THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6422, 17 June 1882, Page 4

THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

[by telegraph.. | I Wellington, Friday I Thk House resumed at 7.30 p.m. The estimates were received "bv'm,*, from the Governor, and the''House h gone into committee (Mr. Hamlin chair), 'le The Colonial Trkakup.ep. (Major An, son) delivered the Budget statement i?" said : Mr. Hamlin, I am presenting h," Budget thus early, because the Govern* 5 are anxious that the House should T ample opportunity of carefully and discussing the financial position and* quirements of the colony. l n furtherance^ this hope, which I feel sure will meetm'tk the approval of the committee,-1 hope ton] the estimates in the hands of hon. memlw not later than to-morrow, and I ventur f express the hope that the House will to the appointment of an early day for no'"' into Committee of Supply, and not no ® the postponement of so vital a question llll ' ways and means until the end of the sessio? when hon. members are often unable f r mere physical exhaustion, to give the s"? 1 ject that attention which its importance dp' mands. e "' OONSIIIKRMJLK SUPPLES. The committee will be glad to learn th t the reports which have been in circulati for some time past to the effect that there 0 ' a considcrble surplus standing io our cred> upon the transactions of the year, arebbK stantially correct. I shall not 'therefor trespass to-ninht to so large an extent n the patience of hon. members as • ■ have been compelled to do on some former occasion. My statement will bo short, but I must ptjii ask for the indulgence of the commit while submitting for its information th» somewhat dry details of the financial results! of the last annual period, and the proptsals of the Government for the present year >;.\I'KN'DITCKK TIIK OKOINARr BEVfyrt OP THE YK.VR ISSI-S2. The expenditure for the year under Mr manent Acts of the General Assembly £>." estimated at £1,570,919, including £l 499 31* for interest and sinking fund, w'hile'ti amount voted for departmental services £1,7u7,G60. The total estimated exptadi ture sanctioned by Parliament was therXL' ' £3,328.579. The actual expenditure wH . £3,278,820, being £49,759 less than the mated amount. There are no items of thii ' expenditure which appear to call for spccial remark. Hon. members on referring to the appropriation account presented : to the House, pursuant to Public Revenues I Act, will be able to see the services in re. spect of which tha expenditure has been less I or more than the amounts voted. Die ; outstanding liabilities on the 3lst of March > ISB2, amounted to £164,394. At tLe dose , of the preceding financial year, the amoaot 5 was £1G5,018. I may inform the committee' 5 that, included in the liabilities on the 31tf , of March last, is a sum of £24.000 for sin kin? . fund to the 13th of March, 18S2, in resnect ; of the £SOO,OOO unsold debentures of that r portion of the loan of IS7O, amounting 3 to £1,000,000, which, is guaranteed by the 3 Imperial Government. The Imperial' Act 1 provides for a sinking fund of 2 per cent per i annum on the entire amount of the guannf teed portion of the loan, or so much of it as . is raised for the time beinu, coiumcncing at t the date at which the whole of the loan is p. raised, or at the expiration of 10 yearc from i the passing of the Act, whichever date . happens first. When—-the first remit- , tance of.sinking fuud was made, namely e for the half year to the 13th March - ISSI, it was considered that provision . wa3 required only for the sinking fond, r payable in respect of the debentures, for t £200,000, which had been sold, and not'also - for the debentures for £500,000 which e though created, had not been placed in I circulation. The question was, however r re-cotisidered upon the receipt of a dispatch s from the Secretary of State for the Colonies e to His Excellency the Governor, and the Government determined to provide the g sinking fund for the wholeguaranteedloanof f £1,000,000. Remittances have now been e made accordingly to the trustees of the fund, e ORDINARY BEVEXCK OF THE YEAS IS-Sl-82. The estimated revenue of the year, eiclu- - sive of the revenue derived from sales of land, was £3,'297,650. The .actual amount paid into the public account was £3,-iSS, 170, j being £190,520 in excess of the estimate. Hon. members will find, on reference, to the k comparative return, which will be appended a to this statement, that we are indebteH to the Customs revenue for the larger portion Q of this excess,- £125,107 having been received from that source. The revenue from e stamp duties was £11,115 in excess of the estimate; miscellaneous receipts vere also in excess £34,243, while from depasturing licenses, rent, etc., we obtained 1 £56, 5.52 more than we anticipated. On the ' other hand, the amount derived from the 1 property tax fell short of the estimate by e £19,025. . Of this sum £9270 has yet to j come in.' £2200 represents the amount estimated to be received frott". building , societies, which were afterwards rendered exempt, and £755G is an over-estimate. "The revenue from railways proved to be £25,266 less than the estimate, but hon. merabere will be glad to learn that the net receipts ' from tin; railways, which were estimated at I £3G4,744, amounted to £363,927, or £4183 „ more than estimated. LAND >ALES OF THE YEAR ISSI-2. Following the course approved by Parliament in the session of ISSI-2, a separate account of land sales has been kept. .The expenditure charged ngaiust the fund doling 1 the year amounted to £355,076, including j £136,801 for subsidies paid to local bodies. The amount voted for departmental ser- ' vices, chargeable on the land fund, was I £154,519. The amount actually expended 1 was £137,297. being £17,213 lesj tlun the votes. The liabilities outstanding on the j 31st of March, ISS2, amounted.' to 1 £25,155, as against £37,501 on the-31st > of March, ISSI. The receipts for the. year from land sales were estimated at t £333,000. The amount actually received 1 and ■ paid into the public account Tas • £317,063, of which £252,13G was for lands sold for cash, and £34,927 cash instalments for sales 011 deferred payments. Adding to ■ the receipts of the year the balance at the t crcdit of the land fund account cn the 31st ; of March, ISSI, amounting t0.£32,373, Ma deducting the expenditure, we have a balance : on tliis account of £11,360 at crefliton the ; 31st March, ISS2. PUBLIC WORKS FC>T>. > Appropriations on this accouut for the year, which ended on the 31st March l&U 1 amouuted £1,592,554. The actual esfendi- ■ ture, however, was only £979,556, inch'"'/ 1 !! £454,221 for railways. Particulars ol tii» i expenditure will be found in the tables an* : nexed to this statement, but fuller infonp'" .. tiou than is there given will be laid tefof the House when my hon. colleague, we Minister for Public Works, makes his anniu statement. The liabilities outstanding close of the year amounted to £550,276> J**" tieulars cf which will also be found »> tables appended. During the year s F c fi?. receipts and recoveries amounting to came to the credit of the pu& works fund, and on the 31st March, the balance remaining unexpended, ssi>J'' however, to the liabilities I .' iave , mentioned, was £924,565, consisting of ca-aj in the Bank of .New Zealand, ' advances in the hands of the cfficcrs';' Government, £60,319 ; debcutures ol t f | loan of IS7O, guaranteed by the Government, £135,300 ; amount invested debentures of the New Zealand Goiernmffli . ; £44,000 ; and temporary advance? j certain other securities, £37,600. , balance at credit of fuud on the ol ; " I March, ISSI, was £1,960,373, and on »«■ I 31st of March, ISS2, it was £924,5C3. ■ extent by which it was diminished dup» ■ the year was, therefore, £935,505. T#e« 5 figures show that the fund has been caWj® J husbanded, so as to extend the c:;penaiW" over the time. We had agreed M again to go upon the London niaf ~L Hon. members will observe that thew «j» sullicient money in hand 011 the ISS'2, to carry ou public works will'outbreak or stoppage until the end of February next the same rate at which they have been P secut d during the last year. Included" the liabilities of the public woiks f"°dat end of tho year is the sum of , d : the purchase of native laud?, particulars s > which will shortly be placed before -j House by my colleague the Native who will also state tlic proposals of tue WJ vernment with reference tu our future poU;J > in tl)o juuvhase of native lands. Iu - meantime I may inform the committee : - tlia amount which will 1 e required this jsjf to complete the purchase of tliosc which the Government have decided " acquire will probably not exced £100,000. XIIK PPELIC I>KBT O.N THE 31ST MARCH, ISSI- y 'J'ito gross public debt, of tho eoM \i amounted to £20,165,511, subject to a de- £?' duction of £2,057,212 for accrued sinbi"! fund. Ou tho 31st of Marcli, ISS2. the was £29,940,711, and the sinking fund hw % increased to £2,260,415, the net debt being T£ thus £27,C50,293, or £572,024 more than '

