EVENING SITTING.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 10361, 22 July 1896, Page 3

EVENING SITTING.

money raised for the purohsso of native land and land tor sattlomont was returning interest, and a vory largo saving in Interest had bean effected by the system of loan conversion. Captain Knasell might be tight in saying that cmsh from land salea should not bo added to rovenne, bnt had bla Government used it during the time they were in office? They had obtained £1,192,120 in this way... It was easy enough bo say that if you took this and that source of revenue away the Government would show a deflolt. Captain Russell had a perfect right as leader of the Opposition to criticise the Budget, bub he should avQld mis-statements, Mr Allen said Mr Hall- Jones when be chanced his seat had alsn changed his opinion, aod was guilty cf thoeo Inaocu- I rioies of which the Opposition wore always I belngacoused. As bottaorailway finoncohe I contended tbab the expenditure last year was almost the samo as that of the previous year, while the revenue showed a fall of £6000. He thought the Opposition rightly claimed that of the increased Customß revenue £58,000 was due to Increased taxation. Mr flall-Joaes had claimed that the interest charges on the national debt were now £164,000 leas than in 1891, I but a reference to the Publio Accounts I Committee's report of last session would I show there was an increaee of £81,000. He combatted the assertion that the advaDces to settlers department was paying, and ssid the Government had to admit in blaok and wbite that the operations of tbat department this year showed a loss of £31,000. He complained of the unsatisfactory way in which the accounts of that office were kept, and said they did not afford members of the House sufficient information as to the working of the department, Tha Government claimed that a rnwlng in intoreat had resnited from their loan conversions but the colony wonld find that these conversions were of a disastrous character ; they were not in reality conversions for the operation simply amounted to this : A loan became due and it was paid off by floating another loan, the object being to colza the sinking fund which was set free. Mr B. M. Smith spoke in support of the Government Dollcy, which was calculated to settle the country. He urged that the Government sbonld bring in a Consolidation of Local Loans Bill, and he contended that instead of going in for a paltry million the Government should have taken his advice and gone in for borrowing £5,000,000 to purchase native lands and develop the country. Mi M'Gowan on the whole commended the Financial Statement, but claimed that as this was a Liberal Government they should decrease the duties on the necessaries of life instead of spending the snrplns on public works. Ho regretted there had been a lack of interest on the part ot the Government in regard to the goldmlning industry, and if they had done more to encourage it, it would have been in a tar better position than at present. He appealed to the Honse to assist in the constrnction of roeds and tracks on the qoldfielde, as money could not be better spent in the interests of the colony. He spoke at some length on the necessity of encouraging the goldmlning industry. The debate was adjourned on the motion of Mr Buddo, ana the House rose at midnight,

