The Lyttelton Times.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XIV, Issue 846, 19 December 1860, Page 4

The Lyttelton Times.

•■ Wednesday, December 19, 1860. The duties of the Provincial Council, which may perhaps be comprised in the term "ordinary business of the session" employed by the Superintendent iri his last message, are pretty nearly all sketched out. From the Government we have" two old ordinances which, having been the failures of previous sessions, are recast and resubmitted as bills for the present/session. They are the Trespass of Cattle Bill, and the Municipal Council Bill. The former is presented tc the Council to all intents and purposes in precisely the same shape in which we last heard of it. The alterations made may be ascertained by study-

ihg//tho report of' the' CohnciiV proceedings fromtlnyto day ; and when it shall.have received its finishing- touch due publicity shall be given to it in. our columns. The Municipal Council Bill is only less' lengthy than: its defunct predecessor. What thei Coun/cil will do with!' it wei are of course' unableto shy: but it will be a ; matter of regret f if: an ordinance be passed of a kind, and in a shape not to ,be understood by/ the,people at /large who will have not only to obey it but to carry it out themselves. ./'////" :'."'/'//../; /'•/.'. Private enterprise has followed the rule laid down for the performance of some semipublic ' works^contributihg /an equal amount with: the Government. There are two bills in this category also j or more properly there were, till ijthe otheiv day, when/ one of, them came to-an untimely, end. The ' Gorse Bill' and the 'Public House Bill' were introduced by Mr. Harston. The latter was rejected on the second reading:, and the .former runs con^ siderablerrisk; pf A a." njegative from being but a poor and partial attempt/at what ought to be a comprehensive and well considered measure —the protection of our wooden towns' from undue ; risk ' of. fire, by; legislative enactment directed" against those numerous -causes of accident at present flourishing in their midst. '','../' The piece de resistance, of. this /session, as of all others of any representative body, will; of course/be the estimates/for; the current, year/ The. important;/document,.containing/ these estimates was laid on the table last Thursday accompanied by. a'''''^/udget/ys/peec^ from the Provincial Secretary, part of which is reported in our present issue/ The principal; items, of the schedule are as follows.:—The anticipated revenue/for the year is put down thus :^- /' Estimated proportion of Surplus Re- "'";/•//./ / veriuej/repayable by tlio General, ,//, //. Government, since June, 1859 ...: '4000 0 6 Land Sales ... .., ....... ... 36000 / 0 0 Pasturage Licenses „/:- .;. './.'; 14000- 0 0 Custoriis"■';.-' ../ ..." .;; •;.. J. -14000 0 0 Immigrants' Bills //. ■■'.■< -... =...'3500- 0- 0 Fees, Licenses, Tolls and Rents ... 3500 0 0 Due on. Account of Survey,of Runs, . 1800 0, 0 Estimated-Proceeds, of Sales ; .of. .■/-.?' Reserves, .'..';. ... .., : .../ ... !: 1200/ 0 0 Refund from Railvyay Loan Account,;: .;-.; (the sum paid ; to, September 30, : 1860, on account of Lvttelton and - ... : .-.■'•: Christchurch Railway) ... ... 6796 0 0 Stores .... ... , ; ... .... ."...... -„4000, 0 0 3000 acres of Land in aid of Public • :.- — ■-."-■ Works .... ...... ... ... 6000 0 0 ? /Total .:..;;"... ... ...£94796 ;;Q Q The two sides of the account are very nicely balanced, the expenditure being estimated to amount to £94,795 16s; 2d.., Of this sum the' Permanent Charges for Schools, •• Churchbuilding, Interest and Sinking/Fund amount to £7,500. Executive salaries and contingencies are to cost £2605. .Legislature,/ £610/ Supreme Court and Gaol, £1,384/58. Ilegistration, £600./ Police, £2,950/75./3d., i Inspection of Sheep, ..£825. Weights and measures, £200. :A gardener and his■; assistant, £259 10s. - The Waste Lands Boardj £839, and the Surveys £8,525. The Harbour arid "Pilot" Service (on a hew 'footing).'£6B3. Charitable1 and Hospital, £1,820.. Akaroa and Timaru departments ofGovernment, £110 each. Immigration,. £15,700. Miscellaneous items, including forage for Inspector of Schools, £50, printing and stationery, £600,< planting, £600, Queen's plate; £100, fire engine arid additional furniture'for Government buildings, £600, in all £20PQ./Public Works department, £1,900. ..//Current: repairs of roads £6,000. Interest on £50,000 Railway, Loan for six months, £2000/ .Bonus for Steam, to Melbourne, £ljsoo.- Refund to Union Bank, £13,351, with interest:£9B3 Bs,-10d." Cost of Geological Survey of the Province- by Julius Haast, £500. And lastly, the Public Works and Buildings of, the year, for which a sum of £18,959/175.,1d./is/appropriated> in/ addition to.the £6,000 for current repairs above mentioned.; The items proposed ■we give; in another place;'/■'".■••• /■- ,; '(:':> ■■■:?■■■■>.■

We can fairly congratulate the Governrnerit and the'public on this finaricial 'statement as compared with those './ 6/ f,^fbi'riierj years. The estimate of income is moderate and; may be reasonably expected'to be .correct in all its principal items j it is even probable that the revenue of the current year 'will' exceed what is anticipated, as the tide of prosperity has surely if slowly begun to set in. towards the Province. , Though the past financial year closed with a debt of £13,000, it/must not be forgotten r that a large/ expenditure has been necessarily continued: during that period on the Railway Works, amounting atthe present time to about £9000, which is properly chargeable to the Railway Loan/ wheri raised. Prom a subsequent statement of the provincial Secretary,/ we find, that making allowance for money advanced.,'..to the ■ railway from the Provincial Treasury, the real; sum owing ;to the Union Bank of Australia; is not much above £1000; .' :

The demand made by the Provincial Secretary on the part of/the. Go'vernmerit for sympathy from ' the Council was .one deserving of all attention. .Entrusted'with the reins of office at, a time when the Province through utter . mismanagement was drifting into debt to an exterit difficult to be discovered and impossible from that cause to be arrested, it had to stand the racket for several rnontbs of diminishing revenue^,, and heavy liabilities, continually increasing by engagements falling due both within and without the colony. At one period in : the :- past year it required a man of good courage and patience to manage the affairs of the Provincial Treasury. Partly to the natural vigour of the Province, and partly'to the assistance of the Union Bank, but chiefly to the care and attention of the present, Government we owe the fact that the greater part of these liabilities are wiped off. We trust therefore that the Council and the public will give credit where; it is properly due.