—rTpth'e previous year. This increase of ' ia\ tbu3 explained: Of. the Treasury ' v-Wwhich on the 31at March, .1881, formed ' the public works fund, sales ' f/the of £431,300 have taken • Ve These, .bills had been taken P in 1881. with money standing to the °P , ;t 0 f that fund, aa there was then c large 1 balance not wanted for immediate • - requiring temporary investment. Thev have now been sold, and the proceeds ' into the public works fund, as money ' required for works authorised by the ' Parliament. The debt has also been increased during the year by further advances, amounting to £364,700 obtained m London ipon the security cf the debentures of the ■ I«a.a. of IS7O, guaranteed by the Impenal Government. With reference to the £800,000 • Imperial guaranteed debentures, I may, per- .. i a ns remind the committee that although • - in speaking of the amount of public works ' fund they are always treated as cash. They have, as am-.tter of fact, never been sold, but are used to provide a working balance to : ' -aye interest by borrowing upon them from ' time to time only such sums as are required ' according to the state of the public works fund I may mention, on the other haiui. that the debt has ' practically been reduced ' during the year by the addition of £209,1/5 to the accumulated sinking fund, to which • has to be added £14,800 for debentures of . the North Qtago district public works loan of 1872, redeemed. The n6t increase in the : total amount of the debt being thus, as I have said, £572,024. - : SAYINGS'BASK* AND GOVERNMENT XKBUR- - * avcb DEPARTMENT. ' Before I proceed, Mr. Hamlin, to sum up . the financial results of the year 1881-82, it ' may Inot be ont of place for mo to state a few facts in connection with the Govern- • ment Savings Bank and the Lile Insurance Department by way of illustrating the steady . progress of the colony, the rapid advancement of these institutions, and growth of ' habits of prudence amongst the people dur-•■f'-iag the last 10 years. In 1871 with a popu- • -'lation of 266,956, the amount standing at " the credit of open accounts in the Govern- . ment Savings Bank was £357,654. These accounts we re 10,549 iII number, nud the average • amount at the credit of each was £33 ISs Id. ' In the Savings Bank, established under "The Savings Bank Act, 1853,"the total amount at the credit of depositors on the - , Slat of December, IS7I, was £97,312, dis;r' tributed over 5726 accounts, the average ' amount at credit" being £2G 2s 4d. There • 'was thus a total sutn of £454,967 iin the ' Sayings Banks in 1871 to the creditof 14,275 " persons,'the average amount for each being 173 3d. On the 31st of December, ISBI, the population of the colony was 500.919. There were 51,00S open accounts in the Government Savings Banks,, aggregating : in amount £i,232,755, or an average of £24 "3a 4d at credit of each. In other Savings Banks there were; on the same date, 10,046 open accounts, the total amount at credit being £316,727, or an average of £31 17s Id " for each account. The total amount of deposits in the Savings Biiuks in the colony at the end of the year 1881, was, therefore, £1,549,515, belonging to. 61,054 depositors, with an average of £25 7s 7d to the credit of each, as against £454,906 in IS7 U and 14,275 depositors, with an average of £31 17s ad, the population during the ten • years intervening having increased from 266,986 to 500,910. These figures are well ' ; -worth, the careful consideration of hon. members. They show the remarkable extent to which the advantages of the Saving- Ikmk are being taken, by the people for whose benefit they were established, the popula- ; tion liaving barely doubled itself since IS7I, while the number of depositors has increased nearly fivefold. Intimately connected with the subject of the prudential savings of the community are the questions of life as- : surance and the growth of the Government ' Insurance Department. Established .in - "1870; at. a time when public confidence • in many English assurance companies was - ' severely" shaken, and with the avowed •" objects of giving to the assured the absolute security of' the colony, the department has since exhibited a progressive advancement which warrants the statement that the - - experiment sanctioned by the Legislature twelve years ago, ha 3 now been proved a complete success. This scheme may: be justly described as the only successful institution of the kind set on foot by any Go- - vernmentj and the example thus offered has attricted the attention of various other colomil Governments, and also the Indian Go- ' vernment. The premiums were from the first fixed at what were deemed the lowest | ■ rates commensurate with a proper regard to \ -' .• safety,, .and without any idea of .profit ■ bonuses. But notwithstanding these-low charges, careful management together vitll the favourable influences of a healthy climate . - and -comfortable social conditions, have produced results more satisfactory than was anticipated. The business of the - - department In the first ten yeara of its existence produced a profit of £77,000, as ! shown by the valuation report of the London •t • actuaries, which was laid before Parliament ■ - last session. . The business done has in- . , creased from 460 policies issued up to Juno, 1871, insuring £206,000, to a total of 16,900 • - policieß issued during the eleven years ending j , June, 1881, insuring upwards of £5,800;000, ' being equal to an annual average of 1500 . policies, insuring fully £500,000 each year (luring the period. The business of the year ■ ■■■.*. now approaching its close, will, I am in- . formed, considerably exceed that average, ■ • and probably reach £600,000. The growth of 7 theassurance fund is notles3 satisfactory than ■ has been'the progress of the annual business. - From a sum of £-3000 in haud in June, IS7I, . .the accumulated fund by June'lßßl, had expanded to over £557,000, and now it has reached nearly £650,000. Agreeably to the . wishes of Parliament, as expressed last : session, an industrial branch, enabling per- - .i sons to insure their lives for sums ranging • v from iIS upwards, by means of weekly pay- ■ ments, was opened in the early part of March last. " During the thirteen weeks which have ■ ■ since elapsed, 2100 industrial policies have : been issued. The average amount iusured for all ages is about £25 per policy; ■ -.'for adult lives, about £55. Aa in ■the .ordinary branch of the department, ■ :so also in the ..industrial branch. Any surplus profits which may arise will be •divided: amongst the assured, a provision .which is quite a novelty in what is termed industrial assurance. To facilitate the payi ■ ment of small quarterly premiums, there will be provided cards, on -which postage stamps can be affixed until the amouut of : the quarterly premium is reached, and the cards can then be deposited in the postoffices, where credit -will be given for the premiums they represent. Arrangements are also being completed by which the Post- .-• office Savings Bank depositors may make pay- : . ment of premiums out of their deposits, by - ; means of an instruction to the postmasters for that purpose, thus saving trouble and. aecurv ■/ ingthe maintenance of the policy. These facts and statistics show the remarkable growth, ~ and still increasing progress of the depart- - ment, which is evidently supplying .a great . public want, and 13 now so faradvanced that . the Government, as I have on .former occa- ,, sions mentioned to the House, have decided to ask Parliament to place it under the conduct of a board. A Bill to carry, this object into effect has been prepared, and placed j.before members; Before leaving the subject ' of life insurance I may offer a few additional . figures, showing further the remarkable stimulus given to that form of family provision since the establishment of the Govern - ' ment scheme in 1870.- The number of life policies . in force in Nbw Zealand in that year was 2,000, insuring about £1,100,000. Last year there were in force, ' in round numbers, 24,000 policies, insuring £8,400,000, of which more than one-half is : insured in the Government Department; This gives an increase for the period of 22,000 -•policies, and £7,300,000 in the amount assured, or eleven times the number of persons, and more than seven times the sum insured in the colony eleven years ago. FINANCIAL r.ESOI.TS OF YEAR ISBI-S2. The committee will remember that Parliament finally determined in the session of " 1881, that in future the revenue ol the year should be the actual receipts paid into the Treasury during the year, and that the year's expenditure should be the actual money paid away during the year, thus obviating the necessity for keeping open the year's accounts in order that assets might be realised and liabilities paid before a final balance could be struck. The new method was accordingly introduced in the accounts of the years 18S1-S2, and I venture to hope that the greater simplification of accounts which has been effected by the change will commend itself to Parliament. bers will find on referring to the financial statement which I had the honour to make last year, that, excluding the land sales from the consolidated "fund, there was a deficit : On the 31st March, ISSiI, of £5667, but that including the land sales there was a surplus balance of £26,706 to file credit of the colony. Bpon actual .transactions completed within - the'.year. As I have stated already, the ordinary revenue of the consolidated fund lor the past year amounted to £3,488,170, j the' expenditure to £3,278,829; The - waiaary revenue, therefore, exceeds the ex-

