MR. READER WOOD ON THE FINANCES OF THE COLONY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XII, Issue 4291, 14 August 1875, Page 1 (Supplement)

MR. READER WOOD ON THE FINANCES OF THE COLONY.

Tub Star's correspondent at Wellington has I supplied that journal with the following section of Mr. Wood's speech on the Abolition question:—Mr. Reader Wood, after referring to the legal doubts which beset the question, proceeded to criticise the bilL Instead of one land law for the - colony, the several land laws of the provinces were to be perpetuated. For elected Superintendents we were to have satraps appointed by the Central Government; and in the entire bill there was only one real reference to abolition, namely, tho proposal to sweep away the Provincial Councils. But that benefit was counterbalanced by -the strong Centralising tendencies of the bill, which perpetrated a double deceit, because it strengthened the North Island and broke faith with the South. The object of the bill was not abolition, but to enable the Government to cover an enormous ' deficiency in their finance. The expenditure chargeable to the coo soli da tod revenue was , estimated at £2,405,400, in which was included an item the House had not been accustomed to, viz., expenditure on account of railways, £244,318. In that expenditure, as explained by the Treasurer, was included working expenses, £244,000, but besides that sum, together with ordinary charges, there should nave been provided a depreciation fund, for if one was not provided in a ' short time people would not be able to travel upon the railways. As a depreciation fund there should be annually set apart a sum which Bhould be kept as absolutely intact as the sinking fund for bans. From that £240,500 might bo deducted £50,000 as depreelation fund for railways. The consolidated revenuefortheyear was estimated at £2,476,193, which included two or three items the House had not seen before. First, there was Provincial miscellaneous revenues, £50,000 of which was to be given to municipalities, but he was not aware where the money was 'to come from, unless it arose from the Otago Provincial Government's estimate of tho receipts from tho working of railways in that province. If that was the case, it must be included in the £294,000 of receipts. Tho total expenditure, therefore, was £2,455,400, and the total ordinary revenue, leaving out contributions to the land and railway funds, £2,150,159, leaving a deficiency of £275,211, which would bo covered by appropriations from the land revenue of the South. Then as regards appropriation of the land fund : —First it was to be charged with the payment of interest and sinking-fund of loan, debts, and other liabilities. Then there were to be balances struck into two parts, one towards payments under the Immigration and Public Works Act, and the other would be subject to appropriation by the Assembly. The land fund, as estimated by the Treasurer, amounted to £702,000, twothirds of which oqualied £408,000. (Major Atkinson : My estimate was more.) Tho last five years' average was £550,000. This year the Otago Government estimated its land revenue at £200,000, and Canterbury hers at £120,000 ; but he was not able to find out how £702,000 was likely to be reached, much less to be exceeded. There was consequently, under the lirst head, a total of £245,890; under tho second, for surveys, £247,020 ; under tho third, for payments to Koad Boards, £33,383; which, with tho other two heads of public works and departmental services, made a total of £578,127. Thus, with the land revenue estimated at £468,000, there was a deficiency of £110,127. But since the Abolition Bill allowed the Governments to borrow £100,000 on Becurity of the future laud fund for those provinces which at present had none, the deficit would be reduced to £10,127, whbh was divided into two equal parts. It seemed to him that one mind had prepared the bill and the financial -statement, and another mind prepared the estimates without caring whether they agreed or not. That detieiency was to be divided into two parts, one-half being a charge for certain provisions of the Public Works and Immigration Acts, and for tho support of charitable institutions. Very cold charity he was afraid it would be, for the Government had not been able to make on estimate of it; and the other half was to be subject to appropriation by the Assembly for public works in Provincial Districts. This was estimated at £1,608,168 2s 2d. He concluded : To carry this bill would be to strike a blow at the credit of tho colony under which it would reel again, and which would throw its iiuauces into inextricable confusion. On the other hand, by examining all these statements, looking carefully into the linancial condition of the country, economising in every direction, and entering upon no new works until those in .hand are completed, it is just possible that the coluny might ride over the brink upon which we are standing. Atr. Vogel well understood the finances of the colony when he said: " The country has got into a mess, and must get out of it as best it could." (Loud Opposition cheers.)