The Lyttelton Times. THURSDAY, NOV. 15, 1877.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XLVIII, Issue 5223, 15 November 1877, Page 2

The Lyttelton Times. THURSDAY, NOV. 15, 1877.

We haw recentlywrged the? necessity for the Q-overmntint at once bringing down s Financial Statement; and for the House then without.delay setting itself at work to meet bur immediate financial exigencies,’and to pave the way for a thorough financial reform in the course of next session. If any further argument were necessary to corroborate our views; it is abundantly furnished in the speech of Mr, Larnacn, the Colonial Treasurer, bn the latit day of last month, in debate on Major Atkinson’s No Confidence motion, i If things are to be . allowed; to •drift - on as in the past, the disclosure made by Mr Larnaeh becomes positively alarming. We have before us his speech, as reported jn Hansard, and we shall extract from it the particulars to which we refer. Our readers must bear/ in . mind . that this information does not proceed from a private member in the heat of debate. It is given to us from the month of the Colonial Treasurer; it is based upon the written statements of the permanent officer in charge of the Treasury; and it brings before us our, financial con* dition as it stood a few days ago. In the eyes of the country no more pointed moral can possibly be supplied on the wretched squabble for place, persisted in by Major Atkinson and his friends, to the utter stoppage of all public business. Mr Fox compared the House to. the cat of the County of Meath. Major Atkinson wishes to improve on this illustration, and to divide that animal into the two specimens of that; genus, which.are traditionally supposed to have been engaged in mortal contest in the. County of Kilkenny. If we may pursue the feline metaphor without a breach of privilege, we would respectfully suggest a cat 'with nine tails sharply administered in the shape of a dissolution. * MrXarnach first makes the indebtedness of the Colony at present, after all amounts have been provided forcarrying on daring theyear, to be in round numbers £21,200,000, At the end of June last the gross public debt, including bonds and Treasury bills, but ex-

eluding the money borrowed last year from the banks, was £19,895,811. The late Colonial Treasurer estimated that 4fr';wpfil(lbe necessary to provide ways -and means for the current financial year to the amount of £1,200,000. In addition;'it is necessary to repay to.the. New Zealand and to the Bank of New South Wales £1,000,000. All our guaranteed debentures are pledged fd thfeir full amount —£800,000, The public works account baa advanced £BOO,OOO to the Consolidated Fund, which that fund, is not at present , deficiency in the Provincial liiab|llt|e,|. %tod ; mate of the late Colonial is £2o9’,ooo : r j '“The deficiency 'in“ the’ authorised* Supplementary Estimates is £200,000, and in the Fund account, as shown .by the late Colonial Treasurer, £167,000, A sum, of £IOO,OOO is required ,to repay the Lyttelton harbour works. These sums 'altogether amount to £2B 862,311.1 n order to enable the Colony to. make a fair start, a loan of £5,000,000 would be necessary. To raise that loan at 4£ per cent, probably £300,000 In the shape of discountraud floating charges would have to bepaid by the Colony.; The total indebtedness of the Colony would -ho; : Ofter ?raißing such a 10an,,; £24,162,311. . We should then have nothing but £BOO,QOO in' guaranteed debentures —for the proposed provision includes their redemption—to continue; the Public Works after June next. So* much for our financial prospect for the' current fluancial year,, and afterwards. A permanent addition of £5,000,000 to; our public, debt would enable us to payj off our floatingobligationa, and to carry; on for this year,- leaving us at' the end. of -it only a credit of £80Q,0(K1 -to| prosecute, our Public 1 ' Works i policy.' But-another loan of £5,000,000' means an addition to our .annual permanent burden of interest of £300,000.-. We sayi permanent, for .we are already paying interest for about half, that'proposed loan in the ,-; shape of Treasury, 'bills; JbansV from .. banks, and,„adyancesjv pn guaranteed debentures. The addl -tional -annual interest, after-making allowance for -the re-payment of these liabilities which weald be .entailed on us, amounts to about £150,000. Bui our immediate* financial condition id worse, for it iambre urgent. I The state of the' Public Account on Amonfit to credit of public account *840,803 ,8 1 Oat oi which deduct OS directed J : ; bylaws ■ ' ' ■ 1 -■ 1 ' •’ j •landload—" , Canterbury ... 625,W0 12 -6 ■ - 1 Otago ... ... 61,1201* 3‘ : Hawke'* Bay ... 8,772’14 Y • , i Marlborough ... 18610-4.'. - j * :—~ 535,56913 |8 ’ f- 1 - 44.784 Ta credit o* TSrafltPund Acoowlt,,, 67,33711 \iLosiyißg Pn'blio Account In debit... 12,«02;1? |2 Mr Xaifiiach then quotes' two me-, moranda, which he had received fropl the Under-Secretary fori tHe Treaaqry; and to these wewiah to' call-particular attentions 'The first is'dated Oct. 28. Il.omjtH ..QQh that “ after providibg for “ «ll drders : *in favour of -the- Agenh “ General to the 13th ipst., and for all .“.interest. and:sinking ..fund ..due., in “ London to. 4 the 15 bh January. 'in“'elusive, the'wKblb uf the moneys in “ London,-including the proceeds: pf “ .the. £BOO,OOO -Igiperial gadrantebd, “ would be would a, deficit; of £6883, ISs ld t bn the “ last named date to bejorovided for.” Mr ;for pnblie, wprks material fibe mail; 'of: Oct. 20. will increase - tbis oefleit to the sum't>f'£Bß,27l'l3s 9i. The 'Treasury accounts, he says,’show fa nominal overdraft of £195,933 16 84* which bad been drawn .agaipsti the available balance of the guawntefeff' debentures in . the hands of the. Lopn Agents. Deducting, this ‘draft; I 'the balance in their hands would jbe £179,066 3s 4d, which would represent the available funds in after charging all interest and sinking fund due in London to date, apd all orders on the Bank ebnt to the AgentGeneral, The interest and sinking fund falling due between Oct. 23,1877, and Jan. 16,"1878, would amount: to £212.337. This would leave.a deficit of £33,27113s 9d to be provided for, in addition to any orders on the Bank in favour of the Agent-General which it may be necessary to Send during the interval. “ A further sum,” Mr Batkin adds, “ of £135,000 is due in London “ for interest on Feb. 1.” The plain summary of these figures and calculations furnished by the Treasury is that, after, exhausting all ourguaranteed debentures and our legally .'available assets, we shall have to provide in London before Peb. 1 next, £168,271 13s 9d to meet the interest and sinking fund due on our debts, and out of thatdefiqit the sum of £30,27113s 9d is due on Jan. 16 next. The second memorandum from the Treasury was received by Mr Larnach on Oct. 30, and, in referring to the former memorandum, it again calls attention to; the matter, and points out that “if pro- “ vision ’ for these payments is to be “made by remittance' from; the. “ Colony, such remittance must be “ made by the mail leaving on Nov. 16 “ proximo.” In short, the present outgoing moil must take this remittance, or we shall run the risk df being defaulters on the London- Exchange. And yet a fortnight has elapsed since Mr larnach has spoken, and, although the aid of the House is indispensable, nothing during that fortnight has—thanks to. the Opposition-—been done by it to meet the emergency.