penditurely £209,350, ..and deducting from this sum the deficit of-the previous year, £5667, we-have a credit.balance of £203,653 the close'of the financial year 1881-82 on this division of the account, But though, for reasons which have been frequently stated, it was determined that a separate account should be kept of the land sales, it must be borne in mind that the revenue from that source still remains ■within the consoli<Uted fund, and is liable to meet the charges of the public debt should it ever be necsssary to use it at any time for that purpose. But'the colony now no longer relies upon sales in any way as a means of obtaining revenue to meet the ordinary services of the Government, and has thus removed one condition which made sound finance impossible. When, however, we come to consider tho whole transactions of the year, it is clear that the products of the land sales and the expenditure must appear iu the account. We find, then, that tho total money received and paid into the public account during tho year, including the land sales, was £3,505,233, and tho total expenditure, including the charges on the land sales, was £3,615,595. The receipts were thus £188,338 in excess of the expenditure, and, adding to this sum the surplus at the close of the year 18S0-Sl, *26,800, we find that we have a credit balance on the 31st of March, 18S2, of £215,044. This result is one upon which I hope I inay be allowed to congratulate the committee. It fully bears out the opmion expressed by the Government in 1579, that the grave depression and deficit then existing were temporary and remedial le, and shows us that the course then determined npon bv Parliament of rigid economy and sufficient taxation, has restored the finances of the colony in a remarkably short time to a thoroughly sound condition. We may well, Mr. Hamlin, be proud of belonging to a people and a country which can, J t) such circumstances, produce such results in a period of two years.