The House resumed at 7.30. THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT. Tbe debate on the Financial Statement) was opened by Captain Russell who said he proposed to take a retrospective view of the state of the country In the years dnrlng which the present occnpants had been on the Treasury Benohee, He pointed oat that Mr Ballanca had initiated the system of deriving money from sinking fnnde, bat his policy of self reliance and non-borrowing had never been adhered to. Going baok to the* time of the first PinanolalStateuien&dellveied by Mr Ballanes tba speaker pointed out that it was delivered two moDths after the Atkinson Administration left office, and showed a surplus of £143,965, which was a genuine exhibition of actual excess or revenue over expenditure resulting from tbe operations of the Atkinson Government. He quoted figures whiott be claimed showed that the finance of the oolony was fairly strong and sound when tbe present regime took office, and so satisfactory were the finances that Mr Ballanoe v»os able to state there was no ' necessity for the colony to reiy on foreign moneylenders. His Government adopted a motto of self-reliance and non-bor-rowing, bat he (Captain Russell) claimed that this really belonged to their predecessors in office. He traced the various financial operations of the present regime, and said that in 1893 the ory was still self-reliance, bat in that year several schemes were brought down wbloh Ministers claimed would be selfsupporting; bnt which he contended really meant borrowing. "Up to 1893 the Government had lived on their predecessors and on the conversion of loans. In 1895 the administration of the Government began to bear frnlt, and the Colonial Treasurer had to devise several means of raising money! Including increased taxa« tlon through tbe Customs on the necessaries of life. Don-resident commercial travellers and native lands also earae in for taxation, and in addition tbe local bodios' sinking fnnda ■ were seized. Coming to the present year Captain Russell said the savings of their predecessors were all exhausted, and the sinking funds were practically gone. This was why the Government had to borrow £1,000,000 as proposed,, This meant that an extra £35,000 would have to be annually wrung from the taxpayers oj tjje colony to pay the interest. Blunders and harassment had been the retrospect of the past five years, and as far as be could see the outlook was cheerless. Re tor ring to the national debt, Captain Russell pointed oat that tbe annual increase during the last Atkinson Government was £482,324, while the annual lnorease during the term of the Ballsnce-geddon Governments was £919,383. Tbjsre was now a steady decrease in onr two principal sources of revenue, viz., Customs and railways, whloh showed that the oftrepeated statement that the Government had & strong finance was entirely misleading. He quoted extensively from figures in support of his contentions. He admitted there was an increase in the Customs revenue last year, but contended that was due to the increased taxation Imposed last session. As to the railways, be said that taking into consideration the amounts paid by one department to another for the carriage of mails, Government officials, &c, the railway revenue last year was £31,000 less than in 1893. He condemned this practice of debiting one department with the expenditure of another, which was done to apparently swell the revenue.. Tbe Financial Statement of this year proved that the contention he had always held that the finances were weak was a : corre,ct,ou/3, for It showed that tbe whole scheme of JYUnlaipr'al finance had broken down, and that their ppllay had proved of no avail. Had It nptf been for the eeljzare of elpfdng fu^da and the use of the isad frmd .there ■pojild' have I been a deficit this year of £26,246 1 whloh allowed the polony was spend- I Ing considerably more than JO j afford. He strongly denounced the j seizure of Mnking funds whigh he char- 1 aoterlsed as a most immoral proceeding, I snd one that must lead the colony into I gnanolal disaster, There was ene pro- I poseJ ifi phe Budget which be hoped the I House woald ylaw with the greatest bus- I plclon ( that wap ta abolish the sinking I fund In connection wjth $c advances to I settlers loan. In eoueluslea be e^jressed I regret that he was prevented by tue time i limit from referring to all the subjects he I t»J intended to. I i Tfcfl j?on. Mr Hall-Jones said it was I amusing to h.aar tho hoc gentleman refer | to tbe vlrtneßOf'a non-Jjorrgwirjß policy. I He bad only to oast bis mind back a few I years to the time when he was identified I with Governments which bad borrowed I extensively, and Captain Russell blmeelf I bad on one occasion advocated a loan ot I g?Q,0U0,OO0, In criticising this year's I ptMerapni Captain Russell had forgotten j to point 6,ui ibot the sum of £150,000 had I teen ridded last ypw out of revenue to I tbe Public Works {fund. &? fo what 1 Captain Russell had said about' a £ eraaafl in railway revenue tbe Minister 1 quoted ggnres to show that the 1 decrease was pnj-.Jrely due to con- I cessions on freight?, §to., granted I to sattlera. In spite of these . the reyenjie 1 had kept well np. Captain Russell had 1 objected to the Postal Pepartment being j charged for the carriage of malls, &0,, bnt I in making thla charge tbe (government I were only doing what was done in every I colony In' Australasia. With regard to I tba Customs revenue he pointed out that j ! tb,e&<vsKSßt Increases were on artlolesthat I had npt bsa/j touched In last cession's tariff, and ie thought the hon. gentleman ghonld be fair in Ms qnoiistlons. He contended t&ab the w>3 otlll a B oa-b9rro»toK& aTetl waßii ']»«& Jp reply ' to what tbe <mmPef 7 or Bawke'B Bar had flflidftboofc ou Increase in the national deb(n-ju potnlie* put that the Interest paid 1aJ.891 was £1,87*575, while in the present yQtiXjk was £1*,720,573. Papers laid on the table of the House showed that the advances to settlers deportment was paying its way ; a s.nr,plns nf £$W) per annum was derived from the,inveac(iifnt).yf Jta funds, In reckoning any Increase lp k ,tbß national 'debt allowance should be made for the , 'sum of £400,000, whloh was included in It, end which had been paid to the bank end waa guaranteed by the bank, The