be afterwards examined and passed by the audit officers before they can be finally included in the public accounts of the colon}'. With this explantion I will now proceed to give you a close approximate result of the past year's financial operations, which will be sufficiently accurate for all practical purposes. The information which I know you arfe all anxious to ascertain is as to the surplus, for there really is a surplus, and a handsome one, too. Well, 1 make this to be at least £1)40,000, arrived thus : Receipts for year ... ... .£4,796,000 Expenditure of the year ... =€4,071,000 Excess of receipts over expenpemliture £115,000 Add balance to begin year with .£215,000 Surplus at end of year ... i.o-10,000 This is an exceedingly satisfactory result lam sure you will all own; and these figures would have been better still had it not been for the necessity to charge three half yearly payments of the interest on the Advances to Settlers lo'an of £1,500,000 during the past year so as to bring the accounts in line with the dates upon which dates the interest is paid over to the Bank of England in London. This extra half -year's interest having to bo met has decreased the surplus by £22,500.

The Advances to Settlers department is doing well, for notwithstanding it has had to pay £67,500 within the year it has only required an advance from the Consolidated Fund to the extent of £26,000 for this current year, and hereafter, of course, only £'45,000 per annum will be required to be paid for interest on the £1,500,000 loan, and there is a certainty that the Office will soon be able to provide for each year's charge and to pay off the arrears due to the Consolidated Fund.

The receipts for the financial year, 1896-97, were estimated at £1,481,000, while the actual receipts, so far as I tan at present learn, have reached ,£■1,796,000. The Customs revenue exceeded the estimate by £118,500, railways by £86,000, stamps by .£ J8,500, land and income tax by £17,500, territorial by .£55,000, and the remaining heads of revenue by £16,000. These tell their own tale, anil it is quite superfluous to observe that they evidence substantial increase in the material prosperity of*

our colony. I estimate our permanent expenditure, including interest and sinking fund subsidies, payments to local bodies of endowment monies, pensions, Ac., at £2,076,000. My estimate for the year was £2,0911,000. For the annual appropriations members were good enough to vote £2,4518,001). I do not anticipate, however, that the tiiia 1 expenditure will reach more than £2,420,000. Fnder the two heads therefore a saving of some £:55,000 may be expected# •To this expenditure there has also to be added £150,000, transferred to the Public Works Fund out of the previous year's surplus, an.l also the sum of 1'26,000 advanced to the Advances to Settlers Otlice. With reference to the Public Works Fund, part of this fund commenced the year with a balance of I'Mt,sooo, and also received £150.000 from the Consolidate! Fund surplus of the previous year. Other miscellaneous receipts swelled the available balance to £190,4151. Purim: the \. ,ir we were able to raise £7"»O,<XM).,f the f [ ,000,000 authorised undt r th» Aid ?<> Public Works and Land Settlement Act, 1896, and of this £5175,000 ua • credited to Part 1., making the total receipts, including the balance £571,418. The expenditure after the imprests have been duly accounted tot I estimate at £.*120,655, leaving a balance of £150,75*. A quarter of fl mi!linn hx- -till to Is- raised the Act I hav ji-t mentioned, so there will be further fund- .iM&Uble for this account to the amount of £125,000, which, with lise amount in hand and the u.-ual a,-.distance from the Conaoli. dated Fun-i. should I*- amply sufficient for nur requirements during the cur* rent ve*r.

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111 the Native Lauds purchase account the expenditure is estimated at £127,000, leaving a balance of £"1)7,200 to provide for purchases during the current year. I am satisfied that the works in progress to improve and open up the reading of the country will be steadily continued and further lands can he acquired from the Natives and other engagements in this direction successful ;y carried out. Some large estates have been purchased under " The Lands for Settlement Act, 1b94," for which proposal £297,300 raised during the past year, and this amount, with the sum of £20,000 derived from rent, lias Wen sufficient to provide for an expenditure of £312.5000, leaving a balance in hand of £6.000. I think it would bo expedient to set apart £-50,000f0r the purpose of assisting the requirements of the Land Improv. - ment and Native Land Purchasing Accounts in case these accounts should not prove sufficient for the expenditure which it may be found absolutely necessary to incur. With this extra assistance it is quitecertain that I shall have plenty of funds to carry on the Public Works services of the country and for the acquisition of Native lands for the current financial year. The balance of the Public Works Fund was £150,000: proportion of balance of loan £12">.000 ; and from Consolidated Fund £200,000, the total available for the current year being £175,000. The balance of the Lands Improvement Accounts was £181,500 ; proportion of balance of loan, £(52.500; and from Consolidated Fund say £25,000; total available balance for current year, £222,000 The balance of the Native Lands Purchase Account was £97,000 ; proportion of balance of loan, £82,500 ; aid from consolidated fund, say £25,000; total available balance for current year £184,000. These balances will sufficiently prove that our resources for the current year in respect of our loan accounts are ample and will cover all possible requirements. The gross total public debt has increased by £1.315,H:-i8 and the net debt by £1,280,062. Of this sum, however, one million is absolutely represented by equivalent assets, and the interest thereon is paid back to the Treasury by those who have obtained the benefit.

Of course you will expect me to say something about the financial expectations during the time between the :>lst March last and the time when further supplies will be granted. In the first place I shall ask you to extend the appropriations from three months (as provided for by the Public Revenues Act of last session) jo twenty-eight weeks, or say to the 14th October next. The Public Revenues Act provides that no payment shall be made for any services than those for which provision was made in the respective Appropriation Act and estimates of the preceding year or in excess of the scale therein set forth. You therefore tie me down in anarrower compass than would be the case if I were to ask you merely for supply under the Imprest Supply Hills, home effects of this restrictive appropriation is to draw £IOO,OOO provided for unauthorised expenditure, and it happens frequently, so the Treasury officials inform me, that the limit of £IOO,OOO is practically exhausted by the time that Parliament usually meets and the Imprest Supply Rills art- obtained under these circumstances. lam going to ask you for unauthoised" expenditure so that the limit of £IOO,OOO may be raised to €150,000 for services not provided for between this and the 14th October next.

Our receipts during ia-L year produced, as I have stated, approximately, £4,796,000; but of this amount £3,775,000 for land and income tax was received and will again be received during the second half of the year, so that the account will not be available until after October. The lull in the mining busines in the Auckland district may affect receipts from Customs and stamps, and unhappily the accounts of the irrain crops from the Canterbury and North Otago districts justify men in thinking that our railway revenue may sutler ; let it be understood that I am by no means depreciating "Ihe probability of our income, but as 1 thoroughly bebelieve in strong finance I think it is best to place the position before you. The estimated receipts are £2,.">04.000 leaving an excess of receipts of £68,000. I have put these figures before you so as to show there is no uncertainty as to the finances being amply sufficient to meet the requirement- until Parliament is again in session. Members will notice that I have included a sum of £73,000 for sinking fund debentures to be issued during the current year, but 1 am considering whether the*time has not arrived, as the finances of the colony appear to be able to liear it. to dispense altogether with the issue of debentures against the accretions of sinking fund derived from the loans to local bodies. Probably next session I shall ask you to have the law amended iu that direction.

I hope in placing K-fore the House this memorandum and tables honorable members will recognise the difficulties there are in the way of giving necessary information in a more complete form. I trust howevtr that I have sufficiently demon strati J that there is no eati<e for anxiety in rtsjxct to the financial position of the country.