LOCAL FINANCE. Tiie question of local finance ha 3 been > again carefully considered during the recess, aud the Government have thought it advisable to issue a circular to the local bodies asking for their opinion upon this subject, and upon some important questions 1 relating to the constitution of County Councils and Koad Boards. I shall shortly 1 ask leave to introduce Bills to give effect to 1 such alterations as the Government think necessary in the constitution of these highly useful local bodies, v and also to make suffioient provision . for their financial requirements. I do not propose to trouble the committee with any particulars of the proposed Bills, as it will be more convenient to do eo when the Bills themselves are under consideration, I ought, however, to say that the principles which the Government have taken for their guidance in preparing these measures are, first, that local bodies should be left as free as possible from central control ; second, that they should have conferred upon them all powers which can_ be advantageously cxercised by such bodies ; third, that their finances should be as distinct as possible from colonial finances, ■"ad that their revenues should be sufficient. The necessity of dealing with this subject during, the present session is admitted upon all sides. The question is not one which should be treated as "a party question, and I venture to hope that the Government will receive the hearty support of both sides of tho House iu providing couutry districts with means of performing the important duties which have been imposed upon them, of making and maintaining a large proportion of tlie roads of the colony. ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE FROM ORDISAEY 1 REVENUE, 18S2-83. I now come, Sir, to the consideration of the estimated expenditure of ordinary revenue for the current year. This may be conveniently divided, by following the usual custom, into two parts—the permanent ( charges and - annual. appropriations. The 1 permanent charges, amounting to jjl, 627,512, include pension payments under the civil list aud other Acts, and the large item of interest and sinking fund, which this year will amount to £1,554,545. Included in this, however, is the sum of £24,000 due for arrears of sinking fund upon the Imperial guaranteed loan of £1,000,000 of 1870, to which I have already referred. The total present annual charge upon our debt is therefore £1,530,848, and not £1,554,848, as might be supposed from a casual inspection of the accounts without thi3 explanation. It must also be borne in mind that of this £1,554,848, no less a sum than £270,000, or nearly one-sixth, is for sinking funcl; in other words, weshallpay thisyear £1,254,54S for interest, and £270,000 for the redemption of the debt. This point is often overlooked when we speak of the annual charge of our debt, but as hon. members will see, it is one of some importance when we wish to ascertain exactly our financial position. The estimated annual appropriations for thisyear amount to £1,851,127. This shows an apparent. increase upon last year's votes of £93,465. I say apparent, because the services for which a large portion of this extra £93,438 is required, were paid for last year out of the loan.- Hon. members will find, on referring to the public accounts, that' the votes for militia and voluuteers, police and constabulary, for last year charged against the consolidated fund, were only £142,015, wliorea3 they are this year £214,009, a difference of £71,994, which previously was paid out of the loan. This £71,994, then, is not an increase of proposed expenditure, but really the transfer of a charge from loan to' consolidated revenue of what, I regret, to say, is for the present necessary expenditure, although happily the cause for much of it is, as we believe, fast passing away. This transfer, I am sur«, ths committee will approve, for although i such expenditure being temporary and : exI traordinary, may be considered a fair charge against the loan, still it is very desirable to pay for f;he services out of .the revenue whenever the revenue will bear them, as is now tho ease. Of the balance of £21,474, ,£IO,OOO is for abatement of the rabbit nuisance, which last year was provided for in the land fund estimates. The.remainder may be said to be comprised chiefly of increased charges for working some newly opened sections of railway, for exchange on remittances to London to pay interest, and for some necessary increases in the smaller salaries of the Civil Servants. I have been thus particular, Mr. Hamlin, in calling the attention of the committee to this apparent increase, because the Government are anxious that a watchful eye should be kept upon any proposal for tho increase of expenditure, which should not be permitted unless shown to be absolutely required in the.interests of good government, for it is certain that unless we exercise great care in this matter, the return of prosperity will again lead us to extravagant expenditure, I must here point out the fact which 1 hope hon. members will bear in mind, that in this estimate of expenditure I have only provided the sum. of £40,000 for hospitals and charitable aid. The amount voted last year upon this important question I Bhall speak of more fully presently. ESTIJJATBJU RBVEXUK FOB THE YEAH 18S2-S3. I will now ask the committee, Mr. Hamlin, to turn its attention to the consideration of the reveuuo for the year ISS2-83. I anticipate, if taxation is to remain unaltered, with the property tax at Jd in the £, that we shall receive a total ordinary revenue of £3,393,500, exclusive of laud sales. I have thought it prudent to estimate only moderate increases on the several items of revenue, full particulars of which, compared with, tho actual receipts of last year, will be found in table No. 7, attached to this statement. It is possible that the revenue may exceed my estimates ; but, considering all the circumstances of the colony, 1 think it better not to speculate up'on au iuerease, which, although possible, may never arise. I estimate the revenue, then, at £3,393,500. To this must be added the balance of £293,653, which stood to our credit on the 31st of March, and wo then got the sum of £3,597,183 as the total amount available for the services ' of the year. Now, if from this we ■ take £3,478,639, the estimated exptn- : diture to which I have already re- ■ ferred, there will remain a balance of 1 £118,544 at the end of tho current i financial year. So far, Sir, all has : been plain sailing. Wo have had to deal t only with facts, and with estimated results, 1 svhich approach to sometbiug like a ccr--1 tainty, but we are brought face to face with 3 a problem by no means easy of solution. 2 How can this surplus be dealt with to the s greatest advantage to the community? 1 What relief, if any, can be given to the -. taxpayers of the colony ? But before these 1 questions can be answered satisfactorily 2 it will be necessary for me to revert to the l question of t HOSPITALS AND CIIAIiITABLE All), - As I promised to do. The total public and known private expenditure upon hospitals , and in charity last year was, in round i numbers, £88,000, and for practical pur- ! poses we may assume that an equal amount will be required this year. This sum was made up by contribution : From the consolidated fund, £29,000; stoppages from subsidies from localj bodies, #37,000; contribu-

tions from local Boards and from the : public, £22,000. The present system—or t want of system, I might rather say—of pro- < viding the necessary funds is irritating, antl ' unfair to most, if not all, parties concerned in the charitable administration of the c colony, and it is, I think, clear tliafc the time has come when this important subject < will have to be dealt with npon some com- '• prehensive principle. It may be taken for 1 granted that the indigent and the sick poor < must be fed and clothed and properly looked : after by the community. Should private charity fail to make proper provision, 1 and that private charity will fail to make a i sufficient provision is only top evident, the 1 State then, as tlie State, will have to under- : take this business in some form. 'Ibis being so, it would seem that there are ' practically only three courses open for us to follow. The indigent and the sick poor will ■ have to be maintained by a poor rate, sup- I piemen ted by privato benevolcnce, or by large grants from the consolidated fund sup- < plernented by private benevolcnce ; or by a < system of national assurance. It may be i impossible to deal with this large question 1 during the present session, but as there is a ; a great, and, I believe, a very general re- ( pugnance to a poor rate, and with which I strongly sympathise, and as grants from ] the consolidated revenue are, to say the i least, very undesirable, I propose to submit 1 A SCHEME OF NATIONAL ASSCRVNCE 1 For the consideration of the House, which I believe to be thoroughly practicable, within • the means of our people, and which would ' make necessary provision for the s':ck, the ' widow, the orphan, and the aged. It is I possible that my enthusiasm has carried me i too far upon this subject; has made me too f hopeful. But I have given the question 1 much thought, and am convinced that the 1 Bcheme, which I shall at an early date t submit to tlie House, is within the bounds < of practical politics for us in this colony. J Should, however, the proposal only lead i to a dispassionate discussion of this important ' matter, we shall have advanced one step to- i wards a solution of what, I venture to think, t is one of the great problems of the age—a < problem which, though happily not so 1 urgently pressing upon us as upon older 1 communities, where the distribution of < wealth is at present much more unequal, is i still one which behoves us, as the founders * of a nation, to grapple with, and, to the J best of our ability, solve without delay. I > have said that it is very probable that we 1 cannot deal with this question during this t session, but whether we do so or not, -suili- t cient provision will have to be made for the t expenditure of the year. Tlie Government 1 propose, pending further consideration of » this subject, to take the whole £ COST OF HOSPITALS * upon the consolidated fund, and for this pur- ' pose I shall have to ask for a vote of £50,000 e for their maintenance. Should this bo ' granted, I shall ask the continued assistance i of the local Boards or the local committees, > as the case may be, for their management, for ' without careful local supervision abuses of < a serious nature are sure to creep in. With ' regard to the ' CII WRITABLE AID, 1 Now costing about £40,000 a year, I shall 1 ask for a vote of £20,000, and propose that ; this relief should be given as far as prae- '• ticable through local institutions, the Go- 1 vernmentgranting pound for pound. If this < proposal should meet with the approval of < the committee, I shall have to increase the •' £10,000 for hospitals and charitable aid, 1 which I mentioned as included in my esti- 1 mated expenditure to £70,000, thus disposing ] of £30,000 of the surplus. The balance then ' of £118,544, which I said would probably bo I to our credit on the 31st of March, ISB3, will 1 be reduced by this means to £88,544. 1 RKLIfiF TO THE TAXPAYER. 1 I will now turn, Mr. Hamlin, to the con- ■ sideration of the question, What relief, if 1 any, can be given to the taxpayers of the 1 colony? We have now only * surplus of ] £83,544 as a margin, after making the > temporary provision I have just pro- ' posed for tlie services of the year, which ' are not of a permanent character, amounting ] to about. £100,000. With such a surplus we : might, if we did not intend as we do, to go i upon the London money market early next < year for a further loan, to continue our ; Public Works scheme, safely reduce i taxation by at least £50,000, but taking all 1 the circumstances of the case iuto cousidera- 1 tion, I do not think, it would be prudent to reduce taxation at present, if it be deter- I mined to borrow more money to enable us ' to complete our main lines of railway. It will obviously be necessary to continue ] taxation at such a rate as will ensure an ample margin of revenue to pay interest on the money borrowed. Taxation must, as a matter of course, remain at a high rate until the works now being i constructed out of the loan are completed, and have had time to become reproductive. Sir, we feel assured that what the House desires, and what the country demands, is steady progress with our public works. That we should pay our way from year to year, and not again fall into debt for current expenditure, and although we are apparently raising less revenue this year than will cover our expenditure, it must be borne in mind thatthe temporary and extraordinary services which are this year being charged against the revenue, amount to more than the difference between expenditure and revenue, and the use of a surplus for such a purpose is quite legitimate finance when there is no reasonable doubt that next year's revenue will be ample to provide for the service of the year. ESTIMATED KXPKNDITDP.E AND REVENUE .FROM THE LAND SALES FOR ISS2-S3. The estimated expenditure chargeable against the Land Sales Fund is as follows : — For charges fixed by Acts of the General Assembly, £41,500; for the Crown Lands Survey and Mines Department, £153,500; the receipts from land sales are estimated to reach £350,090 for the current year; adding to this sum the balance at the beaming of the year, £11,360, and deducting the estimated expenditure, £195,310, we have a balance remaining of £1"0,950. The question of the disposal of this balance must be postponed for the present, until the Legislature has determined what form of aid shall be given to local government, in reference thereto, which will be submitted, when X introduce the Bills which have been prepared for dealing with this subject. LOCAL I v SCRIBED STOCK. It will be in the recollection of hon. members that last year I intimated to the House the intention of the Government to submit for consideration, a Bill authorising the issue of part of a loan of £250,009, the principal and interest of 'which would be payable in New Zealand only. Circumstances prevented the Government from giving effect to that intention during the lastsession of Parliament, but steps are now being taken to prepare a Bill, which will be submitted for the consideration of the House in the current session. I liave drawn the attention of the committee in a previous part of this statement to the very largo accumulations of money in the Savings Banks in the colony, and the Government think, as I remarked on the statement I had the honour to make . last year, that many of tlie depositors of - this money, as well as tlie public generally, i might be glad of a more permanent form . of investment, if ono can be provided, which is at the same time secure and easily convertible into cash. I propose, r as before, that the loan shall bear interest at 1 a rate not exceeding 5 per cent., and that > the proceeds shall be paid into the public ; works fund, to be appropriated by Parlia--3 ment. I also propose that the loan shall be 3 issued in the form of inscribed stock, with right to the subscribers to obtain at any timo > when desired bonds payable to bearer of £10 • and upwards. The Government believe that 3 securities, such as those I have described, s will find favour with the public so soon as their nature is generally understood. The loan will be disposed of gradually as it comes 3 into favour, the object of the Government 1 not being to obtain funds for expenditure, 3 but to provide a clasß of security for tlie in--3 vestments of savings, which seems generally 3 to be desired, and is likely to have a very 3 beneficial operation. INCIDENCE OF TAXATION. I should now like, Mr. Hamlin, with the f permission of the committee, to say a few t words about a question which I think well 9 worthy of our attention at the present timo, 1 viz., the incidence of our taxation. Does our ;, present taxation press unfairly upon any particular class, and especially upon that class !i which is the least able to bear it? Because, [. if so, although we might not be able e to reduce the total amount, wo might ? be called upon to shift the burden from the e weak to other and stronger shoulders. I have, e Mr. Hamlin, been looking into this question y of the incidence of taxation in order to aseer.e tain the amount boruo by the different classes, so that relief might be given, if necessary, to those upon whom the taxes appeared to press d tlie most heavily. I will state broadly, for Is the information of the committee, the results d of my inquiries. Referring hon. members for i - - particulars to table No. 0, published with it this statement, the results of my inquiries is seein to me to show that our taxation i- is, upon the whole, fairly distributed over j- the community, although what is fair in i- «uch a. case is a proper subject for discussion,

and is a question upon which there may: be a great diversity of For the purpose of comparison, I havo divided the population into three classes, which, for the object I have in view, may be considered natural divisions. First, tho wage-earning class, which I shall hereafter, . for convenience call the industrial class, consisting of 312,436 souls, exclusive of 11,904 domestic female servants. Second, the intermediate class, numbering 96,260 souls. This class is compssed of nil those who are known by the census as not belonging to the industrial class, and who do not pay property tax ; and third, the class which pays property tax, consisting of 69,445 souls. The total taxation upon which my calculations are based, for what wo term taxation proper, as distinguished for what is paid for services rendered, is £1,717,748. This was made up as follows Customs, £1,276,100 ; stamps (not including postage stamps), £120,148; property tax, £257,600. From tho Customs duties I deduct tlie duties paid on wines,, spirits, foreign beer, and tobacco, sugar used iu brewing (£3493), and the amount (£5512) estimated to be paid by tho Maoris on general Customs, and also tho duty paid on cotten piece goods, which are now free. These amount in all to £683,794. I make j these deductions, because with the present : information at my disposal, it is impossible j to apportion to each class the expenditure under the head of wines, spirits and tobacco, with any accuracy, and because the other articles enumerated do not come within the scope of the inquiry, but I have no doubt that if we could make now a true distribution of the amount paid under the heads of wines, spirits, and tobacco, we should find that the intermediate and property classes pay a large share, and that the relative proportion between the three classes, which 1 am about to give, would be but little, if at all, changed. I assume, of course, a moderate use of these articles. If used in excess, it is impossible to say which class may pay most, but 1 think it will be generally admitted, or, at any rate, ought to be admitted, that those who use spirits or tobacco, or any other articles iu excess, to whatever class they belong, are fair subjects for heavy taxation. Now, I have received from sixteen of the chief towns of the colony, trustworthy information as to the actual expenditure of a large number of mechanics and labourers. I have compared the expenditure bo obtained with the expenditure of the same classes in England, and find only such differences as the change of circumstances would lead one to expect. I think, therefore, we may take these returns as approximately accurate for practical purposes. I believe that further information which I am collecting will generally bear out the results now given, and that any error which may be found in my estimates will be in the direction of a slight over-estimate of the amount paid by the industrial class. Tho returns to which I have alluded show that the average amount paid the State by families of the industrial classes average 16s 6d per member, or a total of £214,522 for the various families. This estimate is made

from the actual expenditureof fifty-six typical families, residents in all parts of the colony, but to this amount we must add the duty, £51.246, paid by 49,355 single men, equal to £1 Os 9d per head, and the duty £3983, paid by single women, over 18 having occupations cquil to 19s lid per head. The aggregate of these amounts is £269,741, thus giving an average over the whole class of 17s 3d per head. But to this amount we must, add £10,311, being the duty paid by the 11,903 domestic female servants for drapery at 17s 3'9d per head, thus giving a sum of £280,062 as tho total taxation paid by the industrial class, exclusive of course of the duties on spirits, wines, &e., tobacco, and colonial beer. I have included all domestic male servants, and tho married couples at service, as paying in the indnstrial class, although probably the chief part of their consumption ought to be .credited to the intermediate and property classes. This, I need hardly remark, makes no difference to the average rate per head, but only the total paid by the class. I have, following the best authorities on this subject, included the duty payable on articles cousumed by domestic female servants, except wearing apparel, in the amount paid by the intermediate and property classes. I have said that the total amount paid by the industrial classes is £250,062, and that thi3 amount is ascertained, by means of the actual expenditure, by fifty-six families in various parts of the colony, and that these returns have been carefully checked by comparison with the expenditure of the same class in England, proper allowance being made for the dilferericb in the circumstances of the two populations, and also by one consideration of what it is possible for this class to spend on dutiable goods after providing from their earnings for the other necessaries of I life, and for house rent. If we now deduct I £280,062, the amount paid by tho industrial class, from the total duties which we are now | considering, we get £312,343 as the Customs duties paid by the intermediate and property classes. This amount, after careful consideration, I have divided at an equal rate per head between the two classes last named. This will give per head for each of these classes £1 17s lid. The total revenue collected for stamps, exclusive of postage stamps, is £126,148. This I have also divided at an equal rate per head between the intermediate and property classes. This means, for each member of the intermediate and property classes, 15s 4d per head. I think there can be no doubt that these stamp duties are paid by these classes. It is possible that a small amount may be paid by the industrial class, but it is so small that it could not appreciably affect the results as between the various classes. We find, then, that the stamp duties paid per head by the intermediate class, is 153 4d, aud the Customs duties £1 17s lid. This gives £2 13s 3d as the total sum per head paid by the intermediate class, and a total.for the class of £256,272. The property class, I have assumed pay an equal amount per head with the intermediate class for stamps and customs. They however paid with the property tax, at a penny in the pound, which it was at the time to which my calculations relato, £31 5s 9d per head for that tnx, making a total per head of £6 8s 6d, or a total for the class of £439,819. With the property tax, however, at one half-penny in the pound, the amount paid per head by the property class, would would only bo £4 10s lOJjd, or a total for tho class of £310,719. To summarise, then, wo find that tho industrial class, consisting of 312,436 souls, exclusive of 11,903 domestic female servants, pay £209,751, being at tho rate of 17s 3d per head, or, including the drapery duties paid by these domestic servants, £250,0G2. Tlie intermediate, class, consisting of 90,260 souls, pays £256,272, or £2 13s 3d per head ; aud the property class, consisting of G5.445 souls, pays £439,819, being at the rate of £6 8s Gd per head ; that is with the property tax at Id, but if we take that tax at id, they pay £310,719, or at tho rate of £4 103 10Jd per head. These amounts are, as I have already said, exclusive of tlie duties paid from Bpirits, wines, tobacco, and colonial beer, and do not include, for obvious reasons, that part of our so-called taxation which is paid for by eachclass in proportion to the use for the services rendered by the State—such as postoffice, telegraph, court fec3, &c. Hon. members will, I hope, understand that, in speaking of the expenditure at per head, I only use a form of expression so far as the intermediate and property classes are concerned, individual expenditure being widely different according to means and habits ; but with the industrial class, the difference is not so wide. With taxation it is, of course, impossible to meet individual cases iu apportioning the taxation of the community ; wo must take a wider view, and deal with classes, considering their circumstances and numbers. It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of this subject, for badly adjusted taxation means undue exaction from some class, or classcs, which cannot fail to bo detrimental to the community as a whole. On the other band, fairly adjusted taxation means that the public burdens are borne with as much care aa their extent will permit, aud I would express the hope that this question will receive tho careful attention of hon. members, and of al! interested in the public welfare throughout the colony, so that when our financial position permits wo may deal with thesubjccton . broad and intelligible principles. PROrOSKD L'IAN. I lnvo now, Mr. Hamlin, only one more i subject to deal with, but although last it is i by no means least in importance. I refer ol course to the question of a now loan. Wc i havo first to consider whether a new loan i£ • advisable tbi3 year, and, secondly, if the , first question is answered i.i the affirmative, i how much will it bo desirable to borrow ? 1 i now, with regard to the first question, ii order to arrive at a reasonable conclusion, i consider tlie state of the public works fund, r and tho amount wc can prudently oxpeiu i per auuuin. 1 havo already said the balanci j in the public works fund on tho 31st Marcl i last was £924,505, without the standinj r liabilities. At that dato there was due oi i J contracts let, £541,400, exclusive of thi , I liabilities on the land purchase ac

count, for which we must at least have] £100,000, so that in addition to the £541,400 which is in course of expenditure I under existing contracts and authorities, / there only remained on hard at the beginning of the financial year about £283,405 for the continuation of the works already begun, and for new works for which liabilities have not been incurred, or appropriations made. We thus see that if no authority for a further loan is granted this year, our spending power on public works for one >car and three-quarters, after paying for tho outstanding contracts, ami engagements to which I have referred, will only amount to £283,465, because if a Loan Bill was passed next session, the money could not be raised before about December, 18S3, and the Government are quite determined not to enter into engagements in anticipation of raising money at any particular dato. Tho question, then, narrows itself to this : Is it prudent at the present time, and under tho present circumstances of the colony, to borrow again, or ought we to be satisfied with a total expenditure of £924,865 in the 21 months commencing with the current financial year? Sir, the Government are fully aware of the responsibility they incur in placing before the committee their answer to this question. They recognise clearly the principle, that before the public debt is increased the gain to the colony shall bo seen to bo more than commeusurate with the increased liability, and they believe that a case within this rule has now arisen. They think that our ordinary finance being restored to a satisfactory condition, and our main trunk lines of railway being still incomplete, it is now prudent to raise a fresh loan for the purpose of completing these railways, or carrying them a stage nearer to comple- i tion, and for certain other definite and important public works. In this opinion the Government are strengthened by the fact that the railways already made are now pay- i ing practically 4 per cent, annually on the amount expended in their construction, and ' that they arc steadily improving in this respect. The Government, therefore, Sir, recommend that a loan should be raised, 1 but only if the money can be borrowed i at a reasonable rate ef interest, and the authority of Parliament will be asked to empower the Government, if necessary, by postponing works, so as t© arrange the expenditure aB to enable them to wait for a favourable market. We have now to consider what amount should be raised, and this must be decided ' y two considerations. 1. The amount which can be profitably expended on the necessary or directly reproductive public works. 2. The amount upon which we can afford to pay interest without placing undue burdens upon the people of the colony. Now, I am afraid that there are

80 many necessary or directly reproductive public works only waiting to be done for the want of cash to do them, that we shall find no practical limit in that direction, and in this fact lies, no doubt, the cause of our far too lavish expenditure in the past. Prom the past we should take warning, and proceed at a very much more moderate pace than we have been going upon the average for the last 10 years. We must confine ourselves for the future in the expenditure of borrowed money to works ol necessity, Or to works which are directly reproductive, aud strictly limit the amount spent yearly upon such works by our capacity to pay the interest with tolerable ease. It is in the opinion of the Government of great importance that the colony should steadily pursue a progressive policy, and that our main trunk lines should be pushed on as vigorously as is compatible with the means at our disposal. The Government then, taking into consideration all the circumstances of the colony, and acting upon the principles which I have just laid dawn, have determined, Sir, to propose to Parliament a loan of £3,000,000, to be raised and expended at a rate not exceeding £1,000,000 per annum. My hon. colleague, the Minister for Public Works, when he makes the public works statement will inform the committee in detail of the items of the proposed expenditure, and of the mode by which we hope to confine tho expenditure to specific words determined upon by Parliament before the money is borrowed. The Government attach great importance to this provision of the proposal. It is, I think, clear, looking at the experience of the past that if our future borrowing is to be governed by that prudence which is essential, we must carefully consider what works we are justified in constructing, at what rate of speed they should be constructed, and at what cost to the State. When wo have determined these conditions we are then in a position to decide upon the amount to be borrowed. Upon these rules of conduct, in this matter, which I am sure will meet the hearty approval of the committee, the Government have acted in arriving at the amount which they propose shall be borrowed. CONCLUSION. And now, Mr. Hamlin, I have done. The committee, I am sure, will not bo disapI pointed at the shortness of the statemeut, when it remembers that this is the natural and appropriate result of tho simplicity in keeping the colonial accounts which we have been able to adopt. I will only add one word. In 1579 I stated to the committee fully and fairly the position of the colony, neither concealing nor exaggerating the grave difficulties which had then to be met, and I pointed out the obvious remedies. That statement has often been characterised, especially by those who had taken least trouble to master it, as too darkly shaded— —as being too gloomy a view of things, though it has never been attempted to disprove the facts and the figures which I then adduced. Sir, I venture to say thnt, except so far as the gloom was in the facts themselves it never had any existence. It certainly was not of my importing. It was prudence, not folly, to look onr iTitHculties in the face. It would have been folly, and not prudence, to doubt that wo could overcome them. The Government and this House had fnll confidence not only in the abounding vitality and vast resources of the colony, but (which was no less important) in the willingness of the colonists to make the necessary sacrifices, and confidence has been amply justified by the facts I have just had the honour to lay before the committee, and as prudence and ecouomy, and a cautious and well considered advance in public works, as funds became available, was our rule then, and has been since,so it should be now and in tho future. I have full confidence, Sir, that, following that rule faithfully, wo shall not only maintain, but as the resources of the country become doveloped, we shall steadily increase the present satisfactory condition of our finances.

Mr. Montgomery pointed out that it was 1 difficult, if not impossible, to consider the ' financial policy until they had the public works statement before them giving thein particulars of the expenditure proposed for the ensuing 3'car. He thought that the . latter end of the statement might woll have been left out, as calculated to provoke party contention. The balance of £203,000 was nothing more than might have been expected. . In tho neighbouring colonies matters were equally depressed a few years ago, and yet ; they too had a. balance. In these colonies, however, the Government did not take ■ credit for having produced that balance, but admitted that it was attributable to tho wave of prosperity which has been going all round, otherwise he looked upon tho statement as clear and satisfactory. However, it was satisfactory to know that at last they ' were able to meet ordinary expenditure out : of ordinary revenue. Mr. J. W. Thomson congratulated tho ' Treasurer on his recovery. He was not dis--1 posed to criticise the statement just made, 1 but the closing remarks were uncalled for. ' Upon tlie whole, it had been a clear speech, ' especially as respected the finance of the ' colony. lie was, however, inclined to think 1 tlie incidence of taxation was not SO very ' satisfactory. About the closing remarks, 1 the Treasurer had made them so often that 1 he was beginning to think they were true. If the colony was iu the desperate 3 state the Treasurer alleged three years ago, 3 where, he would like to know, had all the J money they had been spending on public ' works conic from ? They «cre to have two Bills in connection with local self-govern- " ment—one relating to finance, and the other 1 to tho constitution of the local bodies, lie reminded them that they \vere told years ago that arrangements would be made for these 0 bodies, so as to obviate the necessity of the s works of roads and bridges being mentioned f in that House. That hope had been disape pointed, and lie was much afraid that this s was only another of these promises. e Mr. Tonsnui.r. pointed out that despite !, the rcilcctious cast on tlie late Native 1 Minister for entering into engagements for n native land purchase, yet it appeared that i, the present Government intended to go into i, similar engagements to at least double the d amount of the other. :e Sir J. Hai.i. said it had been asserted by j h tho Treasurer that when tho' Government g took otlico there was a deficiency of n £900,000, with an annual expenditure of ic nearly £000,000 in excess of the income. That statement had been taken oxception to,

I but up to the present time no effort had been made to show that-it was not correct. A million added to the debt showed how / true it was. The improved state of things was due to the careful husbandry of the Government. He denied that the Treasurer had ever taken credit for having brought about the improved commercial position. AVhat he claimed was credit for the improved financial state of the colony, although at the same time the former had been stimulated by the latter. He challenged the Opposition to dispute the assertion about the statu of affairs in 1879. Sir G. Grey said be had never heard so weak a financial statement made. Any little boy in the town could have made a better. It gave no information at all. It simply told them of sums of addition and substraction, and nothing more. Instead of a financial statement, ihey ought to have had a school teacher's blackboard, demonstrating the fact that two and two makes four. What they wanted, was a statement worthy of the great statesman the Treasurer professed to be. The local self-government question was one of old standing, aud yet they only had the old story, without any broad comprehensive statement as to how these bodies were to be dealt with in the future. Why was it that the new Parliament had not been been called earlier together, to prevent the disposition of the punlio estate in Otago? When they got their proper strength, which they were now fast obtaining, the Government would have to answer to Parliament for this and other derelictions of duty. Had a land and income tax been imposed, the colony would have been in a sounder condition than it was. j Their policy had driven away many of those who would never otherwise have gone. The statement did not deal with any of those important points. They had tiie power in their hands, and he asked them to use it in forcing the Government to do tho duty it had so long neglected. Had the Grey Government remained in office, they would have had the same means for meeting the commercial crisis that this Government had, and had the administration been left in the hands of the former, the difficulty would have been more efficiently met and grappled with. Mr, Skkehax thought the Opposition should delay debating the financial statement until they had the full statements before them. He defended the land purchase system of the late Government, and showed that a large amount of money which would have gone into the public purse had gone into that of private individuals, the latter having gone in and completed purchases begun by the 3rey Government, but repudiated by their successors. At the present time, they had locked up over 600,000 acres of these lands under one proclamation. That was the hot springs country. That land ought to have been opened to all for purchase. At present, it wag only the favoured few who had the means of obtaining these lands. Alluding to the debts attributed to the Grey Government, he asked who incurred these debts? It was the Government of which j the present Government was the outcome. The fact was the Grey Government took over a bankrupt estate, and that estate was bequeathed to them by the Treasurer and his colleagues. It was the Government that borrowed largely in 1870 for public works, and who brought down the schedule of those works blank to be scrambled for on the floor. The Grey Government came into office with all their difficulties ready made. When the whole system of finance was brought down, they on that side of the House would be prepared to have a stand up fight on the subject. He would support the native policy as a whole. He would stand by this party.

Mr. Macaxdrew commented on the bad example shown by Sir J. Hall in opening up a debate when they were sot ready to go on with it. Three months after the Grey Government left office the journals if the House showed there were £3,770,000 in the Treasury. Eighteen months later the balance was £1,656,000, and now they were told that the balance amounted to £900,000. Did these facts bear out the statement that the Grey Government left office in a bankrupt Btate ? He would deny it emphatically. So much, then, for the story of the Government having extricated the colony from its perilous position. Mr. Jloss denied that the Government had reduced the expenditure of the colony, as claimed by them. It had simply been produced at an apparent saving by a system of jugglery of accounts. Xn 1579, they were told that the Grey Government had spent or committed the colony to the . expenditure of four millions, out of the five millions loan, and then Sir John Hall told ! his Leeaton constituents last year that the present Government had spent three millions more out of that loan. That was a system of finance beyond his comprehension. Four and three wag seven millions, all spent out of one five million loan. How was it that the local government Bills were not before them as usual ? They would be brought down at the end of the session, and then shelved, as had been the case in past years. Major Atkinson contended that the statemeut did give a clear insight into the finance of the colony. He took credit to himself for having got the finances of the colony into such a state that a little boy | might have understood and expounded them. -What was stated in. 1579 was, that engagements had been entered upon with- ! out authority of the Hou3e, and before the loan was obtained. That was what had been complained of. As a matter of fact the Treasury was empty when they took | office, despite the fact that when they took office there was left half a million, besides other balances belonging to other accounts. All the speakers to-night had mixed up the public works with the consolidated fund. Ho produced and quoted from the public accounts of the period, and challenged contradiction thereof. He denied thit he bad ever taken credit to himself, as had been alleged. It was the settlers and the colonists to whom he had given the credit. It had been said his statement did not give a broad view. The fact was, the statement took as broad a view as could be taken. His business was to view matters from year to year, and that was the breadth of view he was expected to take. He had been told that the Grey Governmentwould have done better had they remained in office. If that was the feeling then, it would be for the colony to say so

md place them again in the Government. le, however, would not like to be the treasurer who would come after them. It lad been said that the Government ought to uivc made provision far the wave of depresion ; but he would ask, did the Grey Government make any provision for that wave, vhich was approaching when they left iffice ? The fact was that there was no pro•ision whatever made when he left office.

Prior to the Grey Government coming into office he left sufficient in the Treasury to liquidate all the existing engagement. He had taken the trouble of finding out the incomes of 146 of the largest landowners in the colony. The result was he found that a laud tax of Id per £ would produce £16,000 ; au incomo tax of 7d per £ would produce £17,000, whereas the property tax yielded £42,000. Progress was reported, and at 11.20 p.m. the House adjourned. The following are the pairs on Sir George Grey's Purchase of Votes Bill: — For tlio Bill: Steward, Seaton, Bathgate, Daniel, Duucan, Turnhull, McDonald, j. C. Brown, Smith, J. W. Thomson, Bai-ron, Shrimski, Macandrew, Pearson. Against the Bill : Atkinson, O'Callaghan, Whyto, Mason, Fitzgerald, Morris, Petrie, Mcllwraith, Pyke, J. Green, Altwright, Bryce, Levin, J. Evans Brown.